GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft killed two Hamas militants in Gaza fighting early this morning, a day after Israel sealed the borders and bombed an empty Hamas building.
Hamas was defiant today, saying it would not surrender and would keep firing rockets.
Hamas claimed today the group had caught a would-be suicide bomber sent by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement to assassinate Gaza's Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh.
Abbas' office denied the allegations, saying they were intended to divert attention from Hamas' difficulties in ruling Gaza.
Early today, Israeli forces backed by tanks and bulldozers entered Gaza and searched homes in the town of Jebaliya.
Hamas gunmen exchanged fire with the troops, and Israeli aircraft fired three missiles, killing two Hamas fighters.
The military said troops captured four armed Hamas men in the Jebaliya raid and took them to Israel for interrogation.
Since the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza in June, Israel has severely restricted access to Gaza, but basic food supplies and fuel were still getting through.
In New York on Friday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon implored Israel to reverse its unprecedented decision to close the border crossings completely, warning that the cutoff of supplies is provoking a humanitarian crisis among 1.4 million Gazans.
The Gaza blockade and the bombing of the government ministry are part of an Israeli attempt to halt a surge of rocket fire on Israeli border towns. On Friday, 16 rockets hit southern Israel, including one that damaged a daycare centre, but no one was hurt.
Thirty-six Gazans have been killed in Israeli attacks since Tuesday, including at least 10 civilians.
Friday's attack on the empty government ministry appeared to signal a new phase in the cross-border violence between Israel and Gaza. The building, regarded as a symbol of Hamas authority, was seen as a message to Hamas that Israel was ready to step up air strikes if rocket attacks continue.
An Israeli warplane bombed the Palestinian Interior Ministry, flattening one wing, killing a woman at a wedding party next door and wounding at least 46 civilians. The strike left hundreds without electricity and water and terrified residents.
An escalation of the Gaza fighting could complicate U.S. President George W. Bush's efforts to prod the sides toward a final peace deal by year's end.
International aid groups said they were concerned at the Gaza closure, which was expected to last at least several days. About 120 daily truckloads of basic foods and medicine have been allowed through since June, but all border traffic was halted Friday.
Israeli Defence Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said Gazans had sufficient food stocks. "There is a government decision that there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza,'' Dror said.
Ban expressed alarm that the closure would halt "much-needed fuel supplies used to pump water and generate electricity to homes and hospitals.''
John Ging, the Gaza-based head of UNRWA, said Israeli officials told him they would meet early next week to evaluate the situation and decide whether to reopen the passages.
