Hamas/Israel

          Hamas on Friday formally announced the end of an unwritten, often-breached truce with Israel. The IDF said troops guarding Israeli farmers in fields adjacent to Gaza came under sniper fire from across the border. There were no injuries reported in any of the incidents. In a statement posted on its Web site, Hamas said Israel had breached agreements by imposing a painful blockade on Gaza, staging military strikes into the densely populated coastal strip and continuing to hunt down Hamas operatives in the West Bank. "Since the enemy did not abide with the conditions...we hold the enemy the fully responsible for ending the truce and we confirm that the Palestinian resistance factions headed by Hamas will act," the statement said. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday also reiterated his appeal to extend the truce and immediately halt rocket attacks against Israel and all acts of violence, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said at U.N. headquarters in New York. "A major escalation of violence would have grave consequences for the protection of civilians in Israel and Gaza, the welfare of the Gazan civilian population, and the sustainability of political efforts," Okabe said. In light of Hamas' announcement, senior Israeli officials warned that a military offensive in the coastal territory would be "unavoidable" if the rocket fire continues. On Thursday, Gaza militants fired 11 rockets and six mortar shells toward Israel and Israel staged at least two air strikes against rocket squads. Jerusalem ordered the IDF to refrain from offensive operations for now, saying it wants to see how the situation develops. "We will not be the ones to violate the cease-fire," a senior defense official said Thursday night. "If Hamas wants to escalate, we will know how to act - and it will be clear to the international community who is behind the renewed fighting." However, a senior government official warned, "if Hamas doesn't come to its senses and calm the situation, there will be no choice other than an Israeli military response." Egypt, meanwhile, said on Friday it had received no requests that it try to patch up the Gaza truce, which it mediated earlier this year. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said: "We have not so far been asked to exert [truce] efforts as we did in the past." Zaki also defended the Egyptian policy of restricting the movement of people and and goods across the Rafah border point, Gaza's only outlet which is not under full Israeli control. He said that to open the border fully, as demanded by many Egyptians including the main Islamist opposition group, would serve Israel's interests by giving the Israelis an excuse for washing their hands of the impoverished coastal strip. The IDF, for its part, has raised its alert level along the Gaza border. The military canceled weekend leaves for all units stationed near the Strip and instructed units to prepare for mobilization. (23,56)