Israel killed a senior Hamas leader in an air attack on his home on Thursday, striking its first deadly blow against the top ranks of the militant group in a Gaza offensive that has claimed more than 400 Palestinian lives. Nizar Rayan, widely regarded as one of Hamas's most hardline political leaders, had advocated renewing suicide bombings inside Israel. Hamas police said another six Palestinians, including members of Rayan's family, were killed in the bombing. Many Hamas leaders are in hiding, anticipating assassination attempts by Israel, whose military confirmed the air strike. Hamas Radio said Rayan rejected Hamas advice to leave his house. A lecturer at Gaza's Islamist University, Rayan, 49, had mentored suicide bombers and would sometimes go on patrol with Hamas fighters. Hamas said Israel would pay a “heavy price” for his death, which was confirmed by medical officials. Hours before the killing, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was fighting Hamas with an “iron fist”, his words backed by a series of air strikes in the Gaza Strip but challenged by rockets that have killed four people in southern Israel. Israeli forces remained poised on the Gaza frontier in preparation for a possible ground invasion as international calls for an immediate ceasefire mounted. On the sixth days of hostilities, Israeli aircraft and naval forces attacked about 20 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, including a government complex, the Israeli military said. Palestinian medical officials said three civilians were killed in those air strikes and 100 people wounded. No Security Council vote In New York, the UN Security Council held an emergency session but adjourned without a vote after Arab countries pushed for a demand for an immediate ceasefire. American and British delegates described the Arab-drafted resolution as unbalanced and said negotiations would continue to reach an agreed text. The Czech prime minister, who holds the European Union presidency, said he was planning to organize a diplomatic mission on behalf of the bloc to the Middle East to address the conflict there. In Cairo, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday. Erdogan had traveled to Syria on Wednesday in the first leg of a regional tour aimed at securing a truce. Erdogan said that “we as Turkey cannot stand with folded arms before this (humanitarian) drama He is due to conclude his tour on Saturday after meeting King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Riaydh. Israel has rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying it will end its attacks if Hamas stops firing rockets and mortar rounds into Israel. In Paris, Israeli foreign minister Tsipi Livni on Thursday reiterated that stand after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner. Sarkozy, who made no statement after meeting Livni, has been vocal in the diplomatic push for peace in Gaza and is set to travel to the Middle East next week. __
