A suicide bomber blew up a truck with four tons of explosives, which was parked on the Palestinian side of the Erez Crossing. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, which could be heard for miles away and blew out windows in the nearby Israeli border community of Netiv Ha'Asara. A militant was killed in the suicide truck bombing.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said two other militants in the truck escaped before the explosion. The areas around the bomb site were declared a closed military area.

“The Palestinian groups will not give a truce to Israel if Israel does not accept our demand to end the closure, open borders and stop aggression,” Hamas official Ismail Haniya said in a statement.

Haniya, a former Palestinian prime minister, said the Hamas delegation was returning from Cairo where Egypt has been battling to mediate a truce in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinians, the Associated Press noted.

An Islamic Jihad spokesman described the attack as a “successful martyrdom operation” intended to “send a message” to Israel that if it doesn't accept a truce “Gaza is not going to be a place where you will enjoy stability,” the Associated Press reported.

An army spokeswoman said in terms of the amount of explosives used, the attack was the largest carried out since Israel uprooted all Gaza Strip settlements and withdrew the military in a unilateral move nearly three years ago, the same source noted.

“This is a continuation of a policy by the Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip to continue attacks on the Gaza crossings that are so important for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said in a statement.

Hamas wants some 450 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured almost two years ago by Gaza militants.

Violence around the Gaza Strip has delayed peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.