ABCNEWS.com : Israel Arrests a Hamas Founder in Raid Israeli troops arrested reclusive Hamas ideologue Mohammed Taha on Monday in a deadly raid, signaling a change in Israeli strategy that until now had not targeted the Islamic militant group's leadership.

Backed by attack helicopters and tanks, troops blew up Taha's home and three others in the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Eight people died in the raid, and besides the 65-year-old Hamas co-founder, his five sons all Hamas activists were arrested.

The arrests, part of a two-week-old offensive in Gaza, marked the first attack on a Hamas leader since the latest Israel-Palestinian conflict erupted in September 2000. Israel had focused its efforts on rank-and-file militants and on the security forces of the Palestinian Authority itself.