An Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile near a mosque in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood yesterday, killing three Hamas militants and injuring 13 civilians, after Palestinian militants detonated a bomb next to an Israeli armored column as troops scoured the neighborhood for remains of six slain soldiers, witnesses said.
The army did not immediately comment on the latest attack in Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood, a bastion of Islamic militants. Palestinian witnesses had no immediate word on casualties in the explosion, which was heard across the city.
On Tuesday, a roadside bomb in Zeitoun killed six soldiers when it blew up an Israeli armored vehicle laden with explosives on a mission against suspected arms foundries.
PHOTO: EPA
Israel launched a sweep of the neighborhood to retrieve the troops' body parts, some of which are being held for ransom by Palestinian militant groups.
The militants proudly flaunted the body parts following the battle. At least nine Palestinians were reported dead in the ongoing fighting.
The Palestinian Authority, along with Egypt, urged Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants to return the remains. Israel pledged a harsh reprisal, saying it would not negotiate with the militants and vowing to continue its operation until it recovers the bodies.
After an overnight lull, heavily armed Israeli forces, backed by tanks and combat helicopters, resumed their search early yesterday. Gun battles erupted from time to time with Palestinian militants. Residents in the Zeitoun neighborhood were confined to their homes.
Early yesterday, bulldozers entered Zeitoun, destroying parts of the main road and remains of water pipes damaged in Tuesday's fighting.
Soldiers stormed 45 shops and garages during the searches. Residents and schoolchildren gathered at the edge of the neighborhood -- a Hamas stronghold -- while gunmen streamed into the area, sparking gunfights with troops.
During the fighting, Israeli troops fired a helicopter missile at a building where the army said militants were planting bombs and firing missiles. Nine people were wounded in the strike, none seriously, Palestinian hospital officials said.
Eight Palestinians were killed in Tuesday's fighting, and soldiers killed a ninth person yesterday who tried to fire an anti-tank missile at them, according to the army. Palestinian residents said a 10th person had been killed and buried under rubble. The report could not be independently confirmed. About 144 Palestinians have been wounded in the two days of fighting.
Saed Abdullah, a 45-year-old father of six who lives about 200m from the site of Tuesday's explosion, described the last 24 hours as a nightmare. He said he and his children spent hours hiding under beds as bullets penetrated the house, shattering windows and destroying furniture.
Soldiers stormed the house, locking the family into a room for more than five hours, Abdullah said. Then they took him and two other neighbors and used them as human shields as they searched the neighborhood, he added. Abdullah said he understood the need to collect the bodies.
"I believe there is no space for them on our land and there is no space to bury their body parts on our land either. The factions should hand over the bodies because the message has reached the world that we have defeated the Israeli army," Abdullah said.
Israel is known for going to great lengths to recover the remains of fallen soldiers, both because Jewish law requires the body to be buried intact and because the army fears militants will try to use the remains as bargaining chips.
Israel has carried out a number of lopsided deals, most recently in January, exchanging hundreds of Arab prisoners for the remains of dead soldiers.
Tuesday's fighting began as a routine Israeli operation to uncover and destroy weapons workshops, but changed direction when the explosives-laden armored vehicle ran over an improvised bomb.
Masked Palestinian gunmen rushed to collect the body parts following the explosion, saying they would use the flesh to barter with Israel for the release of prisoners.
Israel rejected the demand outright.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian Authority "is exerting every possible effort" to return the body parts to Israel.
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