Israel halts air strikes after Egypt brokers ceasefire

There was no official truce announcement from Israel or Gaza's Hamas administration, but Israeli Cabinet Minister Matan Vilnai told Israel Radio the latest bloody outbreak of violence "appears to be behind us."

And a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, responsible for many of the rockets, said "the Egyptian efforts succeeded this morning and a deal was reached."

Months of relative quiet along the Gaza-Israel border were shattered on Friday with Israel's assassination of a militant commander in Gaza.

Twenty-four Palestinians, including five civilians, died in the Israeli air strikes that followed. Over seventy Palestinian people were wounded.

Eight Israelis were injured by rocket attacks.

Israel's new short-range rocket interceptor - the Iron Dome - destroyed dozens of rockets headed for southern Israel.

The Israeli military said it carried out no air strikes after the 1am start of the ceasefire. An Israeli official said four projectiles had been fired at Israel after the deadline, causing no injuries.

As a precaution schools in southern Israel that serve 200,000 students remained closed for a third day today.

Israeli officials told public-sector staff who stayed at home to care for their children their pay would not be docked.

Israeli officials believe that Islamic Jihad has hundreds, if not thousands, of rockets and missiles including weapons pilfered from Libyan military bases during the Nato-backed rebellion there.

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