HAMAS EVACUATED government offices and security installations across Gaza yesterday, following Israeli warnings of a harsh response after a soldier was killed in a bomb attack on the border, shattering the fragile 10-day truce.
The soldier was killed, and three others wounded, one seriously, when a large bomb was detonated as a military jeep patrolled the border road opposite the south of the strip.
Video footage of the bombing was released by militants after the attack. No group claimed responsibility. In an initial response, Israeli tanks shelled buildings close to the area, killing a 27-year-old Palestinian farmer. A man, identified as a Hamas militant who took part in the border attack, was also hit when an aircraft targeted him driving his motorcycle in Khan Yunis.
Israeli tanks and bulldozers also entered Gaza and razed farmland close to the border fence.
But Israeli officials threatened a much more serious response, concerned that the attack undermined Israeli claims that the 22-day military campaign had restored Israel’s deterrence and put an end to such border incidents, along with militant rocket fire.
Defence minister Ehud Barak vowed that Israel would respond to what he termed “the grave ceasefire violation”. Foreign minister Tzipi Livni said Israel must respond to every provocation. “This is a test of actions, not just of rhetoric. Changing the equation has to do not only with what we’ve already done, but with what we will do next,” Ms Livni said.
After the attack, Israel closed all the crossings into Gaza, halting humanitarian deliveries.
The upsurge in violence came as the new US Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, arrived in Cairo, his first stop on a regional tour.
After talks this morning with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Mr Mitchell will travel to Israel for discussions with Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders on ways to shore up the Gaza ceasefire and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.