Two suicide bombers set off almost simultaneous blasts on buses in this southern Israeli city Tuesday, killing 16 people in addition to themselves. At least 93 people were wounded, medical officials said.

In Gaza City, Hamas fighters drove through the streets with loudspeakers, claiming that a Hamas cell from Hebron in the West Bank carried out the operation.

The military wing of Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization, has a history of carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians and military. It is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the U.S. State Department.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke with the Defense Ministry, the head of Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces' chief about possible operations against terrorists and is to meet with security advisers later, the prime minister's office said.

Israeli troops operating in Hebron surrounded a house Tuesday night belonging to Ahmed Kawasme, known to have ties with Hamas and suspected by Israel of being one of the suicide bombers in Beersheba, Palestinian sources said Tuesday.

Israeli military officials would only say that troops were operating in the city following the bombings. The officials said that army policy is to demolish houses belonging to suicide bombers.

In Ramallah, the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei issued a statement condemning the bombing as against Palestinian interests.

"The Palestinian government affirms that such actions are against our national interest and call on them to stop immediately. These actions give Israel the pretext to justify continuing in its assassinations, incursions, attacks on Palestinian civilians, expansion of settlements and construction of the expansion and annexation wall," said the statement.

"We renew our call to the Israeli government to agree to a mutual and immediate cease-fire and to sit and negotiate on final status issues," it said.

Source: Xinhua