DEFIANT Palestinian militants pounded Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip with mortar fire yesterday following the killing of a top Hamas militant in an Israeli airstrike.

Defiant Palestinian militants pounded Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip with mortar fire today, following the killing of a top Hamas militant in an air strike.

Hamas vowed revenge today after an Israeli air strike killed its second most senior commander, in the latest Israeli assassination targeting the militant group.

Israeli helicopters have fired missiles at a car in the West Bank, the latest strike in an assassination policy against leading Palestinian activists.