Militants vowed to unleash catastrophic reprisals for the killing of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin as the Middle East lurched closer to all-out war today.
Palestinitan militants declared “open war” on Israel after the assassination of 67-year-old Sheik Ahmed Yassin when an Israeli helicopter gunship attacked as he left a Gaza mosque.
Sheik Yassin was killed along with seven others when the Apache helicopter fired three missiles into the convoy of cars escorting him home.
In other developments:
FIGHTING broke out on the Lebanese-Israeli front in the wake of the attack, with Hezbollah guerrillas shelling Israeli positions in a disputed area and Israel retaliating with air-strikes.
US and Israeli officials said Israel had not notified Washington in advance of the attack.
ISRAELI officials acknowledged the assassination was bound to unleash a wave of terror attacks against Israeli targets. However, the long-term effect would be one of deterrence, they said.
ISRAEL opposition leader Shimon Peres has said the assassination was a mistake. “Had I been a member of the government I would have voted against this,” he said.
INDONESIA – the world’s most populous Muslim nation – called the assassination “shocking” and warned it could spark fresh bloodletting in the Middle East.
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