GAZA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Three rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck Israel on Friday, causing no damage or casualties, an Israeli military spokesman said. The shootings came as a longer-term, Egyptian-mediated truce was expected in the next few days to cement a Jan. 18 truce that ended an Israeli offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza last month. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the rockets which struck near the Israeli town of Sderot. Rocket fire has continued sporadically since a 22-day war Israel said had been aimed to halt rocket fire at its territory. About 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli offensive. Fourteen Israelis have died since the fighting began on Dec. 27 after the expiration of a six-month ceasefire. Hamas official Taher al-Nono said on Thursday that a truce "is expected within three days" to ensure an end to cross-border violence and to reopen crossings between Israel and the blockaded coastal territory. Israel has not commented. (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi) (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Editing by Michael Roddy)
A Palestinian farmer carries flowers at a flower farm in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 12, 2009. Israel temporarily eased its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Thursday ...
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