slapnut
01-01-2009, 10:11 AM
A senior Hamas leader has been killed by an Israeli air strike on his home in the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials say.
Nizar Rayyan, the most senior Hamas figure to be killed since 2004, had urged suicide attacks against Israel.
News of the strike came on the sixth day of Israeli strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian medical sources say 391 people have been killed. Israel says it is trying to prevent militants from firing rockets into southern Israel.
Mr Rayyan is the most senior Hamas leader to be killed since the death of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in April 2004.
Long reach of Israel
Since its bombing campaign began last Saturday, Israel has attacked Hamas fighters and commanders.
Sites linked to Hamas have also been hit, including smuggling tunnels under the border to Egypt, government buildings and security compounds.
Hamas considered Mr Rayyan to be a political leader, but he often wore a military uniform and was close to the group's armed wing.
Until now, political leaders have not been killed.
The BBC's Mike Sergeant, in Jerusalem, says this may further strengthen the determination of Hamas to resist the Israeli air assault.
But it will also be seen as an indication that the Israeli military can target key members of the Hamas leadership - the people Israel says are responsible for the rockets being fired towards Israeli towns, our correspondent adds.
Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets fired into Israel since Saturday.
Humanitarian warning
On Wednesday, Mr Rayyan had promised that Hamas would hit Israel "even deeper" than it has so far.
On the Hamas-run al-Aqsa television channel, he said Hamas militants were preparing for any Israeli ground incursion, saying "we will kill the enemy and take hostages".
At least four other people, some said to be family members, were also killed in the air raid on Mr Rayyan's home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The deaths come as the main UN agency operating in Gaza, Unwra, has resumed food deliveries, but warned of a dire humanitarian situation in the territory.
Israel is refusing entry to Gaza for international journalists and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone", leading to speculation a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip could be imminent.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said it was not his country's aim to return to the Gaza Strip.
"The aim is to stop terror. Our aim, if you ask me, is a positive one - to make peace," he told the BBC.
He said it was up to Hamas to end the conflict.
"It depends upon them. Today, after all the death and all the blood, they fired 17 rockets today. What for? If they really care about their people, stop it."
Nizar Rayyan, the most senior Hamas figure to be killed since 2004, had urged suicide attacks against Israel.
News of the strike came on the sixth day of Israeli strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian medical sources say 391 people have been killed. Israel says it is trying to prevent militants from firing rockets into southern Israel.
Mr Rayyan is the most senior Hamas leader to be killed since the death of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in April 2004.
Long reach of Israel
Since its bombing campaign began last Saturday, Israel has attacked Hamas fighters and commanders.
Sites linked to Hamas have also been hit, including smuggling tunnels under the border to Egypt, government buildings and security compounds.
Hamas considered Mr Rayyan to be a political leader, but he often wore a military uniform and was close to the group's armed wing.
Until now, political leaders have not been killed.
The BBC's Mike Sergeant, in Jerusalem, says this may further strengthen the determination of Hamas to resist the Israeli air assault.
But it will also be seen as an indication that the Israeli military can target key members of the Hamas leadership - the people Israel says are responsible for the rockets being fired towards Israeli towns, our correspondent adds.
Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets fired into Israel since Saturday.
Humanitarian warning
On Wednesday, Mr Rayyan had promised that Hamas would hit Israel "even deeper" than it has so far.
On the Hamas-run al-Aqsa television channel, he said Hamas militants were preparing for any Israeli ground incursion, saying "we will kill the enemy and take hostages".
At least four other people, some said to be family members, were also killed in the air raid on Mr Rayyan's home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The deaths come as the main UN agency operating in Gaza, Unwra, has resumed food deliveries, but warned of a dire humanitarian situation in the territory.
Israel is refusing entry to Gaza for international journalists and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone", leading to speculation a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip could be imminent.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said it was not his country's aim to return to the Gaza Strip.
"The aim is to stop terror. Our aim, if you ask me, is a positive one - to make peace," he told the BBC.
He said it was up to Hamas to end the conflict.
"It depends upon them. Today, after all the death and all the blood, they fired 17 rockets today. What for? If they really care about their people, stop it."