Israel launches fresh Gaza raid

Israel's air strike on Saturday targeted the Hamas spiritual leader

Israeli helicopter gunships have fired missiles at a building in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip, reportedly injuring at least 12 people.

The Israeli military described the building as a weapons store used by the militant Palestinian group Hamas and said explosions were heard after the attack, indicating the presence of explosives.

But Palestinian witnesses quoted by the AFP news agency said the missiles on Sunday targeted the home of a Hamas member, Abdul Salem Abu Musa, who had left the building moments before the attack.

In another development on Monday, an armed Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops near the main Erez crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel, a military spokesman said.

The man had been wearing an Israeli army uniform and was aiming in the direction of soldiers, the spokesman said.

The attacks came after the Palestinian leadership, meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah, approved Yasser Arafat's nominee for the post of prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, to replace Mahmoud Abbas.

The resignation of Mr Abbas - who was accepted by Israel and the United States as a negotiating partner - has been widely seen as a setback for peace efforts.

Israel has stepped up attacks on militant leaders since a Hamas suicide bomber blew up a Jerusalem bus on 19 August, killing 22 people.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has said his forces will hunt and kill all the leaders of Hamas.

The leading religious authority in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar University in Cairo, has deplored an Israeli air strike on Gaza City on Saturday which slightly injured the spiritual head of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Hamas vowed to avenge that attack, prompting Israel to beef up security.

Earlier on Sunday, Hamas claimed responsibility for bomb which injured three Israeli soldiers who were in a jeep near a fence marking the border between Gaza and Israel.

At least 11 Hamas militants and four civilian bystanders have been killed in missile strikes in Gaza since the Jerusalem bus bombing.