GAZA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Gaza Strip remained largely calm on Thursday after Egypt's mediation to halt the escalation of violence between the Palestinian factions and Israel.
"Pressing communications from the Egyptian intelligence apparatus led to a halt in exchanged attacks in Gaza and paved the way for truce," a high profile Palestinian official source told Xinhua.
Earlier, the Palestinian factions have decided to stop escalation in violence from their part amid continuous surge of attacks by Israeli forces, an official source from the joint operation room of the military factions said.
"The resistance factions have responded to the enemy crimes, last of which was the killing of two members of the Hamas Islamic movement during training in north Gaza on Tuesday," the source said.
He added that the armed factions deemed that "a round of escalation has ended and the time of calm will be based on the behavior of the occupation forces."
But Israeli air forces launched several strikes on some targets in Gaza on Thursday morning, a Palestinian official security source told Xinhua.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it struck more than 30 military targets in Hamas' training camps and observation points, including a warehouse.
It added that its forces have destroyed 140 Hamas targets since Wednesday's noon, blaming Hamas for the surge of violence.
Meanwhile, Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement it fired several rockets on two Jewish settlements in southern Israel and three military points near the Israeli border with Gaza.
According to Israeli sources, 16 soldiers were slightly wounded and several houses were damaged by the rocket-propelled grenades.
"President Mahmoud Abbas has conducted international calls at all levels to stop the Israeli escalation on our people in Gaza Strip," official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted a presidency statement as saying.
Abbas warned about the danger of the escalation, calling for "an urgent and immediate intervention to stop worsening the conditions and prevent dragging the region into more destruction and instability," the statement added.
United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov also expressed concern about the recent escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel.
The UN has engaged with Egypt and all concerned parties in an unprecedented effort to avoid such a development, he said.
He stressed if the current escalation is not contained immediately, the situation can rapidly deteriorate with devastating consequences for all people.
"We will continue working hard to ensure that Gaza steps back from the brink, that all humanitarian issues are addressed and that Egyptian-led efforts to achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation succeed," he added.
At least three Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her 18-month child, were killed and 15 others were wounded by the Israeli raids since Wednesday. Several Israelis were also wounded in the attacks.
At the funeral of the lady on Thursday, the participants called for revenge, while her husband was hospitalized due to his grave wounds.
Tension soared quickly while a Hamas delegation left Gaza for Egypt on Wednesday.
Hamas officials said they have been studying several proposals for a long-term truce with Israel mediated by the UN and Egypt in Gaza, which the Islamist movement has controlled since 2007.
