Israel strikes Hamas positions in Gaza

Israeli tanks hit two Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip yesterday after activists set fire to the base of the security fence on the volatile frontier, the army said. The army said the two suspected arsonists had not crossed the fence and infiltrated Israel but it retaliated with tank fire against two Hamas observation posts. The incident comes a day after Israeli soldiers detained three Palestinians who had slipped across the border from Gaza in possession of knives and grenades.