Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has called on all Palestinian factions to honor the cease-fire with Israel.
A Palestinian terrorist fires a mortar shell at Israeli tank positions east of Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Photo: AP
Speaking at the conclusion of Friday prayers, Haniyeh said that "The [Palestinian] factions and people accepted the cease-fire in order to stop the Palestinian people's suffering, stop the siege [on Gaza] and bring an end to the Israeli occupation. Therefore, we hope that everyone will respect the national agreement, since its in our mutual interest," Haniyeh urged.
Haniyeh's call to honor the cease-fire came after it had been broken yet again earlier Friday by terrorists firing two mortar shells at southern Israel.
One of the shells landed near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in the Sha'ar Hanegev region, while the other landed in an open area. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.
On Thursday afternoon, a Kassam rocket fired from Gaza hit the Sderot industrial zone, exploding near a gas station. No casualties or damage to property were reported in the attack, for which Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.
Thursday's attack prompted Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to issue an uncharacteristically sharp demand for an immediate military response and Deputy Premier Haim Ramon urged the cabinet to convene once more to discuss the truce agreement.
On Tuesday, three rockets were fired at Sderot, sending two women into shock and severely damaging a house. Those attacks led to the closing of the Gaza cargo crossings.
IDF spokesman Peter Lerner said industrial fuel was transferred Friday into Gaza to run power stations, but that most crossings remained closed.
Lerner said Israel last let food into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Herb Keinon, Yaakov Lappin and Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.
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