Israel Kills 12 Militants in Gaza

Israeli military strikes have killed 12 Palestinian militants in Gaza, including two top commanders, over the past two days. Nearly all the dead were members of Islamic Jihad, a small hard line armed group which has been responsible for firing makeshift rockets into Israel.

The killings represent the most significant action against Gaza militant groups for months.

On Monday evening, the Israeli air force fired on a car, killing Majd al-Harazin, a senior figure in Islamic Jihad, and one of his aides. Harazin was thought to be the most senior militant commander killed in Gaza in the past year.

Four hours later the Israeli military killed four Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza City, among them Karim Dahdouh. Early yesterday, the Israelis hit four Islamic Jihad fighters in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, and struck also in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing two members of Hamas.

Islamic Jihad said the killings would not stop its fight against Israel. A group leader, Sheikh Abdallah al-Shami, said: "We remind the criminal Zionist enemy that assassinations had never succeeded in deterring our fighters from pursuing jihad and resistance." Islamic Jihad also threatened "a wave of martyrdom operations", raising fears of a return to suicide bombings.

Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, described his country's strikes as "successful activity".

Militants in Gaza continued firing rockets into Israel yesterday though Hamas has recently floated the idea of a ceasefire.

Yesterday the White House said that in January, during a nine-day trip through the Middle East, the US president, George Bush, would visit Israel and the West Bank for the first time.