September 25, 2005	Sunday	Sha'aban 20, 1426

GAZA, Sept 24: Israel killed two Hamas militants in its first air strikes on the Gaza Strip since pulling troops out of the territory two weeks ago and vowed a crushing response to Palestinian missile salvoes.

The worst surge of violence since Israel’s pullout after 38 years of occupation was a blow to hopes the withdrawal could spur peacemaking.

Israeli forces massed near the border with Gaza and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said a ground offensive was being considered after militants fired at least 35 rockets into the Jewish state, hurting four civilians.

The army said it targeted two vehicles in Gaza City carrying munitions and Hamas militants. Relatives identified the two dead as Hamas men.

Gaza militants said their missile strikes on Israel were retaliation for a blast that killed 15 people at a Hamas rally on Friday.

But Israel denied responsibility for that explosion and the Palestinian Authority said it appeared to have been an accident caused by Hamas members carrying explosives. Earlier on Friday, Israeli troops killed three West Bank gunmen.

REVENGE CALLS: Vowing vengeance, the military wing of Hamas said it was ‘time to strike with all our might’. The group has largely followed a truce that President Mahmoud Abbas agreed with Israel in February and which helped smooth the pullout from Gaza.

The Palestinian interior ministry condemned ‘Israeli aggression’ but Abbas also criticised militants for keeping explosives in built-up areas.

Mofaz called for further strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad ‘weapon-making sites’ in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Israeli army sealed off the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, denying entry to Palestinians allowed to work in Israel.

Egypt called on both parties to stop the escalation. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged Palestinian factions to keep the truce.—Reuters

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