Hamas chief killed in air strike

Mr Rantissi was driving his car in a Gaza suburb as an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at it, witnesses say.

At least two other people were also killed and several more injured.

The attack came hours after a suicide bomber killed himself and an Israeli soldier at the Erez checkpoint just north of the city.

The BBC's Peter Greste, in Gaza City, says people are speculating that the attack was in response to the suicide bombing.

The militant Hamas leader was one of Israel's top targets after it assassinated Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in an air strike last month.

'Israeli crime'

Crowds of Hamas supporters gathered outside Gaza City's Shifa hospital, vowing revenge after the killings.

Senior Hamas figure Ismail Haniya vowed that Mr Rantissi's blood "will not flow in vain".

The Palestinian Authority condemned the killing of Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, accusing Israeli of "state terror".

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this Israeli crime and state terror," he said.

"It is evident now to the world that the Palestinian people need international protection more than ever," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

The Israeli army made no immediate comment on the helicopter strike.

Mr Rantissi was one of the most forceful spokesmen against compromise with Israel.

He described himself as one of seven founders of Hamas and was considered second in importance only to Sheikh Yassin

Khaled Meshaal - Hamas' politburo chief in exile - was declared the group's overall leader after Yassin was killed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3635755.stm