A bomb attack on the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip critically wounded an Israeli officer overnight, increasing tensions after weeks of escalating rocket and mortar barrages which have targeted Israeli civilians. The cross-border attack comes as disturbing parallels emerge between Hamas’s current campaign and its provocation of the 2008 war with Israel. Israeli Col. Amir Baram, commander of the 202nd Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, had recently told Channel 2 that another IDF intervention into the Gaza Strip might become a necessity, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the attack by promising a forceful response. The prime minister’s statements came during a visit to Jerusalem by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev. Ties between Bulgaria and Israel have deepened since a terror attack three months ago targeted Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria. U.S. and Israeli officials have linked the suicide bombing to Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.