JERUSALEM (AP) — Two U.S. lawmakers traveled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Thursday, the first congressional delegation to enter the area since the Islamic militant group took power nearly two years ago.
Democratic Reps. Brian Baird of Washington and Keith Ellison of Minnesota were in Gaza early Thursday, the U.S. consulate said.
Consulate spokeswoman Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm said the lawmakers would meet with U.N. officials. There were no plans for them to meet with Hamas, which the U.S. shuns as a terrorist group.
The visit comes in the wake of a fierce Israeli military offensive last month. The three-week operation, launched to end years of Palestinian rocket attacks, killed some 1,300 Palestinians, caused widespread destruction and left thousands of people homeless. Thirteen Israelis also died in the fighting.
Although Israel and Hamas declared separate cease-fires on Jan. 18, sporadic violence has persisted while Egypt tries to broker a long-term truce.
Israeli warplanes bombed smuggling tunnels along Gaza's southern border on Thursday, the army said. The airstrikes took place some 20 miles from where the lawmakers were visiting, and there were no reports of injuries.
Visits by U.S. officials to Gaza have been rare since Palestinian militants blew up an American diplomatic convoy in October 2003, killing three people, and no American representatives have gone since Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2006. The group violently seized control of Gaza the following year.
Since taking office last month, President Barack Obama has said he hopes to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world. As the first Muslim member of Congress, Ellison could play a key role in that mission.
Ellison could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hamas official Ahmed Yousef welcomed the arrival of the Americans. "We highly appreciate the visit of any delegation that wants to find out the facts and see what has happened on the ground in Gaza," he said.
Several U.N. facilities, including a large warehouse at the organization's Gaza headquarters, were heavily damaged. The U.N. has been trying to raise emergency funds to meet what it says are dire humanitarian needs in Gaza following the offensive.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said he had no knowledge of the lawmakers' Gaza visit.
