Seven killed in Israeli air strike

An Israeli missile strike killed a senior Hamas militant, his wife and three-year-old daughter in the Gaza Strip yesterday amid a surge of bloodletting that has plunged US-led peace efforts into turmoil.

The helicopter attack, which killed seven people in all, was launched after a Palestinian suicide bombing killed 16 on a Jerusalem bus and Israeli air raids killed 11 in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, one of the bloodiest days in months of conflict.

An Israeli security source said yesterday's strike followed an order from the Defence Ministry for the army "to use everything they have" against Hamas, which had claimed responsibility for the bus bombing and vowed further attacks.

Yesterday, helicopters fired six missiles into Gaza City, reducing a Subaru car to charred metal. The last missile exploded among bystanders who rushed from a nearby mosque, injuring more than 40 of them, witnesses said.

A three-year-old toddler, unconscious and burned, was rushed into Gaza's Shifa hospital and died there, medical officials said. People filled the streets shouting for revenge. A baby bottle and child's shoes were pulled from the wreckage.

Palestinian sources identified the dead militant as Yasser Taha, a senior member of Hamas's military wing wanted by Israel, and said his wife and daughter had been in the car with him.

"This targeted killing is just the beginning," the Israeli security source said.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed at an emergency cabinet meeting to press ahead with attacks against Hamas, an Islamic group dedicated to Israel's destruction.

After yesterday's missile strike, senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar vowed that the group would strike back.