An Israeli helicopter fired a missile into a Gaza refugee camp yesterday, wounding 15 people as gunmen confronted an Israeli force demolishing Palestinian homes near a Jewish settlement, witnesses said.
An Israeli military source said the army was carrying out an operation against Palestinian militants in Khan Younis camp in the southern Gaza Strip and the helicopter had fired at an "open area" to repulse armed men.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Medics said most of the wounded were civilians, including two children and a woman, with at least one gunman among the casualties. One person was in critical condition in hospital.
Palestinian witnesses later said ground forces operating in the area had pulled back, leaving a string of demolished buildings in their wake.
The Israeli unit -- comprising 10 tanks, armored personnel carriers and bulldozers -- withdrew from the camp after daybreak, military sources confirmed.
Violence has surged in Gaza as militants seek to portray Israel's plan to evacuate Jewish settlers from occupied territory next year as a victory, while Israel is determined to prevent that by smashing Palestinian armed factions first.
The night-time incursion drew fire from gunmen, witnesses said. A helicopter then launched a missile which the witnesses said exploded near a group of Palestinians.
Residents fled into the night as Israeli bulldozers flattened homes bordering the adjacent settlement of Neve Dekelim, where witnesses said a security wall is being built. The army has mounted several such raids in the area recently.
The Israeli military is concerned it may have to evacuate settlers under fire from militants, who have launched frequent mortar bomb and rocket attacks against the Jewish enclaves where some 8,000 Israelis live.
Israel has carried out many aerial missile strikes and ground offensives in Gaza and the West Bank in rolling campaigns to quell Palestinians in revolt since 2000.
In the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian during what a military source described as an army operation.
The source said the troops fired at armed men who approached them, hitting two. Palestinian security officials said the soldiers shot at stone-throwers, killing Salim Qusa, 18.
Earlier, Israeli security sources said Israel had suspended a plan to allow Palestinian police in the West Bank to carry arms for the first time in more than three years to deal with internal Palestinian unrest.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz agreed last Thursday to let some police carry handguns as requested by the Palestinian Authority, which says armed officers are needed to curb lawlessness after a wave of factional strife and kidnappings.
But the plan will not be put into action until security chiefs decide whether it risks Israeli lives, the sources said, after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ran into resistance from rightist cabinet ministers, who also oppose the Gaza pullout.
Israel banned Palestinian security members from carrying weapons after accusing them of involvement in the violence.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS