Israel plots response as violence persists

JERUSALEM » Israel’s prime minister convened his Security Cabinet late Thursday to plot a response to a new burst of violence with Gaza militants, ordering the army to take unspecified “strong action” as the military reinforced units along the border ahead of a possible escalation.

Fighting showed few signs of slowing. Late on Thursday, the Israeli military flattened a wellknown cultural center in a crowded Gaza City neighborhood, claiming it was a Hamas military base, as militants fired rockets toward Israel throughout the evening.

In all, Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes during the day, killing at least three Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her 1-year-old daughter, while Palestinian militants fired scores of rockets into Israel, wounding seven people.

The flare-up came as Egypt continued efforts to broker a long-term ceasefire between the two sides.