Ten of the 11 Israelis lightly wounded in two separate suicide bombings Thursday in the Gaza Strip were released from the hospital before the day’s end.
The bombings, which occurred one minute apart at nearby locations in Gaza, prompted Israeli and Palestinian officials to speculate that the attacks were carried out by Islamic fundamentalists seeking to avenge last week’s assassination of Islamic Jihad leader Dr. Fathi Shakaki in Malta.
In the first incident, which took place shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, a car bomb went off near the Kissufim crossing between Israel and Gaza.
Shortly before the explosion, one of two army escort jeeps accompanying an Israeli bus noticed a suspicious vehicle and ordered it to move to the side of the road, Israel Radio reported.
Instead, the car continued in the direction of the bus. The second jeep then tried to force the car off the road – at which point the car’s explosive device was detonated.
The second bombing took place less than a minute later a half-mile away, near the Gush Katif settlement bloc in Gaza, when an Egged bus and other vehicles were waiting for an army escort to accompany them through Palestinian- controlled areas into Israel.
When an army commander at the scene heard the first explosion, he ordered the vehicles to return to the settlement bloc.
A suicide bomber drove his car toward the Israeli vehicles, but he was 50 yards away when the bomb went off. No Israelis were wounded in the second incident.
The bombers in both cars were killed.
After the suicide attacks, Israeli security forces closed off roads in Gaza to Palestinian traffic. Palestinian police coordinated in the effort.
No group claimed responsibility for the car bombings, but Israeli as well as Palestinian security sources cited a probable revenge motive linked to the Oct. 26 killing of Shakaki.
Islamic Jihad claimed that Israel conspired with the CIA to carry out the killing. While welcoming Shakaki’s demise, Israeli officials would neither confirm nor deny their involvement.
Citing intelligence information of planned retaliatory attacks, Israel had imposed travel restrictions on Palestinians traveling from Gaza into Israel.
Israeli officials turned down a Palestinian request to ease the restrictions, saying that they had information regarding further possible attacks.
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