Deadly Israeli military air strike in Gaza

Gaza's Health Ministry identified the killed Palestinian as 21-year-old Muaman Abu-Daf and said one other Palestinian was hospitalised. Abu Daf died when a missile hit the Zeitoun district in Gaza City.

The Israelis accused Abu Daf, of planning and executing executed numerous terror attacks. The deadly air strike was Israel's second against Islamist militants this week. Allegedly, Abu Daf is the chief of the Army of Islam, a militant group that professes allegiance to al Qaeda.

Two short-range rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel on Thursday and five on Wednesday, the Israeli military said. The attacks caused no victims. The Popular Resistance Committees, an armed Palestinian faction, claimed responsibility.

Gaza's ruling party Hamas are in rapprochement talks with secular Palestinian rivals, Fatah and with the new Egyptian regime. Hamas has governed the Gaza since June 2007 after it won the majority of seats in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. However, Hamas has never been officially recognised by the international community. Palestinians have been trying to patch up factional divisions that split Gaza from the West Bank in 2007 and led to the collapse of the Palestinian legislative council. Since 2007 there has not been a functioning national Palestinian parliament.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Cairo last week. The two leaders agreed to form a unified government, which will be sworn in by the end of January. However, Hamas did not cave in to international pressure to initiate a disarmament programme and recognise the existence of the Israeli state.

Both camps remain cynical about the likelihood of creating a unitary government. Some Hamas officials believe that Israel and the US will apply diplomatic and economic pressure on Abbas and hold him from forming a unity government.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has already issued an ultimatum to Abbas, warning him that he must choose between reconciliation with Hamas and peace with Israel. The US administration has also warned that it will cut millions of dollars in funding if Fatah unifies with Hamas.