Israel retaliates after bus bomb

Dozens were injured in the Israeli bombardment

The Israeli military has carried out a wave of attacks on Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip in reprisal for the bombing of a Jewish school bus which killed two Israelis earlier on Monday.

We are seeing now and watching state terror

Palestinian official Saeb Erekat

Witnesses said helicopter gunships fired dozens of missiles into buildings belonging to the Palestinian Authority and its leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, which Israel blames for the bus attack.

The bus bomb killed two teachers and wounded several children, but the Palestinians deny it was the work of Fatah. One senior official, Saeb Erekat, has accused Israel of state terror.

Israel's retaliatory attacks lasted for about two hours and included a massive bombardment by Israeli warships offshore which plunged Gaza into darkness.

"Israel is unleashing its military might against a people that doesn't have an army or navy or tanks," Mr Erekat told CNN television.

It's an attack so serious, so low, so contemptible, I believe there's no way to think at all that this can pass without a response

Barak aide Gilad Sher

At least 40 people were wounded, according to hospital officials, Reports speak of panic in the streets as missiles and shells rained down at the rate of one a minute.

The bus bomb prompted an emergency meeting of Mr Barak's security cabinet, which authorised the military crackdown.

Witnesses earlier reported seeing Israeli gunboats taking up position along the Gaza coastline, and more artillery being brought in to bolster the army.

Other new security measures reported in the Israeli media included the closure of roads into the Gaza Strip, and economic sanctions.

Bus blast

Two teachers died and nine people were hurt in the bus bombing, including three young children from one family who are all believed to have lost limbs.

The blast happened after the bus, carrying 50 children and their teachers, left the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom under military escort early on Monday morning.

Children were among the wounded

Mr Barak's spokesman Nachman Shai blamed the attack on "Fatah Tanzim" - a term used by Israel to refer to militants in the movement.

But Fatah official Ahmed Ghneim insisted that "the Fatah movement is not responsible for today's attack, and whenever Fatah carries out an attack it will publicly claim responsiblity".

The two teachers who died in the attack were named by settlers as Miriam Amitai, a 35-year-old mother-of-four, and Gavriel Biton, who had six children.

Three children aged seven, eight and 12, all from one family, had suffered partial leg or arm amputations, said a hospital spokeswoman.

All were hit by shrapnel from the bomb which pierced the body of the bus despite its armour plating.

Anger

Angry settlers later placed a sign on the bus, blaming Mr Barak's so-called policy of restraint for the bloodshed.

Mr Barak spoke of his "deep shock" at the attack.

"This a most grave and serious attack," said a government statement.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack and said it would open its own investigation.

"The Palestinian Authority is not linked to the explosion in any way. The explosion has taken place in an area under Israeli security control and Israel is responsible for the security there," said an official.

Shrapnel tore through the packed bus

The leader of radical Islamic group Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, called the bus bombing a "qualitative development" in the intifada, as it represented another move towards an armed uprising.

The BBC's Hilary Andersson in Jerusalem says the attack is the most serious attack on Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip since the current round of unrest began.

Further deaths

In a separate development, an Israeli soldier shot on Saturday near the same Jewish settlement died of his wounds. One of his colleagues and a Palestinian policeman had already died in the same attack.

November attacks on Israelis

2 November - two die in Jerusalem car bomb attack

13 November - three die in West Bank ambush of settlers' convoy

13 November - Israeli driver shot dead in Gaza Strip

18 November - two Israeli soldiers shot near Kfar Darom, and later die

19 November - Israeli diplomat shot and wounded in Jordan

A Palestinian youth was also shot dead on Monday, in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The bus bombing shattered the latest fragile hopes that the two sides were edging towards an end to the violence.

Mr Arafat had ordered an end to firing at Israelis from Palestinian-ruled areas, and the Israeli Government had made clear it was not planning to respond to Saturday's shootings near Kfar Darom.

Nearly two months of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories have claimed more than 240 lives, most of them Palestinians.