Israel pounds Gaza; Palestinians weigh truce terms

Gaza, May 26: Israel's air force pounded the Gaza Strip early today hours after the Islamist group and other militants signalled softer terms for ending cross-border rocket salvoes.

Helicopter gunships fired missiles at several Hamas targets, including a wood shop, militia posts, and a guardhouse outside the home of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

At least three people, all passersby, were hurt, doctors said.

The new barrage came hours after Hamas's armed wing and other militant factions said they were considering a proposal by moderate President Mahmoud Abbas for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Previously, militants had demanded that in order to revive a Gaza truce declared in November, Israel must also agree to ceasing hostilities in the occupied West Bank, another territory where Palestinians seek statehood. Israel rebuffed that demand.

But after talks with Abbas's Fatah faction, militants said they could accept a new, mutual ceasefire in Gaza alone.

According to Fatah, they gave Israel until tomorrow to respond.

''The next 48 hours will be decisive for determining which way the factions are going, and it will depend on Israel and whether it wants to stop its aggression,'' said Fatah spokesman Abdel-Hakim Awad.

But the militants denied that any commitments had been made, saying only that they were weighing a proposal made by Abbas for a trial month-long truce in Gaza.

''Our position is that a ceasefire must be mutual, simultaneous and reciprocal and it must cover Gaza and the West Bank in the same time,'' said Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha.

''Despite our position, we have told Abu Mazen (Abbas) that we will study his offer and inform him of our response in the near future''.

Israeli officials were not available for comment. Since violence surged earlier this month, Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire, instead lobbying foreign powers to pressure the Hamas-led government to back down. There has also been talk of deploying international peacekeepers in Gaza.

Israel's air strikes have killed at least 38 people, of which militant groups say 25 were fighters. Israeli troops also arrested the Palestinian education minister, who is from Hamas, and 32 other officials in the West Bank on Thursday -- a move that raised concerns in Washington and at the United Nations.

More than 150 rockets have been fired in the past two weeks, ending six months of relative calm. One killed an Israeli woman this week in the town of Sderot. Yesterday, three Sderot residents were wounded by a rocket salvo claimed by Hamas.

Reuters

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