Islamist group Hamas says it has brokered² a deal for Gaza's militant³ groups to stop firing on Israel, after another day of violent exchanges.

伊斯兰教团体哈马斯宣称，在又一天的暴力交火之后，该组织已经与加沙各武装组织安排了一个停火协议。

A teenager was critically wounded in the attack on the bus
Hamas, which governs Gaza, said the truce⁴ was designed to stop an escalation⁵（增加，扩大） of Israeli "aggression⁶".

The militant wing of Hamas earlier hit an Israeli bus with an anti-tank shell, injuring two people.

Israeli forces replied with air strikes and tank fire, killing⁷ four and wounding 30, Palestinian doctors say.

The bus attack was condemned⁸ by the US, which said it was particularly concerned by reports that the Gaza militants⁹ had used an advanced anti-tank weapon to target civilians¹¹.

The bus had been dropping off schoolchildren near the Nahal Oz kibbutz, and was carrying only one passenger when it was hit, Israeli medical sources said.

A 16-year-old boy suffered a serious head wound and was taken to hospital for surgery.

After the attack, witnesses said more rockets and mortars¹³ were fired from the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli plane bombed a compound in northern Gaza belonging to Hamas. Targets in Gaza City and Rafah were also hit.

An official in Gaza said one of those killed was a 50-year-old civilian¹⁰ who was sitting outside his home when he was struck by tank fire.

Three others were militants killed near the southern town of Rafah. A fifth man, a policeman, was also killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take any action necessary to deter¹⁴（制止） attacks from Gaza.

"We hope this situation will be contained but we will not shy away from taking all the necessary action, offensive and defensive¹⁵, to protect our country and to protect our citizens," said Mr Netanyahu during a visit to Prague.

Later, the Hamas Interior Ministry¹⁶ announced it had been in talks to broker¹ a truce, saying: "We received a positive response from most of the factions¹⁷（派系，内讧） ."

The ministry did not announce which groups had refused the truce.

Officials said the ceasefire went into effect at 2300 local time (2000 GMT).

Riyad Mansour, the top Palestinian diplomat¹⁸ at the UN, said he hoped Israel would also respect the move.

Last month saw some of the worst violence since Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza in December 2008.

In one week in March, at least 10 Palestinians - including several civilians and children - were killed by Israeli attacks.

In the same period, militants in Gaza fired more than 80 rockets and mortar¹² shells into southern Israel.

Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for all attacks coming out of Palestinian territory, even if it is other militant groups carrying them out.