GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – An Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at a car traveling in the Gaza Strip late yesterday, killing a senior Hamas commander who topped the government’s most wanted list for years – the latest in a series of Israeli assassinations that have weakened the terrorist group.

Adnan al-Ghoul, a founder and the No. 2 figure of Hamas’s military wing, was killed along with a second unidentified occupant in the car. The air strike dealt another heavy blow to Hamas’s military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, which is responsible for attacks that have killed hundreds of Israelis during four years of fighting.

“It’s a new crime committed by the Zionist occupation government against one of the leaders of the Palestinian resistance,” Hamas spokesman Musher al-Masri said.

Officials of the terror group said Al-Ghoul, 46, was a top bomb maker who masterminded the development of homemade Qassam rockets and antitank missiles. Palestinian Arab terrorists frequently launch the rockets into southern Israel, and Israel recently completed a broad offensive into Gaza aimed at stopping the attacks. Gaza has experienced an upsurge in violence since Prime Minister Sharon announced plans earlier this year to pull out of the volatile area. Both Israel and terrorists want to claim victory ahead of the withdrawal.

Mr. Sharon is planning to present his Gaza withdrawal plan to the Israeli Parliament for a vote of approval next week. Aides to the prime minister said yesterday that he has locked up enough support to win that vote, but is deeply concerned about growing fissures within the ruling Likud Party over the plan.

The Israeli air strike took place north of Gaza City as dozens of people left a nearby mosque following evening prayers. Upon news of al-Ghoul’s death, thousands of angry Hamas supporters took to the streets in several refugee camps, calling for revenge and chanting anti-Israel slogans.

Al-Ghoul’s killing leaves the Hamas military leadership in the hands of Mohammed Deif, its longtime chief. Both men have long topped Israel’s wanted list and operated from hiding for years. They both escaped a September 2003 air strike aimed at a gathering of Hamas terror leaders in Gaza.

The Israeli army issued a statement describing al-Ghoul as a “leading Hamas figure” responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis. It said he had produced Qassam rockets, which have killed three people in recent months, masterminded at least two suicide bombings, and developed antitank and anti-aircraft weapons.

Mr. Sharon is planning to withdraw from Gaza, where 8,000 Jewish settlers live among 1.3 million Palestinian Arabs, next year. He says a continued Israeli presence in the crowded, impoverished Gaza Strip is unrealistic. The plan also includes a pullback from four small West Bank settlements. While opinion polls show most Israelis support the plan, it has bitterly divided Mr. Sharon’s hard-line government.