Israels Terrordokustatistik und der Kriegsgrund

The decision to carry out further pinpoint strikes against Hamas emerged after consultations between the security cabinet and top Israeli defense officials. The hostilities were necessary to let Hamas know that strikes against Israel would not go unanswered, one source said.

During the deliberations, intelligence officers said Hamas was trying to contain its radical elements because it was interested in cementing a cease-fire agreement. This, the intelligence officers said, was why the organization is delaying its response to recent strikes by the Israel Defense Forces.

The first IDF strike against Hamas after Operation Cast Lead came on Tuesday, after the death of one Israeli soldier in an explosion near the border with Gaza. Since then, the Israel Air Force carried out several retaliatory raids.

The latest, which wounded 10 Palestinians, was aimed at Mohammed Samiri, whom the IDF believes was involved in planning and carrying out the attack on the IDF patrol on Tuesday. According to reports from the Strip, Samiri was riding a motorcycle in Khan Yunis when a missile exploded near him, wounding him and several others.

Another IAF raid took out what the army believed to be a weapons production shop in Rafah.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hamas' prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said reconciliation was Hamas' "main aim."

"I think it is not in America's interest to stay in conflict with the Arab and Muslim worlds, considering its interests in the region," he said. "We hope that the new American president revises all the policies of his predecessor."

Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, also spoke to the media yesterday, saying the organization had "an open score" with Israel." These statements, according to defense sources, sit well with Hezbollah's reported intention of carrying out a major attack as the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyeh approaches.

Mughniyeh, the organization's number two, died in a car blast in Damascus on February 14 a year ago. Hezbollah officials say they hold Israel responsible.

Although Hezbollah was mentioned as a likely recipient of the arms on board the Iranian ship the Cypriot customs services detained yesterday, Israeli sources said the cargo may have been meant for Hamas. The Cypriot customs service began unloading some of the cargo Wednesday, a diplomat from the European Union told Haaretz.

The move apparently came after Israel and the United States requested that Cyprus stop the ship, which was carrying a large amount of weapons, including artillery rounds and rockets.

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Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer, Yoav Stern and Barak Ravid contributed to this article.