Shattered Peace: Violence Erupts In Gaza

Israeli troops and Palestinian militants clashed in a fierce gunbattle along the Israel-Gaza border late Tuesday, killing one Palestinian militant, in the first armed confrontation between the sides since a truce took effect in June. An Israeli airstrike later killed four more militants, Palestinian officials said.

The Israeli army said its forces uncovered a tunnel about 300 yards inside the central Gaza Strip that militants planned to use to abduct Israeli soldiers. It said a special army unit had headed to the area to destroy the tunnel.

The army claimed the move did not violate the truce, but instead was a legitimate step to remove an immediate threat to Israel from Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

But Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a Palestinian Health Ministry official, said heavy gunbattles erupted, killing one Palestinian and wounding three, including one woman.Residents identified the dead man as a Hamas militant.

Hamas also insisted it had not violated the truce and was acting to prevent an Israeli incursion. Shortly after, it said it fired mortars at southern Israel.

The army said it launched an airstrike at the mortar launchers and identified hitting them. Hamas radio confirmed that four militants were killed in the strike.

The violence marked the most serious fighting in Gaza since the truce took effect. The only other fatality occurred in July, when Israeli troops shot and killed a teenage Palestinian militant along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Hassanain said rescue officials were having a hard time reaching the site of the fighting and getting an exact description of casualties.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, said in a text message to reporters that Hamas troops were engaged in a gunfight with Israeli forces in central Gaza.

Hamas quickly vowed revenge for its casualty.

"Our response will be harsh, and the enemy will play a heavy price," Hamas said in a statement on its military wing's Web site.

A top military official said troops had discovered a "ticking tunnel," which was about to be used to abduct an Israeli soldier. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said the tunnel was dug from inside a Gaza home, illustrating that Hamas was using civilians for cover.

"We don't have any intention of breaking the truce, we are working to isolate this threat," the official said, noting that some 60 mortars have been fired since the truce and Israel had chosen not to respond.

Israel and Palestinian militant groups reached the Egyptian-mediated cease-fire in June after months of indirect negotiations. The deal halted a deadly cycle of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli reprisals.

Sporadic rocket attacks on southern Israel have persisted, provoking Israel to close its crossings into the coastal strip of 1.4 million Palestinians and keep the blockade it imposed on the area after Hamas overran the territory a year ago more or less intact.

The truce does not extend to the West Bank, which is ruled by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel's partner in peacemaking.