Wednesday, May 18 2005 21:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Gaza City: Israel today (May 18, 2005) launched its first air strike against Palestinian militants since armed groups began observing a de facto truce, seriously wounding a Hamas militant and jeopardising the fragile peace.

Israeli forces targeted a Palestinian militant cell in the Khan Yunis area in the Southern Gaza Strip, as it was about to launch a mortar attack on a nearby Jewish settlement, a military source said.

"They were aerially targeted and we identified hitting one of them," the source told. "It was moments before they were about to fire, they had the launcher in place and the missile was in sight."

Palestinian medical sources said Ahmed Shahwan, a 24-year-old Hamas member from Khan Yunis, lost both legs and an arm in the attack.

Violence has dropped considerably since militants began observing a truce in late January 2005, but the Israeli Government has repeatedly accused Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas of not doing enough to disarm armed groups.

The Israeli source said the air strike came after five mortar shells were fired by militants at the settlements of Morag and Neve Dekalim. There were no immediate reports of Israeli casualties.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed its members had fired mortars at Neve Dekalim, the largest Gaza settlement, and Morag to avenge the death of one of its members late Tuesday (May 17).