Gaza Militant Killed In Israeli Airstrike

A Palestinian militant has been killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza as violence flared despite a days old ceasefire.

The 34-year-old, a local commander of Islamic Jihad, was killed when his car exploded as a result of the airstrike, according to Palestinian medics.

At least two mortars were fired from Gaza into southern Israel in the hours after the attack, prompting further airstrikes.

It is the first serious breach of the truce that was declared on Sunday by the Hamas-led government in Gaza.

Cross border violence surged last week following a co-ordinated attack near Israel's border with Egypt that left eight Israelis dead.

Israel blamed militants from Gaza and retaliated with a wave of airstrikes on the territory, killing 15. Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets towards southern Israel, killing one man.

Israel says Hamas is abiding by the ceasefire but says other militant groups are seeking to challenge the local government's authority by continuing their rocket fire.

Defence officials said they would continue to respond to these incidents but expected the broader ceasefire with Hamas to hold.

Israel is reluctant to escalate its military operation in Gaza at a time when it is keen to repair its relations with Egypt.

The Arab nation threatened to withdraw its ambassador from Israel after five Egyptian border police were killed as Israel chased down the militants who carried out last Thursday's attack near Eilat.

Egypt believes they were killed by Israeli fire.

The ambassador has remained in Tel Aviv, but the incident has highlighted a shift in Egypt's approach to Israel in the aftermath of the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak.

The interim military rulers in Egypt are keen to be seen to be responding to popular demands for a tougher approach to Israel, while maintaining - at least for now - the three decades old peace deal.

A full scale assault on Gaza by Israel would exacerbate the diplomatic spat.