Israeli troops cut off the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah from the rest of the strip today as other troops massed on the outskirts of the town.

PALESTINIAN Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said he was convinced he could reach a truce with Hamas by next week, when he is due to join Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President George W Bush in a three-way summit in Jordan.

A HUMAN shield was left brain-dead yesterday after being shot in the head

ISRAELI troops blew up two apartment buildings in a Gaza Strip refugee camp yesterday, just hours after undercover forces killed the brother of a radical Palestinian leader during an arrest raid in the West Bank.

Six people are dead after Israeli troops launched several strikes against Palestinian terrorist suspects.

THE Palestinian Cabinet yesterday accepted Israel’s proposal to begin withdrawing troops from some parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in exchange for security guarantees.

ISRAELI Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said yesterday that the army was prepared to withdraw from two West Bank towns occupied for more than a month as long as Palestinian security forces were ready to take over and prevent attacks against Israel.

A PALESTINIAN man, on trial for allegedly collaborating with Israel, was killed by Palestinian militants yesterday after an Israeli air strike disrupted court proceedings.

A Palestinian woman and her two-year-old daughter were shot dead today while riding in a taxi in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinians, who claimed Israeli troops were responsible.

Israeli helicopters began firing on targets in the Gaza Strip, Israel TV reported today.

Six Palestinians, including a 14-year-old girl and three other civilians, were killed today in gun battles and Israeli reprisal raids.

Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen have been battling in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians fired a mortar shell and threw grenades at Israeli positions in the Gaza Strip today - low-level violence that might hold up the start of a week-long ceasefire test period.

Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs met CIA chief George Tenet today, the highest-level mediation yet by the Bush administration.

Yasser Arafat has accused Israel of escalating military operations against the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon apologised for an attack on a refugee camp in which a four-month-old girl was killed.

A four-month-old baby was killed this morning during an Israeli shell attack on a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers have shot and wounded a Palestinian near a Gaza crossing point.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and 11 people were wounded during a funeral in the Gaza strip today.

Israeli tanks and bulldozers have rumbled into Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, razing or heavily damaging 30 homes.

A fierce gun battle erupted early today between Israeli forces and Palestinians near a block of Jewish settlements in Gaza, wounding at least 25 Palestinians .

Dozens of Palestinians have been wounded in the latest violence in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, hours after an Israeli helicopter gunship rocket killed a Palestinian militant.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were due to resume today, despite the killing of a Jewish settler in the Gaza Strip that led Israel to reimpose tough restrictions on the movement of nearly a million Palestinians.