MIDDLE EAST: Israel killed the military chief of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a Gaza City airstrike yesterday that drew vows of revenge and could complicate efforts to end a huge Israeli offensive.
Bashir ad-Dabbash (38) was the leader in Palestinian territories of the group dedicated to destroying the Jewish state and at the forefront of a suicide bombing campaign during the Palestinian uprising.
He died alongside another militant one year and one day after the last big suicide bombing by the faction, when a Palestinian woman killed 23 Israelis at a restaurant.
Another Israeli missile strike in Gaza reportedly killed two Palestinians last night.
The Israeli army said it had targeted the vehicle, adding that Mr Dabbash was responsible for dozens of attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The killing of the Islamic Jihad leader came as the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, tries to break armed factions before a planned withdrawal of troops and settlers from occupied Gaza next year.
Mr Dabbash's body was carried to the morgue from the wreckage of his car, torn apart in the missile strike, by militants firing in the air and chanting for revenge.
"Islamic Jihad will not be broken by this martyrdom," said Mr Khaled al-Batsh, a senior political leader in Gaza. "Islamic Jihad's armed wing will return this strike with tougher strikes against the Zionist entity."
Mr Dabbash headed Jihad's military wing, known as the al-Quds Brigade. Its political leader, Mr Ramadan Shallah, is abroad - his predecessor, Fathi Shqaqi was shot dead in Malta in 1995. Israel does not comment on charges that it killed him.
Mr Dabbash's assassination was Israel's most high-profile since it killed the leader of the Hamas group in April.
Meanwhile, an Israeli army officer said Israel had arrested 13 United Nations employees in the Gaza Strip and planned to indict them for "suspected links to terrorism". He did not say when they were arrested.
Israel is now demanding three straight "rocket-free" days as proof of the Palestinian Authority's commitment to prevent such attacks, an Israeli security source said. The last rocket strike on Monday wounded one man on a college campus.
Palestinian militants had initially demanded an end to assassinations, although Israel refused, insiders said.
A Hamas spokesman said: "I do not believe the time is right to talk about stopping any of the resistance."
Palestinian sources say 41 militants have been killed in the current assaults. Two Israeli soldiers and a woman settler have also died. A missile killed a gunman yesterday in Jabalya refugee camp. A 24-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire.
The Palestinians' Arab allies have pressed for a UN Security Council resolution demanding Israel stop its offensive, but the United States has signalled it would veto the measure.
Israel has arrested at least 13 Palestinian UN employees during the past four years of conflict, the army said. Israel revealed the arrests amid a row with the UN agency that cares for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
An Israeli officer earlier said 13 employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) had been arrested, and Israel planned to indict them for "suspected links to terrorism".