Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared after a botched strike against Hamas' founder that all members of the Islamic militant group were "marked for death." But as Israel edges toward all-out war with Hamas, a debate brewed Sunday over the morality of "targeted killings" and whether the policy can deter militants.

A Palestinian gunman fires his weapon during the funeral for Hamas militant Mohammed Abdallah Abu Al Hassaniy, age 17, in Jabaliya refugee camp, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003. Abu Al Hassaniy was killed by Israeli troops Saturday while attampting to help mount an attack against an Israeli tank, according to Palestinians. [AP]

The decision to ratchet up the war on Hamas — after the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing last month that killed 22 Israelis, including six children — has considerable public support.

On Sunday, Israeli helicopters fired at least one missile into a Hamas militant's house in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) that the army said was used to store explosives and firearms. Eleven people were wounded, while the militant, Abdel Salam Abu Musa, escaped, witnesses said.

The weekend attack on Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Hamas' 68-year-old spiritual leader, exposed the growing debate among Israelis about such strikes. Some say targeting leaders once exempted as "political" might force them to mend their ways. Others compare Hamas to a punching bag, always swinging back with equal force to the blow it has absorbed.

The group says it has hundreds of would-be suicide bombers who anticipate becoming "martyrs," and its revenge for the strike against Yassin will be more severe than ever.

"I don't think it will lead anywhere but to more cycles of bloodshed," retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Doron Kadmiel told The Associated Press.

The bomb that tore into an apartment building in Gaza City on Saturday was intended to kill Hamas leaders the army said were meeting there. Sixteen were injured, including Yassin, who suffered a minor hand wound.

Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) said Sunday the strikes are counterproductive.

"To kill one Hamas leader but to wound nine children or 10 children in the course of this, who will grow up to become Hamas leaders or Hamas killers later — they have to consider the long-term consequences of this policy," Powell told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Islamic militant movement Hamas, talks to the press in Gaza city September 7, 2003. It seemed like the ultimate coup for Israeli intelligence -- word that leaders of the Islamic militant group Hamas were meeting in a house in Gaza City vulnerable to an air strike. But the militants, including Hamas's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, survived the Sept. 6 attack -- and Israeli security sources said this was because a small weapon had been chosen in an effort to avoid heavy civilian casualties. [Reuters]

Within hours after the attack, the quadriplegic Yassin and his armed guards appeared among thousands of supporters.

"It's clear that we are going to win," Yassin said. "Our people will not surrender. We will not raise a white flag."

A Hamas spokesman said Israel "opened the gates of hell" — words that have a ring of credibility in Israel, where suicide bombings have killed 400 people in the past three years.

Israel Radio devoted much of its Sunday morning report to debate about the policy.

Retired Brig. Gen. Nehemia Dagan argued the killings will only provoke more revenge attacks, while Dan Shomron, a former military chief, said Hamas must be confronted because it will always fight to destroy Israel.

Terrorism expert Yohanan Tsoref told Israel's Channel 10 that "the nature of these groups is that they rise up again" even if their activists and leaders are killed.

Hamas was founded in 1987 with the goal of ending the Israeli occupation, but it also supports an Islamic state "from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea" — including Israel.

Hamas — which stands for Islamic Resistance Movement — says in a 1998 document it is "but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished."

Israel's strategy of targeted killings, condemned as assassinations by Palestinians, has been employed frequently during the past three years of fighting. About 140 militants — and dozens of civilians — have been killed by missiles, bombs and snipers.

But the Saturday strike marked a new willingness to wipe out the group's entire leadership. Sharon told the Yediot Ahronot daily newspaper that Israel's campaign against Hamas members would press ahead.

"They are marked for death," he was quoted as saying. "We won't give them a moment's rest. We will continue to hunt them because they have only one objective: the destruction of Israel."

Some Israelis are uncomfortable with the civilian casualties, but say it is the cost of war.

"Israel has no choice," said Yonatan Frimer, a 25-year-old pizza delivery man in Jerusalem. "The Palestinians have terrorists living among them and are not doing anything about it."

An Israeli soldier stands guard as Palestinians walk next to an army checkpoint in the outskirts of the West Bank town of Qalqilya Sunday Sept. 7, 2003. Hamas leaders are 'marked for death' and won't have a moment's rest, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Sunday, after Israel botched an attempt to kill the top Hamas echelon with a 250-kilo (550-pound) bomb a warplane dropped on a Gaza City apartment. [AP]

Striking at Hamas leaders "is far more moral than when they massacre us on buses," said Gabi Rotem, a 28-year-old computer technician. "There is no alternative."

But in a reflection of its concerns, the army has employed philosophy professor Asa Kasher of Tel Aviv University to examine the moral questions surrounding the killings and defend army policy.

"Two conditions have to be met for militants to be targeted," Kasher said. "They must be involved in preparing or carrying out a terrorist attack, and they must be in a position where if Israeli soldiers attempted to capture them the soldiers' lives would be endangered."

Part of the difficulty in confronting Hamas stems from its deep roots, with related charities providing financial aid and other services for poor Palestinians or those whose relatives have died in the violence.

Hamas does not reveal how many members it has, but it regularly rallies tens of thousands of marchers to fill Gaza City streets.

The group also faces international pressure. The European Union will freeze the assets of all wings of Hamas — including its fund-raising charities and social welfare groups, and the Bush administration has frozen the assets of five European-based organizations it claimed raised money for Hamas.

Israel's top demand for the Palestinian leadership has been to dismantle militant groups — such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad — as required by the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. But Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who resigned Saturday, said he could not gain support for that because of the continued Israeli strikes.

"Violence is not a successful tool to fight violence," Palestinian Cabinet minister Ghassan Khatib said. "Israel's experiments have shown that the more violence the Israelis use, the more the Palestinians will respond with violence."

If Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia accepts the job of prime minister for which he was nominated on Sunday, he will face the difficult task of trying to resume dialogue toward peace amid attacks and counterattacks.

Speaking to the Dubai-based satellite channel Al-Arabiya, Yassin said Hamas' struggle will go on even if the Israelis kill him.

"More leaders will emerge to continue the struggle," said Yassin, who also didn't rule out attacks on Israeli leaders. "Everything is open as they have made everything from our side a target."

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