Palestinian militants from Gaza kill 2 Israelis

Wednesday's attack upset a recent period of calm following a broad Israeli military offensive that killed more than 120 Palestinians in Gaza, including dozens of civilians. Since the offensive ended in early March, Egypt has been trying to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and the sides appear to have been honoring an informal truce.

But tensions have been increasing in Gaza, whose 1.4 million people have been confined to the territory since Hamas wrested control last June from security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hard-hitting sanctions
Israeli sanctions, which have caused shortages of fuel, electricity and basic goods, have hit the area hard. On Tuesday, Hamas threatened to blow up Gaza's border walls with Israel and Egypt to relieve the strain. Hamas breached the Egyptian border last January, allowing thousands of people to pour into Egypt for more than a week before the border was resealed.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who said Hamas was "responsible for the attack and will be held accountable," has repeatedly threatened a broad offensive into Gaza if attacks on Israel persisted.

Last week, an aide to Israel's public security minister was wounded by a Palestinian sniper as he and the minister toured an observation point overlooking Gaza with a group of Canadian visitors.

Though not directly involved in the fuel depot raid, Hamas has maintained a firm grip on power since violently taking over Gaza and most likely could have prevented Wednesday's attack. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, praised the attack as "heroic and courageous."

Trying to draw attention?
Hamas could have its reasons for seeking a resumption of hostilities. It has expressed impatience with Egypt's failure to forge a cease-fire and repeatedly accuses the world of ignoring the plight of Gazans. A new round of fighting would draw attention to Gaza.

Islamic Jihad said the attack sent a message "that the Palestinian people will not be patient and will direct their anger against the siege toward the Zionist enemy."

The infiltration also serves as a reminder that Israel, which is conducting peace talks with Abbas, won't be able to implement a deal without Hamas' consent. Hamas might also be interested in disrupting Israel's upcoming celebrations marking 60 years of independence.

Abbas rules from the West Bank and wields little influence in Gaza. His government said Wednesday's raid would harm peace talks and make life more difficult for Gazans.

Mekel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the raid would not affect peace negotiations, which resumed this week with a summit between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The two sides hope to reach a final peace deal by the end of the year.

"We decided that we will continue to talk and will not let terrorists have a veto voice on the talks with the pragmatic forces," Mekel said.

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