Clashes raise tensions in Gaza

JERUSALEM — Israel carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and gathered ground forces just outside Gaza's borders, while the defense minister threatened a forceful response to an overnight rocket barrage by the Islamic faction Hamas.

Less than two weeks after Israel completed its withdrawal from Gaza, Israel and the Palestinians faced a potential showdown after a series of confrontations on Friday and Saturday.

"We have to make it clear to the Palestinians that Israel will not let the recent events pass without a response," Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, said in a statement after conferring with senior security officials. "The response needs to be crushing."

A Saturday afternoon missile strike killed two Hamas members as they traveled in a car through Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Interior Ministry, though medical officials had earlier reported that four Palestinians had been killed.

An early morning round of airstrikes hit two workshops that Israel suspected were being used to manufacture weapons.

Israel also sealed off the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Saturday, though the measure was largely symbolic since few Palestinians have permission to enter Israel.

The relative calm of recent weeks was shattered by the turmoil that erupted Friday and included an Israeli raid in the West Bank and the airstrikes in Gaza, as well as the rocket fire from Gaza.

The event most responsible for the increased tensions occurred Friday evening during a Hamas parade in Gaza, when a truck carrying rockets exploded, killing 15 Palestinians and wounding more than 80. The dead included leaders of Hamas' armed wing and spectators in the Jabaliya camp, just north of Gaza City.

The Palestinian Authority and Israel said the blast was caused by Hamas explosives that went off accidentally, and they dismissed Hamas' allegation that an Israeli airstrike caused the explosion.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said Hamas should take responsibility "instead of making accusations against others."

Speaking in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, said, "We must stop parading our weapons and stop using guns among the people."

But Hamas has continued to insist that Israel was responsible for the Gaza explosions and unleashed a barrage of rocket fire that lasted through the night and into Saturday morning.