Israel, Hamas to reduce tension

ISRAEL: The United Nations said on Thursday that Israel and the Gaza Strip’s rulers, the Islamist group Hamas, had indicated they wanted to reduce tension in and around the coastal enclave and appealed for an end to hostilities.

“We are hearing a clear desire from all concerned to de-escalate the situation and respect calm and I appeal for an end to acts of violence,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, said in a statement.

Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza have increased in the run-up to the second anniversary of Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive which began on December 27, 2008 and rocked the enclave for three weeks before an unofficial ceasefire.

On Thursday one Palestinian was killed and three were wounded in the northern Gaza Strip when they approached the border fence at a point Israel has declared off limits, Gaza medical officals said.

Palestinian hospital sources said the dead man was a shepherd and those wounded were another shepherd and two men sifting through rubble.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had spotted four suspicious figures and shot at them when they did not heed orders to leave the area. Gaza hospital sources said 13 Palestinians had been killed in cross-border hostilities with Israeli forces this month. GAZA, Friday, Reuters