Targeted killing of Hamas men to go on: Israel

Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz made the announcement on army radio after Israeli troops arrested 82 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members overnight in the West Bank.

"Yes. The Israeli army will continue to use all means necessary," said Mofaz when questioned about whether Israel would continue targeted assassinations and bombing raids on the Islamist stronghold of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's spokesman swiftly condemned Mofaz for trying to destroy hopes of calm following Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip and urged the international community to rein in Israel.

"We warn Israel against continued assassinations and raids in Gaza because it will destroy the peace and quiet," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

"Continued assassinations will explode the entire situation. We are asking the international community, especially the United States, to move immediately and put strong pressure on Israel to stop this," he added.

Hamas announced on Sunday it had ordered a halt to rocket attacks into Israel from its Gaza Strip stronghold, but there has been no let-up in air raids over the territory from which troops were withdrawn two weeks ago.

Two Hamas and two Jihad militants have been killed in Israeli air strikes since Saturday, after Hamas blamed a deadly blast at a rally in northern Gaza on Israel and began firing a salvo of rockets into the Jewish state.

"There is no ceasefire. Hamas has done something unforgivable and we must force them to observe the new rules of the game," said Mofaz.

"They killed innocent Palestinians during a parade on Friday and then accused Israel. And in order to back up this lie, they fired dozens of Qassams... and wounded Israeli civilians. We will not let this pass."

The Israeli air force carried out more raids on Gaza overnight including on three bridges in the northern Beit Hanun area, which they said had been used by militants "to reach sectors from where it was possible to fire Qassam rockets at Israel".

A Palestinian security official said one person was slightly wounded in a strike on the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, seriously damaging a building used by money changers and another by Abbas's ruling Fatah party.

Mofaz said that even if Hamas had announced an end to the firing of rockets, it was secretly pressing other militant groups to launch attacks.

"We will not allow them to continue with that policy," he said.

Around 380 suspected militants have been arrested in the West Bank since Sunday, including Sheikh Hassan Yussef, considered a top Hamas leader in the West Bank.