Fighting Breaks Out in Gaza Strip

18 Palestinians, 3 Israeli Soldiers Killed in Clashes

JERUSALEM, April 16 -- Eighteen Palestinians -- many of them civilians -- and three Israeli soldiers were killed Wednesday during fierce clashes in the Gaza Strip, marking the deadliest day of fighting in more than a month.

The violence erupted Wednesday morning after Palestinian gunmen approached the fence that divides Israel from Gaza, and Israeli forces were sent in to confront them. In attacks that continued into the evening, Israel used tank fire and airstrikes to target the fighters.

Palestinian health officials, however, said 13 of the dead were civilians, including 12 people killed in an airstrike near the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza just before dusk. Among the dead was a cameraman for the Reuters news agency, 23-year-old Fadel Shana.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesman confirmed an airstrike in the area and said it was aimed at gunmen. The spokesman, who would not be identified by name, said the strike had been on target. The IDF also issued a statement Wednesday night expressing "sorrow at the death of the Palestinian cameraman" but noting that he was in an area "in which ongoing fighting against armed extremists and terrorist organizations occurs on a daily basis."

The fighting marked the bloodiest day for Palestinians since the beginning of March, when Israeli operations killed more than 120 people. Wednesday was the deadliest day for Israeli soldiers so far this year; since 2008 began, eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in operations in and around Gaza.

"Israel pays a painful price to safeguard its citizens from Palestinian terror," said Israeli government spokesman David Baker. "The Hamas-led web of terror will be confronted on its very doorstep before it reaches ours."

In addition to the three dead Israeli soldiers, three soldiers were wounded.

Just a week ago, Palestinian fighters entered Israel and killed two Israeli civilians at Nahal Oz, the fuel distribution center that serves the narrow coastal strip. Israel blamed Hamas, the armed Islamist movement that has vowed to destroy the Jewish state. Hamas, which won legislative elections in 2006, took over Gaza last June in fighting that collapsed a power-sharing deal with the rival Fatah party.

Since the Hamas takeover, fighters have been firing rockets into southern Israel on an almost daily basis. During the fighting Wednesday, more than a dozen of the crude rockets, known as Qassams, landed in Israeli territory, though there apparently were no injuries.

The violence came on a day when Israel resumed delivery of European-supplied fuel for Gaza's power plant after suspending the deliveries for a week following the attack at Nahal Oz. Israel did not deliver gasoline and diesel for cars and generators, however, because it believes Hamas is hoarding the fuel in order to provoke a crisis.

United Nations agencies working in Gaza released a statement Wednesday morning in which they said they "are gravely concerned about the limited fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip which are having a severe impact upon daily life for the population." The statement called resumption of fuel for Gaza's power plant "insufficient" and asked that fuel for transportation also be allowed. "The current absence of fuel at petrol stations has meant that normal transportation has ceased; many students have been unable to get to school, and many health professionals have been unable to get to hospitals and clinics," the statement said.

Also on Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held talks with visiting U.S. national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley. The two discussed Israel's peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, as well as "the necessity of continued international action" against Iranian efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, according to a statement released by Livni's office.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, meanwhile, was scheduled to meet with Hamas leaders from Gaza in Cairo on Wednesday night. He had been snubbed by most top Israeli leaders since his arrival Sunday because of his willingness to meet with Hamas.

Special correspondent Islam Abdulkarim in Gaza City contributed to this report.