Three people have been killed and six woundedin a blast in Gaza at the home of a Hamas, medical sources andwitnesses said today.
The mystery blast ripped apart the home of the Nasser family anddamaged nearby buildings in the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City,the sources said. Two of the wounded were in serious condition.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said today the appointment of former army chief Mr Shaul Mofaz as Israeli defence minister did not bode well for Middle East peace.
Army chief until July this year, Mr Mofaz was known for tough tactics against Palestinians and his support of Mr Arafat's expulsion. He was succeeded as army chief in July by Lieutenant-General Moshe Ya'alon.
"Mofaz on one side, Ya'alon on the other and Sharon over them, what do you imagine will happen in the region?" Mr Arafat said in remarks broadcast on Arabic satellite television al-Jazeera.
"Therefore, the Israeli people must take into consideration these things for the sake of peace which is not only in the interest of Palestinians but also Israelis and Arabs," Mr Arafat said.
An Israeli diplomatic source said Prime Minister Ariel Mr Sharon offered Mr Mofaz the post after Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer tendered his resignation, along with the rest of his Labour Party, from the coalition government yesterday.
Mr Sharon today faced a struggle to keep his government afloat after Labour abandoned the coalition over funding for Jewish settlements.
Israeli officials said Mr Sharon, who lost his parliamentary majority after Labour quit, is trying to form a narrower alliance of far-right and religious parties that could demand a harder line against the Palestinians.
"We will continue to serve the people of Israel, even under the difficult conditions that have been created," Cabinet Secretary Mr Gideon Saar said.
Labour's pullout ended a 19-month "national unity" partnership forged as a common front against a Palestinian uprising and could undermine US efforts to calm the region before a possible war on Iraq.
Agencies