Worst Gaza Strip Clash in 3 Months

A Palestinian wounded yesterday in an Israeli air strike died last night in a Gaza hospital, doctors said.

Israel said the man and an accomplice had been about to fire a mortar from the southern Gaza Strip at a nearby Jewish settlement when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at them.

Palestinians said the man was a Hamas militant. His companion was wounded but not critically, medical officials said.

Hamas said the militants were shelling the settlements in response to the death of one of the group's gunmen earlier in the day.

The violence strained a tenuous three-month-old truce and could complicate the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate Gaza. In the West Bank, the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, told reporters: "Regrettably, there is a systematic escalation which is a clear violation of the signed understandings."

The circumstances of the gunman's death were disputed. Hamas said he was killed during a patrol when a grenade or explosive device was launched by soldiers.

Hamas issued a statement warning Sharon that "the security you are enjoying these days will not last long if aggression continues against our people".