Jerusalem, July 26: Israeli tanks moved into Gaza city early today, the first operation there since a bombing attack killed a Hamas leader and 13 other Palestinians in a mission that drew harsh world criticism. Witnesses said the seven Israeli tanks, two armored personnel carriers and a jeep moved about one and a half kilometers inside Gaza city, firing machine guns.

Then a bulldozer destroyed a small Palestinian military intelligence post and a metal factory. Gunmen fired at the Israelis, and two Palestinians were wounded in the exchange, they said.
The Israeli military refused to comment. In the past, the Israeli military has destroyed metal workshops in Gaza, explaining that Palestinians were making mortars, rockets and shells.

Late yesterday, a rocket hit an Israeli village just out side Gaza, causing some damage but no casualties, the military said. In the West Bank yesterday, Palestinian gunmen killed a Rabbi and wounded another Israeli in a roadside ambush near a Jewish settlement.

Despite the violence, tentative efforts were underway to restart talks among Palestinian factions toward stopping attacks against Israel. Palestinians said the Israeli bombing sabotaged plans for a unilateral truce declaration by one or more Palestinian groups. Bureau Report