Israel has launched its first airstrike against Palestinian militants in the occupied territories since both sides agreed at a summit earlier this year to work toward re-starting the Middle East peace process.
One militant was reported critically wounded in the southern Gaza strike. Israel said it ordered the attack after militants in the area fired at least 15 mortar bombs into a nearby Israeli settlement, wounding a settler. Separately, witnesses say Israeli soldiers shot and killed another Hamas militant near the Rafah refugee camp. Meanwhile, Israel has given Jewish settlers in Gaza one week to accept government compensation aimed at gaining their cooperation in the upcoming Israeli withdrawal from the territory. Tuesday, Israel said that 430 families -- about two thousand of the eight-thousand-500 settlers in Gaza -- have agreed to move voluntarily to a new community inside Israel.