Salah Shehade, a top Hamas military leader, certainly seems to have been a legitimate military target in and of himself, and I have no regrets about his death. Both Shehade and Hamas as a whole have been quite open in claiming responsibility for terror attacks on Israeli civilians.
Indeed, it’s even arguable that the death of his wife and children are, while regrettable, not unexpected (Shehade had been hiding out separate from his family just so that if he were attacked, they would be safe; he was spending a rare night with them).
You might even, if you are looking at the matter from the standpoint of war, argue that targeting a residential building that an important military target is hiding in is not beyond the pale, if that’s the only opportunity you have to get that target.
But calling this “one of our biggest successes,” even in the face of substantial civilian casualties, is probably one of Sharon’s less politic statements, even as he orders the military to evaluate why (they claim) their intelligence reported there were no civilians in the building.
Not that Hamas (or their supporters) have any justification to whine about “war crimes” or “targeting of civilians.” It’s just a shame there’s not more decent concern about same coming from the Israeli government.