Israelis, Palestinians agree to cease fire

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Egypt has mediated a cease-fire between Palestinian militant factions and Israel after four days of violence, an Egyptian security official said.

The official told The Associated Press that a cease-fire went into effect at 1 a.m. today. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

It was not immediately clear when a formal announcement of a cease-fire would be made. The official said that, after hours of talks, the Palestinians agreed to stop launching rockets at southern Israeli cities and Israel agreed to stop targeting militants in airstrikes.

Neither Palestinian militant groups or Israel would immediately comment. There were no reports of violence by either side.

Four days of fighting between Israel's air force and Gaza rocket squads, triggered by Israel's killing of a militant leader last week, have killed 24 Palestinians, including seven yesterday.

About 1 million Israelis in range have seen their lives disrupted by the threat of rocket attacks.

In Israel, government officials and missile experts praised the performance of Iron Dome, an Israeli-made system designed to shoot down short-range rockets like those fired from Gaza.

Iron Dome has been rolled out over the past year, and the current fighting poses its most serious test. Israel has other systems deployed against longer-range missiles.

Iron Dome uses cameras and radar to track incoming rockets and intercepts only those that would pose a threat to people and property, ignoring those that are expected to fall in open areas.

The military said that, of 143 rockets fired since Friday, it tried to intercept 63 and succeeded in all but nine of those attempts.

No Israelis have been killed in the current fighting, and property damage has been relatively minor.

On Monday, two dozen rockets struck southern Israel, including one that damaged an empty preschool on a communal farm. Police said no one was hurt.

On Monday, four militants, a 16-year-old, a 65-year-old man and the man's 30-year-old daughter were killed in four separate raids, Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmia said.

In Israel, thousands spent another day in bomb shelters, while others ran for cover when sirens wailed. Some 200,000 students were kept home from schools for a second day.