The slow pace of Palestinian politics provoked some impatience from President Bush (news - web sites), who has said he will not make public a U.S.- supported "road map" for peace until a Palestinian government takes office.
Until the Gaza strike, Israel had scaled back its military operations, even though a suicide bombing, billed by Islamic Jihad as a gift to the Iraqi nation, wounded 30 people March 30.
In Tuesday's attack in Gaza, witnesses said, an F-16 warplane fired a missile at a car in Gaza City, turning it into a mass of charred metal. The mangled bodies of the people inside were brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza. One of the dead was identified as Saed Arabeed, 38, a senior Hamas commander.
Doctors said seven people were killed and about 50 wounded. They said all of the wounded were civilians, ranging in age from 6 to 75 years old. Two of the other dead were also identified as Hamas activists and another was a child.
Israeli security sources said Arabeed, the main target, was responsible for a string of deadly attacks against Israelis, dating back a decade.
The attack was in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, known as a stronghold of the Islamic militant Hamas, responsible for dozens of attacks.
Israel has carried out many similar attacks during the Palestinian-Israeli violence, targeting suspected Palestinian militants. Palestinians and human rights groups have condemned the practice.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister-designate, was running into problems in forming his new Cabinet as Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) raised obstacles, officials and diplomats said.
Arafat reluctantly agreed to create the prime minister's post, ceding some aspects of daily governance, under international and domestic pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites). Israel and the United States have been boycotting Arafat, saying his regime has been implicated in terrorism.
Abbas — who has called violent conflict with Israel a mistake — has until Thursday to present his Cabinet, but can request a two-week extension. His office wouldn't comment Tuesday on whether he'd meet the deadline.
Abbas has encountered opposition by Arafat to sweeping changes he is seeking to make in the Cabinet, according to Palestinian officials and diplomatic sources, who spoke on condition on anonymity.
Arafat wants no more than four out of the 21 current ministers replaced, while Abbas is seeking a far more extensive shake-up, said Palestinian sources.
The key disagreement appears to involve the important position of interior minister, which controls the Palestinian security organizations.
Senior Palestinian officials said Arafat wants loyalist Hani al-Hassan — who currently holds the post. Abbas prefers Mohammed Dahlan, a former Gaza security chief who is supported by the United States and Europe and is considered more likely to seriously try to stop militant groups from attacking Israelis.
Meanwhile, international mediators kept up the pressure.
After a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Bush said the two were committed to a "road map" peace plan drawn up late last year by the so-called "Quartet" of mediators — the United States, the European Union (news - web sites), the United Nations (news - web sites) and Russia.
"I look forward to him (Abbas) finally putting his Cabinet in place so we can release the road map," he said.
The three-phase plan includes creation of a provisional Palestinian state that would negotiate with Israel over final borders, Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza and the status of Jerusalem.
Although both sides have said they accept the plan in principle, a dispute is expected over changes Israel plans to request. Israel's main concern is that the plan does not explicitly condition statehood on an end to Palestinian violence — but it is unclear whether the Quartet would be open to alterations in the plan.
