Israel’s army has been ordered to “completely wipe out” the Palestinian Islamic terrorist group Hamas, according to Israeli army radio.
The order, directing the army to use “whatever means necessary,” comes one day after a suicide bomber tied to Hamas killed 17 and wounded 70 in an attack on a Jerusalem bus, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.
 Sheik Ahmad Yassin |
No Hamas leader is safe, said Israeli Internal Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi.
The targets are the organization’s infrastructure and its leadership, “from the lowliest member to Sheik Ahmad Yassin,” the Hamas spiritual guide, ABC reported.
The directive was issued after Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz met with the army’s top command after yesterday’s attack.
This afternoon, Israel killed at least two Hamas terrorists during its third air raid over Gaza City in 24 hours.
The helicopter attack on a Hamas stronghold killed five other people, including one of the terrorist’s wives and children, and wounded 25, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The raid came after new threats from Hamas to launch more attacks against Israel and to tear the Jewish state to pieces, the Post said.
Part of the Hamas warning included a directive that foreigners leave Israel for their own safety.
“The Jerusalem attack is the beginning of a new series of revenge attacks … in which we will target every Zionist occupying our land,” Hamas said in a statement faxed to Reuters. “We call on international citizens to leave the Zionist entity immediately to preserve their lives.”
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet earlier today adherence to the road map would not prevent Israel from continuing to fight terrorism.
 Benny Elon |
Tourism Minister Benny Elon, a leading opponent of the U.S.-backed road map who has his own plan for peace, told Fox News television: “We have to crush and bring down the terror groups before we can achieve peace.”
Israeli security sources said Hamas had ordered the Jerusalem suicide attack several days ago and that it was not in response to an Israeli attempt to assassinate senior Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi on Tuesday, Israel Radio said.
The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported that at the time of the latest strike, the streets were crowded with mourners who had attended the nearby funeral of 11 people killed in two previous missile attacks.
Earlier today, Palestinians fired four Qassam rockets from the northern Gaza Strip into the western Negev desert, resulting in no injuries, Ha’aretz said.
Last night, two separate Israel Air Force helicopter missile strikes killed 10 Palestinians. Israeli sources said one of the targets was a terrorist cell about to launch mortar shells at a nearby Jewish settlement.
The bus bombing in Jerusalem early yesterday morning was the deadliest suicide attack since a January bombing in Tel Aviv that killed 23. Palestinian militants identified yesterday’s attacker as Abdel Madi Shabneh, 18, a high school student from Hebron who boarded the bus disguised as an Orthodox Jew.
President Bush angrily condemned the bombing and urged nations “to fight off terror, to cut off money to organizations such as Hamas, to isolate those who hate so much that they’re willing to kill to stop peace from going forward.”
The daughter of Republican New Jersey state senator Robert Singer was among the wounded. Sarri Singer, 30, said the explosion ripped through the packed bus just as she had taken a seat.
“It was, like, a very strong blast and the next thing I know people are pulling me out of the bus,” she told Israel Radio. “I have a fracture in my shoulder, other than that, thank God, I’m happy to be alive.”
 Natan Sharansky |
Natan Sharansky, Israel’s minister for Jerusalem affairs, stood next to the bus ruins shaking his head, Fox News said.
“My daughter rides that bus, so immediately you start checking where your family is and getting irritated because one doesn’t know where the other is and none of the phones work,” he said.
