Palestinian mourners cry revenge

NABLUS, West Bank (CNN) -- Cries of revenge have rung out at funerals for eight Palestinians killed in an Israeli missile strike.

Some mourners fired shots in the air amid cries for a jihad, or holy struggle, against the Jewish state.

The air attack attracted international condemnation and threatens further escalating violence and the future of a cease-fire negotiated in June.

Two children and two senior members of the militant Islamic movement Hamas were among the eight who died in missile strike that hit the West Bank town of Nablus.

Tens of thousands of mourners, shouting "revenge, revenge" and "death to Israel" marched in a funeral procession for the boys and the six other dead.

The bodies of the men, including two top political leaders of Hamas, were wrapped in green religious banners and carried aloft on stretchers.

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CNN's Jerrold Kessel said there was anger on both sides "with a lot more calls for action against the other side."

Israel's security cabinet is meeting to discuss the threat of Palestinian reprisals. Israeli radio reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his inner cabinet would work out its tactics to deal with growing anger following the air attack.

Palestinian authorities declared two days of official mourning following the killings in Nablus.

Israeli officials said the building was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israel -- an allegation the Palestinians have denied.

The attack has provoked international condemnation. The U.S. said the action was "excessive and highly provocative."

Britain said it "cannot accept" what it called the targeted assassination of militants.

And the United Nations Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said it all but guaranteed a 'further escalation of tension' in the region.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said among those killed was Jamal Mansour, a senior Hamas leader. His brother, Omar Mansour, also died, the Red Crescent said.

Ariel Sharon's office said helicopter gunships attacked the office because the Hamas militants, who it said had conducted terrorist attacks in the past, were planning a new attack.

In addition, two brothers -- ages 8 and 10 -- were killed, Palestinian officials said, as they stood on a street in front of the building waiting for their father to pick them up after attending a summer camp.

The eight deaths brought to 10 the number of people killed Tuesday in fighting between Israelis and Palestinians.

The building was a seven-floor apartment block. The Hamas office, said by Hamas to be a media research center it operated, was on the second floor.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said helicopter gunships attacked the office because Hamas militants who had conducted terrorist attacks in the past were planning a new attack.

Security sources said the IDF believed Mansour was planning a terrorist attack on Jerusalem.

In other developments, a small pipe bomb exploded in a public park near the King David Hotel in west Jerusalem Wednesday, Israeli police said. There were no injuries and no damage.

Five Jewish settlers from Kiryat Sefer in the West Bank were injured Tuesday night when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on two cars, said an Israel Defense Forces spokesman. One woman was seriously injured. Two others suffered moderate injuries. The remaining two suffered minor injuries.