GAZA CITY, 11 June 2003 — Abdul Aziz Al-Rantissi, a senior Hamas leader, was wounded in an Israeli helicopter assault yesterday in Gaza City that killed three people and dealt a major blow to revived prospects for peace.
In a second attack hours later Israeli helicopter missiles killed three Palestinians and wounded 32 in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics and witnesses said. They said the second attack occurred shortly after Palestinians fired rockets into Israel, apparently in response to the wounding of Rantissi. A seventh Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops in Khan Younis.
Rantissi, 55, suffered leg, arm and chest wounds in the missile attack on his car in central Gaza but emerged from surgery vowing to press his anti-Israeli campaign and “not to leave one Jew in Palestine.”
Witnesses said Israeli helicopter gunships fired five or six rockets on Rantissi’s car and another vehicle parked nearby.
“I saw Rantissi jump out of the car after the first missile was fired as people rushed to the scene to help,” said Bassem Abu Osama, who was present at the scene. Two bystanders, a 50-year-old woman and a five-year-old girl, were killed while another Palestinian died of his wounds later.
More than 20 other people were wounded, including Rantissi, his son and two bodyguards, Palestinian medical sources said.
As smoke billowed from the charred car, ambulances and private vehicles whisked the dead and wounded to Gaza City’s Shifa hospital. Thousands of Palestinians gathered in front to vent their anger.
Only moments after undergoing surgery on his leg, Rantissi told the Al-Jazeera news network from his hospital bed: “By God we will not leave one Jew in Palestine. We will defend this homeland with all the strength we have. We have God on our side, and we have the sons of the Arab and Islamic nation on our side,” he said. Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin also promised the attack would be met with more bloodshed after visiting Rantissi in his hospital room. “Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on all Israeli people are targets,” Yassin told reporters. Hamas demanded the Palestinian Authority freeze all contacts with Israel.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas swiftly condemned the Israeli attack as “criminal and terrorist.” He addressed an urgent message to the United States demanding “immediate action ... to stop this serious deterioration” in the conflict.
In Bahrain several Arab foreign ministers condemned the raid and accused Israel of seeking to quash revived peace hopes.
The attack was “an act that is condemned, condemned, condemned,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
“Everyone has denounced this operation,” Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shara said. It was “part of Israel’s attempts to torpedo the situation created by the road map,” he added.
In Washington, the White House said US President George W. Bush is “deeply troubled” by the Israeli attack against Rantissi and does not think it promotes Israel’s security.
— Additional input from Agencies
