GAZA, June 13 (Xinhua) — A peaceful rally held in Gaza City under the call of an Egyptian mediating delegation was under fire on Wednesday afternoon, left two Palestinian civilians dead and 17 others wounded, witnesses and paramedics said.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has signed a contract for the recruitment of 2,000 Egyptians as part of its plan to train 20 per cent of all doctors in the GCC states as specialists in family medicine over the next 10 years.

President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling party has won a majority of seats in Egypt’s upper house of parliament in elections marred by violence.