from The Guardian
Israel warned today of more military strikes against militants, as thousands of Palestinian mourners poured on to the streets for the funeral of the senior Hamas figure, Ismail Abu Shanab, who was killed in a missile attack yesterday.
Despite widespread anger among Palestinians, and bloody vows of revenge against Israeli targets following the assassination of Abu Shanab, an Israeli security source cited by the Associated Press said all Hamas leaders were now considered fair targets.
The new strikes would be launched after a 24-hour lull to give Palestinians a chance to act on their own against militants. "We were waiting to see even just one Hamas arrest," the same source said.
Under the "road map" peace plan, which was launched on June 4, the Palestinian Authority is required to dismantle Islamist and other militant groups.
Palestinian leaders said the killing of Abu Shanab, a top aide to Hamas chief Ahmed Yassin, ruined what was to be an imminent campaign against militants by Palestinian security forces that would have included arrests and weapons seizures.
The militants called off their ceasefire after only two months, and promised more suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli targets. Their threats raise the possibility of a new round of Middle East violence that could scupper altogether the US-backed peace plan, which aims to create Palestinian state and a secure Israel.
Hamas quickly dispatched squads of young activists in Gaza to launch homemade rockets into Israel. By this morning, six of the crude projectiles had been fired, damaging two houses but causing no injuries. More than a dozen mortars were also launched at Jewish settlements within Gaza, damaging another house.
Speaking at the funeral of Abu Shanab, another Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who survived an Israeli rocket attack on his car in June, said that if the Israelis kill him and other top militants, a secret leadership is ready to take over.
"They think that targeting leaders will stop jihad (holy war). They are mistaken," he said. "All of us in Hamas from top to bottom are looking to become like Abu Shanab."
Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza city to take part of his fiery funeral procession.
"Abu Shanab, rest in peace. Our armies will go forward. We are the men of the dark night," a loudspeaker blared, as his body - shrouded in a green Hamas flag - was carried aloft.
Gunmen fired into the air, punctuating marchers' calls to avenge the Israeli helicopter missile strike yesterday that killed Abu Shanab and two of his bodyguards.
Reuters estimated the crowd at nearly 100,000, one of the largest to turn out for a funeral of a Palestinian killed by Israel since the start of the current intifada, almost three years ago.
"The road map is being buried, only martyrdom operations will remain," a Hamas man shouted through a loudspeaker.
Palestinians and independent analysts regarded Abu Shanab, 53, as a moderate within an organisation dedicated to Israel's destruction, citing his truce dialogue with the reformist Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas.
But Israel said the high-profile, US-educated engineer belonged to a part of Hamas that directed a military wing responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis since the uprising began.
Abu Shanab, second in Hamas only to its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, was targeted two days after a suicide bomber killed 20 people on a bus in Jerusalem, an attack which Hamas called retaliation for Israeli strikes on its members.
"We are not sad or crying. We are happy because my father has become a martyr. His dream has come true. He is a hero of Palestine," Abu Shanab's 19-year-old son, Hazma, said at his family home before the procession set off.
Israel warned today of more military strikes against militants, as thousands of Palestinian mourners poured on to the streets for the funeral of the senior Hamas figure, Ismail Abu Shanab, who was killed in a missile attack yesterday.
Despite widespread anger among Palestinians, and bloody vows of revenge against Israeli targets following the assassination of Abu Shanab, an Israeli security source cited by the Associated Press said all Hamas leaders were now considered fair targets.
The new strikes would be launched after a 24-hour lull to give Palestinians a chance to act on their own against militants. "We were waiting to see even just one Hamas arrest," the same source said.
Under the "road map" peace plan, which was launched on June 4, the Palestinian Authority is required to dismantle Islamist and other militant groups.
Palestinian leaders said the killing of Abu Shanab, a top aide to Hamas chief Ahmed Yassin, ruined what was to be an imminent campaign against militants by Palestinian security forces that would have included arrests and weapons seizures.
The militants called off their ceasefire after only two months, and promised more suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli targets. Their threats raise the possibility of a new round of Middle East violence that could scupper altogether the US-backed peace plan, which aims to create Palestinian state and a secure Israel.
Hamas quickly dispatched squads of young activists in Gaza to launch homemade rockets into Israel. By this morning, six of the crude projectiles had been fired, damaging two houses but causing no injuries. More than a dozen mortars were also launched at Jewish settlements within Gaza, damaging another house.
Speaking at the funeral of Abu Shanab, another Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who survived an Israeli rocket attack on his car in June, said that if the Israelis kill him and other top militants, a secret leadership is ready to take over.
"They think that targeting leaders will stop jihad (holy war). They are mistaken," he said. "All of us in Hamas from top to bottom are looking to become like Abu Shanab."
Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza city to take part of his fiery funeral procession.
"Abu Shanab, rest in peace. Our armies will go forward. We are the men of the dark night," a loudspeaker blared, as his body - shrouded in a green Hamas flag - was carried aloft.
Gunmen fired into the air, punctuating marchers' calls to avenge the Israeli helicopter missile strike yesterday that killed Abu Shanab and two of his bodyguards.
Reuters estimated the crowd at nearly 100,000, one of the largest to turn out for a funeral of a Palestinian killed by Israel since the start of the current intifada, almost three years ago.
"The road map is being buried, only martyrdom operations will remain," a Hamas man shouted through a loudspeaker.
Palestinians and independent analysts regarded Abu Shanab, 53, as a moderate within an organisation dedicated to Israel's destruction, citing his truce dialogue with the reformist Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas.
But Israel said the high-profile, US-educated engineer belonged to a part of Hamas that directed a military wing responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis since the uprising began.
Abu Shanab, second in Hamas only to its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, was targeted two days after a suicide bomber killed 20 people on a bus in Jerusalem, an attack which Hamas called retaliation for Israeli strikes on its members.
"We are not sad or crying. We are happy because my father has become a martyr. His dream has come true. He is a hero of Palestine," Abu Shanab's 19-year-old son, Hazma, said at his family home before the procession set off.
