Hamas threatens Israeli leaders after killing of founder

The Israeli military yesterday assassinated one of the founders of Hamas, the most powerful Palestinian militant group. Israeli helicopters fired several rockets at Ibrahim Maqadmeh's car as he travelled through a residential area of the Gaza Strip, cutting him and three bodyguards to pieces.

Hamas responded yesterday by openly threatening for the first time to target directly Israeli government ministers and members of parliament. The violence is spinning out of control here once again, even as the world waits for a probable American attack on Iraq.

The Mitsubishi in which Maqadmeh was driving, near the Gaza Strip's Sheikh Ridwan cemetery, was a mangled wreck yesterday. A witness who gave his name as Abu Shadan said: "When I got to the road I saw burnt bodies, with all their limbs cut off. It was difficult to recognise them but we found the ID card of one of the bodyguards." The three dead bodyguards were all Hamas militants. Several bystanders were injured, according to the Palestinian police.

The attack came at the end of a bloody week, in which at least 36 people have died on both sides. Fifteen people – 14 Israelis and one American – were killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber on an Israeli bus packed with students. A heavily pregnant Palestinian woman was crushed to death in her home during an Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip, and a Palestinian fireman was killed, apparently by an Israeli tank shell, as he tried to put out a burning building after another incursion.

Abd al-Aziz Rantisi, one of the leaders of Hamas' political wing, who acts as a spokesman for the organisation, described the death of Maqadmeh as "a big loss for Hamas". Trained as a dentist, Maqadmeh quickly became involved in Islamist militant groups. He was arrested and imprisoned, twice by the Israelis, once by the Palestinian Authority, and co-founded Hamas from inside an Israeli prison cell.

Maqadmeh once led the armed wing of an earlier militant group, but at the time of his death he was acting as a recruiter for Hamas – and presumably for its armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The Israelis accused him of involvement in many militant attacks.

The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades yesterday released a statement saying it had "informed all its cells that all military options are open" and to target Israel's "political leaders". Although it is probable that Hamas has targeted Israeli government ministers before, this is the first time it has publicly declared it will do so. Dr Rantisi said Israeli MPs would also be targets.

The assassination comes after Hamas claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on the bus full of students in Haifa on Wednesday and for an attack on the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Araba, next to Hebron, on Friday night. Two Palestinian militants got into the settlement disguised as Jewish religious students and opened fire, killing a husband and wife.

In one incursion after another into the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army in recent weeks, Palestinian civilians have been killed. On Monday, Nuha Maqadmeh, nine months pregnant, was crushed to death after Israeli soldiers failed to evacuate her from her home when they dynamited the house next door. Instead the family were ordered to stay inside.

On Thursday, Naji abu Jalili, a Palestinian fireman, was killed as he tried to put out a fire. Television footage appeared to show that an Israeli tank fired a shell at Jalili and a large crowd of civilians watching him. Seven others died, among them at least one child.

The Israeli incursions have targeted Hamas. On Monday, the Israeli army said it had captured a Hamas political leader and a senior member of the armed wing. But the movement's reaction yesterday showed that the latest action was considerably more significant.

As the violence raged, the PLO central council met yesterday to talk about the appointment of a Palestinian prime minister – and Yasser Arafat recited a poem he had written in honour of international women's day. Mahmoud Abbas, the candidate nominated by Mr Arafat, has said he will not accept unless he is granted real power. There will be no decision before tomorrow, when the Palestinian parliament is expected to meet.