GAZA, April 8: Israel killed seven Palestinians, including a senior Hamas leader and one of his deputies, on Tuesday in an air strike hours after US President George W. Bush vowed to renew efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian violence.

At least 47 Palestinian civilians were wounded in Gaza City’s densely populated Zeitoun neighbourhood in the first such attack since the start of the US-led war in Iraq three weeks ago, hospital officials said.

The militant Islamic group, which has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings during a 30-month-old Palestinian uprising for statehood, vowed to avenge the deaths of Sa’ad al-Arabeed, a senior commander of its Izz el-Deen al-Qassam armed wing, and deputy Ashraf al-Halabi.

They were in a car struck by two of three missiles which witnesses said were fired by an Israeli F-16 warplane.

A bystander was killed by the missile that missed the vehicle and also wounded about seven other people in Zeitoun, a neighbourhood known as a Hamas stronghold, witnesses said.

Bleeding from the leg, a woman tried to comfort her child as they waited for help to arrive. “God, what should I do,” she asked in desperation as workers from a nearby bakery rushed to help her.

Minutes later, panic ensued as hundreds of people gathered at the scene and Israeli Apache attack helicopters appeared overhead while the F-16 fired missile-deflecting flares.

People began to scatter in all directions, causing a stampede in which many were trampled. Just then, witnesses said, the helicopters fired two missiles and more in the crowd fell to the ground bleeding.—Reuters