Israeli Ceasefire in the Balance After Hamas Fires Rockets From Gaza

Israel said its fragile ceasefire in Gaza was being assessed on a "minute by minute" basis after five missiles were fired by militants from the Palestinian territory this morning.

No one was injured by the rockets, which landed near the town of Sderot. Israel responded with an air strike on the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun that wounded a woman and her child.

Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire last night after American and European pledges of support to shut down the weapons supply pipeline to the Islamist militant group Hamas.

In a televison address, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, in effect declared that Hamas was broken, saying its power was diminishing. "The conditions have been created that our aims, as declared, were attained fully, and beyond," he said. "The campaign has proven Israel's power and strengthened its deterrence."

Hamas said it would keep fighting for as long as Israeli troops remained in Gaza. "A unilateral ceasefire does not mean ending the aggression and ending the siege," a spokesman said. "These constitute acts of war, so this will not mean an end to resistance."

Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen traded shots near the Jabalia refugee camp within hours of Israel's ceasefire declaration. Hamas fired several rockets into southern Israel, striking as far away as Ashdod and Beersheba.

Israel's security cabinet backed Olmert's proposal for what he called a unilateral ceasefire, effective from midnight last night, that would end three weeks of bombardment by air, sea and land that has claimed the lives of about 1,200 Palestinians, a third of them children and young people.

Olmert declared that the operation had achieved its primary goals of curbing Hamas rocket fire into Israel and securing Egypt's border with Gaza to end weapons smuggling into the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli defence officials said the invading forces would remain inside Gaza for several more days before beginning their pullout.

Of Hamas, Olmert said: "If they continue shooting, we will act to protect our citizens." He said Hamas had been "badly hit" by the assault on Gaza, and described it as a proxy of Iran.

Olmert also addressed Gazans, saying that Israel did not hate them but had launched the assault in order to protect Israeli children. "We feel the pain of every Palestinian child," he said. "Any shout of pain."

Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, last night welcomed the ceasefire, saying it would be a "huge relief" and adding that too many lives had already been lost. He called on Hamas to put an end to rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he was relieved that Israel had called an end to hostilities. "This should be the first step leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza," he said.

Egypt has called a summit of world leaders in Sharm al-Sheikh today to discuss Gaza's future. It was reported that Gordon Brown would attend, along with the French and German leaders, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Ban. Olmert is not expected to be there.

The killing continued in the hours before the meeting, with the United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians calling for a war crimes investigation after two children died when Israeli forces shelled a school being used as a refugee center in northern Gaza.

Israel's decision to halt the assault came after an agreement with the US for American intelligence and equipment to help prevent Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza through tunnels.

Europe has offered assistance in monitoring weapons shipments from countries such as Iran. With that deal in place, it appears that Israel decided it did not need to make the concessions demanded by Hamas for a ceasefire, particularly the lifting of the economic blockade of Gaza.

Britain has offered naval resources to help stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza, Brown said. The prime minister said he was prepared to help ensure proper protection and monitoring of crossings into the enclave.

Last night, Egypt's foreign minister dismissed a US-Israeli agreement aimed at cutting off weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip, raising questions about how effective it would be in preventing arms from reaching Hamas. The US and Israel can "do what they wish with regard to the sea or any other country in Africa, but when it comes to Egyptian land, we are not bound by anything except the safety and national security of the Egyptian people", Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters.

The Israeli ceasefire came after the exiled head of Hamas's political wing, Khaled Meshaal, told Arab leaders that the Islamist movement would not accept any ceasefire that did not provide for a full Israeli pullout and the opening of Gaza's borders. The unilateral move is apparently intended to end the fighting before Barack Obama is sworn in as US president this week.

A demonstration in London against Israeli attacks on Gaza ended in violence last night after protesters looted and damaged shops. Scotland Yard said it was investigating the damage.