THE air strike which killed 15 Palestinians and obliterated a three-story building and destroyed or badly damaged several adjacent ones, came as Palestinian and Israeli political leaders were discussing ways to relieve tensions in the West Bank.

DESCRIBED by Israel as the Gaza Strip's "most brilliant and brutal terrorist," Salah Shehadeh spent more than a decade in Israeli and Palestinian jails, and for the last three years was often in hiding as he oversaw Hamas' frequent attacks.

ISRAEL came under international fire yesterday after nine children were killed along with a Hamas leader in a missile strike that premier Ariel Sharon boasted was "one of our biggest successes".

Described by Israel as the Gaza Strip’s ‘‘most brilliant and brutal terrorist,’’ Salah Shehadeh spent more than a decade in Israeli and Palestinian jails, and for the last three years was often in hiding as he oversaw Hamas’ frequent attacks.