February 18, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 16, 1423

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GAZA, Feb 17: Israeli forces killed a Hamas leader on Monday, drawing calls for revenge at a massive Palestinian funeral in the Gaza Strip, as Israel appeared set to launch a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the killing of four tank crew by the Hamas group.

Riyad Abu Zeid died while being evacuated by a military helicopter to an Israeli hospital with wounds the Israeli army said had been sustained in an exchange of fire with soldiers trying to arrest him.

The killing, which Palestinians called an assassination, appeared to be part of an Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the death of the four-man tank crew in a weekend attack claimed by the organisation.

The tank ran over an explosive device on Saturday morning and was completely destroyed, killing all four soldiers in it as troops moved into the area to raze agricultural land and several greenhouses in the area. Hamas claimed the blast, prompting Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz on Sunday to promise “to strike hard at our enemy Hamas”. The pledge was followed by the killing of six Hamas militants in a Gaza blast blamed on Israel.

“There will be more martyrdom operations inside the Zionist entity,” senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi said at the huge Gaza funeral for the six men.—Reuters/AFP