Israel Hits Back After Two Die in Crossing Attack

Palestinian gunmen attacked a fuel depot on the Gaza border yesterday, killing two Israeli civilian workers and injuring two others as militants fired waves of mortars at the crossing post.

Israeli troops shot dead two of the attackers at the Nahal Oz fuel crossing, but two others fled back into Gaza. Israeli soldiers and tanks crossed into Gaza and at least six Palestinians were killed shortly afterwards in Israeli strikes. In another clash earlier in the day, an Israeli soldier and a Hamas militant were killed during an Israeli military raid into southern Gaza.

Responsibility for the fuel depot attack was claimed by two extremist groups, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees. However, the Israeli government said it held the Hamas Islamist movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, responsible. Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said the attack showed complete disregard for the civilian population of Gaza. "Unfortunately Hamas is holding hostage to its extremist and hateful agenda the civilian population of both the Gaza Strip and southern Israel."

Nahal Oz, which has been the target of attacks in the past, is the principle crossing for the delivery of fuel into Gaza. As many as 20 mortar shells were fired at the crossing during the attack.

A Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said the group was not responsible, but described the attack as "heroic and courageous".

In January, Israel halted fuel supplies into Gaza for several days, tightening its economic blockade. Last night an Israeli cabinet minister, Gideon Ezra, said fuel supplies should again be halted because of the attack.