Jerusalem  - Israel called Monday on world leaders to "condemn, suppress and curb" anti-Semitic actions sparked by the Jewish state's current assault on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

"We have received with great concern and revulsion many reports of physical, moral, verbal and other manifestations of anti-Semitic attacks towards Jews and Israeli citizens in many parts of the world," a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

Gaza  - As Israel's campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip enters its third week, the situation of the Islamist organization is coming under increasing scrutiny.

Externally, and outwardly, Hamas becomes more popular with each Israeli strike, with huge rallies in support of it taking place throughout the world.

The Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is the Palestinian offshoot, has also enlisted residents of Arab countries to telephone Gazans to boost their morale.

The reality, say Gazans closer to the fighting, is far more complex, and reflects the dilemmas the movement finds itself in, divided between the political leaders in the Gaza Strip on the one hand, and the military wing and the Hamas leaders in exile on the other.

Jerusalem, Jan. 12: The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has rejected accusations that it is using illegal arms in its war against the Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Responding to a Human Rights Watch allegation that the army was firing artillery shells packed with white phosphorus, an incendiary agent, over populated areas, including a crowded refugee camp, and putting civilians at risk, the IDF was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying it only used "munitions in accordance with international law."

Gaza City - At least five Palestinians died Monday, as Israel used artillery and tank shelling during heavy exchanges of fire with local gunmen in eastern Gaza City and outside the Jabaliya refugee camp to the north, hospital officials said.

Two women and a child were among the dead in eastern Gaza City, apparently when their house was hit by a shell or by shrapnel.

A fourth Palestinian was killed by tank shelling in Jabaliya, north of Gaza City, while a fifth died in hospital of wounds sustained the previous day.

Cairo - Egyptian security officers detained 18 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, from their homes in Alexandria shortly before dawn Sunday morning, security

Cairo/Al-Arish, Egypt  - A number of Egyptian security troops were injured by Israeli bombings near the Egypt-Gaza border, al- Arabiya news channel reported.