At least seven Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the car of an Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza.
Among the dead were Jihad's top commander in northern Gaza, Shahdi Mhanna, and at least one other militant. The identities of the other dead were not immediately clear.
A further 10 people were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon earlier vowed an open-ended offensive against militants after a suicide bomber killed five Israelis yesterday.
At least 30 people were injured in the bombing in the coastal city of Hadera.
The Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for the attack - the first bombing inside the Jewish state since 28 August.
It dealt a serious blow to an eight-month-old truce and international hopes for a revival of peacemaking after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month.
Mr Sharon said there could be no advance towards peace for now because of the 'absolute failure of the Palestinian Authority in the fight against terrorism', as he promised to launch a major military operation.
Early today, Israel launched an air strike on an area of the Gaza Strip used by Palestinian militants to fire rockets onto Israeli territory. There were no reports of casualties.
