Israel bombs tunnel at Gaza crossing - army

JERUSALEM, Jan 30 (Reuters) Israeli forces bombed a tunnel near the Gaza Strip's Karni crossing today which they believed Palestinian militants planned to use to carry out attacks inside Israel, an army spokesman said.

The air strike came a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed three people in the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat,apparently after first slipping from Gaza into the Egyptian Sinai.

''There was an aerial attack on a tunnel near the Karni crossing, which was going to be used for attacks against Israeli citizens in the immediate future,'' the army spokesman said.

''There were secondary explosions.'' Gaza residents heard an explosion near Karni but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was Israel's first aerial strike in Gaza since several Palestinian factions announced a limited truce with Israel in late November.

Following the Eilat bombing, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said Israel would step up operations against Palestinian militants spearheading a 6 1/2-year-old revolt.

Israeli media quoted security sources as saying Peretz had turned down a request by military top brass to order assassination missions against leaders of Palestinian factions that claimed responsibility for the bombing.

''We will examine all means available for tackling the (militants') conduits, the current threats, and the infrastructures,'' Peretz said in comments carried by Israel's Army Radio.

REUTERS PB ND1342