Gaza: The Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers said on Sunday they wanted to end the recent round of fighting with Israel after Israel's defence minister signalled willingness to agree to a ceasefire.
"The Palestinian factions are not interested in escalation," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. "If the Israeli aggression stopped, it would be natural for calm to be restored."
The death toll since Israel launched its retaliation for an attack on a school bus that critically wounded a teenager on Thursday has climbed to 19 Palestinian fighters and civilians.
Gaza fighters have fired at least 120 rockets and mortars at southern Israel in that time, the Israeli army said.
Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday that Israel was willing to accept a mutual ceasefire with Hamas fighters in Gaza after days of deadly violence.
"If they stop firing on our communities, we will stop firing. If they stop firing in general, it will be quiet, it will be good," Barak told Israel Radio.
The death toll since Israel launched its retaliation for an attack on a school bus that critically wounded a teenager on Thursday has climbed to 19 Palestinian fighters and civilians.
Gaza fighters have fired at least 120 rockets and mortars at southern Israel in that time, the Israeli army said.
Asked if Israel was considering a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip to end Hamas's rule there, Barak said all options were on the table, but that it may not be necessary. "If it will be necessary, we will act, but when it's not necessary, we don't need to," he said. "Restraint is also a form of strength."
Israel carried out a devastating military offensive into Gaza in late 2008 with the aim of ending cross-border rocket fire.
Mortars hit Israel, no injuries
Palestinian fighters in Gaza fired three mortar rounds at southern Israel early Sunday, the military said, carrying worrisome new round of violence into yet another day.
No injuries were reported, but radio stations reported that electricity was disrupted by the mortar fire.
Neither side appears to be interested in escalating the fighting to all-out war, mindful that a similar cycle of violence provoked just that in December 2008. But the fear is that an isolated incident could easily spark a war because of the combustible situation that has developed over the past month.
