GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ? Israeli forces retaliated early today for a deadly attack by militants on a nearby Jewish settlement, blowing up three large, empty buildings in Gaza after evacuating 2,000 Palestinians from their homes.

Huge blasts rocked the area for miles around, sending plumes of black smoke and debris into the air. The operation came as tensions rose once again in the three-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The developments, coupled with continued political uncertainty in the Palestinian leadership, pushed Mideast peace efforts further into the background.

The Israelis targeted three unfinished 12-story buildings on a sandy hill overlooking the heavily guarded settlement of Netzarim, where two Palestinian gunmen infiltrated early Friday morning and killed three Israeli soldiers, including two women. One of the gunmen escaped, while the other was shot and killed by other soldiers.

The Israelis first blew up a Palestinian police post where the Israeli military said the attacker had fled. They then set off explosives in and around the three tall buildings, which belong to Palestinian Preventive Security, the main Palestinian force in Gaza.

Before the huge blasts, Israeli soldiers ordered nearby residents in southern Gaza City out of their homes. The military said the evacuation was for their protection, to avoid harming civilians during the destruction of the three buildings.

Mohammed Hassan Ali, 39, a father of five, said, “I can see dozens of people from the building leaving, mostly on foot. We don’t know where to go.”

Residents said soldiers told the people to move toward the Nusseirat refugee camp, about two miles away.

Maj. Sharon Feingold, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said it was a “temporary evacuation for their own safety,” and after the operation ended, the residents were permitted to return to their homes.

Singing Israeli peace demonstrators put arms around one another during a demonstration in front of the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in Jerusalem. The crowd of about 4,000 gathered, listening to speakers who called for an end to the policies of the Israeli government. Israel early today destroyed three empty buildings in Gaza in retaliation for a militant attack on a Jewish settlement that killed three Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian militants used the unfinished buildings as lookout points to help prepare the deadly Friday infiltration into Netzarim, an isolated settlement southwest of Gaza City, the Israelis said.

As Palestinians left their homes, the settlers at Netzarim moved into bomb shelters for protection, the military said.