GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian militants besieged a crucial Israel-Gaza border crossing Saturday, wounding 16 Israeli soldiers in a barrage of mortar fire and car bombs.
Four Palestinian gunmen died in the attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing, which follows a string of smaller militant raids on the other entry points through which vital humanitarian supplies and fuel enter Gaza.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izzidin al-Qassam Brigade, claimed responsibility for the raid. A senior Israeli army commander called it the largest militant operation since Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
“It was an attempt to abduct and kill as many soldiers as possible,” Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant told reporters during a visit to Kerem Shalom.
An impoverished coastal strip of about 1.4 million people, Gaza remains a pariah mini-state under the control of Hamas. The militant group won parliamentary elections in 2006 and later routed forces loyal to the rival Fatah party after a unity government collapsed last summer.
Israel, with U.S. backing and Egypt’s assistance, sealed Gaza after the Hamas takeover. But limited amounts of humanitarian aid and fuel are allowed in through a series of border crossings such as Kerem Shalom.
About 6 a.m. Saturday, an Israeli army spokeswoman said, three vehicles approached the crossing: two jeeps modified to look like Israeli army vehicles and an armored personnel carrier of the type used by Palestinian security forces.
At least one of the jeeps exploded near a group of Israeli soldiers. Then, as mortar rounds began raining down, several men emerged from the armored vehicle and opened fire, said the army spokeswoman, Maj. Avital Leibovich.
“It could have been much worse,” said Leibovich, who credited the soldiers’ rapid response and the protection provided by an Israeli armored vehicle with preventing greater casualties.
The Qassam Brigade offered a slightly different account of the attack. A spokesman known as Abu Obeida said three car bombs were detonated and a fourth car, also rigged to explode, withdrew from the battle.
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Army on alert as Passover begins
JERUSALEM — Israelis began celebrating Passover at sundown Saturday with a ritual meal, or Seder, including dozens who set up their table outside the prime minister’s residence protesting his failure to bring home three missing soldiers.
Israeli security forces were on alert amid concerns that Palestinian militants would carry out attacks during the week-long Jewish holiday. The Israeli military sealed the West Bank and Gaza until the end of Passover.
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli military commander on the Gaza-Israel border, said he was spending the Seder with soldiers.
Passover commemorates the ancient Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian slavery, when they fled so quickly they didn’t have time to let their bread rise. During Passover, the eating of leaven bread is forbidden, and the story of the exodus is retold during the Seder. The Associated Press
