Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue as hope for a cease-fire grows

Associated Press

Gaza City: Israeli airstrikes against Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip continued for a third day Friday. The Palestinian death toll rose to 30, authorities said, as foreign mediators pressed ahead with efforts to reach a ceasefire.

After the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired longer-range rockets toward Israel Thursday  sending shrapnel slicing through apartments that killed one person the Israeli military said its warplanes struck Islamic Jihad rocket launchers. Gaza residents reported explosions in farms near the southern city of Rafah. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Despite those sporadic Israeli strikes, the situation early Friday was relatively calm. Islamic Jihad held its rocket fire overnight, raising hopes that Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations would be able to broker a ceasefire. The cross-border exchanges this week have pitted Israel against Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza after the territory's Hamas rulers. Since Tuesday, Israel says its strikes have killed five senior Islamic Jihad figures.