Israeli army kills Hamas leader
Riyad Abu Zeid died while being evacuated by a military helicopter to an Israeli hospital with wounds sustained in an exchange of fire with soldiers who were trying to arrest him, the army said in a statement.
The killing, which Palestinians called an “assassination” of Abu Zeid, appeared to be part of an Israeli thrust against Hamas in Gaza after the death of the four-man tank crew in a weekend attack claimed by Hamas.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz’s pledge on Sunday “to strike hard at our enemy, Hamas,” was quickly followed by the killing of six Hamas militants in an explosion blamed on Israel and the demolition of a house belonging to the militant behind Saturday’s attack.
The violence erupted ahead of a new drive by international mediators to lay the groundwork for a cease-fire to end the bloodshed. Previous diplomatic efforts have failed.
At the funeral for the six militants, Hamas promised to avenge their deaths by escalating a suicide bombing campaign in Israel which has claimed hundreds of Israeli lives in the 29 months since the Palestinian uprising for statehood began. Around 100,000 people, with hundreds of armed militants firing automatic rifles, marched at the funeral, which residents said was the largest ever in Gaza. The atmosphere turned frenzied as mourners learned of the death of Abu Zeid who, according to witnesses, was critically wounded when Israeli commandos sprang out of undercover vehicles and sprayed his car with gunfire.
In a statement, the Israeli army said the forces were trying to arrest Abu Zeid but shot and critically wounded him after he opened fire from his car.
It said Abu Zeid had been the personal assistant to Salah Shehada, the founder of Hamas’ Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam military wing who was killed in an Israeli air force attack last year, and had been planning a big suicide bombing in Israel.
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