ISRAEL . . . HAMAS SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 22

A Hamas terrorist blew himself and 22 others to pieces aboard an Israeli bus in Tel Aviv this morning, dramatically escalating the shadowy war between Israel and the militant Islamic group, the only one opposing the Israel-P.L.O. peace accords. At least 48 people were wounded. The attack -- which prompted worldwide condemnation and forced Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to rush back from London -- was one of the worst in the annals of Middle East fighting. Shortly before 3 a.m. EDT, a 10-kilo bomb eviscerated the crowded No. 5 city bus, just as it had pulled alongside another bus in downtown morning traffic, blowing body parts, apparently from both buses, as far as second-floor balconies nearby. "The street is being cleaned, and the undertakers are literally gathering pieces from the trees and the walls," says TIME Tel Aviv reporter Ron Ben-Yishai.FUTILE FURY? The incident sent Rabin's government into an emergency meeting to plan a stepped-up response to the third major Hamas attack in 10 days. Their options are limited: Israeli security is already madly chasing the terrorists, and a top security official told Ben-Yishai today that further precautions may be futile, including pressing P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat to control the loose-cannon Hamas. "The perpetrators are a small group, but part of a huge organization," Ben-Yishai says.