Akram Abu Fahran, 33, was killed when missiles fired from an Israeli helicopter slammed into his taxi near Khan Yunis as he made his way back from Gaza City, security and medical sources said.

Nevine Abu Rejilah, a 17-year-old student who was in the taxi along with three other students, was also killed in the attack, an eyewitness told AFP.

One of her fellow passengers was in critical injured, and the other two were moderately to seriously hurt, medical sources said.

The missiles also hit the car travelling in front in which a wanted Hamas activist was travelling. He lost his leg in the blast.

More than 15 people were wounded in the strike, most of them by shrapnel, medical sources said.

"Helicopters fired several missiles at two cars, killing a man and a woman and wounding 15 people" a security official told AFP.

The latest deaths bring to 3,364 the number of killed since the start of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in September 2000, including 2,536 Palestinians and 768 Israelis.

Hamas sources said the target of the strike, Mohammed as-Siam, 28, was a wanted member of its armed wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, prompting the group to promise revenge the assassination attempt.

Hamas also warned the latest Israeli action put "real obstacles" in the way of attempts to reach a truce.

"This cowardly assassination confirms that the enemy does not want stability or quiet and hence puts real obstacles (in front of) our continuing inter-Palestinian dialogue and efforts towards a truce," senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya told AFP.

Similar sentiments were expressed by the radical Islamic Jihad group.

"This new Israeli crime will negatively impact the decision of the Islamic Jihad movement and that of other (Palestinian) factions regarding a truce," senior Jihad official Mohammed al-Hindi told AFP.

Israeli military sources said an Apache helicopter had fired two missiles at a car carrying Hamas militants on the outskirts of Khan Yunis.

They said a cache of rockets hidden in the car may have caused a number of subsequent explosions after the rockets hit.

The army said the car was carrying a group of Ezzedine al-Qassam militants who were on their way to fire mortars and homemade rockets, nicknamed Qassams, on Israeli territory.

"This (Hamas) unit is involved in firing Qassam rockets at Israeli communities," the army said, pointing out that there has been a significant increase in the firing of Qassams and mortars by Palestinian militants in the past few months.

Since the start of the intifada, more than 140 Qassam rockets and 1,700 mortar rounds have been fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli targets, the army said.

However, the mortar rounds, which often fall short of their targets, have not resulted in the death of any Israelis.

A top aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat slammed Israel for the latest killing, accusing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of wanting "to ruin any chance to implement the roadmap," a US-backed peace blueprint to restore peace and create a Palestinian state by 2005.

"We hold Israel entirely responsible. Sharon aims to destroy Palestinian efforts to bring about quiet and a truce and to ruin any chance to implement the roadmap," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

az-sc-hmw/al

WAR.WIRE