Israel says the purpose is to keep weapons out of Gaza and to prevent rocket fire into the Jewish state.

VOA: special.2010.06.05

Fire from the natural gas well shot about one hundred forty meters into the air.

VOA: special.2009.03.22

Tensions remained high along Israel's border with Gaza, where the Israeli military says gunfire erupted after militants crossed the border from Gaza into Israel and opened fire at soldiers.

VOA: standard.2010.06.01

The government's outright rejection for a truce with Tamil Tiger rebels came a day after the European Union said the situation of civilians trapped in the war zone is dangerous and called for a cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid into the region.

VOA: standard.2009.03.17

"It is also important to remember that this is a cynical situation where the Tigers have herded a large number of people - thousands of people - into an enclave and used them as hostages to convince the international community to call for a cease-fire,"

VOA: standard.2009.03.17