* Gaza conflict enters third week Israel has continued to pound Gaza a week after sending in ground troops, despite the UN voicing disappointment ceasefire calls had not been heeded.

* Israel resumes Gaza offensive after lull Heavy black smoke rose in Gaza City, apparently from explosions, during a three-hour lull Saturday afternoon during which Israel was to halt its attacks on Gaza militants.

* Hezbollah warns Israel against sparking conflict Hezbollah warned Israel on Saturday not to use an incident in which rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into the Jewish state.

* Abbas: Israel must accept truce initiative Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip were underway in Cairo Saturday.

* EU: Russia gas supply should restart immediately The European Union has finalized a deal on sending monitors to supervise supplies of Russian gas through Ukraine.

* Ordinary Arabs fume over Israeli invasion Inside Al Azhar Mosque, a 1,000-year-old center of religious learning, the preacher was railing on Friday against Jews.

* ‘UN drafting Gaza plan to reinstate PA’ A day after a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire was dismissed by both Israel and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, a new plan was being hatched.

* Incoming secretary of state Clinton to name Dennis Ross as top adviser on Mideast, Iran Dennis Ross, a former Middle East peace envoy who served under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will in all likelihood be appointed a special adviser for the Middle East.

* Rice: Civilian casualties hard to avoid The United States on Friday expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

* China sends envoy to Middle East to ease tensions China’s Middle East envoy will return to the region to push for an end to fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.