Israel has ‘‘marked for death’’ Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin, after a suicide bombing that killed four Israeli security men in Gaza, Israel’s Deputy Defence Chief said on Friday. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.The Muslim cleric attended Friday prayers near his Gaza City home as usual, and said he would embrace ‘‘martyrdom’’. A Palestinian Cabinet Minister said Israel was playing with fire by making the threat. ‘‘He is marked for death and had better dig deep underground, where he won’t be able to tell the difference between day and night,’’ Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim said. ‘‘We will find him in his tunnels and liquidate him,’’ he told Army Radio.Yassin survived an Israeli assassination bid in September with a slight hand injury, when a warplane bombed a building in Gaza. Mirroring a steep drop in suicide bombings in Israel, the Israeli Army has scaled back its attacks against Hamas leaders. ‘‘I repeat there is no room to speak of truce,’’ Yassin said. ‘‘Resistance must continue, until the removal of the occupation.’’ ‘‘They have tried to kill Sheikh Ahmed Yassin before . I would like to say to them, ‘We do not fear death threats. We are seekers of martyrdom’,’’ he said. —(Reuters)
