The skies over Gaza were quiet early on Thursday as an Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas took hold after a spurt of violence left four Palestinians dead and two Thai workers wounded in Israel.

An explosion shook Jerusalem on Tuesday shortly after air raid sirens wailed across the city as UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived for top-level talks over a truce to end the Gaza crisis, correspondents said.

Israel on Tuesday halted a threatened Gaza ground offensive to give Egyptian-led truce talks a chance as top diplomats flew in to boost efforts to end nearly a week of cross-border violence.

Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said prisoner Arafat Jaradat, a 30-year-old father of two, had died suddenly at Megiddo detention centre in northern Israel. 

A Jerusalem court on Monday handed former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert a US$19,000 fine and a suspended jail sentence for graft, Israeli media reported.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak shook up the Israeli political system on Monday by saying he is quitting politics and will not run in general elections in January.