Hamas' Bombs Injure Israeli Troops

JERUSALEM - Hamas suicide bombers detonated two explosives-laden vehicles at a key crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, wounding 13 Israeli soldiers in an attack the army called unusually sophisticated.

The bombing, under the cover of morning fog and just hours before the start of the Passover holiday, was the fifth strike at a Gaza border crossing in recent weeks. A Hamas spokesman vowed there would be "worse to come" as the group released video apparently showing faces of three attackers before the assault.

Gaza has been under a severe economic blockade since June, when Hamas took over the narrow coastal strip after routing forces loyal to the rival Fatah party.

Hamas, a radical Islamist movement that does not recognize Israel, has vowed repeatedly to break the blockade. Israeli officials said attacks such as Saturday's show the group is trying to provoke a crisis in Gaza by striking at the territory's lifelines. All goods coming in and out of Gaza must be approved by Israel. Only humanitarian essentials are allowed through a small number of crossings.

"They know that the crossings are the way to provide food, medicine and gas. They don't care if the population doesn't receive these things," said Maj. Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman.

An Israeli army commander said the Hamas attack was the most ambitious since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Another planned attempt at the border was averted Saturday. The attack was the fifth on a crossing by Gaza militants since last week. Hamas threatened to target crossings again.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak later visited the area. "When the time comes, Hamas will bear the consequences," he was quoted by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on its Web site.

Despite such attacks, Hamas has said it seeks a truce on the Gaza-Israel border, and Egypt has been trying to broker such a deal. Hamas' motives for its ostensibly contradictory actions were not clear.

Also Saturday, four Palestinian fighters and a member of Hamas' police force were killed in Israeli strikes, medical sources in Gaza said.