Eight die in Gaza fighting
Eight Palestinians died and 28 others were wounded as Israel’s week-old military offensive against Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip intensified today.
In response to today’s army assault, Hamas militants fired three more short-range Qassam rockets from Beit Hanoun, though no injuries were reported.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the military would keep up “relentless” pressure on Islamic militants in Gaza to halt the rocket fire.
The offensive began after a Hamas attack on an Israeli tank killed four soldiers in Gaza. Since then, 32 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in Gaza.
The army raid on Beit Hanoun began before dawn today.
Brig Gen Zvika Fogel, an area commander, refused to say how long the military operation in Beit Hanoun would last. ”We will end it when we have achieved our objectives,” he told Israel TV.
In Beit Hanoun, soldiers blew up the homes of five suspected Islamic militants.
When soldiers approached one of the targeted buildings, home to Islamic Jihad followers, residents hurled hand grenades and opened fire – the first incident of armed resistance to a house demolition. The residents surrendered after four hours, and soldiers blew up the house.
Throughout the day, troops exchanged fire with small groups of masked gunmen in camouflage dress and fired from tank-mounted machine guns toward dozens of stone-throwers, including children and teenagers.
In all, six Palestinians were killed in Beit Hanoun, including two stone throwers, ages 17 and 20, a cattle farmer and a Palestinian policeman who had participated in a gun battle.
Twenty-eight Palestinians were wounded in the fighting, three of them seriously, doctors said.
Several hours after the Israeli incursion, Hamas fired three Qassam rockets from Beit Hanoun. One fell near a strip mall in Sderot, across the street from city hall.
In addition, two border guards were found dead near their post, hospital doctors said. Both had knife marks, in addition to bullet wounds.
In southern Gaza, meanwhile, an Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper near the Khan Younis refugee camp, the army said.
Elsewhere in Israel, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and a 14-year-old wounded by Israeli tank fire toward Khan Younis, Palestinian doctors said, adding that the two boys were playing soccer at the time.
The Israeli military said it was unaware of casualties. It said soldiers were shooting toward armed men in the area.
Also today, an armed Palestinian was killed in a gunfight with Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim. The army said the gunman had approached the settlement and opened fire on troops guarding the area. He was found with an assault rifle and four grenades, the army said.
In the West Bank, a Palestinian labourer was shot and killed by Israeli border police near the town of Tulkarem, doctors said.
