P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.newsmax.com/international/israel_palestinians/2008/04/11/87189.html
7 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Attacks
Friday, April 11, 2008
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli forces launched air strikes and a ground
raid in the Gaza Strip Friday, trading fire with gunmen in clashes that
killed seven Palestinians including a 12-year-old boy, Palestinians said.
The deaths drove the Palestinian death toll to 13 in Israeli strikes
retaliating for a militant attack that killed two Israeli civilians at a
border fuel depot Wednesday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged after the
attack to keep hitting Hamas so that it cannot "continue to operate against
Israeli civilians as it does."
Israeli aircraft killed two Hamas militants in a strike on southern Gaza
early Friday, the group said. The Israeli military confirmed the attack,
saying it targeted gunmen near the Gaza-Israel border fence.
Israeli troops crossed into central Gaza and clashed with gunmen in the
area. A 12-year old boy was fatally shot in the stomach and six other
Palestinians were wounded, medics said.
Later in the day, Israeli forces fired at a group of Palestinian militants
operating near a farm in central Gaza, killing four people and wounding
several, including children, witnesses and doctors said. It was not
immediately clear how many of the casualties were gunmen or bystanders.
The army confirmed that troops were operating in Gaza, and that aircraft had
struck, but said it did not know anything about the death of the boy.
The brazen daylight attack on the Nahal Oz terminal between Gaza and Israel
killed two civilian workers and prompted Israel to close the facility, which
supplies all the fuel for Gaza's 1.4 million residents.
Israeli officials indicated the cutoff would not last past the weekend. An
earlier Israeli plan to cut back fuel shipments in response to rocket
attacks by Gaza militants was shelved under international pressure.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since June, 2007, when its militants routed forces
loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas now heads a
Western-backed government based in the West Bank and is holding peace talks
with Israel.
Hamas has continued attacking Israeli forces along the border and firing
rockets at Israeli towns, and allows Gaza's other militant factions to do
the same.
There were no signs that the latest round of bloodshed would derail peace
talks: Olmert said Thursday that Israel "will continue to hold serious and
responsible negotiations that can lead us to agreements" with Palestinian
moderates.
Olmert and Abbas have said they hope to reach an agreement by the end of the
year.
7 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Attacks
Friday, April 11, 2008
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli forces launched air strikes and a ground
raid in the Gaza Strip Friday, trading fire with gunmen in clashes that
killed seven Palestinians including a 12-year-old boy, Palestinians said.
The deaths drove the Palestinian death toll to 13 in Israeli strikes
retaliating for a militant attack that killed two Israeli civilians at a
border fuel depot Wednesday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged after the
attack to keep hitting Hamas so that it cannot "continue to operate against
Israeli civilians as it does."
Israeli aircraft killed two Hamas militants in a strike on southern Gaza
early Friday, the group said. The Israeli military confirmed the attack,
saying it targeted gunmen near the Gaza-Israel border fence.
Israeli troops crossed into central Gaza and clashed with gunmen in the
area. A 12-year old boy was fatally shot in the stomach and six other
Palestinians were wounded, medics said.
Later in the day, Israeli forces fired at a group of Palestinian militants
operating near a farm in central Gaza, killing four people and wounding
several, including children, witnesses and doctors said. It was not
immediately clear how many of the casualties were gunmen or bystanders.
The army confirmed that troops were operating in Gaza, and that aircraft had
struck, but said it did not know anything about the death of the boy.
The brazen daylight attack on the Nahal Oz terminal between Gaza and Israel
killed two civilian workers and prompted Israel to close the facility, which
supplies all the fuel for Gaza's 1.4 million residents.
Israeli officials indicated the cutoff would not last past the weekend. An
earlier Israeli plan to cut back fuel shipments in response to rocket
attacks by Gaza militants was shelved under international pressure.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since June, 2007, when its militants routed forces
loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas now heads a
Western-backed government based in the West Bank and is holding peace talks
with Israel.
Hamas has continued attacking Israeli forces along the border and firing
rockets at Israeli towns, and allows Gaza's other militant factions to do
the same.
There were no signs that the latest round of bloodshed would derail peace
talks: Olmert said Thursday that Israel "will continue to hold serious and
responsible negotiations that can lead us to agreements" with Palestinian
moderates.
Olmert and Abbas have said they hope to reach an agreement by the end of the
year.
