While condemnations of Monday’s suicide bombing poured in with the usual denunciations of terror and calls for a restrained response from Israel, statements from Egypt and South Africa included jabs at Israel. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit "deplored the Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza Strip and the massive raid mounted against … Nablus. Continued Israeli military operations and the oppression of the Palestinian civilians fan feelings of hatred and derail peace efforts." The South African Foreign Ministry equated Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip to terror. "The suicide bombing, which follows the bombing of Gaza last week that left dead more than 15 Palestinians, including a baby and a number of innocent children, are all acts that are counterproductive to peace. We stand firm in our belief that no cause can justify the resort to terror against innocent civilians."