An Israeli security officer checks a car at the border crossing (AFP)

By Mostafa Al-Sawaf, IOL Correspondent

GAZA CITY, January 14 (IslamOnline.net) – A Palestinian young woman blew herself up Wednesday, January 14, at the main crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring tens others.

The explosion went off shortly after 9:30 am (0730 GMT) in an area used by Israeli soldiers and security services to process Palestinians wanting to cross into Israel to work.

Witnesses told IslamOnline.net that the bomber ran into the crossing point, causing the casualties.

In a phone contact with IOL, Hamas's armed wing Ezzudin Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility, saying it was a joint operation with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah.

They named the female bomber as Reem Saleh Al-Riyashi, a 21-year-old Gaza resident.

The two resistance groups said the operation was in response to the assassination of a military leader of the Islamic Jihad, on December 25.

At least five Palestinians were killed and in the assassination of Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip Moqbel Hamid.

Thousands of Palestinians use the crossing in the northern Gaza Strip every day to work in Israel although the border is frequently closed when Israel imposes a security clampdown on the Palestinian territories.

The attack comes hours after an Israeli was killed in a late night attack by Palestinian fighters while driving near the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Royi Arbel, 29, was killed and two other Israelis were injured in an attack on their car, claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The latest deaths brought the overall toll since the start of the Palestinian Intifada in September 2000 to 3,704 people, including 2,772 Palestinians and 865 Israelis.

The toll includes a British peace activist who died overnight nine months after being shot by Israeli troops.

Tom Hurndall's family said the 22-year-old activist died at a London hospital where he had been in a coma since last April.

Hurndall, a member of the International Solidarity Movement, had been shepherding children to safety in Rafah when he was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier who has since been indicted on six charges, including one of aggravated assault.