Hamas Leader Survived Airstrike, Israel Says

Israel confirmed Friday that Hamas leader Mohammed Deif survived an Israeli airstrike that was aimed at killing him, as thousands of protesters marched in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and across the Arab world to mark the second anniversary of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

The attempt to kill Deif obliterated his car Thursday, killing two bodyguards, wounding 35 bystanders and drawing international criticism. Deif was wounded but was whisked to a hiding place after treatment at a Gaza City hospital, Palestinian medical sources said.

Hamas, an Islamic militant group responsible for many suicide attacks in Israel, said it would avenge the airstrike. Thousands of mourners clamored for revenge during a funeral for the bodyguards.

Israeli Culture, Science and Sports Minister Matan Vilnai, a former deputy military chief of staff, confirmed Friday that Deif was alive.

Palestinians and Arabs elsewhere in the Middle East took to the streets Friday to commemorate the anniversary of the current intifada, in which at least 1,570 Palestinians and 601 Israelis have been killed.

The protests were more subdued in the West Bank, where Israel reoccupied most major cities in June after a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings. Strict army curfews remained in force, though hundreds of people defied them to march in Ramallah and Bethlehem.

In the Gaza Strip, masked militants armed with rifles marched in the Jabaliya refugee camp exhorting Palestinians to keep up their revolt. Hundreds lined the streets to watch.

In Cairo, thousands of Egyptians protested against U.S. and Israeli policies and called on Palestinians to fight Israel’s occupation with various means, including suicide bombings.

In other developments, Israeli soldiers shot and killed an armed Hamas militant, Mohammed Yarmour, 21, before dawn Friday in the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said. The army said troops shot him after he opened fire as they were approaching his house.