Israeli troops pushed deep into the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, a first in four years of fighting, after a Palestinian rocket killed two preschoolers in an Israeli border town.
Five Palestinians and three Israelis -- including a woman jogging in a Jewish settlement and an Israeli soldier -- were killed in northern Gaza yesterday. The sprawling Jebaliya refugee camp, a militant stronghold with hundreds of gunmen, was the scene of fierce battles, and 25 Palestinians were wounded there.
On Wednesday, Hamas militants fired a rocket at the Israeli border town of Sderot despite the massive army presence, killing two children, ages 2 and 4, as they played on a sidewalk at the start of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
On Wednesday morning, dozens of Israeli armored vehicles took up positions in northern Gaza, including the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and on the edge of Jebaliya, to prevent any rocket fire during the weeklong Sukkot holiday. However, later in the day, Hamas fired the deadly rocket at Sukkot.
Before dawn yesterday, two Hamas gunmen attacked an Israeli observation post overlooking Jebaliya, killing an Israeli soldier before being killed by return fire.
Two tanks and a bulldozer drove into Jebaliya -- the largest with more than 100,000 residents -- yesterday morning, under cover of heavy machine gun fire.
Dozens of masked Palestinian gunmen fired at the tanks, and hundreds of residents rushed into the streets, many throwing stones. Some of the gunmen were seen laying booby traps.
Among the 25 wounded was a Palestinian cameraman who was shot in the shoulder.
The Israeli bulldozer tore down the outer wall of a UN school close to the camp's central market, and soldiers took up positions inside, signaling that the army intends to stay in the heart of the camp for some time.
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