¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ

JERUSALEM: Egyptian officials say Cairo is attempting to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza amid the worst bout of fighting there in recent months.
The officials say Egypt's general intelligence agency has stepped up communications and has "opened channels" with the U.S. and the European Union. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Egypt often acts as a mediator between Israel and Gaza militants, and brokered a cease-fire deal in May.
That deal appeared threatened Tuesday after a pre-dawn Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
Militants in Gaza have responded with rockets fired into Israel, and the Israeli military has carried out a number of airstrikes in Gaza.