Hamas Celebrates Cease-Fire With National Holiday

With a tenuous cease-fire in place and no rocket fire between Israel and Hamas for the first time in more than a week, Palestinians have begun to clean up rubble and damage inflicted by Israeli missiles.

People in Gaza filled the streets Thursday morning, inspecting damage to homes and businesses. Overnight, gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a cease-fire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant political group that essentially controlsl the Gaza Strip.

FULL COVERAGE: Israel-Gaza Conflict

"It's a nice message from Palestinians - don't mess with Palestinians," said Jalal Marzen Wednesday night during a celebration outside Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital. He and others pointed to the targeting of Tel Aviv by Hamas rockets as a shifting in the balance of power, arguing Israel's calculations would be forced to change ahead of the next flare-up. "It's huge, it's huge for us!" Marzen exclaimed.

Later, however, Israeli officials said several missiles from Gaza flew into Israel after the cease-fire. Israel did not respond with the air srikes that have blanketed Gaza in the past week.

Hamas has declared Nov. 22 a national holiday and said it would be celebrated every year.

"We call on everyone to celebrate, visit the families of martyrs, the wounded, those who lost homes," Hamas said.

Hillary Clinton Announces Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Watch Video

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A sense of normalcy returned to Gaza Thursday morning, with traffic again clogging busy intersections and stores opening for business.

PHOTOS: Israel, Hamas Fight Over Gaza

"For first time, the Israeli people felt what bombs mean, what rockets mean, what war means, what killing people means," said clothing store owner Bassem Diazeda, who said he only became a supporter of Hamas since the escalation.

The fighting came to an end after a meeting between Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary. Clinton, who said Egypt and the U.S. would help support the peace process going forward.
The eight days of fighting left more than 160 Palestinians and five Israelis dead.

The concern now among top diplomats is whether the cease-fire will hold while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders work on a long term solution for peace. Israel is demanding an end to rocket fire from Gaza, while Hamas wants an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza and targeted assassinations, the kind that launched Israel's operation "Pillar of Defense."

Hamas was not the only group firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Other militant groups in Gaza, such as Islamic Jihad, fired rockets during the eight-day assault. A splinter Palestinian group took responsibility for Wednesday's bus bombing in Tel Aviv that wounded 23 people.

So the question is whether Hamas can control the more rogue groups in Gaza and stake out a real leadership role.

Clinton said that Egypt and the U.S. would help support the peace process going forward.

"Ultimately, every step must move us toward a comprehensive peace for people of the region," Clinton said.

An Israeli official told ABC News that the cease-fire would mean a "quiet for quiet" deal in which both sides stop shooting and "wait and see what happens."

"I agree that that it was a good idea to give an opportunity to the cease-fire ... in order to enable Israeli citizens to return to their day-to-day lives," Netanyahu said.

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Gaza shakes, bus explodes in Tel Aviv as Clinton seeks truce

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday pursued a Gaza truce, with Israel and Hamas still at odds over key terms, as Israeli air strikes shook the enclave and a bomb exploded on a Tel Aviv bus.

After talks in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Clinton held a second meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before heading to Egypt, the main broker in efforts to end eight days of fighting and avert a possible Israeli ground offensive.

In Tel Aviv, at least 10 people were wounded when a bus was blown up on a main street near the Defence Ministry and military headquarters. Israel's government called it a terrorist attack.

The explosion, which police said was caused by a bomb placed on the vehicle, touched off celebratory gunfire from militants in Gaza and threatened to complicate truce efforts.

Israel's best-selling Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said an emerging outline of a ceasefire agreement called for Egypt to announce a 72-hour ceasefire followed by further talks on long-term understandings.

Under the proposed document, which the newspaper said neither party would be required to sign, Israel would hold its fire, end attacks against top militants and promise to examine ways to ease its blockade of the enclave.

Hamas, the report said, would pledge not to strike any Israeli target and ensure other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip also stop their attacks.

An Israeli political source said differences holding up a deal centered on a Hamas demand to lift the Gaza blockade completely and the kind of activity that would be allowed along the frontier, where Israeli troops often fire into the enclave to keep Palestinians away from an area near a border fence.

Hamas official Ezzat al-Rishq said the main stumbling block was "the temporary timeframe for a ceasefire that the Israelis want us to agree to".

"GOOD INTENTIONS"

The London-based Al Hayat newspaper, citing sources in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said Israel wanted a 90-day period to determine "good intentions" before discussing Palestinian demands, a position the report said the groups have rejected.

Rishq said a short-term truce, whose proposed duration he did not disclose, "would only buy (Israel) time" until a general election in January and "we would have accomplished nothing in the way of a long-term truce".

Hamas sources said the group was also demanding control over Gaza's Rafah borders with Egypt, so that Palestinians could cross easily, and Israeli guarantees to stop assassinating Hamas leaders.

Israel, one of the Hamas sources said, wanted a commitment from the group to stop smuggling through tunnels that run into Gaza under the Egyptian border. The tunnel network is a conduit for weapons and commercial goods.

News of the Tel Aviv bus bombing, the first serious blast in Israel's commercial capital since 2006, emerged just after Clinton and Netanyahu ended their meeting. A spokesman for Netanyahu declined to give details on their discussions, which followed talks on Tuesday.

Clinton, who flew to the region from an Asian summit, said in her public remarks after Tuesday's meeting with Netanyahu that it was "essential to de-escalate the situation".

"The rocket attacks from terrorist organizations inside Gaza on Israeli cities and towns must end and a broader calm restored," she said.

Clinton earlier assured Netanyahu of "rock-solid" U.S. support for Israel's security, and praised Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's "personal leadership and Egypt's efforts thus far" to end the Gaza conflict and promote regional stability.

"As a regional leader and neighbor, Egypt has the opportunity and responsibility to continue playing a crucial and constructive role in this process. I will carry this message to Cairo tomorrow (Wednesday)," she said.

"LONG-TERM" SOLUTION

Netanyahu told Clinton he wanted a "long-term" solution. Failing that, Netanyahu made clear, that he stood ready to step up the military campaign to silence Hamas' rockets.

"A band-aid solution will only cause another round of violence," said Ofir Gendelman, a Netanyahu spokesman.

While diplomatic efforts continued, Israel struck more than 100 targets in Gaza overnight, killing a Hamas gunman and destroying a cluster of Hamas government buildings.

Palestinians militants fired 31 rockets at Israel, causing no casualties, and Israel's Iron Dome interceptor system shot down 14 of them, police said.

Israel has carried out more than 1,500 strikes since the offensive began. Medical officials in Gaza said 139 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including 34 children, have been killed. Nearly 1,400 rockets have been fired into Israel, killing four civilians and a soldier, the Israeli military said.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Clinton held talks with Palestinian President Abbas, whose bid to upgrade the Palestinians' status at the United Nations, in the absence of peace negotiations with Israel, is opposed by Washington.

"Secretary Clinton informed the president that the U.S. administration is exerting every possible effort to reach an immediate ceasefire and the president expressed his full support for this endeavor," said Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

"Once the Israelis accept to stop their bombardments, their assassinations, there will be a comprehensive ceasefire sustained from all parties," Erekat said.

A Palestinian official with knowledge of Cairo's mediation told Reuters that Egyptian intelligence officials would hold further discussions on Wednesday with leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group.

"There may be a response from Israel that Egyptian mediators want to present to Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders," the official said. "Let's be hopeful it would be something Palestinian factions can accept."

Like most Western powers, Washington shuns Hamas as an obstacle to peace and has blamed it for the Gaza conflagration. A U.N. Security Council statement condemning the conflict was blocked on Tuesday by the United States, which complained that it "failed to address the root cause," the Palestinian rockets.

Hamas for its part is exploring the opportunities that last year's Arab Spring has given it to enjoy favor from new Islamist governments, and from Sunni Gulf powers keen to woo it away from Shi'ite Iran.

It may count on some sympathy from Mursi, although Egypt's first freely elected leader, whose Muslim Brotherhood inspired Hamas' founders, has been careful to stick by the 1979 peace deal with Israel struck by Cairo's former military rulers.

Along the Gaza border, Israeli tanks, artillery and infantry remained poised for a possible ground offensive in the densely populated enclave of 1.7 million Palestinians.

But an invasion, likely to entail heavy casualties, would be a major political risk for Netanyahu, who is currently favored to win the upcoming Israeli election. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed in Israel's three-week war in the Gaza Strip in 2008-9, prompting international criticism of Israel.

(Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem and Cairo bureau; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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OUE's value will enhance with F&N deal: analysts

SINGAPORE: Analysts said hotel and property group Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) can become one of the key players in the real estate industry in Singapore if it manages to snare Fraser and Neave (F&N).

They believe the acquisition can open up avenues for OUE to unlock the value of its assets.

A consortium led by OUE has placed a bid of S$13.1 billion for F&N, countering an earlier offer from a Thai investor.

The fate of F&N -- a takeover target of TCC Assets and OUE -- remains unclear for now.

But should OUE win the takeover tussle, analysts say the tie-up will provide "a lot of synergy" for OUE to grow its property business via F&N's fully-owned subsidiary Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL).

FCL's portfolio comprises shopping malls, serviced apartments and residential homes, industrial property, and asset management.

Liu Jinshu, deputy lead analyst at SIAS Research said: "F&N's property business actually has a sizable residential component whereas OUE seems to be more focused on the commercial and hospitality side of the industry.

"Buying into a proven team of residential home developers is a less risky way to enter the segment or to get big in the segment in a quick way."

OUE's commercial assets in Singapore include One Raffles Place, DBS Towers 1 and 2 and OUE Bayfront.

Some market watchers say it is possible for OUE to divest these prime office properties into Frasers Commercial Trust, which will boost the value of assets in the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

Meanwhile, OUE also owns two hotels in Singapore, including the Mandarin Orchard and Marina Mandarin.

Ku Swee Yong, CEO of International Property Advisor said: "There is also an opportunity for OUE with its branded flagship asset in Orchard Road, Mandarin Hotel, being able to probably merge or be bundled together with Frasers Hospitality's suite of assets and then spin off a new hospitality trust.

"I believe there could be a lot of value enhancement with the merger."

Acquiring Frasers Centrepoint, which has assets in China and Australia would also allow OUE to expand its overseas presence.

Some analysts said should the deal go through and OUE pockets F&N's property business, that could place them among the top five players in the property market in Singapore, alongside companies like CapitaLand, City Developments Limited and Keppel Land.

- CNA/lp

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Kasab hanging to have adverse impact on Indians in Pakistan jails, says Kuldeep Nayar

Rohtak: Veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha MP Kuldeep Nayar has justified the hanging of Pakistan terrorist and convict in Mumbai attack case in 2008, Azmal Kasab who was hanged to death in Yerwada jail in Pune on Wednesday morning. Addressing a 'Meet-the-Press' programme organised jointly by the Haryana Union of Journalists (registered under the Trade Union Act) and the Press Club in Rohtak, Nayar said "It's a delayed but justified decision. It will have positive reaction from India but draw counter reaction from the neighbouring country".

He said that Indians languishing in the Pak jails could be in more trouble after the hanging as they are likely to lose any sympathetic consideration for their release from the Pak authorities. Asked about the fate of another terror mastermind Afzal Guru who is also on the death row like Kasab for many years, Nayar stated that his fate is linked with the Kashmir problem which is perhaps adding to the quandary of the Indian government in taking a decision over his fate. The veteran journalist also expressed concern over the changing face of journalism in India.

"With most of the Media groups being owned by the individuals/corporate entities, the authorities of the journalist as well as editor has been eroded to some extent. Still the media have immense impact and credibility among the masses", he said. While advocating for in-house mechanism to curb malpractices in the media, Nayar stated that he had proposed to the Editors' Guild of India to make it mandatory for newspaper editors to declare their assets but it was turned down. Haryana union of Journalists' district president Tarif Sharma, Press Club Rohtak president Manoj Prabhakar and other members of the two organizations attended the press conference.

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.

Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it's not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women's wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.

Still, momentum may be building.

Already, anyone 17 or older doesn't need to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill — a higher-dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.

Now the influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it's safe to sell the pill that way.

Wait, why would doctors who make money from women's yearly visits for a birth-control prescription advocate giving that up?

Half of the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn't changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said Dr. Kavita Nanda, an OB/GYN who co-authored the opinion for the doctors group.

"It's unfortunate that in this country where we have all these contraceptive methods available, unintended pregnancy is still a major public health problem," said Nanda, a scientist with the North Carolina nonprofit FHI 360, formerly known as Family Health International.

Many women have trouble affording a doctor's visit, or getting an appointment in time when their pills are running low — which can lead to skipped doses, Nanda added.

If the pill didn't require a prescription, women could "pick it up in the middle of the night if they run out," she said. "It removes those types of barriers."

Tuesday, the FDA said it was willing to meet with any company interested in making the pill nonprescription, to discuss what if any studies would be needed.

Then there's the price question. The Obama administration's new health care law requires FDA-approved contraceptives to be available without copays for women enrolled in most workplace health plans.

If the pill were sold without a prescription, it wouldn't be covered under that provision, just as condoms aren't, said Health and Human Services spokesman Tait Sye.

ACOG's opinion, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, says any move toward making the pill nonprescription should address that cost issue. Not all women are eligible for the free birth control provision, it noted, citing a recent survey that found young women and the uninsured pay an average of $16 per month's supply.

The doctors group made clear that:

—Birth control pills are very safe. Blood clots, the main serious side effect, happen very rarely, and are a bigger threat during pregnancy and right after giving birth.

—Women can easily tell if they have risk factors, such as smoking or having a previous clot, and should avoid the pill.

—Other over-the-counter drugs are sold despite rare but serious side effects, such as stomach bleeding from aspirin and liver damage from acetaminophen.

—And there's no need for a Pap smear or pelvic exam before using birth control pills. But women should be told to continue getting check-ups as needed, or if they'd like to discuss other forms of birth control such as implantable contraceptives that do require a physician's involvement.

The group didn't address teen use of contraception. Despite protests from reproductive health specialists, current U.S. policy requires girls younger than 17 to produce a prescription for the morning-after pill, meaning pharmacists must check customers' ages. Presumably regular birth control pills would be treated the same way.

Prescription-only oral contraceptives have long been the rule in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and a few other places, but many countries don't require a prescription.

Switching isn't a new idea. In Washington state a few years ago, a pilot project concluded that pharmacists successfully supplied women with a variety of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills, without a doctor's involvement. The question was how to pay for it.

Some pharmacies in parts of London have a similar project under way, and a recent report from that country's health officials concluded the program is working well enough that it should be expanded.

And in El Paso, Texas, researchers studied 500 women who regularly crossed the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills, where some U.S. brands sell over the counter for a few dollars a pack. Over nine months, the women who bought in Mexico stuck with their contraception better than another 500 women who received the pill from public clinics in El Paso, possibly because the clinic users had to wait for appointments, said Dr. Dan Grossman of the University of California, San Francisco, and the nonprofit research group Ibis Reproductive Health.

"Being able to easily get the pill when you need it makes a difference," he said.

___

Online:

OB/GYN group: http://www.acog.org

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Bus Explodes in Tel Aviv Amid Truce Talks

A bomb exploaded on an Israeli bus near the nation's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, wounding at least 10 people, Israeli officials said today.

The bus exploded about noon local time Wednesday in one of the city's busiest areas, near the Tel Aviv museum. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were investigating whether the bomb had been planted and left on the bus or whether it was the work of a suicide bomber. This is the first terror attack in Israel since 2006.

Upon landing in Cairo to meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement condemning the attack.

"The United States strongly condemns this terrorist attack and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the people of Israel. As I arrive in Cairo, I am closely monitoring reports from Tel Aviv, and we will stay in close contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu's team. The United States stands ready to provide any assistance that Israel requires," she said.

Overnight, the violence between Israel and the neighboring Gaza Strip continued as Israeli aircraft pounded Gaza with dozens of strikes, hitting government ministries, underground tunnels, a banker's empty villa and a Hamas-linked media office. Gaza health officials said there were no deaths or injuries.

Clinton on Mideast Ceasefire: 'America's Commitment to Israel's Security Is Rock Solid' Watch Video

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Families Pray for Ceasefire Watch Video

The Israeli Defense Force said they've now destroyed 50 underground rocket launching sites in Gaza. The IDF also said that two rockets were fired from Gaza toward densely populated areas in Israel, but were intercepted by the "Iron Dome" missile shield.

In Gaza at least four strikes within seconds of each other pulverized a complex of government ministries the size of a city block, rattling nearby buildings and shattering windows. Hours later, clouds of acrid dust still hung over the area and smoke still rose from the rubble.

In downtown Gaza City, another strike leveled the empty, two-story home of a well-known banker and buried a police car parked nearby in rubble.

Clinton met with Palestinian President Abbas in Ramallah early Wednesday to try to help broker a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip to end a week of tit-for-tat missile and rocket fire.

Israel and the Hamas militant group seemed to edge closer to a ceasefire Tuesday to end a weeklong Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, but after a day of furious diplomatic efforts, a deal remained elusive and fighting raged on both sides of the border.

Israeli officials told ABC News that a window of opportunity for a deal could close, if Hamas refuses to agree to a long-term ceasefire. That ceasefire would be measured in years, not months. Hamas is demanding that Israel loosen its iron grip on Gaza's borders and ease its maritime blockade.

On Tuesday, Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for more than two hours behind closed doors, saying she sought to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza." Clinton hinted it would take some time to finally reach an agreement.

The meeting came amid statements from Hamas earlier in the day that a ceasefire would soon be announced.
Netanyahu said he would prefer to use "diplomatic means" to find a solution to the fighting, but that Israel would take "whatever actions necessary" to defend its people.

Clinton relayed a message from President Obama, reinforcing America's commitment to Israel's security and calling for an end to the rockets coming from "terrorist organizations in Gaza."

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World pressure for Gaza truce intensifies

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The U.N. chief called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the conflict was in nobody's interest.

Nevertheless, Israeli air strikes and Palestinian rocket fire continued for a seventh day.

For the second time since the fighting began, a rocket was launched at Jerusalem, triggering warning sirens. Police said it fell in an open area in the occupied West Bank and did not cause any casualties. Hamas's armed wing said in Gaza it fired the projectile.

Egypt was trying to broker a truce between Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas movement. An Egyptian intelligence source said "there is still no breakthrough and Egypt is working to find middle ground".

Israel's military on Tuesday targeted about 100 sites in Gaza, including ammunition stores and the Gaza headquarters of the National Islamic Bank. Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry said six Palestinians were killed.

Israeli police said more than 60 rockets were fired from Gaza by mid-day, and 25 of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome system. The military said an officer was wounded.

Some 115 Palestinians have died in a week of fighting, the majority of them civilians, including 27 children, hospital officials said. Three Israelis died last week when a rocket from Gaza struck their house.

In Cairo, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire and said an Israeli ground operation in Gaza would be a "dangerous escalation" that must be avoided.

He had held talks in Cairo with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil before travelling to Israel for discussions with its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. Ban planned to return to Egypt on Wednesday to see Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, who was unavailable on Tuesday due to the death of his sister.

Israel's leaders weighed the benefits and risks of sending tanks and infantry into the densely populated coastal enclave two months before an Israeli election, and indicated they would prefer a diplomatic path backed by world powers, including U.S. President Barack Obama, the European Union and Russia.

Clinton was going to the Middle East for talks in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo to try to calm the conflict. An Israeli source said she was expected to meet Netanyahu on Wednesday.

"Her visits will build on American engagement with regional leaders over the past days - including intensive engagement by President Obama with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Morsi - to support de-escalation of violence and a durable outcome that ends the rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns and restores a broader calm," a State Department official said.

Netanyahu and his top ministers debated their next moves in a meeting that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday.

"Before deciding on a ground invasion, the prime minister intends to exhaust the diplomatic move in order to see if a long-term ceasefire can be achieved," a senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said after the meeting.

A delegation of nine Arab ministers, led by the Egyptian foreign minister, visted Gaza in a further signal of heightened Arab solidarity with the Palestinians.

EGYPT KEY PLAYER

Any diplomatic solution may involve Egypt, Gaza's other neighbor and the biggest Arab nation, where the ousting of U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak and the election of Mursi is part of a dramatic reshaping of the Middle East wrought by Arab uprisings and now affecting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mursi, whose Muslim Brotherhood was mentor to the founders of Hamas, on Monday took a call from Obama, who told him Hamas must stop rocket fire into Israel - effectively endorsing Israel's stated aim in launching the offensive last week. Obama also said he regretted civilian deaths - which have been predominantly among the Palestinians.

"The two leaders discussed ways to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, and President Obama underscored the necessity of Hamas ending rocket fire into Israel," the White House said, adding that the U.S. leader had also called Netanyahu.

"In both calls, President Obama expressed regret for the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives."

Mursi has warned Netanyahu of serious consequences from a ground invasion of the kind that killed more than 1,400 people in Gaza four years ago. But he has been careful not to alienate Israel, with whom Egypt's former military rulers signed a peace treaty in 1979, or Washington, a major aid donor to Egypt.

Egypt's Kandil told Reuters a ceasefire was possible: "I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation, (means) it is very difficult to predict."

After Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal laid out demands in Cairo that Israel take the first step in restoring calm, and warned Netanyahu that a ground war in Gaza could wreck his re-election prospects in January, a senior Israeli official denied a Hamas assertion that the prime minister had asked for a truce.

"Whoever started the war must end it," Meshaal said, referring to Israel's assassination from the air on Wednesday of Hamas's Gaza military chief, a move that followed a scaling up of rocket fire onto Israeli towns over several weeks and attacks against Israeli troops along the border.

An official close to Netanyahu told Reuters: "We would prefer to see a diplomatic solution that would guarantee the peace for Israel's population in the south. If that is possible, then a ground operation would no longer be required."

Fortified by the ascendancy of fellow Islamists in Egypt and elsewhere, and courted by Sunni Arab leaders in the Gulf keen to draw the Palestinian group away from old ties to Shi'ite Iran, Hamas has tested its room for maneuver, as well as longer-range rockets that have reached the Tel Aviv metropolis.

Hamas said four-year-old twin boys had died with their father when their house in the town of Beit Lahiya was struck from the air during the night. Health officials had reported the children's mother also died but later said she was critically wounded. Neighbors said the occupants were not involved with militant groups.

Israel had no immediate comment on that attack. It says it takes extreme care to avoid civilians and accuses Hamas and other militant groups of deliberately placing Gaza's 1.7 million people in harm's way by placing rocket launchers among them.

Nonetheless, fighting Israel, whose right to exist Hamas refuses to recognize, is popular with many Palestinians and has kept the movement competitive with the secular Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who remains in the West Bank after losing Gaza to Hamas in a civil war five years ago.

"Hamas and the others, they're our sons and our brothers, we're fingers on the same hand," said 55-year-old Faraj al-Sawafir, whose home was blasted by Israeli forces. "They fight for us and are martyred, they take losses and we sacrifice too."

In scenes recalling Israel's 2008-2009 winter invasion of the coastal enclave, tanks, artillery and infantry have massed in field encampments along the sandy, fenced-off border.

But Israel's shekel rose on Tuesday for a second straight session while Tel Aviv shares gained for a third day in a row on what dealers attributed to investor expectation that a ceasefire deal was imminent.

(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad in Cairo, Writing by Jeffrey Heller)

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Hospitals relies on tags, staff, parents to prevent mix-up of babies

SINGAPORE: Hospitals in Singapore have in place robust procedures to ensure that parents do not go home with the wrong baby.

But they also rely on staff and parents to prevent mistakes.

Channel NewsAsia checked with five hospitals on their systems, a day after KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) revealed its mix-up over two babies who were discharged to the wrong sets of parents on Sunday.

All babies are tagged and are carefully checked to ensure that they are matched with their mothers.

Still, the unexpected had happened at KKH.

The baby who left the hospital first had two correct tags with his mother's name.

The second baby was wearing mismatched tags.

One tag had the name of his mother, while the other carried the name of the mother of the first baby.

It is suspected that his original tag had fell off in while he was in the nursery with the other baby, it was replaced with a wrong tag.

This incident has left many wondering why the checks were not thorough enough.

Other maternity hospitals that Channel NewsAsia checked with also rely on tagging.

Each baby is given two tags minutes after birth and when it is time to leave the hospital, staff would check both tags to confirm their identities.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital takes extra simple steps, such as getting the mothers to read out the babies' tags.

It also uses Radio-frequency identification to match baby and mother.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital's chief executive officer, Dr Kelvin Loh, said: "Only if the baby goes off the correct mother, the tag will give off a pleasant chime.

"If the baby goes to the wrong mother, it will actually sound off an alarm so that will be an additional mechanism that will help to match the baby to the right mother."

At least one other hospital is looking at using new technology to ensure that newborn babies are paired with the right mothers.

KKH is still investigating the mix-up and is working with the health ministry to ensure this will be the only and last mix-up incident.

- CNA/lp

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Eve-teasers not to get driving licence, passport in Madhya Pradesh

GWALIOR: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that those indulging in eve-teasing will not get driving licence, passport and other government facilities.

The step is being taken to control eve-teasing in the state, Chouhan said during a function at the Gwalior trade fair here last evening.

Those found involved in eve-teasing would not be given driving licence, passport and character certificate, he said.

A database of eve-teasers and those indulging in similar offences would be prepared and appropriate action would be taken against them, he said.

A toll free telephone number for registering complaints about eve-teasing and misbehaviour would also become operational soon, the Chief Minister said.

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.

Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.

The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make HIV screening simply a routine part of a check-up, something a doctor can order with as little fuss as a cholesterol test or a mammogram. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has pushed for widespread, routine HIV screening.

Yet not nearly enough people have heeded that call: Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, nearly 1 in 5 — almost 240,000 people — don't know it. Not only is their own health at risk without treatment, they could unwittingly be spreading the virus to others.

The updated guidelines will bring this long-simmering issue before doctors and their patients again — emphasizing that public health experts agree on how important it is to test even people who don't think they're at risk, because they could be.

"It allows you to say, 'This is a recommended test that we believe everybody should have. We're not singling you out in any way,'" said task force member Dr. Douglas Owens of Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

And if finalized, the task force guidelines could extend the number of people eligible for an HIV screening without a copay in their doctor's office, as part of free preventive care under the Obama administration's health care law. Under the task force's previous guidelines, only people at increased risk for HIV — which includes gay and bisexual men and injecting drug users — were eligible for that no-copay screening.

There are a number of ways to get tested. If you're having blood drawn for other exams, the doctor can merely add HIV to the list, no extra pokes or swabs needed. Today's rapid tests can cost less than $20 and require just rubbing a swab over the gums, with results ready in as little as 20 minutes. Last summer, the government approved a do-it-yourself at-home version that's selling for about $40.

Free testing is available through various community programs around the country, including a CDC pilot program in drugstores in 24 cities and rural sites.

Monday's proposal also recommends:

—Testing people older and younger than 15-64 if they are at increased risk of HIV infection,

—People at very high risk for HIV infection should be tested at least annually.

—It's not clear how often to retest people at somewhat increased risk, but perhaps every three to five years.

—Women should be tested during each pregnancy, something the task force has long recommended.

The draft guidelines are open for public comment through Dec. 17.

Most of the 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. every year are among gay and bisexual men, followed by heterosexual black women.

"We are not doing as well in America with HIV testing as we would like," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, CDC's HIV prevention chief, said Monday.

The CDC recommends at least one routine test for everyone ages 13 to 64, starting two years younger than the task force recommended. That small difference aside, CDC data suggests fewer than half of adults under 65 have been tested.

"It can sometimes be awkward to ask your doctor for an HIV test," Mermin said — the reason that making it routine during any health care encounter could help.

But even though nearly three-fourths of gay and bisexual men with undiagnosed HIV had visited some sort of health provider in the previous year, 48 percent weren't tested for HIV, a recent CDC survey found. Emergency rooms are considered a good spot to catch the undiagnosed, after their illnesses and injuries have been treated, but Mermin said only about 2 percent of ER patients known to be at increased risk were tested while there.

Mermin calls that "a tragedy. It's a missed opportunity."

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