The military wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas threatened today to change tactics by attacking Israeli houses and buildings after Israel tried to kill a Hamas political leader in his home in the Gaza Strip.
"The targeting of civilian houses is a violation of all red lines. Therefore the Zionist enemy will have to shoulder responsibility for the targeting by us of houses and Zionist buildings everywhere in occupied Palestine," the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said in a statement.
"We reiterate that in the past we have avoided targeting houses and Zionist residential buildings but the enemy was the one to initiate it and the enemy has to harvest what it has sown," said the statement, which was sent to news organisations.
An Israeli missile today flattened Hamas political leader Mahmoud al-Zahar's house in the Gaza Strip, killing his eldest son and a bodyguard. Zahar was lightly wounded.
It was the latest in a series of air strikes that have killed 12 Islamic militants since a Hamas suicide bombing killed 22 Israelis in Jerusalem on August 19th.
Hamas has vowed to avenge the air strikes and two Hamaas suicide bombers killed 15 people in Israel yesterday.
"Our painful operations were to tell the enemy that we have struck you when your security arrangements reached a climax yesterday. Our response came, and has not been completed yet," the statement by the Hamas military wing said.
"We sent this message to tell the terrorist (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon and his Nazi government that we are able, by God's will, to achieve our goal in a time which we will determine," it said.