Israel takes out 'Hezbollah agent'

Israeli helicopter gunships unleashed a fatal pinpoint strike on a car carrying a Palestinian security agent as the man drove on the outskirts of a refugee camp today.

The assassins were congratulated by Israel's caretaker prime minister, Ehud Barak, but condemned by the Palestinians.

Massoud Ayyad, 54, was a major in Force 17, an elite Palestinian security service. Israel said Ayyad was an operative of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah and twice attacked the Jewish settlement of Netzarim with mortars.

The missile attack on the outskirts of the Jebaliya refugee camp killed Ayyad instantly and turned his car into a smouldering, twisted pile of metal. Four bystanders were slightly injured.

Barak sent his "heartfelt congratulations" to the army for the assassination. He said that Israel would continue targeting Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis.

His deputy defence minister, Ephraim Sneh, said Ayyad made a living smuggling arms and drugs, and was a Hezbollah operative.

Sneh said Ayyad's ties to Hezbollah were unusual. The Islamic fundamentalist group has little direct influence in the Palestinian areas.

Ayyad's son, Nasser, allegedly a member of his father's cell, was arrested two weeks ago. Sneh said Israel decided to kill the elder Ayyad only after it exhausted efforts to arrest him.

Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu Medein said Israel was guilty of war crimes and disputed that Ayyad had ties to Hezbollah. "Israel is a state above the law," he said.