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Hamas bombing, Israeli airstrike shake Gaza truce

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-28 13:55

JERUSALEM – A Palestinian roadside bomb killed an Israeli soldier patrolling the border with Gaza on Tuesday, and Israel responded with an airstrike that wounded a Hamas militant in a flare-up of violence that undermined a ceasefire on the eve of a visit by the new US Mideast envoy.

In this photo released by Israel's Defense Ministry, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak talks with Israeli reserve soldiers during a training session at Tzeelim army base in southern Israel, January 27, 2009. [Agencies]

Israel briefly sent tanks and bulldozers across the border into Gaza after its soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the bombing. Hamas said the Israeli airstrike wounded one of its militants as he rode a motorcycle in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

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It was the worst bloodshed since the sides declared the ceasefire on Jan. 18 to end a three-week Israeli offensive.

Since withdrawing its troops, Israel has threatened to retaliate hard for any violations of the informal truce.

"We will respond, but there is no point in elaborating," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a trip to a military base in southern Israel. Later, he convened an emergency meeting of top security officials. He spoke with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after the meeting, but no details were released.

Olmert later hinted that a much tougher response could soon follow, telling a gathering of senior civil servants that Israel is not bound by any formal ceasefire with Hamas. "Israel's response has yet to come," he said.

Early Wednesday, Gaza residents reported two Israeli air strikes targeted smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. There were no immediate reports of injury but hundreds of people fled the area.

Israel's military had no immediate comment on the report and the purpose of the strikes wasn't clear. One of the goals of Israel's offensive has been to halt weapons smuggling, but despite hundreds of strikes during the war smugglers resumed work after the ceasefire.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Ramattan, a Palestinian news agency, later released a video of the roadside bombing allegedly filmed by militants it did not identify.

The video showed a large explosion next to a jeep moving on the Israeli side of the border fence. A huge plume of smoke emerges as the jeep stops. Two Israeli soldiers are then seen running toward the jeep, and gunfire is directed at them before a secondary blast hits them, too.

Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas lawmaker, said Israel was to blame for continuing to fire into Gaza. Al-Masri said his group had not agreed to a full ceasefire but only to a "lull" in fighting. "The Zionists are responsible for any aggression," he said.

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