Twelve killed in Gaza violence

ISRAELI troops stormed a Hamas stronghold yesterday and exchanged fire with dozens of masked gunmen in the most intense battle in Gaza in 31 months of fighting. Twelve Palestinians, including two children and a top bombmaker, were killed.

The violence came just a day after international mediators presented a new peace plan, the so-called "road map" to Palestinian statehood, and Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in as Palestinian prime minister. Abbas, an outspoken critic of violence against Israel, has said one of his priorities would be to disarm Palestinian militias.

The target of the raid was Yousef Abu Hein, a top Hamas bombmaker, but Israeli officials did not link the operation to a Hamas suicide bombing in a Tel Aviv pub in which a waitress and two musicians were killed on Wednesday. An adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel would not give Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, a grace period. "We can't wait until Abu Mazen gets his act together," said Sharon aid Zalman Shoval. "The faster he moves to halt terror, the quicker Israel will be able to halt these operations."