Barak Offers to Halt Strikes on Gaza If Hamas Ceases Fire
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Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel would halt air and artillery strikes on Gaza, which have left 17 Palestinians dead, if the Islamic Hamas movement ends rocket and mortar fire from the territory.
Barak spoke after the army reported that three mortars were fired from Gaza, bringing to about 120 the number of projectiles shot at Israel in the preceding 48 hours. Leaders of Hamas, the militant Islamic movement that controls Gaza, said yesterday that they too were seeking a cease-fire with Israel.