Palestinians Attack After Hamas Killing

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Defiant Palestinian militants pounded Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip with mortar fire Friday, following the killing of a top Hamas militant in an Israeli airstrike.

Tens of thousands of angry Hamas supporters joined the funeral procession for Adnan al-Ghoul, 46, a founder and deputy chief of the Hamas military wing who was on Israel’s most-wanted list since 1990.

Mourners and leaders of the Islamic militant group threatened revenge attacks against Israel. The group, which opposes the Jewish state’s existence, has killed hundreds of Israelis in the past four years of fighting.

“Hamas is loyal to the blood of its martyrs and will continue on the path of holy war and resistance until we achieve victory by defeating the Zionists,” Ismail Hanieh, a Hamas leader, said in a rare appearance at a Gaza City mosque.

Hamas leaders have been driven underground by Israel’s relentless campaign of targeted killings, including those of the group’s founder and his successor this year. Israeli analysts said the killing of al-Ghoul was a major blow to Hamas because he was a top bombmaker responsible for the group’s weaponry, including crude anti-tank missiles and the Qassam rockets the group has fired at Israeli communities, the army said.

Israel held al-Ghoul responsible for the deaths of dozens of its citizens, including in major suicide bombings in the 1990s. He had been in hiding for years, avoiding public appearances and media interviews, and narrowly escaped two previous attempts on his life.

Al-Ghoul’s assistant, Imad Abbas, also was killed Thursday.

Following the killings, about 15 mortar rounds were fired at the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim and adjacent military posts, damaging four houses but causing no casualties. Settlers reported mortar shells falling on two other south Gaza settlements but causing no damage.

One militant was killed and another gravely wounded as they prepared to fire a mortar at Neve Dekalim, Palestinians and the army said. Palestinians said the dead man was a known Hamas activist. It was not immediately clear if the men were hit by Israeli fire or whether the mortar shell exploded prematurely.

A mourner then was shot dead at the militant’s funeral procession. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers guarding Neve Dekalim about 300 yards away killed the unarmed civilian. The army had no immediate comment.

Hamas’ ability to strike back at Israel has been severely weakened by a string of assassinations. Early this year, Israel killed the group’s spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi.

A top Hamas leader based in Damascus, Syria, was killed in a car bombing last month. Israeli security officials acknowledged involvement. Most Hamas leaders in Gaza have gone into hiding.

Al-Ghoul’s killing leaves Hamas’ military leadership solely in the hands of Mohammed Deif, its longtime chief. Deif, like al-Ghoul, is high on Israel’s wanted list and has been in hiding for years. They both escaped a September 2003 airstrike aimed at a gathering of Hamas leaders in Gaza.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned Thursday’s killing, which he said “reflects the determination of the Israeli government to continue the path of military solutions rather than negotiations.”

Later Thursday, an Israeli helicopter fired a missile in the northern Gaza Strip, causing no injuries but destroying the home of a local militant leader, witnesses said. The army said it destroyed a weapons workshop.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved about 100 yards into the Rafah refugee camp early Friday, witnesses said.

An Israeli helicopter hovered overhead, firing bursts of gunfire, and Palestinian gunmen returned fire. Israeli military sources confirmed an operation was under way, but declined to elaborate.

The Rafah camp, located on the Egyptian border, is a flashpoint of violence, and an Israeli soldier was killed in the area Thursday.

The small Rafah operation followed a broad invasion into northern Gaza – meant to stop militants from firing rockets into Israel – that began Sept. 29 and ended last week.

The U.N. Reliefs and Works Agency said the 17-day offensive killed 107 Palestinians, left nearly 700 people homeless and caused more than $3 million in damage.

Gaza has experienced an upsurge in violence since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced plans earlier this year to withdraw from the volatile area. Both Israel and militants want to claim victory ahead of the withdrawal next summer.

Sharon will present his withdrawal plan to Israeli lawmakers for approval Tuesday.

Sharon aides said Thursday he has enough support to win that vote, but he is deeply concerned about growing fissures within the ruling Likud Party over the plan.

Just more than half of Likud’s 40 lawmakers are expected to support Sharon, meaning he will have to rely on moderate opposition parties to prevail.

Sharon says a continued presence in Gaza, where 8,200 Jewish settlers live among 1.3 million Palestinians, is untenable. The plan also includes a pullback from four small West Bank settlements.

Tuesday’s vote is only the first of three parliamentary votes on the plan.