ISRAEL launched airstrikes on Gaza early today after blaming Yasser Arafat for a woman suicide bomber’s attack on a beachfront restaurant that killed 19 people, including four children.

The bombing of the Maxim restaurant in the coastal resort of Haifa, which was packed with families on the Sabbath before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, caused widespread revulsion and raised the possibility that Israel would carry out a threat it made last month to “remove” Arafat.

Israel’s initial response, however, was to fire missiles at targets in the Gaza Strip. The first was an empty house in Gaza City belonging to a family with links to several militant Palestinian groups.

A few minutes later three missiles were fired at militants in the Boureij refugee camp near a house belonging to Morshet Shahin, one of the leaders of Islamic Jihad, the Syrian-backed group behind yesterday’s suicide bombing.

Islamic Jihad named the bomber as Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old lawyer from the West Bank town of Jenin. After the attack — the 103rd suicide bombing in three years of violence — Jaradat’s severed head lay in the middle of the floor of the restaurant, her long black hair clearly visible. A policeman broke down in tears as a blood-stained pram was brought out of the building.

“I can’t believe it,” he murmured. “These animals are murdering children.”

Jaradat struck just after 2.15pm, despite sweeping security measures throughout Israel during the holiday. Police said she shot dead a security guard outside the restaurant then ran inside and detonated a belt filled with an estimated 22lb of explosives. Some 51 people were wounded, including several members of the Maccabi Haifa football club.

“We were sitting with our sides toward the door. We didn’t see who came in,” said Itamar Chizik, Maccabi Haifa’s general manager. “We felt a blast and then everyone around us was either wounded or dead.”

He and several other club officials were slightly injured, but players from the team, who managed a victory against Manchester United in last season’s Champions League, had not yet arrived.

Ezra Ben Joyah, who lives about 300 yards from the restaurant, grabbed his video camera and hurried to the area. “I wanted to show the whole world how we are living in this country,” he said.

“I saw many bodies, including those of children. There were pools of blood. I simply can’t describe all that I saw. I hope someone will finally wake up after this massacre.”

A motorist, identified only as Navon, who was at a nearby junction, also rushed to the scene with the intention of helping to bring out the wounded.

“In truth, there was not much to take out,” he said. “There were just a lot of people strewn on the ground. There was nothing to do, no way to help them.”

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Afghanistan News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• 'Was it real?' The US bailout nightmare
• Iranian opposition plays the long game