Hamas militants drove bomb-laden vehicles into an Israeli border crossing on Saturday in an attack described by an Israeli commander as the most ambitious since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
At least three militants were killed and 13 Israeli soldiers wounded in the bombing at Kerem Shalom, the third major Palestinian attack in less than two weeks on Israeli border crossings used to transfer humanitarian goods and fuel to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million people.
Two other Palestinians, including a Hamas militant and a civilian, were killed in separate Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the Islamist group said. Israel tightened its economic and military blockade of the coastal enclave after Hamas seized control in June from secular Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli General Yoav Galant said the Kerem Shalom attack was the most sophisticated since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Israel, which controls Gaza's air space, coastal waters and goods crossings, has accused Iran and Syria of providing Hamas fighters with advanced training and equipment.
"There is no doubt that we have not seen such attacks since the pullout," Galant told reporters at the scene of the attack. "It was synchronised along this stretch (of the border) in an attempt to cause mass killings, kidnap soldiers and take them out of the field into the Palestinian side using armoured vehicles," he said.
In June 2006, Gaza militants abducted an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, near the same crossing. Hamas and other militant groups want to swap him for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. An Israeli army spokeswoman said two jeeps exploded in the attack, which was launched under cover of thick fog. She said troops captured a third vehicle. Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said a total of four vehicles packed with explosives attacked Kerem Shalom and three exploded. Militants fired mortar bombs and automatic weapons as a diversion.
Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaida said the attack marked the start of a campaign by the group to "break the siege". He said Israel should prepare for more attacks, stronger than the one at Kerem Shalom which lies at the border of Israel, southern Gaza and Egypt.
Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the attack showed Hamas's "nihilistic agenda" and its "total and complete disregard for the welfare of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip". Hamas said three of its militants were killed in the attack.
The Israeli army spokeswoman said a total of four militants were killed, two when their vehicles exploded and two others in an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers. Of the 13 Israelis wounded, two were reported in moderate condition. The rest were lightly injured, the army said.
Israel says Kerem Shalom has been a frequent target of shooting and mortar attacks, and two militants were wounded on Thursday when they tried to infiltrate the crossing. Abu Ubaida said Saturday's attack targeted the army base at Kerem Shalom, rather than the crossing used to transfer goods. Violence at the Gaza border has increased in recent days.
On Wednesday, 17 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including a Reuters cameraman, and three Israeli soldiers were killed in the bloodiest day in more than a month. On April 9, militants attacked the border crossing at Nahal Oz, the only terminal for piping fuel to the Gaza Strip.