Israel kills one Palestinian, bombs Hamas offices

GAZA, July 14 (Reuters) Israel bombed the offices of Hamas lawmakers, destroyed a bridge and fired a tank shell that killed one Palestinian today as part of a Gaza Strip offensive aimed at forcing militants to release a captured soldier.

Israeli forces withdrew overnight from central Gaza after two days of fighting, but an army spokeswoman said: ''We don't rule out the possibility of going back in''.

Since the Gaza offensive was launched on June 28, Israel has killed more than 80 Palestinians, a majority of them militants.

Across the coastal strip, thousands of Hamas supporters rallied after Friday prayers in support of Hizbollah guerrillas who seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight on the Lebanese border. The attacks prompted Israel to launch attacks against Hizbollah and Lebanese targets that have killed 63 people.

Hamas supporters in Gaza waved Lebanese and Hizbollah flags and chanted: ''Greetings from Hamas to Nasrallah,'' a reference to Hizbollah's charismatic leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas urged all Arabs and Muslims to show solidarity with Lebanon against what he called a ''mad war'' by Israel.

The Gaza Strip is ringed by Israeli tanks and troops. A contingent remains in the southern tip of Gaza, which troops entered on June 28 to try to force militants to free Corporal Gilad Shalit and to halt their cross-border rocket fire.

Israel has rejected militants' demands that Palestinian prisoners be released in exchange for Shalit.

Hamas has accused Israel of mounting the military offensive to topple its four-month-old government, which was already at the brink of financial collapse. The United States and other Western powers have refused to provide direct aid to the government until Hamas recognises Israel and renounces violence.

But the United States announced today that it would provide an additional 50.85 million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

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