Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel has ordered three Jews suspected in the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager held until Friday as they made their first court appearance.

JERUSALEM (AP) -- With the official Palestinian count of the dead passing 100, and rockets fired by militants striking Israel from the Gaza Strip and from Lebanon, Israel's prime minister on Friday brushed off a question about cease-fire efforts.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama offered the help of the United States on Thursday in negotiating a cease-fire to end escalating violence between Israel and Hamas, as world leaders warned of an urgent need to avoid another Israeli-Palestinian war that could engulf the fragile region.

Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded 19 people as crowds surged toward Gaza's border fence with Israel today.

The Israeli military says its "Iron Dome" rocket-defense system has shot down an incoming projectile bound for Tel Aviv.