MIDDLE EAST: Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinian in air strikes and clashes with militants in Gaza / Hamas fires Qassam rocket into Israel

Record ID: 375695

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinian in air strikes and clashes with militants in Gaza / Hamas fires Qassam rocket into Israel
  • Date: 7th July 2006
  • Summary: (EU) KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (JULY 6, 2006) (REUTERS) PALESTINIANS RUNNING IN STREETS; CLOUDS OF DUST
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAE8XGCN4P586A9YHZRX3DC46NC
  • Story Text: Israeli forces on the offensive in Gaza killed 12 Palestinians in air strikes and clashes with militants on Thursday in the worst violence since the Jewish state quit the strip a year ago.
    Gunmen also killed a soldier in northern Gaza, where clashes raged, Al Jazeera television said. The army had no comment.
    Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered tanks to push deeper into Gaza overnight after militants from the ruling Hamas movement fired rockets into a major Israeli city for the first time.
    The incursion expands an offensive that began last week with the main goal of bringing home a captured soldier.
    Air strikes near the southern town of Khan Younis killed a civilian and a militant, witnesses said. An army spokeswoman said aircraft had targeted militants who fired seven anti-tank missiles at Israeli forces. She said the dead were militants.
    Tanks continued to push into the town expanding an offensive that began last week with the main goal of bringing home a captured soldier.
    Among the deadliest attacks, an Israeli air strike near the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza killed five Palestinians, witnesses and medics said.
    The army said it was checking the report.
    Beit Lahiya was also scene of the heaviest ground fighting, where gunmen from various factions fired anti-tank rockets at Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships.
    An Israeli tank shell killed two militants near Beit Lahiya, the Hamas armed wing said. Tank fire also killed one civilian, the victim's family said.
    Medics said around 30 Palestinians were wounded.
    The army said three soldiers were hurt, one seriously.
    It also denied tanks were inside Beit Lahiya and said ground troops were doing most of the fighting.
    Beit Lahiya's streets were largely deserted as frightened residents sheltered indoors.
    During intense fighting in Gaza, Hamas fired a third Qassam rocket which hit an open field on the outskirts of Ashkelon, igniting fire to bushes in the area.
    Israel has tried to put a dent in Hamas's rocket-making capabilities by cutting off power and bombing suspected workshops. Hamas's rockets had mostly fallen on the working-class town of Sderot, between Gaza and the Negev desert.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register