Israel has its hand "extended for peace, but anyone who rejects it we won't accept that," said the defense minister, adding that "We are interested in a truce and we want to give it a chance, but unfortunately there are extremist factions who continue to fire."

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday to inform him that the Palestinian militant groups agreed to halt rocket fire.

Hours after the ceasefire took effect at 06:00 a.m. (0400 GMT)on Sunday, Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad (Holy War), and al-Qassam Brigades, a militant group affiliated to Hamas, claimed responsibility for firing homemade rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said Sunday afternoon that all the major groups in the Gaza Strip are committed to the ceasefire, which was breached in the morning.

"Contacts were made with the political leaders of the factions and there is a reaffirmation of the commitment of what has been agreed to," Haneya said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian National Authority security forces began deploying along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel in order to prevent Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israel in violation of the cease-fire.

Israel has killed nearly 400 Palestinians in Gaza, about half of them civilians, since it began its offensive in June following the abduction of an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid, hospital officials and residents say. Three soldiers have been killed.

The woman, a neighbour, was killed as she tried to help, sources said.
Palestinian fighters fired two rockets towards the Gaza Strip following the Israeli operation on Monday.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group linked to Fatah, claimed responsibility for the missile launches saying they were in response to the killings of the two Palestinians.

In a statement, the group also said the attack was in response to the arrest of 15 Palestinians, including Fatah members, by Israel in the West Bank on Monday.

One of the rockets exploded in an open field near the southern Israeli town of Sderot but caused no damage or casualties, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

A second rocket backfired and landed in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian armed groups had agreed to stop rocket attacks from Gaza in exchange for an end to Israeli military operations in the area.

David Chater, Al Jazeera's Jerusalem correspondent said: "This is a shaky ceasfire... it has to be extended to the West Bank otherwise you will see continued responses which will undermine the chance for peace."

Security officers

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, has said he hopes the truce can be extended to the West Bank.

In a speech on Monday, Olmert also offered a prisoner exchange in return for the soldier whose capture in a cross-border raid by Palestinian fighters was followed by a stepping-up of Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Palestinian security officers took up positions across northern Gaza on Sunday in an attempt to prevent fighters from launching more raids on Israel.

Abdel Razek Mejaidie, the security adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, said: "The instructions are clear. Anyone violating the national agreement will be considered to be breaking the law."

An official said 13,000 Palestinian security officials were on the ground in Gaza to prevent rocket attacks being launched.