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Fresh strikes fuel Gaza conflict Fresh strikes fuel Gaza conflict
(about 10 hours later)
Palestinian militants have escalated rocket fire from Gaza and Israel says it will keep up military and economic pressure, after two days of bloodshed. Palestinian militants have escalated rocket fire from Gaza and Israel says it will keep up military and economic pressure, after days of bloodshed.
More than 26 Palestinians have been killed in three days in Israeli raids on the territory which is controlled by the militant group Hamas. At least seven were killed on Thursday in more Israeli raids on the territory controlled by militant group Hamas, a total of over 30 deaths in three days.
Hamas has fired salvoes of unguided rockets causing injuries in Israel.Hamas has fired salvoes of unguided rockets causing injuries in Israel.
The sharp rise in violence in the Gaza Strip comes after a recent US-led push for progress in peace talks.The sharp rise in violence in the Gaza Strip comes after a recent US-led push for progress in peace talks.
On Wednesday Israel carried out air attacks on Gaza which killed five people, including at least three civilians who Israel said had been killed by mistake. In Israel's air strikes on Gaza on Thursday:
The military and economic pressure as well as the international isolation of the Gaza Strip will end up producing results Israeli deputy PM Haim Ramon
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  • A militant leader and his wife were killed as they drove their car
Two people later died when an Israeli missile hit a vehicle near al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
  • One     or two militants from the group Islamic Jihad were killed in another strike; a mother and her young son, riding on a donkey cart close by, were also killed
    The Israeli army said the vehicle had been transporting weapons. The identities of those killed was not immediately known.
  • In     the latest strike, at least two Hamas militants travelling in a car were also killed.
    On Wednesday, Israeli air attacks killed five people, including at least three civilians. At least 31 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air assaults since Tuesday.
    Israel says its military action is intended to stamp out daily rocket and mortar fire into Israel by Palestinian militants.Israel says its military action is intended to stamp out daily rocket and mortar fire into Israel by Palestinian militants.
    In recent months, Hamas has been observing an informal moratorium on attacking Israel, but it claimed on Thursday to have fired 14 Qassam rockets, after launching 79 rockets and mortars on Wednesday. The military and economic pressure as well as the international isolation of the Gaza Strip will end up producing results Israeli deputy PM Haim Ramon
    No casualties were reported in the latest salvoes, after 10 people in the Israeli town of Sderot were lightly wounded on Wednesday. In recent months, Hamas has been observing an informal moratorium on attacking Israel, but over the past two days it has launched over 100 rockets into Israel.
    Two Israeli civilians were lightly injured in the latest salvoes, after 10 people in the Israeli town of Sderot were lightly wounded on Wednesday.
    Shops, businesses and government offices have been closed across Gaza and the West Bank in protest at the latest Israeli military action.Shops, businesses and government offices have been closed across Gaza and the West Bank in protest at the latest Israeli military action.
    Condolences UN 'troubled'
    Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said there was no need to end the siege on the impoverished Mediterranean strip, or end the boycott of Hamas, which has been shunned by Israel and its allies as a terrorist organisation. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was "troubled by the heavy bloodshed", said his spokesperson in a statement.
    Israelis in Sderot, near Gaza, have borne brunt of increased rocket fire"The military and economic pressure as well as the international isolation of the Gaza Strip will end up producing results," Mr Ramon said in a radio interview. He urged an "immediate halt to Palestinian sniper and rocket attacks, as well as maximum restraint by the Israeli Defence Forces".
    Hamas's Damascus-based leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to sever peace talks with Israel. Palestinian militants have sent a volley of rockets into Israel
    Mr Abbas leads to the rival Fatah movement, which Hamas ousted from Gaza in June to become the undisputed ruler of Gaza, having previously been part of a unity government with Fatah. But in a speech quoted by Reuters, the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said a "war is going on in the south, every day, every night.
    "We cannot and we will not tolerate this unceasing fire at Israeli citizens... so we will continue to operate."
    But reports suggested a ground assault on Gaza was not imminent.
    Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said there was no need to end the siege on the impoverished Mediterranean strip, or end the boycott of Hamas, which has been shunned by Israel and its allies as a terrorist organisation.
    "The military and economic pressure as well as the international isolation of the Gaza Strip will end up producing results," Mr Ramon said in a radio interview.
    The US State Department urged Israel to avoid harming civilians, but said it had a right to act in self-defence.
    Peril to peace
    Last week, a hopeful US President George W Bush was predicting the recently relaunched peace process could result in a deal within a year.
    But on Thursday, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned of "serious consequences" for the talks if the Israeli strikes continued.
    Mr Abbas' spokesman also told news agency AFP "the raids and military escalations aim to deliver a blow" to the negotiations.
    Mr Abbas leads the rival Fatah movement, which Hamas ousted from Gaza in June to become the undisputed ruler of Gaza, having previously been part of a unity government with Fatah.
    Earlier, Hamas's Damascus-based leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, called on Mr Abbas to sever the talks.
    Mr Abbas telephoned senior Hamas figure Mahmoud Zahhar on Wednesday to offer his condolences on the killing of his son by Israeli forces on Monday.Mr Abbas telephoned senior Hamas figure Mahmoud Zahhar on Wednesday to offer his condolences on the killing of his son by Israeli forces on Monday.
    Correspondents said it was the first such contact since the factional schism, which left Fatah in charge of Palestinian areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Correspondents said it was the first such contact since the factional schism, which left Fatah in charge of Palestinian areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
    "The telephone conversation was very friendly and the two leaders spoke at length about the current political situation and they both stressed the unity of the Palestinian people regardless of the differences," said Hamas spokesman Tahar al-Nono.