Israeli strikes on Gaza, rocket fire, break lull

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli jets struck three sites in Gaza today after a rocket was launched at Israel, the military said, disrupting a relative lull in the war-torn territory at the start of a major Muslim holiday.

The airstrikes followed an almost 12-hour pause in the fighting and came as international efforts intensified to end the three-week war between Israel and Hamas.

The U.N. today called for an "immediate" cease-fire in the fighting that has already killed over 1,030 Palestinians, 43 Israeli soldiers and three civilians on the Israeli side. On Sunday, President Barak Obama telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an immediate end to the conflict.

Israel's military said it struck two rocket launchers and a rocket manufacturing facility in central and northern Gaza after a rocket hit southern Israel earlier in the day. The rocket caused no damage or injuries.

At least two more Palestinians were killed on Monday. A four-year-old boy died when tank shells hit his family's house in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip, Gaza health officials said. Another person was killed by tank shelling in a separate incident, also in Jabaliya.

The Israeli military also said it dropped leaflets over Gaza City this afternoon, warning Palestinian residents in the coastal strip that Israel "will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians, and the consequences will be severe."