Vehicle explosions rock Israel, Gaza

Scenes from Hadera, in central Israel, where witnesses said a vehicle pulled next to a bus and then exploded

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A car bomb exploded Friday in the central Israeli town of Hadera, slightly injuring at least 36 people, Israeli medical services said.

Among the injured were a 10-year-old child and a 7-month-old baby.

Israeli police said a passenger and driver in the car died in the blast. They said it appeared to be a suicide car bomb attack.

Witnesses said the vehicle pulled next to a bus and then exploded.

Hours earlier in Gaza, a truck filled with explosives blew up near an Israeli military outpost at Netzarim Junction, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

IDF officials said no Israelis were injured in the attack. The Islamic fundamentalist group, Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Despite the bombings, Israel said it will keep in place what it calls its "unilateral" cease-fire, declared earlier this week by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. An Israeli spokesman said there will be no retaliatory strikes.

An immediate end to hostilities was one of the recommendations by the Mitchell committee, an international, independent committee formed to investigate the Israeli-Palestinian violence that has been going on for eight months.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna contributed to this report.