Israel and Hamas move closer to deal on swapping Palestinian prisoners for captive soldier

Israel, Hamas near swap of prisoners for soldier

Israel and Hamas move closer to deal on swapping Palestinian prisoners for Schalit

Israel, Hamas close to swap deal for Schalit

Hamas says Gaza militant groups have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel

Gaza militants agree to halt rocket fire

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas announced Saturday evening that it has reached an agreement with other militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns to prevent retaliatory attacks.

Hamas-loyal Gaza group offers $1.4 million bounty for capture of an Israeli soldier

Hamas-linked group offers cash for Israeli capture

Gaza City zookeepers draw crowds with zebra-colored donkeys

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza City zookeepers have found a creative way of drawing crowds to their dilapidated zoo — by painting their donkeys. The Marah Land Zoo’s only two zebras died of hunger earlier this year when they were neglected during the Israel-Hamas war.

Palestinian Hamas bans motorbike riders from carrying women, another step in ‘virtue campaign’

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Hamas government has banned motorcycle riders from carrying women on the back seat — the latest in the militants’ virtue campaign in Gaza.

Hamas ramps up criticism of Abbas over suspension of efforts to try Israelis for war crimes

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas leaders on Monday launched an unprecedented attack against President Mahmoud Abbas, saying they no longer consider him a Palestinian after he agreed to suspend efforts to go after Israel for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Israeli army carries out airstrikes on Gaza weapons workshop, no injuries reported

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli army says it carried out airstrikes on a weapons workshop east of Gaza City and two weapons smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

Palestinians drop support for war crimes report, decreasing chances of prosecution of Israelis

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas drew scathing criticism at home Friday for his decision to suspend a campaign to have Israeli officials prosecuted for war crimes over last winter’s military offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

UN: number of Gazans classified as ‘abject poor’ triples this year

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The number of Gazans living in “abject” poverty has tripled this year to 300,000, or one in five residents, the Gaza head of the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees said Thursday.

Gazans welcome, Israel rejects UN report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gazans who lost loved ones during Israel’s winter offensive against Hamas militants said Wednesday they’re taking some solace from a U.N. report that accuses both sides of committing war crimes, but they’re skeptical anyone will be brought to justice.

Gaza’s Coke smugglers: Residents find creative solutions to mark Ramadan

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gazans have been learning to adapt to Hamas rule and a stifling border blockade, both now in their third year. But their skills of improvisation are particularly challenged during the holy month of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

In Gaza, where Holocaust denial runs strong, UN caught in dispute over study of genocide

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza students won’t learn about the Holocaust this year.

UN urges Israel to ease Gaza blockade, enable repairs of sewage, water systems

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — U.N. agencies and international aid groups urged Israel on Thursday to immediately ease its Gaza Strip blockade to allow in spare parts and building materials to repair the territory’s dilapidated sewage and water networks.

Hamas: 2 men killed in Gaza; Israel denies involvement

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Hamas militant group says two of its fighters have been killed in the Gaza Strip.

Top Hamas official says Holocaust “a lie,” slams reported UN plan to study it in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A Hamas spiritual leader on Monday called teaching Palestinian children about the Nazi murder of 6 million Jews a “war crime,” rejecting a suggestion that the U.N. might include the Holocaust in Gaza’s school curriculum.

Security officials: 2 bombs explode in Gaza City’s main security compound, outside mosque

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two bombs went off near a mosque and inside Gaza’s main security compound early Sunday in the latest violence to shake the troubled coastal territory, security officials said. No injuries were reported.

Israeli airstrike on Gaza smuggling tunnel kills 3 in deadliest attack on border in months

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike on a smuggling tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt killed three Palestinians inside and wounded seven on Tuesday in the deadliest Israeli attack on the volatile border area in months, a Palestinian Health Ministry official said.

Palestinian official says 3 dead, 7 hurt in Israeli air strike on Gaza tunnel

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli air strike on a smuggling tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Tuesday killed three Palestinians and wounded seven, a Palestinian Health Ministry official said.

Hamas asserts control of Gaza Strip after bloody battle with radical Muslim group

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Hamas rulers said they had restored law and order to the seaside territory Sunday after a bloody weekend of clashes with an al-Qaida-inspired group.

Gunbattles between Islamic radicals and Hamas security forces kills 13, wounds 100 in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Islamic radicals from an al-Qaida-inspired group battled Hamas security in the Gaza Strip Friday in shootouts that killed at least 13 people.

Gunbattle between Islamic radicals and Hamas security forces kills 7 in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Islamic radicals from an al-Qaida-inspired group battled Hamas security in the Gaza Strip Friday in a shootout that killed at least seven people.

5 dead in Gaza gunbattle between Islamic radicals and Hamas security forces

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Islamic radicals from an al-Qaida-inspired group battled Hamas security in the Gaza Strip Friday in a shootout that killed five people.

Rights group: “strong evidence” Hamas committed war crimes by targeting Israeli civilians

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A prominent human rights group said there is “strong evidence” that Gaza’s Hamas rulers committed war crimes by allowing militants to fire rockets from the territory that killed civilians in Israel, according to a report released Thursday.

Gaza father suspected of bludgeoning daughter with iron chain in ‘honor killing’

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A Gaza man is being held on suspicion he bludgeoned his daughter with an iron chain, cracking her skull in a particularly brutal family “honor killing,” two human rights groups said Wednesday, citing police and forensics reports.