Explosion damages French cultural center in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - An explosion damaged a French cultural center in the Gaza Strip on Friday and wounded a Palestinian policeman, security sources said. The sources said the blast, the cause of which was unclear, damaged a wall of the building, which also provides consular services for the French government. Palestinian police deployed a cordon of officers around the building as they investigated the cause of the explosion, the second at the site since October. Gaza, an impoverished coastal territory, is controlled by Hamas Islamists struggling to keep a grip on security and rebuild after many neighborhoods were devastated in a five-week war with Israel in July and August. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Hugh Lawson)