Israel has resumed carrying out bombing raids in Gaza less than a month after the last Jewish settlers left the region. Over the weekend Israeli air strikes killed two members of Hamas and two members of Islamic Jihad including a top commander. Last night Israeli helicopters bombed parts of Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis. Some 250 Palestinians were also detained in the West Bank. Israel said the bombing raids were needed to stop Palestinian rocket attacks. On Sunday Hamas announced a halt to Gaza-based attacks on Israel. The increasing violence in Gaza came on the same weekend that joint Israeli-Palestinian peace rallies were held in Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah.