Schools were closed in southern Israel again as rockets fired from the Gaza Strip continued to strike despite a cease-fire.\n
Despite a cease-fire that has held for about a day, Israel\’s military struck two sites in Gaza in retaliation for attacks on Israel following a cease-fire announcement.
Israel has emerged from the past few days of fighting with Palestinians in Gaza more confident that its advanced missile shield and civil defenses can perform well in any war with Iran.
At least seven rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza exploded in Israel after reports of an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire.
A rocket fired from Gaza landed in Ashkelon was the first since a barrage of rocket fire on southern Israel ended.
Schools in southern Israeli communities were closed after rockets from Gaza pounded the area, leaving a father of four dead and dozens wounded.
Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza have agreed on a deal to swap the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive for five years, for the release of a proposed 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
For now, it seems, a tentative cease-fire is holding.
Egypt announced plans to develop a region bordering Israel on Monday after Israeli officials blamed its loosening grip on the area for the killing of eight Israelis by armed militants, inflaming tensions between the two neighbors.
Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, agreed to a cease-fire after five days of cross-border violence, officials said on Monday.
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