A Palestinian suicide bombing at a bus stop outside Tel Aviv killed four Israelis just after an Israeli attack in Gaza, killing a senior Islamic Jihad commander and four others.
The attacks yesterday were the first of their kind in more than two months and were likely to lead to a wave of retaliatory violence and damage new efforts to restart the Israel-Palestinian peace process.
Palestinian officials condemned both attacks and called for renewed peace talks. Israeli leaders said the suicide bombing proved why such airstrikes were needed and pledged to continue fighting militants.
The bombing took place during the busy evening rush hour at a bus stop at the Geha junction outside Tel Aviv.
The bomber approached the bus stop and blew himself up, said Israeli Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki. The victims were identified as three soldiers and a 17-year-old Israeli girl. At least 13 other people were wounded.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical member of the PLO, claimed responsibility, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of two of its members last week. The group identified the bomber as Said Hanani, 18, from the village of Beit Furik, east of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Israeli forces entered Beit Furik and blew up Hanani's house.
It was the first such attack on civilians since an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber blew herself up on October 4 at a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing 21 people.
Tel Aviv district police commander Yossi Sedbon said a court-ordered blackout had been imposed on the investigation, but told Israel Radio that hoped "the (terrorist) cell" would be apprehended soon, indicating that the bomber had accomplices.
Just before the suicide bombing, Israeli helicopters fired two missiles at a car driving from Gaza City, killing the top commander of the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, Mekled Hameid, 39, and four others. Hospital officials said 14 people were wounded, three seriously.
PA