An Israeli air strike that killed top Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari overnight had opened the gates of hell

THE United States has thrown its weight behind Israel after it launched a barrage of air strikes on the Gaza Strip, and condemned Palestinian militant rocket attacks on southern Israel.

"We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

"We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence."

Nine people were killed in the air strikes and the number is likely to rise, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said.

"The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza so far is nine and the number is increasing," the envoy, Riyad Mansour said.

"The situation is very explosive.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this latest aggression against our people," he said, adding there was "no justification whatsoever" for the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces.

Palestinian sources in Gaza earlier said six had been killed, including top Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari, and at least 65 wounded.

The Israeli strikes prompted widespread condemnation across the region, with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi recalling Cairo's envoy to Israel and summoning Israel's ambassador, his spokesman said.

Following a request from Morsi, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said top Arab diplomats were preparing to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the violence.

Britain also urged restraint while Russia said it was "very concerned".

In pictures: Gaza conflict

The strikes prompted outrage from Palestinian militants who said the Jewish state had opened "the gates of hell" and Egypt promptly announced it was recalling its ambassador over the Gaza City hit that also killed Jaabari's bodyguard.

It was swiftly followed by more than 20 air strikes.

"The occupation has opened the gates of hell on itself," said a statement from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which vowed its militants would "continue the path of resistance".

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said the strike was tantamount to a "declaration of war".

Fifteen second race for life in Israeli border town

Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency and the military confirmed the operation.

"During a joint operation of the General Security Service (Shin Bet) and the IDF (army) today, Ahmed Jaabari, the senior commander of the military wing of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was targeted," a statement from the Shin Bet said.

"In the past hour, the IDF targeted Ahmed Jaabari, the head of Hamas's military wing, in the Gaza Strip," the military added in a statement, saying Jaabari "was a senior Hamas operative... directly responsible for executing terror attacks."

"The purpose of this operation was to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure."

Israel warned it was only the start of an operation targeting militant groups in Gaza, which comes as the Jewish state prepares for general elections in January.

"Today we sent a clear message to Hamas and other terrorist organisations," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a televised address several hours after the initial strike which took place at about 1400 GMT (0100 AEDT).

"If it becomes necessary, we are prepared to expand the operation," the Israeli leader warned after holding consultations with his security cabinet. "We will not tolerate a situation in which Israeli citizens are threatened by rocket fire."

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the operation was aimed at strengthening Israel's deterrence, damaging militant groups' rocket-firing capabilities and stamping out attacks on southern Israel.

"Israel doesn't want a war but the Hamas provocation of recent weeks ... forced us to act sharply and decisively," Barak said.

"We are at the beginning, not end, of this action," he warned, adding: "It won't be a quick fix."

The air strikes capped five days of rising tension in and around Gaza.

The killing of Jaabari sparked furious protests in Gaza City, with hundreds of members of Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, chanting for revenge inside Shifa hospital.

It also came as a position paper from Israel's foreign ministry proposed "toppling" Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if Palestine becomes a recognised state.

"Toppling Abu Mazen's (Abbas's) regime would be the only option in this case," the paper obtained by AFP says.

"Any other option ... would mean waving a white flag and admitting the failure of the Israeli leadership to deal with the challenge."

The position paper is a draft document that is expected to be endorsed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who would then present it to the Israeli officials charged with formulating Israel's response to the Palestinian bid.

Mr Lieberman has already reportedly expressed his view that Mr Abbas's Palestinian Authority should be dismantled if the UN bid succeeds.

The Palestinians are scheduled to present their bid for state observer status at the general assembly on November 29, where they are expected to easily win approval, despite opposition from the United States and Israel.

The bid comes slightly more than a year after the Palestinians sought full UN membership at the security council, a request that stalled there because of opposition from the United States, a permanent member and veto-holder.

The ministry paper warns that Israel "must extract a high price from Abu Mazen," and that receiving state status at the UN "would be considered a crossing of a red line."

Israel's Channel 10 reported on November 5 that Mr Lieberman had backed the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, in comments to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"If the Palestinians pursue their project at the UN, they are definitively destroying the chances of peace talks," the station quoted Lieberman as saying on October 24.

"If they persist with this project, I will ensure that the Palestinian Authority collapses."

A senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that Israel is also considering annulling part or all of the 1993 Oslo Accords in response to the UN bid.

The 1993 Oslo accords were intended to pave the way for a full resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, which was to govern parts of the occupied West Bank and Gaza until a final agreement.

Israel and Washington fiercely oppose any Palestinian action at the United Nations, and US President Barack Obama called Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas earlier this week to reiterate his opposition.

But the Palestinians have confirmed they will push ahead with the plan, saying that enhanced UN status does not contradict peace efforts, and pointing out that direct talks have been on hold since late September 2010.

Meanwhile, Palestinians rallied across the West Bank, a day before the 24th anniversary of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's independence declaration.

Thousands of Palestinians were taking place in demonstrations blocking roads near the West Bank towns of Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah.

Chanting "Free Palestine," they carried banners supporting a Palestinian bid later this month to obtain state observer status at the United Nations.

In Atara, north of Ramallah, and at a checkpoint by the city of Bethlehem, Israeli forces fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

An Israeli army spokesman said that "approximately 200 people - Palestinians and international activists - were throwing stones" near Jericho.

"The military force at the site is not reacting with riot dispersal means," the spokesman said, "and one soldier was lightly wounded by rocks. The soldiers are reacting with moderation."

Israel's history of killing Hamas leaders

- July 2002: An Israeli warplane drops a bomb on the home of Salah Shehadeh, the head of the Hamas military wing, killing him and 14 others, including women and children

- March 2004: An Israeli missile strike kills Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas spiritual leader, near a Gaza City mosque. Yassin, paralysed in a childhood accident, was among the founders of Hamas in 1987, a few days after the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising.

- April 2004: Israel kills Gaza's Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi in a missile strike on his car. Two of Rantisi's bodyguards are also killed

- January 2009: An Israeli warplane drops a bomb on the home of Nizar Rayyan, a senior Hamas figure, killing him and 18 others. The attack comes several days after Israel launches a three-week military offensive against Hamas in Gaza

- January 2009: An Israeli air strike during the offensive kills Said Siam, the interior minister in Gaza's Hamas government. A missile hits the home of Siam's brother and also kills two other senior Hamas members.

with AP

