GAZA CITY: An Israeli aircraft attacked a motorcycle in Gaza yesterday, killing a man who the military said was a top militant in a shadowy Al-Qaeda-influenced group who had been involved in a recent rocket attack on southern Israel.

It was the first deadly airstrike in Gaza since a truce was reached with Palestinians last November, and is the most serious test yet of the pact.

The strike came alongside the fatal stabbing of an Israeli settler in the West Bank, the first killing by a Palestinian of an Israeli in the territory in over a year.

The aircraft hit the motorcycle as it was traveling northwest of Gaza City, killing the driver and wounding a passenger.