Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz told Israel's Army Radio that Israel's policy of pinpointed killings has proven to be effective, and will continue.

"There is no question about its efficacy," Mofaz said. "Look what happened to Hamas in the years it conducted an untrammeled suicide bombing war against us. When we started the targeted killings, the situation changed."

"We will continue the targeted killings at this pace," he added. "No one will be immune."

Hamas, the militant Islamic group sworn to Israel's destruction, swept January parliamentary elections and is in the process of forming a Cabinet. It has rejected international calls to renounce its violent and anti-Israel ideology, but has maintained a year-old moratorium on suicide bombings.

Asked if Hamas' prime minister-designate would be a target if Hamas were to resume its attacks on Israel, Mofaz responded: "If Hamas, a terror organisation that doesn't recognise agreements with us and isn't willing to renounce violence, presents us with the challenge of having to confront a terror organisation, then no one there will be immune. Not just Ismail Haniyeh. No one will be immune."

Salah al-Bardawil, a Hamas spokesman, denounced Mofaz's comments.

"This statement and Israeli practices on the ground reflect the bloody, inhumane and inflammatory character of the Zionist enemy," al-Bardawil said. "We are not seeking immunity or mercy from Israel. We are in a confrontation. The side that is most steadfast is the side that will survive."

On Monday, two Islamic Jihad militants and three Palestinian bystanders were killed in an Israeli pinpoint attack in Gaza City. Two of those killed were children.

Meanwhile, the supremo of Palestinian radical group Hamas vowed Monday to continue armed struggle against Israel and declared that the Palestinian Authority had accomplished nothing by recognising the Jewish state.

"The demand that Hamas and the resistance movements lay down their weapons and become political parties is unrealistic and has nothing to do with the Palestinian reality on the ground," said Meshaal in an interview broadcast on Dubai-based Arab news channel Al-Arabiya after the end of his landmark visit to Moscow Sunday.