Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, was killed in an Israeli air strike in the early morning of 22 March. Five other people died, including two bodyguards, in the attack, which took place as the wheelchair-bound Sheikh Yassin returned from a mosque in northern Gaza. Hamas immediately vowed revenge, warning Tel Aviv that it had 'opened the gates to hell'. 'The battle is open and the battle between us and them is open,' said the group's political leader in Gaza, Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi, who was himself the target of an Israeli assassination attempt in early June. 'They are the killers of prophets and today they killed an Islamic symbol.' Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei described the killing as a 'dangerous, cowardly act'.
Washington issued an appeal for calm from both sides, as Palestinians took to the streets, shops closed, and a general strike was declared in the West Bank. Israel said that Sheikh Yassin was targeted because he was personally responsible for the deaths of many Israelis. Assassination of Hamas's founder has been attempted in the past but a new impetus was given to such targeted killings during an emergency cabinet meeting in mid-March, following the suicide bombing - launched from Gaza - which killed 10 Israelis in the port city of Ashdod. Cabinet members agreed to strike at those believed responsible. Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility.
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