Palestinian militant groups mounted their first suicide bombing in Israel in nine months today, killing 3 people in the Red Sea tourist resort of Eilat.
The Eilat blast occurred four days before the so-called Quartet of Middle East mediators was to meet in Washington as part of a bid to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Efforts have been complicated by Palestinian factional gunbattles.
Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for what was the first suicide attack in the Red Sea town, and named a 21-year-old from Gaza as the bomber. Israeli police said he infiltrated from Egypt.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said the attackers were trying to disrupt a shaky two-month-old ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.
"We intend to protect Israel's citizens ... We are certainly prepared to give the proper reactions. At the same time, we will do everything to keep the ceasefire," Mr Peretz told parliament in remarks that could suggest Israel's reponse would be limited.
In Gaza, rival Palestinian factions battled in the streets for a fifth successive day today, killing at least three people. Saudi Arabia has offered to host talks between the feuding Hamas movement and Fatah in the holy city of Mecca.
The fighting has been the fiercest since Hamas, an Islamist group, won elections a year ago. Gunbattles have spread across the densely populated Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million Palestinians live, and have prompted some families to flee their homes.
The latest deaths raised to 30 the number of people killed in clashes since Thursday. The fighting, which has erupted periodically over the past year, has derailed unity talks between Hamas and Fatah.
"What else can we call this but a civil war?" asked Abu Omar, a shop owner in Gaza City, where most businesses closed down.
Eilat residents were jolted by what witnesses described as a powerful explosion in the Lechamim bakery in a residential neighbourhood of the city, far from its beach hotels.
"I saw a man with a black coat and a bag. For Eilat, where it is hot, it is strange to see someone walking with a coat. I said to myself, 'Why is this idiot dressed that way?' Seconds later, I heard a huge blast. The building shook," Benny Mazgini, a local resident, told Israel Radio.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in broadcast remarks all three of those killed by the bomber were Israelis. He said Israel was weighing its response.