JERUSALEM?Palestinian gunmen broke into a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and opened fire Tuesday, killing two Israelis and wounding 11 in an attack threatening an already shaky Mideast truce.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack, saying it constituted a violation of a cease fire worked out last week.

In response to the attack, the Israeli security Cabinet declared that the military would take whatever steps were necessary to defend Israelis, indicating that a decision to forego responses to Palestinian attacks, part of a week old truce, had been canceled.

The shootings came only hours after President Bush expressed support for a Palestinian state and spoke of efforts to revive Mideast peacemaking?a statement welcomed by Palestinians who want more U.S. involvement.