rocked Gaza City Thursday June 12, a day after his group claimed a suicide attack that killed at least 16 people, witnesses said.
The killed leader was identified as Yasser Taha of the military wing of Hamas, which said it carried out Wednesday’s bombing that destroyed a passenger bus in Jerusalem.
Taha’s wife and young child were also believed to be among the dead, while 25 people were wounded in the Israeli attack, said local doctors.
This third air strike in 24 hours took place close to a cemetery where 11 victims from the previous helicopter attack were reportedly being buried.
MISSILES FIRED
Reports said between four and six missiles were fired at Taha’s car, amid signs that the conflict would further escalate in a full scale local war between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.
"We call upon all foreigners to evacuate the Zionist entity immediately in order to protect their lives," said Hamas in a statement following the killing.
"We call on all military cells to act immediately and act like an earthquake to blow up the Zionist entity and tear it to pieces," Hamas added, referring to the State of Israel. It was not immediately clear how foreign nationals, including Christian aid workers and missionaries, had reacted to the threats.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon defended the latest Israeli actions, saying he has the obligation to "defend the Israeli citizens," despite criticism from the United States and the Palestinian Authority for fear it could completely block the Roadmap for Peace plan.
MORE TARGETS
Israeli Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi also suggested Thursday, June 12, that Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the terror-group’s Damascus bureau chief, Khaled Mashal, could expect Israeli attacks.
Hanegbi told Army Radio that Yassin and Mashal were acceptable targets in Israel’s war against terror, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) News Service reported.
The minister said that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was not on the hit list "because (Prime Minister) Sharon promised President Bush that Israel would not harm him," the ICEJ News Service quoted him as saying.
On Tuesday, June 10, Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi was wounded in an assassination attempt by Israel. He pledged his organization would would "set the land on fire."
Analysts believe the violence will make it difficult for new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to stay in power as he has failed to reach a truce with terrorists.
