The body of Shaikh Ahmad Yasin has been carried through the streets of Gaza City by resistance fighters at the start of his funeral. Tens of thousands of mourners accompanied the cortege on Monday as it made its way through the streets of the main Palestinian state with his coffin draped in the green flag of the movement that he founded. The procession left Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, heading first towards Yasin's house in Gaza. A brief funeral service was then due to be held at a mosque in the centre of the city. **Assassination*** Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at Yasin as he left a mosque after dawn prayers, killing the Hamas leader and at least six other people. One witness who lives near the mosque told reporters what happened moments after the first explosion. "I looked to see where Shaikh Ahmad Yasin was," he said. "He was lying on the ground and his chair was destroyed. People there darted left and right. Then another two missiles landed." Yasin's body was evacuated to Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital. At least nine people died in the attack including at least two of Yasin's bodyguards. Ten more were wounded. Yasin's two sons were moderately hurt. The Israeli army later admitted it had carried out the killings. **'The shaikh is dead'*** "The shaikh is dead. The shaikh is dead," sobbed Hamas resistance fighters who gathered at the scene. Israel has said it will step up operations to track and kill Palestinian resistance fighters after a string of bombings, including one at a strategic port last week in which 10 people were killed. Thousands of Palestinians, many in tears, poured into the streets and fighters fired into the air. Palestinian Authority officials condemned the attack. "This is a crazy and very dangerous act. It opens the door wide to chaos. Yasin is known for his moderation and he was controlling Hamas and therefore this is a dangerous, cowardly act," said Prime Minister Ahmad Quraya. Yasin has been confined to a wheelchair since an accident as a teenager that paralysed him. He was also partially blind. He was sentenced by Israel in 1989 to a life term for founding Hamas and inciting Palestinians to attack Israelis. But Israel released him in 1997 as a goodwill gesture to Jordan's King Husayn after an attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khalid Mishal in Jordan failed. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinian Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin smiles during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Gaza City, in this March 9, 2004, file photo. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)