JERUSALEM, May 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday ordered the army to "use all necessary means" to respond to the mortar attacks by Palestinian militants on Gaza settlements, straining tensions that might jeopardize a fragile cease-fire declared in February.

    "The recent events are extremely grave and we will, under no circumstances, allow Israeli citizens to be harmed. Israel will not allow Hamas to dictate its agenda and Israel will battle against terror, if necessary, exacting a heavy price," said Mofaz.

    Militants firing mortars will automatically be targeted by Israeli troops, the minister said at an emergency meeting with military and security chiefs to assess a new flare-up of violence in Gaza.

    The defense chief also instructed the army to get prepared for a series of steps in the event that the situation aggravates further.

    On the same day, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) continued firing mortar shells on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip,

    Hamas launched at least 26 mortar shells and a number of homemade Qassam rockets at settlements across the Gaza Strip throughout Wednesday night and early Thursday. The al-Qassam Brigades, armed wing of Hamas, said the attacks are a revenge for the Israeli killing of its two members.

    On Wednesday, Ahmed Barhoum, 25, was killed in a disputed situation along the Gaza-Egypt border. Hamas said he was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while Israel claimed he was killed by an accidental explosion of a bomb he was to detonate.

    Later in the day, Ahmad Shahwan, 23, died of his wounds sustained in an Israeli missile attack near the southern Gaza townof Khan Younis.

    It is the first Israeli air strike on Palestinian militants since the February truce under which the army has been under strict orders to hold its fire without orders from senior officials.

    Mahmoud a-Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said Hamas is still committed to calm and the issue is linked to Israeli attacks, saying "if they are repeated, we will respond and if they stop, we will stop."

    Meanwhile, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is considering entering the Gaza Strip to carry out an operation to halt militant attacks.

    "The IDF may enter the Gaza Strip and even take control of the territories from where the mortars are being fired, if the shelling doesn't stop," the office said in a statement Thursday.

    On the Palestinian side, Information Minister Nabil Shaath on Thursday accused the Israelis for not doing enough to prevent the ongoing cycle of violence from destroying the volatile calmness.

    Shaath said in press statements that the agreements reached in Sharm el-Sheikh summit do not permit Israel to carry out assassinations or resort to the policy of violence.

    Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is on an Asian tour which includes visits to Japan, China, Pakistan and India to push for peace in the Middle East. He is also expected to meet US President George W. Bush next week to discuss the peace process. Enditem