Israelis target Hamas bombmaker in 'copter strike

The fate of Hamas master bombmaker Mohammed Deif remained unclear today, hours after an Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a car in Gaza, killing at least two people and wounding dozens.

Israeli officials said Deif, 37, who has long topped Israel’s most wanted list, was apparently killed yesterday, but Palestinians insisted that he survived, possibly unhurt. Meanwhile, criticism mounted over Israel’s practice of targeting militants in crowded cities.

At least 35 bystanders were wounded in the attack, including more than a dozen children. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed concern about the strike and the harm done to civilians, his spokesman said in a statement.

"The secretary-general deplores the government of Israel’s military action today in Gaza City," the statement said. "He calls on the government of Israel to halt such actions and conduct itself in a manner that is fully consistent with international humanitarian law, under which Israel has a clear responsibility to protect the lives of civilians."

There were conflicting versions about Deif’s fate. A senior Palestinian Authority security official said he escaped with moderate injuries while Hamas official Abdel Aziz Rantisi said he was not even in the car.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Yasser Arafat, are rivals, possibly explaining their different versions about the outcome. Israeli police sources said the army told them Deif had been killed, although the military itself had no comment.

Rantisi said Hamas vowed to avenge the attack regardless: "We will hit Tel Aviv. We will hit everywhere."

The army was on high alert for any possible reprisals against Israelis.

In a pre-dawn raid today, Israeli soldiers carrying out a house search shot dead an armed 21-year-old Hamas militant in the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said.

After yesterday’s attack, about 3,000 people, waving flags and shouting, marched through Gaza City to the spot of the air strike to mourn the victims. The two were identified by Hamas sources as bodyguards.

"We thank God for the safety of the hero, the leader Mohammed Deif, who succeeded in misleading the occupation collaborators and the occupation intelligence," shouted one Hamas member through a loudspeaker. "Thank God for his safety."

The attack came on a day of violence in which four Palestinians - including two gunmen and a baby - and one Israeli were reported to have been killed in other incidents, and Israel maintained its stranglehold on Arafat’s headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah in defiance of Tuesday’s UN Security Council resolution to end the siege.

Two helicopters appeared in Gaza skies just after 1.30pm (11.30am Irish time), firing missiles that ripped apart a green Mercedes and sent a plume of white smoke over the Sheik Radwan neighbourhood.

"Suddenly we heard the sound of a big explosion," said Mohammed Hajar, a hairdresser working in the area. "When I ran out, a second explosion took place."

Blood, body parts and shrapnel were blown across a wide area and nearby windows shattered. A large crowd, confused and angry, gathered at the scene as rescue workers led the wounded to ambulances.

Hamas sources identified the two dead men as members of Hamas, Abdel Rahim Hamdan, 27, and Issa Abu Ajra, 29. Rantisi said they were Deif’s bodyguards.

The air strike was the latest in what the Israeli military calls "targeted killings" of accused Palestinian terrorists. The most controversial, a strike in Gaza that killed Hamas militant Salah Shehadeh, also killed nine children and five adult civilians.

In the past two years, at least 78 wanted Palestinians and 52 bystanders have been killed in such attacks, which the Palestinians say is a policy of assassination and which have been widely condemned by human rights groups.