Saturday, 19 April 2008 Written by Chris Perver

Former US President Jimmy Carter met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria yesterday, in hope of negotiating a cease fire between Israel and the terrorist organization. And while the Hamas leadership was talking of peace with Carter, they were giving the green light for their operatives to launch the most ambitious attack on Israeli forces since their withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The attack came on the eve of one of Israel's holiest days, the Feast of Passover, and was designed to cause maximum carnage. Under the cover of heavy fog, two armoured vehicles approached the Kerem Shalom crossing at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. One was laden with explosives, and detonated close to a group of Israeli soldiers who were manning the crossing. The second vehicle did not detonate. After the initial attack, Hamas terrorists in a third vehicle began to approach the crossing, opening fire on the soldiers while another cell provided cover with rocket and mortar fire. The occupants of this vehicle were subsequently killed in a shootout with Israeli forces. Then a fourth armoured vehicle began to approach the crossing, and this was taken out by an Israeli airstrike before it could reach the border.