An explosive device planted near an Israeli army checkpoint in the Gaza Strip killed at least one Palestinian but caused no Israeli casualties today in another blow to a ceasefire vital to a US-backed peace plan.
Palestinian security officials said two other Palestinians were wounded in the blast. It was not immediately clear if the men caught up in the explosion had planted the bomb or were passersby.
"An explosive device was detonated towards an Israeli force moving north of the Sufa checkpoint," an Israeli army spokesman said about the incident in the southern Gaza Strip. "No Israelis were hurt."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which the spokesman said followed incidents overnight in which Palestinians fired several anti-tank missiles and two mortar bombs at Jewish settlements and soldiers in Gaza, causing no damage or casualties.
Yesterday, militants urged Israel to free all Palestinian prisoners or risk the collapse of the truce declared six days ago.
But the militants have signalled a possible flexibility. Islamic Jihad said after confidence-building talks with Prime Minister Mr Mahmoud Abbas that it and other militant groups would "prioritise" prisoners they want released.
Israel has pulled back from parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Bethlehem and freed some prisoners under the peace plan launched last month, and Palestinian police rounded up some militants suspected of violating the ceasefire.
Mohammed al-Hindi, an Islamic Jihad leader, said after talks with Mr Abbas that a list would be compiled of prisoners whose release is considered a top priority, including those who have already served long sentences, women, minors, the elderly and the infirm.