Israel bracing for new attacks by Hamas
22/04/2008
The Israel i Defence Force (IDF) is preparing for a renewed wave of attacks by Hamas militants following a foiled attack on the Gaza border, the Jerusalem Post has claimed.
Thirteen Israeli soldiers were wounded and two Palestinian militants killed on Saturday morning when a pair of suicide car bombs targeted troops manning the Kerem Shalom checkpoint in Gaza.
Issuing a swift response, the Jewish state immediately carried out air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza that left a further seven Palestinians dead.
And while that met with the usual inflated rhetoric from Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri - who warned that Kerem Shalom was just the beginning of a new campaign and that "what is coming will be greater" - the IDF acceded that a further escalation of violence seems likely.
Alluding to the foiled suicide bombing, major general Yoav Galant said: "This is an attack the likes of which we have not seen since the disengagement [from Gaza by IDF troops in 2005]."
He noted that a Palestinian Authority armoured personnel carrier was used to ram through a security fence in the attack - clearing the path for the two suicide vehicles which were each packed with 300 kg of explosives.
One car detonated next to an IDF watchtower while the other exploded next to jeeps belonging to the Southern Command's Beduin Desert Battalion.
Hamas is currently engaged in a series of controversial negotiations with former US President Jimmy Carter, who has infuriated politicians at home by breaking his country's isolationist strategy for dealing with the organisation.
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