TEL AVIV — For the first time since the Israeli withdrawal,
Palestinian insurgents from the Gaza Strip have struck a military position
in the Jewish
state.
On Sunday, Hamas and the aligned Popular Resistance Committees, emerging
from a kilometer-long tunnel, conducted a three-pronged attack on an Israeli
base south of the Gaza Strip. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and a third
was abducted, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Members from the Hamas and Popular Resistance Committees terror
organizations infiltrated into Israel through a tunnel originating from the
Rafah area, passing under the security fence to the area of the Kerem Shalom
crossing in Israel," a military statement said. "The cell, backed by mortar
and anti-tank fire from within the Gaza Strip, attacked IDF targets located
between the Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings."
The military said four soldiers were injured in a battle in which
Israeli helicopters and troops briefly entered the Gaza Strip. Seven
insurgents damaged an armored personnel carrier, a main battle tank and
watchtower in an attack the military said was conducted and "spearheaded by
senior members of the Hamas and authorized by the party's leadership."
"The IDF holds the Palestinian Authority and the democratically-elected
Hamas government responsible for the attack and the fate of the missing
soldier," the military said.
On late Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convened leading Cabinet
ministers to discuss the attack, in which at least two Palestinians were
killed. But officials said Olmert, who spoke to U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, did not order military retaliation, rather to seek the
release of the captured soldier, believed to have been injured.
Israel has requested help from Egypt to free the abducted soldier, who
officials said could be smuggled into the neighboring Sinai Peninsula. On
Monday, an Egyptian delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip to meet PA
officials and insurgency leaders.
"We are clearly talking about a test of the power of [Israeli]
deterrence," Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who has been pressured to resign,
said on Monday.
Officials said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz has ordered the
drafting of military options that include a major ground operation in the
Gaza Strip. For months, Halutz and Defense Minister Amir Peretz rejected
appeals from Southern Command for a major operation to destroy Palestinian
missile production facilities.
At a news conference on Sunday, Halutz said the military was surprised
by the tunnel attack. He did not elaborate, but officials said authorities
were not aware of the Palestinian tunnel, which took at least two months to
complete.
"This [tunnel] event had intelligence, but it was general intelligence."
Peretz said. "We are talking about a tunnel that was dug for a long time, if
not months."
In a joint statement, Hamas and the PRC said their attack was meant to
avenge the Israeli assassination of PRC commander Jamal Abu Samhadana on
June 9. On Monday, PA spokesman Ghazi Hamad said the abducted soldier was
alive and given medical treatment.
"There was an operation to land fighters behind the Kerem Shalom
crossing," Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said. "There is a large number of
fatalities and wounded among the enemy."