Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired rockets and mortars into southern Israel today, despite an unofficial truce meant to defuse days of escalating violence.

BACK in 2008, the autumn of the big economic chill, large detached houses were launched at Lisheen Fields, Ballincollig, near Cork city.

An Irish activist seized by Israeli authorities in a commando operation on an aid flotilla has accused armed forces of carrying out an act of piracy.

One of the most wanted Palestinian militants was killed today when an Israeli aircraft attacked a car travelling in the northern Gaza Strip.

Pesticide traces above legally permitted levels were found in a small number of fresh food products in the UK, according to a report out today.

One of the Palestinian militant groups that captured an Israeli soldier last summer said the serviceman is in “good health”, the first time it has given details about his condition.

One of the Palestinian militant groups holding a captured Israeli soldier today said progress has been made in efforts to free the serviceman as part of a prisoner swap with Israel.

Palestinian police arrested a Hamas-linked militant in Gaza City this morning, sparking a gun battle that left two police officers wounded, witnesses said.

Israeli troops killed seven Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip today, one of the bloodiest days of fighting during a four-month offensive.

Israeli forces rounded up dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and MPs from Hamas today, increasing pressure on the Islamic militants to release a captured Israeli soldier.

A Palestinian militant leader today said a captured Israeli soldier was being held in a “secure place,” and he claimed that his group also seized a Jewish settler in the West Bank.

A statement from Palestinian groups purporting to hold an Israeli soldier have demanded the release of women and children under 18 held in Israeli prisons.

Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel through a tunnel early today, attacking a military post and killing two Israelis before soldiers shot dead three gunmen, the army, militants and witnesses said.

An Israeli airstrike targeted a group of Palestinians after they tried to fire home-made rockets into Israel, killing three militants, hospital officials said.

The Palestinian government’s security chief, a key player in rocket attacks on Israel, was killed late yesterday in an Israeli air strike that threatened to escalate clashes between the two sides into a far fiercer conflict.

Deadly factional fighting in Gaza has created a “dangerous” situation, the Palestinian prime minister said today, adding that his security forces would try to get gunmen off the streets.

A Palestinian militant with ties to Hamas was killed yesterday in a car bomb in Gaza, unleashing factional unrest that left three others dead and 35 wounded, in the first direct threat to the Islamic group’s new government.

A PALESTINIAN militant with ties to Hamas was killed in a car bomb yesterday, unleashing factional unrest that left three others dead and more than 20 wounded - in the first direct threat to the Islamic group’s new government.

Rival Palestinian factions clashed at the funeral of a militant today, killing three people and wounding 25 others, hospital officials said.

The Palestinians’ ruling Fatah Party has split, with young activists forming their own group for the January parliamentary election.

A Palestinian militant group, the Popular Resistance Committees, today claimed responsibility for killing a former Gaza security chief in his home.