Israeli strike kills two and wounds four
April 11th, 2008 | by admin |
A nighttime strike by Israeli aircraft over the Gaza Strip killed two Hamas militants early Friday, a day after the prime minister of Israel threatened retaliation against the Islamic group for a deadly attack on a vital fuel depot.
The Israeli strike killed two Hamas men and wounded four others, the group said. The Israeli military confirmed the attack, saying it targeted the gunmen near the Gaza-Israel border fence.
The death of the Hamas men was followed by a pledge from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to keep hitting Hamas so that it cannot “continue to operate against Israeli civilians as it does.” Hamas is responsible for all attacks from Gaza, he said, “and must bear the consequences.”
All the fuel Gaza’s 1.5 million residents need for transportation, cooking and generating electricity was sent from Israel through Nahal Oz. The brazen daylight attack drew charges that Islamic extremists were trying to start another round of violence with Israel, while putting Israel in the position of appearing to cause a humanitarian crisis.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since June of last year, when its militants routed forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas now leads a Western-backed government based in the West Bank and is holding peace talks with Israel. Hamas has continued attacking Israeli forces along the border and firing rockets at Israeli towns, and permits Gaza’s other militant factions to do the same.
Olmert said Thursday that while continuing military operations against Hamas, Israel “will continue to hold serious and responsible negotiations that can lead us to agreements” with Palestinian moderates. Olmert and Abbas have said they hope to reach an agreement by the end of 2008..
