An Israeli missile strike killed a Palestinian as he drove in Gaza City on Thursday, two days before Secretary of State Colin Powell visits the region to promote a new 'road map' for Middle East peace. Palestinian sources said the target of the helicopter missile strike in Palestinian-ruled Gaza was Iyad al-Beik, 27, member of the Hamas group. Earlier in the day, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian as he approached a military checkpoint near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said. Palestinian hospital officials said they suspected the man was mentally ill. The killings underlined the difficulties Powell will face this weekend when he tries to lay the groundwork for renewed peace talks aimed at ending 31 months of bloodshed in the Palestinian uprising for independence. 'A response is coming. The crime will not pass unpunished,' Hamas official Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi said. Hamas has carried out dozens of bombings that have killed scores of Israelis since the September 2000 start of the uprising. Israeli security sources confirmed that Israel had killed a Hamas member as part of its policy of targeting senior militants. Palestinians condemn the practice as state-sponsored assassination. Israel says it is acting in self-defense. **Powell to Push 'ROAD MAP'*** Powell was due to arrive in Israel late on Saturday to push an international plan for Middle East peace known as the road map, which outlines reciprocal measures culminating in the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. The new, reformist Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, has indicated his willingness to rein in militants as required by the plan. Israel says that until he does so, it will continue operations such as military strikes and blockades. During his three-day visit, Powell is expected to ask both sides to curb violence as a prelude to implementing the road map, which Washington formulated last year with fellow 'Quartet' members the United Nations, the European Union and Russia. 'The continuation of Israeli aggression is an attempt to sabotage the road map and to foil the upcoming visit of Colin Powell before it starts,' Nabil Abu Rdainah, an adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, told Reuters. Israel has raised reservations about the road map that could delay its implementation. ** British Cameraman Killed in the Throat*** In a separate development, Israeli coroners concluded that a British cameraman killed last week in Gaza was hit in the throat, and not in the back, by a bullet from an M-16 assault rifle, an Israeli Health Ministry source said. James Miller had been approaching Israeli forces when he was shot on May 2. The Israeli army has not acknowledged responsibility for Miller's death and suggested earlier he had been shot in the back by Palestinian gunmen. ***PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinians inspect a car after it was hit by an Israeli missile in Gaza, May 8, 2003. An Israeli helicopter gunship fired two missiles at a car in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least one person. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem