Jerusalem deputy mayor: Hamas has been looking for a war

The Israeli-Gaza conflict can be ended if Hamas stops firing rockets, Jerusalem's deputy mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum has said.

She told BBC World News on Thursday that Hamas had been looking for a war for some time: "They have been planning this for months. The Palestinian Authority are trying to distract people from cancelling an election."

Israel increased its attacks on Gaza and Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets into Israel on Friday.

Some 119 people have been killed in Gaza and eight have died in Israel since the fighting began five days ago.