Palestinian militants blew up an Israeli military vehicle in the Gaza Strip yesterday, killing six soldiers during a raid in which troops shot dead four Palestinians, witnesses said.
The armored troop carrier, hit in a militant stronghold of sprawling Gaza City, erupted in a massive fireball that could be seen throughout the region.
PHOTO: AFP
Israeli military sources said the vehicle had been carrying explosives to be used for demolishing weapons-making workshops of Palestinian militants which were a key target of the raid.
It was the deadliest blow to Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories since November 2002, when gunmen killed nine soldiers and three Jewish settler security men in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been trying to strike a tough pose for Israeli hardliners as he attempts to push through an amended "disengagement" plan, but the heavy casualties inflicted on Israeli troops could undermine that strategy.
Palestinian witnesses said they saw the armored personnel carrier torn apart by an explosion as troops backed by tanks and helicopters raided the Zeitoun area of Gaza City.
The militant Islamic group Hamas said its fighters ambushed the vehicle near the isolated Jewish settlement of Netzarim, stopping it with an anti-tank missile at a spot where they had previously planted bombs.
"The vehicle blew up and caught fire, and all the Zionists inside were killed," Hamas said in a statement, adding that it had film of the attack showing dismembered bodies.
A masked Hamas gunmen displayed a plastic bag filled with what he said were soldiers' body parts as Palestinian onlookers shouted Allahu akbar (God is greatest).
The ambush will remind many Israelis of the cost of protecting Gaza's hard-to-defend settlements. Polls show most Israelis are willing to give up the poor, densely populated territory despite the ruling Likud's resounding rejection of Sharon's plan.
The army said it struck at the "terrorist infrastructure" in Gaza behind a series of attacks, including the killing of a settler and her four daughters on May 2.
Israeli troops fought fierce gunbattles against militants in Zeitoun, known as a stronghold of Hamas, the main group behind a campaign of suicide bombings against Israelis, as families cowered in their homes.
Four Palestinians, at least two of them gunmen, were killed in the raid and at least 60 people were wounded, witnesses and medics said.
"We condemn with the strongest possible terms the Israeli military escalation," said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat. "The escalation is only a part of Israel's campaign to continue the path of violence and confrontation."
The fighting came as Sharon scrambled to salvage his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four of 120 settlements in the West Bank -- a proposal overwhelmingly rejected by his pro-settler Likud. He has told his divided Cabinet he will have a new plan in three weeks.
The Gaza military operation began when Israeli undercover forces sped into Zeitoun in civilian taxis and jeeps, the witnesses said.
They were later joined by tanks and armored personnel carriers as helicopters fired their machine guns and loud explosions echoed across Gaza City.
Israeli Army Radio said troops destroyed five workshops where rockets used by militants against Jewish settlements in Gaza and towns in southern Israel were being made.
Troops surrounded homes belonging to militants and blew off the doors of several buildings.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese