Israeli missile strike leaves four dead

GAZA - Israel has killed a commander and three other members of Hamas' armed wing in a helicopter missile strike, prompting a vow of revenge from the Palestinian militant group as a United States-backed peace plan takes another battering.

Hamas said it could go on fighting Israel forever if necessary and dismissed Palestinian Authority plans to crack down on militants in the Gaza Strip as demanded by the Jewish state and the US.

"I don't believe [the Palestinian Authority] will dare do it," said Hamas' political leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi moments before the missile strike.

"Believe me, any action against us and the Palestinian Authority will find itself face-to-face with the Palestinian people, the masses," he said.

Rantissi said he saw no chance of restoring a ceasefire.

"[Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon made a big mistake. He thought we were weak. No. Believe me, we can go ahead in this conflict forever."

The killing of Ahmed Shtewe, 24, and the other members of Hamas' Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam followed a vow by Israel's Army chief Moshe Yaalon to hunt down Islamic militants if Palestinian security forces did not.

The four were killed when helicopter gunships swooped down and fired missiles at them as they walked near a beach in Gaza City.

"The four men were sitting on a hilltop overlooking the beach," said a witness. "They stood up and were about to cross the road when helicopters fired four missiles.

"Three missiles hit the people directly and a fourth missile landed behind them."

The bodies were decapitated or mangled almost beyond recognition, medics said.

An Israeli source said: "We've been on [Shtewe's] tail for quite some time now. He is one of those who put together suicide bombers."

Hamas' spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said Israel would pay the price for killing members of his group.

Hamas and other militant groups had already vowed to carry out revenge attacks after Israel assassinated a senior Hamas leader in a missile strike in Gaza City last week.

The assassination was in retaliation for Hamas' killing of 21 people in a suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus last week.

- REUTERS