Palestinian protesters face Israeli soldiers, following a demonstration inb Gaza. (Associated Press)
Gaza City:
Israel and Palestinian militants resumed fire across the Gaza border on Tuesday, sparking panic across the war-torn enclave and halting truce talks.
Gaza emergency services said that three people, including a woman and a two-year-old child were killed and 45 people injured in one Israeli air strike in Gaza City.
Another eight people were hurt in earlier air raids across the strip, they said.
The military wing of the Islamist Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that it fired 34 rockets into Israel on Tuesday, hitting Tel Aviv and the southern city of Beersheva.
The Israeli military confirmed hits in both places but there were no reported casualties.
"A rocket hit an open area in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area," a statement said. Earlier the army said two rockets hit near Beersheva, which is home to around 200,000 Israelis.
The army said that fire was incoming constantly and it could not immediately give an overall figure.
Air raid sirens were also heard in Jerusalem, with Hamas claiming a rocket attack on the city, although there were no reports of a rocket falling in the city.
The rocket fire began several hours before a 24-hour truce, which expired without being renewed at midnight (2100 GMT).
The resumption of hostilities prompted Israel to order its negotiators back from ceasefire talks in Cairo and launch a new round of air strikes on Gaza.
The fighting shattered nine days of relative quiet in the skies over Gaza and cast a dark shadow over Egyptian-mediated efforts to hammer out a longer-term truce.
"There has been no progress," Azzam al-Ahmed, the chief Palestinian negotiator in Cairo said on Tuesday. "Matters have become more complicated."
A statement from Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing truce efforts and said that the militant Islamist movement would now "examine all options in the light of developments in the situation... and facts on the ground."
A senior Hamas official, Ezzat al-Rishq, warned Israel it would "not enjoy security so long as the Palestinian people do not".
But Israel's US ally put the blame squarely on the group itself.
"Hamas has security responsibility for Gaza... Rocket fire came from Gaza," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
"As of right now, with today's developments, we are very concerned and it is our understanding the ceasefire has broken down."
The renewal of Israeli air strikes spread panic among Gaza residents.
An AFP reporter saw hundreds of Palestinians streaming out of Shejaiya, an eastern area of Gaza City which has been devastated by more than a month of fighting between Israel and the militant Islamist Hamas movement.
More poured out of the Zeitun and Shaaf areas, alarmed by a series of explosions and heading to shelter in UN schools, local witnesses said.
'Sabotaging the talks'
An Israeli official said the country's negotiating team had been ordered back from Cairo where Egypt has been pushing for a decisive end to the Gaza bloodshed, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side.
"The Cairo process was based on the premise of a total ceasefire," another official told AFP. "If Hamas fires rockets, the Cairo process has no basis."
The army said that it has ordered that public bomb shelters within 80 kilometres (50 miles) of the Gaza border, be opened ready for use.
Israel has vowed not to negotiate under fire, and Netanyahu has warned there would be "a very strong response" to any resumption of rocket attacks.
The Cairo talks centre on an Egyptian proposal that meets some of the Palestinian demands, such as easing Israel's eight-year blockade on Gaza, but puts off debate on other thorny issues until later.
Amnesty International renewed an appeal for access to Gaza.
"Valuable time has already been lost and it is essential that human rights organisations are now able to begin the vital job of examining allegations of war crimes," it said.
The Palestinians say agreement over a long-term arrangement in Gaza has been delayed by Israeli foot-dragging over key issues.
Israel wants Gaza demilitarised although the subject does not figure in the Egyptian proposal as seen by AFP.
Hamas shift
Hamas had repeatedly warned it would not extend the temporary ceasefire, pressing for immediate gains that would allow it to claim concessions from Israel after the devastating war which began on July 8.
Egypt's proposal calls for both sides to immediately cease fire and includes provisions relating to opening the borders to allow for free movement of people, goods and construction materials, as well as a clause on regulating the economic crisis within the impoverished enclave.
But crucially, it postpones discussions on issues such as a port and airport for another month, until "after calm and stability returns," along with talks over exchanging the remains of two Israeli soldiers for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Jordan's national carrier, Royal Jordanian, announced it had resumed flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday, after suspending them for a month due to rocket fire hitting near the runway of Israel's main airport.
Rocket attacks had prompted major US and European airlines to halt flights to Israel for several days in July over safety fears.
Gaza emergency services said that three people, including a woman and a two-year-old child were killed and 45 people injured in one Israeli air strike in Gaza City.
Another eight people were hurt in earlier air raids across the strip, they said.
The military wing of the Islamist Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that it fired 34 rockets into Israel on Tuesday, hitting Tel Aviv and the southern city of Beersheva.
The Israeli military confirmed hits in both places but there were no reported casualties.
"A rocket hit an open area in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area," a statement said. Earlier the army said two rockets hit near Beersheva, which is home to around 200,000 Israelis.
The army said that fire was incoming constantly and it could not immediately give an overall figure.
Air raid sirens were also heard in Jerusalem, with Hamas claiming a rocket attack on the city, although there were no reports of a rocket falling in the city.
The rocket fire began several hours before a 24-hour truce, which expired without being renewed at midnight (2100 GMT).
The resumption of hostilities prompted Israel to order its negotiators back from ceasefire talks in Cairo and launch a new round of air strikes on Gaza.
The fighting shattered nine days of relative quiet in the skies over Gaza and cast a dark shadow over Egyptian-mediated efforts to hammer out a longer-term truce.
"There has been no progress," Azzam al-Ahmed, the chief Palestinian negotiator in Cairo said on Tuesday. "Matters have become more complicated."
A statement from Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing truce efforts and said that the militant Islamist movement would now "examine all options in the light of developments in the situation... and facts on the ground."
A senior Hamas official, Ezzat al-Rishq, warned Israel it would "not enjoy security so long as the Palestinian people do not".
But Israel's US ally put the blame squarely on the group itself.
"Hamas has security responsibility for Gaza... Rocket fire came from Gaza," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
"As of right now, with today's developments, we are very concerned and it is our understanding the ceasefire has broken down."
The renewal of Israeli air strikes spread panic among Gaza residents.
An AFP reporter saw hundreds of Palestinians streaming out of Shejaiya, an eastern area of Gaza City which has been devastated by more than a month of fighting between Israel and the militant Islamist Hamas movement.
More poured out of the Zeitun and Shaaf areas, alarmed by a series of explosions and heading to shelter in UN schools, local witnesses said.
'Sabotaging the talks'
An Israeli official said the country's negotiating team had been ordered back from Cairo where Egypt has been pushing for a decisive end to the Gaza bloodshed, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side.
"The Cairo process was based on the premise of a total ceasefire," another official told AFP. "If Hamas fires rockets, the Cairo process has no basis."
The army said that it has ordered that public bomb shelters within 80 kilometres (50 miles) of the Gaza border, be opened ready for use.
Israel has vowed not to negotiate under fire, and Netanyahu has warned there would be "a very strong response" to any resumption of rocket attacks.
The Cairo talks centre on an Egyptian proposal that meets some of the Palestinian demands, such as easing Israel's eight-year blockade on Gaza, but puts off debate on other thorny issues until later.
Amnesty International renewed an appeal for access to Gaza.
"Valuable time has already been lost and it is essential that human rights organisations are now able to begin the vital job of examining allegations of war crimes," it said.
The Palestinians say agreement over a long-term arrangement in Gaza has been delayed by Israeli foot-dragging over key issues.
Israel wants Gaza demilitarised although the subject does not figure in the Egyptian proposal as seen by AFP.
Hamas shift
Hamas had repeatedly warned it would not extend the temporary ceasefire, pressing for immediate gains that would allow it to claim concessions from Israel after the devastating war which began on July 8.
Egypt's proposal calls for both sides to immediately cease fire and includes provisions relating to opening the borders to allow for free movement of people, goods and construction materials, as well as a clause on regulating the economic crisis within the impoverished enclave.
But crucially, it postpones discussions on issues such as a port and airport for another month, until "after calm and stability returns," along with talks over exchanging the remains of two Israeli soldiers for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Jordan's national carrier, Royal Jordanian, announced it had resumed flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday, after suspending them for a month due to rocket fire hitting near the runway of Israel's main airport.
Rocket attacks had prompted major US and European airlines to halt flights to Israel for several days in July over safety fears.
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