Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday that Israel cabinet was "very close" to deciding on how to respond to continued rocket attacks from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian delegation of officials from Hamas and Islamic Jihad is in Egypt for talks on resolving the stalemate in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of implementing policies that he describes as "ethnic cleansing" in predominantly Palestinian east Jerusalem.

The leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas has laid out conditions for a cease-fire with Israel.

Israel says it will hold Hamas directly responsible for any rockets fired into the Jewish state from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, regardless of which militant group launches the strikes.

An unofficial truce has taken effect in the Gaza Strip where Palestinian militants have nearly stopped rocket attacks against Israel. This lull follows a violent period in which more than 120 Palestinians were killed in recent Israeli military offensive.

A coalition of British aid and human rights groups says the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is the worst since Israel first occupied the territory more than 40 years ago.

A new report by a consortium of British aid agencies says the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is the worst in forty years. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the report blames Israel for the crisis, but Israeli officials say Hamas militants are to blame.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the Israelis and Palestinians intend to resume peace talks - suspended after an Israeli offensive in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, trying to get the moderate Palestinian leader to return to peace talks with Israel. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, Secretary Rice is also meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli officials as part of her efforts to get the negotiations back on track.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way to the Middle East on a mission aimed at putting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track after the latest burst of Gaza violence. She begins the trip in Egypt. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The Palestinians have suspended peace negotiations with Israel in response to a deadly incursion into the Gaza Strip. More than 100 Palestinians, including many civilians, have been killed during the past two days. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed in the offensive, which was launched in response to Palestinian rocket attacks. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.