New Tactics In Gaza

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Israel has fresh problems in Gaza, where a roadside bomb killed six Israeli soldiers last week. Five more died in a rocket-propelled-grenade attack near the Egyptian border, and two were killed while trying to recover their remains. The bombing stoked fears that the Lebanese militia Hizballah is getting better at moving its signature explosives into the area. A senior Hamas official tells TIME that the roadside bomb was smuggled into Gaza, though he would not say from where. The explosives were probably brought in through a tunnel passing under the Egyptian border or by sea, say Israeli military sources. They told TIME that soldiers uncovered in the region five other roadside devices identical to those perfected by Hizballah during Israel's disastrous occupation of southern Lebanon. Moreover, the type of explosive used last week has until now proved too volatile for Gaza's relatively unsophisticated bombmakers.

Hizballah's growing role in the intifadeh troubles Israeli officials, as does Islamic Jihad's recent assertiveness. Unlike Hamas, Islamic Jihad is not led by easily targeted, high-profile chiefs. When Israel fired retaliatory missiles at a couple of Islamic Jihad offices last week, it injured 10 people but did not kill any of the group's leaders. Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters are focusing on soldiers and settlers in Palestinian areas instead of hitting Israeli towns, Hamas leaders tell TIME. The shooting of an Israeli woman and her four daughters near a Gaza settlement two weeks ago was the start of the new strategy.

In Israel, the carnage has boosted public support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for withdrawing from Gaza. Hard-liners in his Likud Party, reluctant to cede territory to the Palestinians, nixed the proposal early this month. But in a national poll taken last week, 79% of Israelis backed the plan, which would at least take soldiers out of the line of fire in Gaza. Sharon may yet capitalize on that support.