Gaza's Hamas rulers say cease-fire reached with Israel

Gaza's Hamas rulers said Wednesday they had agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to end the largest flare-up of violence between the two sides since a 2014 war.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said Egyptian mediators intervened "after the resistance succeeded in warding off the aggression." He said militant groups in Gaza will commit to the cease-fire as long as Israel does.

Smoke rises following an Israeli strikes on Gaza City, early Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 50 rockets and mortars into southern Israel on Tuesday, the largest barrage since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israeli Cabinet minister Arieh Deri told Israel's Army Radio that he expected calm to be restored.

"If it will be quiet, we will respond with quiet. We've given Hamas a chance to prove that we can return to routine ... If they release the reins there will be a very painful strike," he said. "There is a good chance that the routine will be restored after the blow the army unleashed on them."

The Israeli military struck dozens of militant sites in Gaza overnight as rocket fire continued toward southern Israeli communities into early Wednesday morning, setting off air raid sirens in the area throughout the night.

Smoke rises following an Israeli strikes on Gaza City, early Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the largest flare-up of violence between the sides since a 2014 war. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

The military said it hit drone storage facilities, military compounds, and rocket and munition workshops across the Gaza Strip. The overnight Hamas rocket fire reached the city of Netivot for the first time since the 2014 war. A home was struck, but no one was wounded.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel gave Palestinian militant groups in Gaza "the strongest blow dealt to them in years," and warned against renewed rocket fire.

"When they try us, they pay immediately. And if they continue to try us, they will pay a lot more," Netanyahu said at a ceremony in Tel Aviv.

CORRECTS NAME OF PHOTOGRAPHER - Flames of rockets fired by Palestinian militants are seen over Gaza Strip toward Israeli lands, early Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the largest flare-up of violence between the sides since a 2014 war. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

But neither Israel nor the Palestinian factions in Gaza went full bore in their attacks, a sign that neither side was interested in escalating hostilities. Militants in Gaza did not fire long-range rockets at Israel's major cities, as they did in 2014, and Israeli airstrikes zeroed in on only unmanned military targets.

With neither side appearing interested in a full-blown conflict, a tense calm appeared to be holding Wednesday as Israeli children went to school in the morning.

Flames of rockets fired by Palestinian militants are seen over Gaza Strip toward Israeli lands, early Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells Tuesday, while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the largest flare-up of violence between the sides since a 2014 war. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The border area has been tense in recent weeks as Palestinians have held mass protests aimed at lifting an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007.

Israeli fire has killed more than 110 Palestinians, most of them during the Hamas-led protests, which climaxed on May 14.

Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies and have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

The last war, in 2014, was especially devastating, with over 2,000 Palestinians killed, including hundreds of civilians, and widespread damage inflicted on Gaza's infrastructure in 50 days of fighting. Seventy-two people were killed on the Israeli side.

Smoke rises following an Israeli strikes on Gaza City, early Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the largest flare-up of violence between the sides since a 2014 war. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

A crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed when Hamas took power, has meanwhile brought the local economy to a standstill.

Hamas initially billed the weekly border protests as a call to break through the fence and return to homes that were lost 70 years ago during the war surrounding Israel's establishment. But the protests appear to be fueled primarily by a desire to ease the blockade. Gaza's unemployment rate is edging toward 50 percent, and the territory suffers from chronic power outages.

After Gaza militants fired some 30 mortars shells early Tuesday, Israel responded fiercely, threatening to set off another round of confrontations.

Flames of rockets fired by Palestinian militants are seen over Gaza Strip toward Israeli lands, early Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells Tuesday, while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the largest flare-up of violence between the sides since a 2014 war. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

The Israeli military said most of the projectiles fired Tuesday were intercepted, but three soldiers were wounded. One mortar shell landed in a kindergarten shortly before it opened, wounding one person.

Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, the chief military spokesman, threatened tougher action and said it was up to Hamas to prevent the situation from escalating.

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares rose on Wednesday, led by an 2% gain in Japan’s Nikkei 225 after U.S. stocks rallied for a second straight day Tuesday, blunting the blow from what’s been a rough April.

U.S. futures rose while oil prices edged lower.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1% in morning trading to 38,337.23, with the yen hovering at 34-year lows during the week.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 7,705.70 following the release of a fifth consecutive quarter of decelerating inflation, with the consumer price index in the first quarter easing to 3.6% from previous 4.1%.

In South Korea, the Kospi added 1.9% to 2,672.87, led by a 3.8% gain in heavyweight Samsung Electronics.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.3% to 17,053.06, while the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 2.7%. The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2% at 3,026.88.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 2.3%.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 5,070.55, pulling further out of the hole created by a six-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 38,503.69, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% to 15,696.64.

A weaker-than-expected report on U.S. business activity helped support the market, which remains in an awkward phase. The hope on Wall Street is for the economy to avoid a severe recession, but not to stay so hot that it keeps upward pressure on inflation.

The preliminary report from S&P Global released Tuesday seemed to hit that sweet spot. Treasury yields eased in the bond market, and stocks added to gains immediately after its release.

A flood of earnings reports also dictated much of trading, highlighted by a slew of companies that topped analysts’ expectations.

GE Aerospace flew 8.3% higher after it raised its profit forecast for the full year, in addition to beating expectations for first-quarter earnings.

Kimberly-Clark gained 5.5% after the maker of Huggies, Kleenex and Kotex also raised its earnings forecast for the full year. General Motors revved up by 4.4% after citing sales of pickup trucks and other higher-profit vehicles. Danaher rose 7.2% after pointing to strength in its bioprocessing and molecular diagnostics businesses.

They helped overshadow an 8.9% drop for Nucor after the steelmaker fell short of forecasts for both profit and revenue.

With skeptics still calling the broad stock market too expensive, criticism would ease only if companies were to produce higher profits or if interest rates were to fall. The latter has been looking less likely.

Top officials at the Federal Reserve warned last week they may need to keep interest rates high for a while in order to ensure inflation is heading down to their 2% target. That was a big letdown for financial markets, dousing hopes that had built after the Fed signaled earlier that three interest-rate cuts may come this year.

Lower rates had appeared to be on the horizon after inflation cooled sharply last year. But a string of reports this year showing inflation has remained hotter than expected has raised worries about stalled progress.

That’s why Tuesday’s report suggesting a slowdown in growth for overall business activity across the country was so welcomed. It could keep the door open for the Fed to cut interest rates the one or two times that many traders are currently forecasting.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.59% to relieve the pressure on stocks broadly, particularly high-growth ones and those that pay high dividends.

In oil trading, U.S. benchmark crude lost 1 cents to $83.35 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, was 7 cents lower at $87.32 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar was unchanged at 154.82 Japanese yen. The euro rose to $1.0706 from $1.0701.

Currency traders work near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency traders walks near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's stock princes at a securities firm in Tokyo, April 2, 2024. Asian benchmarks extended gains Tuesday, April 23, after U.S. stocks clawed back a chunk of their losses from the previous week. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on April 19, 2024. Asian benchmarks extended gains Tuesday, April 23, after U.S. stocks clawed back a chunk of their losses from the previous week.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)