Eighteen members of one family were killed, including eight children.

By DIAA HADID

The Associated Press

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip -- One weeping man dipped his hand in the blood of a dead relative and smeared it over his face, wailing "God avenge us, God avenge us."

Another, standing in a bloodied alleyway surrounded by the rubble of four buildings destroyed by Israeli artillery shells, said an infant girl had been blown to pieces. "I tried to look for her head, I tried to look for her head," he shrieked, then sank to the ground.

The barrage Wednesday killed 18 members of a family, including eight children, in a densely populated Gaza neighborhood.

It was the highest number of Palestinian civilians killed in a single strike since fighting erupted six years ago, and undermined Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's attempts to form a more moderate government with Hamas and renew a peace process with Israel. The exiled leader of the militant group that now runs the Palestinian government called for a furious reaction "so that we avenge all those victims."

The shells struck as residents were sleeping in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, the focus of a weeklong military offensive aimed at stopping rocket fire. Israeli troops had pulled out of the town just 24 hours earlier, and the rocket attacks resumed almost immediately.

The Israeli shells landed around a compound of four apartment buildings on a small side street. The explosions left holes in the buildings, owned by four brothers from the al-Athamna family, and sent panicked residents scurrying outside. Additional salvos landed, hitting the people and flooding a dusty alleyway in a pool of blood.

'Blood everywhere'

"Shells were fired directly onto the people who were rushing out of the house," said Akram al-Athamna, a relative of the victims. "There was blood everywhere."

Another family member, 14-year-old Asma al-Athamna, said she saw her mother, older sister and brother-in-law die as they fled their home. "I was behind them and I was wounded," the weeping girl said from her hospital bed. Her 2-year-old niece, Malak, lay in an adjacent bed, recovering from shrapnel wounds to her face.

The family is prominent in Beit Hanoun and includes several doctors and professionals. Family members said they had fled during the Israeli offensive, returning home after Tuesday's pullout.

Bits of dismembered bodies were plastered to walls of the damaged buildings and lying on the ground. A woman's head scarf, children's boots and slippers, and a pair of jeans -- all burnt -- were strewn outside.

Health workers said some 60 people were wounded, including 26 children.

Abbas condemned the "terrible, despicable crime," and the international community criticized the deaths. Israel, promising a swift inquiry, expressed regret for harming civilians.

In Damascus, Syria, Khaled Mashaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, said the group would no longer honor a February 2005 truce and called for renewed attacks on Israel. He urged other militant groups to join the struggle.

"The armed struggle is free to resume, and the resistance is dictated by local circumstances," he told a news conference. Other major militant groups pledged to follow suit.

The declarations raised the prospect of a new wave of suicide bombings and large-scale fighting with Israel. Although violence has persisted since the truce declaration, including the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked militants in June, there has been a sharp drop in fighting. Hamas has not carried out a suicide bombing since August 2004, after killing scores of Israelis in such attacks over the previous four years.

Despite the rhetoric, Hamas would be taking a gamble by resuming large-scale violence. The group won legislative elections this year and has been struggling to win international legitimacy. Already boycotted by the U.S., Europe and Israel, Hamas would risk further international isolation.

Perhaps with this in mind, Hamas leaders in Gaza quickly distanced themselves from a call by the group's military wing for Muslims around the world to strike at "the American enemy." Hamas has historically confined attacks to Israeli targets.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret at the loss of civilian life and offered humanitarian aid.

"The unintentional tragedy that happened today in Beit Hanoun is one that the Israel Defense Forces will investigate to make sure that such events do not recur," said Miri Eisin, Olmert's spokeswoman.

She said, however, that Israel would press on with its efforts to halt Palestinian rocket attacks. She also dismissed the latest Hamas threats, saying militants have continually tried to attack Israelis. Six rockets landed in Israel on Wednesday, wounding two people, the army said.

Initial findings showed that the army had fired artillery at a target some 500 yards away from the residential area.

"Our estimate is that it was something connected with the aiming devices, or the alignment, or the balance between them, or our radar's location of the shell hit," Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, head of Israel's southern command, told Channel 2 TV. "Our investigation is concentrating on these points," he said.

In Gaza, Abbas said the killings jeopardized peace prospects. "We tell the Israelis, you are not seeking peace at all, but are destroying all chances for peace. You must therefore bear all the consequences of these crimes," he told Palestine TV.

However, Abbas also criticized the Palestinian rocket launchers, saying they invited tough Israeli reprisals. "We are against those that justify Israeli actions," he said. Hamas angrily accused Abbas of caving in to Israeli pressure.

Despite the attack, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas met Abbas for talks on forming a coalition government, but no agreement was reached. Haniyeh had called for suspending the talks after the shelling.

In a rare gesture of unity, the rival leaders also visited victims in a Gaza hospital together and donated blood. Both men also declared three-day mourning periods throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

The civilian deaths drew swift condemnations around the world. France and Russia warned of an escalation of hostilities, and the British foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said "it was hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified."

President Bush called on "all parties" to act with restraint. Noting that Israel has begun an investigation, he said, "We hope it will be completed quickly and that appropriate steps will be taken to avoid a repetition of this tragic incident."

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an open meeting Thursday at the Palestinians request. Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour said Palestinians want a resolution that condemns recent Israeli attacks and calls for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a cease-fire, and deployment of U.N. observers.

Spontaneous demonstrations erupted across Gaza and the West Bank. Black smoke billowed into the skies of northern Gaza as protesters set tires ablaze. A mass funeral was expected Thursday.

Israeli police, fearing revenge attacks, stepped up their alert level, mobilizing forces across the country.

In separate fighting Wednesday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian militants in northern Gaza. And in the West Bank, Israeli forces ambushed a group of Palestinian gunmen, killing four militants. A 30-year-old civilian also died in the shootout.