Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that calm had returned to Gaza and he appealed for Israel to refrain from embarking on a large-scale military operation in the coastal strip.

"There is a truce between us and the Israelis, which was impinged on," he told reporters during a trip to Geneva. "We don't want ... to lay blame on who impinged on the cease-fire, but the important thing is that there is calm and there is nothing there to justify an assault on Gaza."

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement Wednesday saying Israel would not carry out a large-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

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A spokeswoman for the prime minister, however, warned Israel's patience was wearing thin. "Israel will not be restrained forever," said Miri Eisin. "We will defend our citizens and choose the time and place to respond."

A delegation of Egyptian security officials told Israel on Thursday that the rocket salvos from the Gaza Strip could resume if Israel did not halt its military operations in the West Bank, the Reuters news agency reported.

The officials also said that the heads of the Palestinian factions are willing to resume the relative calm in the Gaza Strip if the Israel Defense Forces ends its operations in the territories.

The message was delivered to Israel by an Egyptian mediator who has been trying to prevent a major confrontation after the Hamas military wing fired a barrage of rockets and mortars Tuesday and declared the Gaza truce dead, Palestinian sources familiar with the talks said.

The envoy, Major General Burhan Hammad, "informed the Israelis of the new commitment by the factions and at same time stressed that factions demanded the calm be reciprocal and simultaneous, covering Gaza and the West Bank," a source said.

Two Qassam rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Thursday. There were no injuries or damage caused.

Hammad met with representatives of all the Palestinian factions Wednesday morning, urging them to maintain the calm to avert any possible IDF invasion of Gaza.

Israel Radio said that Hammad told the factions that they should take seriously the possibility of an IDF invasion of Gaza should the violence continue.

The radio said that no Palestinian faction has as yet confirmed its commitment to a renewed truce, and several have even vowed to continue their attacks.

According to the radio, Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal quoted a Palestinian source as saying that the military wings of the factions rejected the Egyptian delegation's request for calm.

The Hamas military wing Thursday also warned Israel against any military action in Gaza.

"The Zionist enemy should understand that any thought of raiding the Gaza Strip will open the gates of hell and hundreds of rockets will be launched against [the southern Israeli towns] Sderot and Ashkelon and beyond," said a spokesman for Iz a Din al-Kassam.

He also threatened to shoot down Israel Air Force craft flying over the Gaza Strip.

Hamas on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the rockets fire and shelling, which it said was in response to an IDF operation over the weekend that left nine Palestinians dead.