Israel begins Gaza withdrawal

JERUSALEM - The Israeli army Sunday evening began withdrawing its troops from the Gaza Strip, hours after Hamas announced its one-week ceasefire plan.

Israel’s envoy to visit Egypt for Gaza talks

JERUSALEM - A senior Israeli defence official will visit Egypt Wednesday for talks over a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a media report said.

Israel hit by rockets from Lebanon: report

JERUSALEM - An air raid siren sounded Wednesday morning in northern Israel, indicating that rockets might have landed in the area, news service Ynet reported.

Several rockets hit northern Israel from Lebanon

JERUSALEM - Several rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon early Thursday, agencies reported quoting Israeli police and military sources.

Gaza will not surrender to Israeli ground troops: Haniya

JERUSALEM - Hamas leader and de-facto Palestinian prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniya Tuesday issued a statement from his hideout, seeking to boost morale in Gaza and vowing its people would not ’surrender’ to the Israeli ground troops operating in the Strip.

Israel says Egyptian truce efforts are ‘positive’

JERUSALEM - Israel said Wednesday that it viewed as ‘positive’ the Egyptian-French attempts to advance a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Israel rejects EU’s appeal for temporary ceasefire

JERUSALEM - Israel Tuesday rejected a European Union (EU) request for a 48-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, vowing to push ahead the offensive till security is restored to the south.

Gaza operation to continue: Livni

PARIS/JERUSALEM - Israel will continue its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip until it reaches a point where ‘the operation exhausts itself’ and militants no longer fire rockets at the Jewish state, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Thursday.

Israel to debate French truce proposal for Gaza

JERUSALEM - Israel’s cabinet planned to meet later Wednesday to discuss a French proposal for a 48-hour truce in its assault on the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli warplanes continued its attacks, striking targets of the Hamas organisation in the salient overnight.

Gaza operation to continue: Olmert

JERUSALEM - Israel Saturday said the military operation in Gaza will continue till the Hamas-led militant groups end their rocket attacks and the situation is normalised in southern part of the country.

Archaeologists find 1,300-year-old treasure in Israel

JERUSALEM - Israeli archaeologists have found a rare, 1,300-year-old treasure under a car park just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem - 264 golden coins from the Byzantine Empire.