Eight Palestinians, including a mother and her four children, were killed Monday, following an Israeli aerial attack on Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas leaders blamed Israel for executing a "massacre" against the Palestinian people and promised to respond swiftly.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday morning he regretted the deaths of civilians in Gaza, but blamed Hamas for operating from within populated areas.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) published results of an initial investigation into the incident. It claimed that an IDF unit carried out an aerial attack against two Palestinian armed men. The gunmen, who were shot and killed from the air, carried explosives on their backs.
The initial results of the investigation showed that a secondary explosion took place due to the blast of the explosive devices the gunmen carried. The blast, claimed the IDF, occurred in "the proximity of a house, probably the same house where the family lived."
The IDF added that further inquiries will be carried out in order to eliminate any possible doubt regarding the accuracy of the initial investigation.
"We wish to tell the Zionist enemy it will not manage to clear itself from responsibility for this crime," said Dr. Isma’il Ra’dwan, a spokesman for Hamas in Gaza.
Ra’dwan called on all the Palestinian armed groups to respond to the Israeli aggression "with all available measures."
At least 34 rockets and mortars were launched since yesterday onto Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. Several houses were directly hit, though there were no reports on casualties. Early Tuesday morning, an explosive device was detonated next to an Israeli tank near the border fence. No casualties were reported in this incident as well.
"I don’t see any possibility for a calm agreement between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future," general manager of the Beit Hanoun mayor’s office, Muhanna Al-Ma’sri, told The Media Line.
Al-Ma’sri added that the activities of the Palestinian resistance movements always come in response to Israeli attacks. He said that despite the Palestinians’ willingness to give many concessions, the Israeli side does not agree to them and turns away from attempts to achieve a calm agreement.
Meanwhile, talks in Cairo continue between the Palestinian factions in an attempt to reach an agreement on the Egyptian plan for a temporary truce.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas, while denouncing the Israeli attack, renewed his call for a calm agreement.