Conflict with Israel escalates • JERUSALEM — Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers threatened to escalate fighting with Israel on Saturday after airstrikes killed several gunmen in the coastal territory, and Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel wounded one person and damaged an elementary school.
The two sides periodically clash, but this flare-up is the most serious in months. It started with an attack by a little known al-Qaeda-inspired Palestinian militant group but has extended to drag in Hamas.
Gaza militants fired more than 30 rockets and mortar shells on Saturday alone, bringing the week’s rocket tally to more than 150, according to the Israeli military.
An Egyptian official in Ramallah said that he is trying to broker a cease-fire between the Palestinian militant groups and Israel. He said he hoped calm would be restored by late Saturday. The Associated Press
