Israeli Raids On Gaza Kill 17
By Aljazeera
26 October, 2004
Aljazeera
Up
to 17 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military raids and missile
strikes in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunus.
An eight-year-old
child, who was hit by a bullet in the neck, is among the casualties
in the raid that began late on Sunday and continued into Monday.
Unmanned Israeli
aircraft fired missiles into the area as troops backed by tanks and
bulldozers demolished houses and razed farmland, Aljazeera's correspondent
reported.
Aljazeera also reported
at least one Palestinian was killed and four wounded in a pre-dawn helicopter
attack on Khan Yunus.
Eighty-four Palestinians,
including civilians, were also wounded in the raid that Israel said
was to prevent mortar attacks on the illegal Jewish colony of Gush Katif.
Governor of Khan
Yunus, Husni Zuarab, told Aljazeera that a mosque in the western district
of al-Namsawi was also destroyed in the continuing assault.
"Operation
Days of Penitence or all other Israeli operations are continuing against
all governorates of Palestine," said Zuarab.
Early on Monday,
three Israeli soldiers were killed after Palestinian resistance fighters
fired an anti-artillery shell directly at an Israeli tank in Khan Yunus.
Hamas' military
wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the
attack.
Two Palestinian
policemen were among those killed when Israeli aircraft fired missiles
at a national security service position early on Monday.
The attacks also
wounded five other policemen and came hours after the Israeli cabinet
approved details of a plan to withdraw Jewish settlers from parts of
the Gaza Strip.
Witnesses said all
the casualties had been wearing uniforms and carrying automatic weapons.
The Israeli army said it was targeting armed men who were moving towards
Israeli soldiers, preparing to attack.
Another missile
killed a Palestinian who the military said was preparing to plant a
bomb in the path of Israeli troops.
Early on Monday,
a missile was fired at a group of people who the Israeli occupation
army said had explosive devices. One Palestinian was killed.
Later a tank fired
a shell towards another group of Palestinians that had gathered at the
edge of Khan Yunus refugee camp, killing one person.
West Bank attacks
Israel has also
assassinated a Hamas member who is believed to have been the inventor
of the Qassam rocket, a makeshift weapon that has often been fired at
settlements and southern Israel in a show of defiance.
On the West Bank,
Palestinians launched two attacks but no one was hurt, the Israeli army
said.
A tyre filled with
explosives was hurled at a bus, and a car bomb exploded near an army
patrol at Nablus in the north.
Two dozen Israeli
tanks and armoured personnel carriers have taken up positions around
an illegal settlement in occupied Gaza and Khan Yunus.
The latest attacks
bring to 4524 the number of Palestinians, Israelis and others killed
since the second intifada began in September 2000.