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Israel launches major Gaza raid
Eight Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed in heavy clashes in the northern Gaza Strip. In one of Israel's biggest raids into Gaza in recent months, troops carried out three air strikes and moved to encircle the town of Beit Hanoun. Some 60 people were wounded as troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, carried out the raid. An Israeli military spokesman said the operation was aimed at stopping rocket fire into Israel. Palestinian leaders have strongly condemned it. Both the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, have described the Israeli military action as a massacre. The director of the Beit Hanoun hospital told the Associated Press news agency that all the hospital's blood supplies had been used up. The Israeli army confirmed the death of one of its soldiers some hours after Palestinian militant groups issued statements saying they had killed an Israeli. Witnesses said Israeli tanks backed by helicopter gunships entered Beit Hanoun overnight, amid heavy exchanges of fire. Sixty tanks were involved in the attack, AFP news agency said. It reported that Israeli soldiers took positions on rooftops during exchanges of fire with militants. Israeli bulldozers razed three houses in Beit Hanoun, and another dozen homes were hit by tank shells, the agency reported. There are reports of fighting in the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya. Among those killed are a Palestinian policeman and militants. On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed two Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in a clash in the south near Khan Younis. Posted by: lotp 2006-11-01 |
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