Egypt negotiates ceasefire in Gaza unrest

A ceasefire between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, negotiated with the help of Egypt, came into force early on Thursday, a Palestinian source told AFP. Tensions flared on Tuesday after militants fired six rockets at Israel that wounded two people. Several hours after the militants fired the first rockets, Israeli aircraft killed two militants from Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in northern Gaza, sparking even more rocket fire. An early-morning Israeli raid on Wednesday near the southern city of Rafah killed a third militant from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). Later Wednesday, a Hamas militant hurt in the evening strikes died of his injuries, medics said. "The Egyptians negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian armed groups," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity, without giving further details. No further firing of missiles was detected from 7:30 pm (1730 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the Israeli army. Israeli officials said the government had received messages from Hamas calling for a ceasefire, Israeli public radio reported.