More than 40 Palestinian civilians were wounded in Gaza City's densely populated Zeitoun neighborhood in the first such attack since the start of the US-led war in Iraq three weeks ago, hospital officials said.

Hamas, a militant Islamic group that 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 neighborhood 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.

Two civilians were killed and another two, among some 40 wounded, died later in hospital, doctors said.

The Israeli army made no official comment on the air raid. Israeli security sources said Arabeed had been involved in dozens of attacks on Israelis since Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed interim peace deals in the 1990s.

Arabeed, the sources said, had taken an even more central role in the Qassam brigades since the armed wing's top commander, Salah Shehadeh, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza in July, a raid that also caused civilian casualties.

PEACEMAKING PLEDGE

Shortly before Tuesday's air strike was launched, Bush ended a summit in Northern Ireland with British Prime Minister Tony Blair by saying he would turn his attention to achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the attack showed Israel ..."only knows the way of the gun." Israeli forces have killed dozens of militants in what the army calls ..."targeted attacks" aimed at preventing suicide bombings.

"The Islamic resistance will not rest until it avenges the holy blood of the hero martyrs," said Ismail al-Haniyah, a Hamas spokesman. "The new assassination will only increase the determination of the resistance to continue."

A month ago, an Israeli helicopter strike on a car in Gaza City killed Ibrahim al-Maqadma, 51, a founder of Hamas. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said at the time that more leaders of the militant Islamic group would be killed.

(China Daily April 9, 2003)