Hamas founder arrested in Gaza raid
Eight Palestinians, among them a pregnant woman, were killed in clashes in the camp.
Troops also blew up four homes in the Bureij camp, including that of Hamas co-founder Mohammed Taha, 65, who was wounded in clashes with soldiers, the army said.
Several adjacent houses and a mosque were damaged by the blasts.
Taha's five sons all senior Hamas activists were also arrested.
One son, Ayman, who was also wounded yesterday, is the assistant of the top Hamas bomb maker and number one on Israel's wanted list, Mohammed Deif, the army said.
The arrests signalled a turning point in Israel's dealings with Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in shootings and bombings.
Since the outbreak of fighting in September 2000, Israel has killed scores of Hamas militants and rounded up hundreds of activists, but left the political leadership in Gaza alone.
"This is a continuation of the escalated aggression against our people and our holy places," Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said.
His Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat called for US intervention to stop Israel's actions, saying, "silence to these crimes is an encouragement for their reoccurrence".
Mohammed Taha founded Hamas in 1987, along with the group's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin. Since then, the group has emerged as Arafat's biggest political rival. Mohammed and Ayman Taha were among about 400 suspected Islamic militants Israel deported to Lebanon for a year in 1992.
Since the outbreak of fighting in September 2000, Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in bombings and shootings. In response, Israel has rounded up many Hamas activists, including leaders of the military wing. It has not targeted the political leadership, however, instead hitting installations of Palestinian security forces.
Yesterday's incursion began at about 2am when jeeps and tanks, backed by helicopters, rolled into Bureij in central Gaza. Fierce fighting erupted, and hospital doctors said eight Palestinians were killed. Five were gunmen and three were civilians two boys, aged 14 and 16, and a 33-year-old woman in her ninth month of pregnancy.
The woman was killed when her house collapsed on her during the demolition of a nearby building, doctors and her family said. Six other family members were injured, including the woman's husband and two of her sons.
Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from evacuating the wounded from Bureij for several hours.
Army spokesman Assaf Liberati said the first priority was to protect soldiers and there was concern some of the ambulances were booby-trapped.
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