A senior Israeli government official warned that Israel will strike Gaza even harder if Hamas does not accept a truce.

Top Hamas fugitives lobbed grenades and fired automatic weapons today to push back Palestinian security forces storming their hideout, leaving six dead in the bloodiest clash since the Palestinian president launched a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank two years ago.

HAMAS leaders are "marked for death" and won't have a moment's rest, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned yesterday, after Israel failed in an attempt to kill the top echelon of Hamas with a 550-pound bomb dropped on a Gaza City apartment. Israel also closed the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

A roadside bomb exploded next to an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip today, killing all four soldiers inside, the military said.