Palestinians have vowed revenge today after Israel killed Hamas's top bomb and rocket maker in Gaza last night.
In the biggest blow to Hamas since Israel assassinated the group's Gaza leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in April, a missile from an unmanned Israeli drone slammed into Mr Adnan Ghoul's car, last night, killing him and an aide, witnesses said.
The assassination of al-Ghoul, number two in the Hamas military wing and known as "Father of the Qassam" - the Qassam is a makeshift rocket frequently fired into Israel and at Jewish settlements in Gaza - is a major blow to fundamentalist Islamic group.
The assassination could help Prime Minister Ariel Sharon counter far-right opponents who say the plan he will bring to parliament on Monday to remove all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 in the West Bank would reward Palestinian attacks.
Israel also launched a missile strike on the home of another leading militant today in the run-up to a key parliamentary vote on a plan to quit the occupied territory.
According to witnesses, Mr Amer Qarmout, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella militant group, was not injured in the attack on his home in the northern Gaza Strip.
The group earlier said it had fired homemade Nasser-3 rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot. The Israeli army said the missile was aimed at a building used for producing and storing weapons.