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JERUSALEM - Hopes of even an unofficial truce between Israel and Hamas were dealt a serious blow yesterday as 22 Qassam rockets were launched from Gaza in response to the killing by Israeli forces of four Palestinian militants in Bethlehem.
The fresh outbreak of conflict after a week-long lull came as John Holmes, the UN's top humanitarian official, sharply criticised Israel's sealing of Gaza's borders as ineffective.
"It's not stopping the rockets, it's not producing the desired political effects," he said.
Mr Holmes stopped short of proposing international or Israeli engagement with Hamas but called for "political dialogue and trust" - adding that the idea that the blockade would stimulate Gazans to rise up against the Islamic faction was "not well founded".
Responsibility for some of the rockets - which in turn were followed by two Israeli air strikes on Gaza - was claimed by Islamic Jihad.
Three of the group's militants in Bethlehem, along with one from the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs, were killed on Wednesday. They had been wanted by Israel for eight years because of previous attacks.
Israel's move appeared to underline its rejection of demands from Hamas that it should stay its hand in the West Bank in return for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister, said Israel had demonstrated that it "will continue to pursue and strike all murderers with Jewish blood on their hands".
Mr Holmes said: "You could imagine that Israel would be pursuing a policy of being very generous to the West Bank and showing what can happen if it's run not by Hamas, but that's not what's happening."
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