Tel Aviv  - The Israeli military denied Friday that it had renewed Israel's policy of targeted killings of top Hamas political leaders, saying the target of the airstrike that killed Nizar Rayan had been his house, which stored "large amounts of rockets and explosives."

Rayan's entire family was nearly wiped out when the Israel Air Force bombed his house Thursday in the crowded refugee camp of Jabaliya, north of Gaza City.

The Hamas leader, as well as all of his four wives and 11 of his 12 children were killed, Hamas said. The four-storey house was reduced to its bare concrete core, its front and top floors completely ripped off, leaving gaping holes that exposed the inside of those lower-level rooms still standing.

Rayan belonged to Hamas' top five leaders and was the highest- ranking political leader killed by Israel since 2004. Israel assassinated Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March of that year, and his successor Abdel Aziz Ranteesi in April, also 2004, as part of a series of targeted killings of Hamas leaders.

An Israeli military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv said Israel was targeting the houses of Hamas activists as part of its assault against the movement's infrastructure, insisting many of them stored weapons or rockets or were used for planning militant activity.

Regarding Rayan's home, she said "the people in the house had been warned," but would give no details as to how they had been given prior notice of the airstrike.

Israeli media claimed an Israel Defence Forces officer had made a telephone call, but there were conflicting reports as to whether this was made to the home of Rayan or that of his neighbour. Israel has used that tactic of telephone warnings in the past.

Most Hamas leaders have vacated their homes and gone underground since the Israeli offensive against Gaza began one week ago, but Rayan had refused to do so, in defiance of Israel.

Rayan, in his 50s, was close to Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades and led it in opposition to several Israeli forays into the Gaza Strip in the past. (dpa)