Description

Palestinian officials say at least nine people have been killed in Gaza in new Israeli air strikes - the first deaths in more than a week.

A young child and a woman were among the victims. Some reports said they were the wife and daughter of prominent military commander Mohammed Deif.

Israel said about 50 rockets were launched from Gaza on Tuesday, but there were no injuries reported.

The hostilities resumed hours before a temporary ceasefire was due to expire.

Talks in Egypt's capital Cairo to end the violence broke up with no deal, and Israeli delegates said they would return home.
Siren alert

The three people were killed in the Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said.

Hamas' exiled deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuk was quoted as saying that two of the victims were the wife and daughter of Mohammed Deif, commander of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

The third victim was not immediately identified, and Mr Marzuk said nothing about the fate of the commander himself.

Mr Deif has survived a number of Israeli assassination attempts, which reportedly left him with severe disabilities.

On Wednesday morning, at least six people - all believed to be from the same family - were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza, local medics said.

In all, about 50 people were injured.

In Israel, sirens sounded in a number of cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

The Israeli military claimed it had shot down a number of missiles fired from Gaza.

Officials say that 2,016 Palestinians and 66 Israelis have died since Israel began its offensive on Gaza on 8 July.
'No progress'

Azzam al-Ahmad, the lead Palestinian negotiator and a senior member of the Fatah movement, earlier blamed Israel for the failure to reach a deal in Egypt.

"There was an Israeli decision to make the Cairo talks fail," he said in quotes carried by Reuters news agency.

However, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that rocket fire from Gaza had "made continuation of talks impossible" and "destroyed the premise upon which the talks were based".

The US has voiced concern about the renewed hostilities, and blamed Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamist group.

The Israeli delegation had walked out of the Cairo meeting just hours before a midnight deadline, leaving the fate of the negotiations in question.

But even before that Azzam al-Ahmad told Reuters that there had been "no progress on any point", with big gaps remaining between the two sides.

Israel has been seeking guarantees that Hamas and other factions in Gaza would be disarmed, while the Palestinians were demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockades of Gaza, and the establishment of a seaport and airport.

Hamas insists it will not give up its weapons, while Israel wants to maintain some control over Gaza's crossings to prevent arms smuggling.

Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 7 July with the aim of ending rocket fire. It also sought to destroy tunnels dug under the frontier with Israel used by militants to launch attacks.

Features