Israel extends olive branch after Gaza city blunder

Israel has eased restrictions on the Palestinians in an effort to make amends for a Gaza City bombing raid that it admitted was a ‘‘mistake’’.

Nine children died along with the target of the raid, a leading Hamas terrorist who topped Israeli intelligence’s ‘‘most wanted’’ list.

Israel’s best known peace advocate, Nobel laureate Shimon Peres, repeatedly said the bombing was a mistake,‘‘ and I cannot explain mistakes’’.

Peres, the foreign minister, said that as a goodwill gesture, Israel would release some of the funds it has been keeping from the Palestinian Authority and would allow 4,000 Palestinian workers to enter Israel.

Also, he said, curfews in West Bank cities and towns would be lifted for longer periods.

But in new violence today, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a Jewish settlers’ car near Elei Zahav, killing one and seriously wounding another.

The UN Security Council met to consider condemning Israel for the bombing and adding their voice to denunciations from the US, Europe, the Arab world and the Palestinians.

World critics rejected Israel’s explanation that it was only aiming for Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh, charging that Israel’s policy of killing terror suspects is a violation of international law.

The most scathing statements, however, centred on the fact that so many bystanders were killed and wounded.

The Israeli military was investigating what went wrong. Commanders insisted they did not know civilians would be hurt, even though they used a huge bomb - Israeli media said it weighed a ton - on an apartment building.