Israeli aircraft fired three missiles at targets in the central Gaza Strip yesterday, killing one Palestinian militant and critically wounding another, Palestinian health officials said.
The army said the airstrikes were aimed at a cell preparing to carry out an attack. It said two vehicles were targeted, and one was hit.
Pillars of smoke billowed from the destroyed vehicle as rescue workers removed burned and dismembered bodies.
Palestinian officials initially said both men were dead after they were taken to the morgue by an ambulance. But a doctor at the morgue found them to be alive and sent them to the operating room. The injuries included lost legs, severe chest wounds and head injuries.
Later, Dr Baker Abu Safia confirmed that Wael Nassar, 23, of Islamic Jihad had died of his wounds.
Ahmad Abu Najam, 23, another Islamic Jihad militant remained in critical condition.
Islamic Jihad vowed to take revenge for the Israeli missile strike.
"God willing our reprisal is coming and it is going to be like air shaking," said spokesman Abu Ahmad.
"We are going to shake the air under their feet. They had experienced us in Tel Aviv and more is coming," he said.
Islamic Jihad, a small group with ties to Iran and Syria, claimed responsibility for last week's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed nine and wounded dozens.
Jerusalem fence
In related developments, Israel's prime minister-designate Ehud Olmert told top security officials on Wednesday to swiftly plug the gaps in the separation barrier around Jerusalem.
Olmert ordered that "all gaps be closed immediately by means of temporary fences until they are permanently closed by the security fence," according to the prime minister's office.
The separation barrier, which is a network of fences, walls and guard points that stretches for about 720km, still has many openings around Jerusalem, and Israeli security officials consider the city one of the places most vulnerable to attack.
Legal challenges in Israel resulted in temporary injunctions against building the barrier in several parts of Jerusalem. The Supreme Court recently dismissed the injunctions against building, though the justices have yet to issue final rulings in the cases, said Marc Luria, a founder of Security Fence for Israel, a private group.
The court can still rule against the government's proposed route and require the barrier to be moved, but Olmert said some sort of obstacle should be put in place as soon as possible.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled in 2004 that building the barrier inside the West Bank, where most of it is being erected, is a violation of international law.
Israel rejected the decision, saying the barrier was necessary to prevent suicide bombings and other attacks.
In Jerusalem much of the barrier runs along the eastern edge of the city, keeping virtually all of the city on the Israeli side. About three-quarters of the Jerusalem barrier has been completed or is under construction, while about one-quarter has been blocked by the legal challenges, Luria said.
In the most recent suicide bombing, a West Bank Palestinian killed nine people at a restaurant in Tel Aviv on April 17.
Israeli officials have not said how he reached the city, though Israeli news reports cited officials who said they believed that he had entered through an opening in the barrier in or near Jerusalem.
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