France and Egypt announced an initiative to stop the fighting in Gaza early today as Israel agreed to a “humanitarian corridor” for vital supplies.

International outrage grew over civilian deaths in Gaza tonight after an Israeli bombardment killed at least 34 people, many of them children, near a UN school.

An Associated Press photographer was released late tonight after a harrowing day in the hands of Palestinian gunmen who abducted him at gunpoint in Gaza - the latest in a string of kidnappings of foreigners in the chaotic area.

Palestinian gunmen kidnapped an Associated Press photographer in the Gaza Strip today, grabbing him as he walked out of his apartment and whisking him away in their vehicle, a witness said.