Egyptian mediators were in the Gaza Strip on Monday in an effort to reduce tensions and prevent a new cross-border conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The militant group, which seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, said the three Egyptian general intelligence envoys headed straight for meetings with Hamas officials after entering the territory.
For the past week, Palestinian youth groups affiliated with Hamas have fired incendiary balloons toward Israel, setting swaths of farmland on fire. Israel responded with airstrikes on Hamas military sites, banned Gaza's fishermen from taking to the sea and shut the main commercial crossing into the territory.