Seven die in a day of rockets and bombs

The crisis in the Middle East went from bad to worse yesterday, with a suicide bombing, an assassination, a fatal gun battle, home wrecking operations, and another firing of Hamas' new Kassam-11 rocket into Israel.

As night fell, the death toll stood at seven, of whom five were Palestinians, including a suicide bomber in a shopping mall in Karnei Shomron, a Jewish settlement near Nablus.

Two Israelis were killed, and six were reported to be seriously injured when the Palestinian blew himself up outside a pizzeria in what was the first suicide bombing inside a settlement.

Rachel Cohen, owner of a nearby flower shop, said: "I heard a large explosion ... and I saw everyone running away." Mrs Cohen said her wheelchair-bound husband was among the injured.

A few hours earlier, thousands of Palestinians demanding revenge had gathered around the wreckage of a car in Jenin after it blew up and killed Nazih Abu Sabaa, a member of Hamas' military wing, as he was walking past. Although Israeli officials to comment, the killing had the hallmarks of an Israeli undercover assassination.

The conflict has been worsening steadily but the decline steepened sharply this week. Palestinian guerrillas in Gaza destroyed a Merkava-3, Israel's main battle tank, for the first time, killing three soldiers.

Sources say the bomb was a huge, 100kg home-made concoction of TNT and fertiliser packed inside a water barrel, buried and detonated by remote control.

Israel struck back yesterday with a raid on a security post in the Gaza Strip's el-Bourrej refugee camp. Three Palestinians died, reportedly in a gun battle with Israeli soldiers.

The army accused the Palestinians of "serious aggravation" after Hamas fired another Kassam-11 missile from Gaza into Israel. It landed near the Kfar Azza kibbutz, causing no injuries.

The missile, which carries up to 13lb of explosives is highly inaccurate, and is used more for its psychological impact than to kill. Although the suicide bomber remains by far the deadliest threat, Israel has portrayed the weapon's us as a serious escalation. Its army answered the first Kassam-11 firings last week with its largest raids into Gaza, killing five police.

As all hope of a ceasefire fades, the international community has done little more than wring its hands. The visit by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, to the Middle East appears to have achieved nothing, beyond upsetting the Palestinian public. His trip was followed by the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, who met Mr Arafat yesterday. "This is a very, very serious situation," Mr Fischer said afterwards.