Israeli airstrike kills two top Gaza militants

ISRAEL killed two top Palestinian fugitives yesterday, pulverising their car in a missile attack just after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas travelled on the same road near a Gaza refugee camp.

The airstrike triggered threats of revenge by militants and made it harder for the beleaguered Mr Abbas to rescue a fragile truce.

In the past, armed groups have fired homemade rockets at Israeli border towns in response, drawing Israeli reprisals that have been particularly harsh since the Israeli pullout from Gaza in September.

Earlier, Israeli cabinet ministers approved the deployment of European inspectors at the Egypt-Gaza border, a breakthrough after weeks of slow-moving talks and a major step toward giving the Palestinians freedom of movement without Israeli controls.

In yesterday’s airstrike, missiles slammed into a car carrying two top fugitives - Hassan Madhoun of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and Fawzi Abu Kara of Hamas.

The car was driving on a main north-south road next to the Jebaliya refugee camp when it was hit, and was turned into a twisted ball of metal scraps. Just minutes earlier, Mr Abbas’s convoy had travelled on the road on his way to Gaza City.

The airstrikes came on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Mr Madhoun was involved in rocket attacks on Israel, serving as a coordinator with other militant groups, Israeli officials said.

He also helped plan three bombing attacks that killed 20 Israelis since 2004, the army said.