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Israeli soldiers mourn for their fallen comrade, Staff-Sgt. Nadav Kudinsky. (AP)
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Palestinian militant with rocket in Gaza. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners December 7, 2004 |
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| Israeli soldiers greet each other in Nahal Oz after fierce fighting across the border in eastern Gaza. (AP) |
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An IDF soldier from the Golani brigade was killed after an explosive charge was detonated during an army patrol near the Karni crossing in central Gaza early Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Nadav Kudinsky, 20, from Kiryat Gat, and his sniffer dog were searching a chicken coop when a booby-trap exploded, fatally wounding both.
Hamas militants broke three weeks of relative calm in Gaza Tuesday, setting off a bomb in what they said was an elaborate scheme that included a tunnel and a double agent.
Palestinian officials hoped to stop attacks against Israelis before the Jan. 9 election to replace Yasser Arafat, and Israel was refraining from military offensives in Gaza after Arafat's death on Nov. 11 as a gesture toward the interim Palestinian leadership. That ended after the bombing near a key Gaza-Israel crossing point.
Hamas claimed its men dug a tunnel to booby-trap a chicken coop, then lured troops to the area with the help of a double agent and exploded the bomb, killing an Israeli handler and his bomb-sniffing dog.
Israel TV reported that the dog set off the bomb, killing the soldier and two Palestinians guarding the entrance to the tunnel. The TV report said the tunnel was dug in the direction of the nearby Israeli border fence and was apparently designed to allow Palestinian attackers to cross under it into Israel.
Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman, said the attack was a "natural response to the continuous Israeli crimes against our people and against our fighters." Hamas said two members involved in the ambush were killed.
Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been urging militant groups like Hamas to stop attacks against Israelis, to allow for a calm presidential election campaign, but the militants have made no promises.
Polls show that Abbas, 69, the candidate of the establishment Fatah Party, is in a tight race with Marwan Barghouti, the West Bank Fatah leader serving five life terms in an Israeli prison for involvement in fatal Palestinian attacks. Barghouti, 45, is running as an independent.
Tuesday's bombing was the first fatal Palestinian attack in Gaza since Arafat's death, though mortar and rocket attacks on Jewish settlements in Gaza and Israeli towns just outside continue daily.
Israeli officials said late Tuesday that if the Palestinians stop their attacks, Israel would refrain from offensive military operations. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, referred to reports that Egypt is again trying to broker a Palestinian cease-fire declaration.
The bombing took place next to the vital Karni crossing point between Israel and Gaza, the only place where food and produce can enter or exit the crowded seaside territory. Soldiers closed the gates after the bombing, and the military would not say when the crossing will be reopened.
Israel routinely closes the Karni crossing after Palestinian attacks nearby, quickly leading to food shortages and hardships in Gaza.
At a news conference, three masked Hamas militants holding assault rifles and hand grenades described an elaborate scheme to lure soldiers to the area with the help of a double agent.
Hamas said it constructed the tunnel over the past four months and packed it with explosives. During that time, one of its members pretended to be an informant for Israel. The army frequently relies on Palestinian collaborators to gather intelligence.
Early Tuesday, the informant told the army that a wanted fugitive would be in the area, Hamas said. When troops arrived, Hamas militants detonated the explosives, the group said.
Hamas claimed to have recordings of its agent talking to his Israeli handler, but did not release them. The army declined to comment on the claims, but confirmed that a tunnel had been found near the blast site.
The army said forces were searching for hidden weapons when the explosives went off early Tuesday, killing a member of a bomb-detection unit and his sniffer dog and wounding four other soldiers, two seriously.
The blast triggered a firefight that continued for several hours. Sporadic gunfire was still heard late in the afternoon on the outskirts of the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City.
During the fighting, Israeli aircraft fired two missiles on separate groups of armed men. Islamic Jihad said two gunmen were killed in the airstrikes.
Palestinian hospital officials said seven other people, including boys ages 14 and 16, were wounded. A large group of youths gathered to watch the standoff, occasionally throwing stones at Israeli tanks and bulldozers.
In the West Bank village of Budrus on Tuesday, troops clashed with Israeli and Palestinians protesting the building of Israel's separation barrier. About two dozen protesters blocked the workers by lying in front of a steamroller. The soldiers dispersed the protest with tear gas.
The police and army would not say how many people were detained, although several were seen being dragged off in handcuffs.
The AP contributed to this report.
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