Hamas urges Gaza militant groups to stop attacks on Israel

          Hamas said on Sunday it has begun talks with other militant factions in the Gaza Strip to urge them to stop firing rockets at Israel, attacks that have raised Palestinian fears of a new Israeli offensive. The talks are a signal that Hamas hopes to avert any large-scale Israel Defense Forces operation in the enclave similar to a three-week campaign that ended in January 2009 and in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. "We began contacts with factions over the situation in the field. Hamas seeks to control the situation on the ground and urge factions to recommit to the national agreement," Hamas official Ayman Taha said. (18,00)