Israel retaliates for roadside bomb

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2009-02-01T00:00:00

After 10 days of calm, the Israeli military said its warplanes bombed three smuggling tunnels on Egypt’s border with Gaza in reprisal for the death of an Israeli soldier in a roadside bomb attack in Israel near the Gaza border on Jan. 27, according to New York Times reports.

After the Israeli soldier died, Israeli troops mounted incursions into Gaza that killed one Palestinian and wounded another.

Hamas said it was not clear who was responsible for the explosive device, which had been planted inside Israel and set off by remote control when an Israeli military vehicle was nearby, reported the Times.

But Israeli officials interpreted the attack, which wounded three other soldiers, as a sign that Hamas was testing them.