Gaza wakes to gunfire as mediators keep pushing for cease-fire deal

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Fighting continued in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, even as the United States, Qatar and Egypt pushed forward to try and win agreement on a cease-fire deal. Heavy weapons and machine guns could be heard firing at daybreak near east Deir al-Balah in a video shot by The Associated Press, with the streets nearly deserted. In the southern city of Khan Younis, four people were killed in an early Israeli strike on their vehicle, said Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal.