GAZA CITY: Israel assassinated a senior Hamas leader yesterday when warplanes dropped a one-ton bomb on his Jabaliya refugee camp house. The bomb also killed nine other relatives including his four wives and two of his daughters.
Nizar Rayan, widely regarded as one of Hamas’ most hard-line political leaders, had called for renewed bombings inside Israel. Many Hamas leaders are in hiding, fearing assassination attempts by Israel, whose military confirmed the airstrike. Hamas Radio said Rayan rejected Hamas advice to leave his house.
Hamas called on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem to mark a “day of wrath” today by demonstrating against the Israeli offensive. The movement called on its website for “massive marches” after Friday prayers. “Let Friday be a day of solidarity with our people in Gaza and a day of wrath against the Zionist occupation and its settlers,” said Hamas.
At least 414 Palestinians have been killed and 2,100 injured in the Israeli attack on Gaza since Saturday.
“We are trying to hit everybody who is a leader of the organization, and today we hit one of their leaders,” Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said in a television interview.
The 49-year-old Rayan ranked among Hamas’ top five decision-makers. A professor of Islamic law, he was known for his close ties to the group’s military wing and was respected in Gaza for donning combat fatigues and personally participating in clashes against Israeli forces.
He sent one of his sons on an October 2001 mission that killed two Israeli occupiers in Gaza.
Israeli strikes yesterday also hit the Parliament and Justice Ministry buildings in the main Hamas government complex. Hundreds of houses have been destroyed in the six-day offensive. Food, fuel and medical supplies are all running short, according to aid agencies.
Amid fears of a mounting humanitarian crisis, the UN Relief and Works Agency made an emergency appeal for $34 million to help the Gaza population. Speaking from the agency’s headquarters in Gaza, UNRWA Commissioner Karen AbuZayd said: “In my eight years in UNRWA, the urgency of an appeal for the people here has never been so acute. I am appalled and saddened when I see the suffering around me.”
A Palestinian official quoted a humanitarian agency as saying Israel will allow about 400 foreigners living in the Gaza Strip to leave today.
The agency said it had received Israeli notification to this effect. Israeli officials declined to immediately confirm the decision, which could be part of preparations for a ground invasion of the territory. Many of the resident foreigners are spouses of Gaza Palestinians and their children.
“I very much hope we will succeed in achieving our goals quickly,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, repeating Israel’s declared aim of ending rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip and giving no precise time-frame for the offensive.
Earlier this week, Olmert told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other world leaders that Israel would not agree to a truce unless international monitors took responsibility for enforcing it, government officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
Foreign pressure grew on both sides to hold their fire but Israel brushed aside as “unrealistic” a French proposal for a 48-hour truce that would allow in more humanitarian aid for Gaza’s 1.5 million residents.
The UN Security Council held an emergency session but adjourned without a vote after Arab countries pushed for a demand for an immediate cease-fire. Western delegates described the Arab-drafted resolution as unbalanced and said negotiations would continue to reach an agreed text.
— With input from agencies
