Suicide Bombers Attack at Gaza Border Crossing

13 Israeli Soldiers Wounded in Blast

JERUSALEM, April 19 -- Hamas suicide bombers detonated two explosives-laden vehicles at a key crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, wounding 13 Israeli soldiers in an attack the army described as unusually sophisticated.

The bombing, under the cover of morning fog and just hours before the start of the Passover holiday, was the fifth strike at a Gaza border crossing in recent weeks. A Hamas spokesman vowed that there would be "worse to come" as the group released video apparently showing the faces of three attackers before the assault.

Gaza has been under a severe economic blockade since June, when Hamas took over the narrow coastal strip after routing forces loyal to the rival Fatah party.

Hamas, a radical Islamist movement that does not recognize Israel, has vowed repeatedly to break the blockade, although Israeli officials say attacks such as Saturday's show that the group is trying to provoke a crisis in Gaza by striking at the territory's lifelines. All goods coming in and out of Gaza must be approved by Israel, and only humanitarian essentials are allowed through a small number of crossings.

"They know that the crossings are the way to provide food, medicine and gas. They don't care if the population doesn't receive these things," said Maj. Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman.

The assault occurred at 6 a.m. when three vehicles -- two painted to look like Israeli army jeeps and an armored car -- approached the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, Leibovich said.

With heavy mortar fire giving them cover, the vehicles burst through a perimeter fence. When Israeli soldiers were dispatched to confront the vehicles, two of the vehicles exploded. Of the 13 soldiers who were wounded, one sustained serious injuries, Leibovich said.

Half an hour later, another armored vehicle approached a different crossing but was struck by an Israeli tank shell before it reached its apparent target.

Also Saturday, four Palestinian fighters and a member of Hamas's police force were killed in Israeli strikes, medical sources in Gaza said.

Saturday's violence came as former U.S. president Jimmy Carter met a second time with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Damascus, Syria. The two talked for four hours Friday night and an additional hour Saturday morning.

Carter has said he wants to involve Hamas in the peace process, while Hamas has said it hopes to improve its image by meeting with Carter, the most prominent American to sit down with the group.

Israel and the United States have spoken out against Carter's meetings, saying Hamas is a terrorist organization and should be isolated.

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