14 apr 2011
Hamas fighter dies of wounds from Israeli fire
Hamas fighter dies of wounds from Israeli fire
Mahdi Abu Athra, 22
A Palestinian resistance fighter died Thursday from wounds sustained a week earlier during fighting with Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip, officials said.
Officials from Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said Mahdi Abu Athra, 22, died in hospital after being injured by Israeli fire near Rafah, a statement said.
The statement said Abu Athra's death brought to 19 the number of dead following a one-week spike in violence between Israel and Gaza resistance factions.
Six of the dead were civilians.
Three Israelis were injured during the violence.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=378712
A Palestinian resistance fighter died Thursday from wounds sustained a week earlier during fighting with Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip, officials said.
Officials from Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said Mahdi Abu Athra, 22, died in hospital after being injured by Israeli fire near Rafah, a statement said.
The statement said Abu Athra's death brought to 19 the number of dead following a one-week spike in violence between Israel and Gaza resistance factions.
Six of the dead were civilians.
Three Israelis were injured during the violence.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=378712
10 apr 2011
Gaza under attack: death and destruction in Rafah
On the afternoon of Thursday April 7th, Israeli forces escalated their attacks on the Gaza Strip. The murderous offensive has killed 18 people so far, the majority of them being civilians. Among the massacred are a mother, her daughter, two children, two elderly men and four members of Al Qassam Brigades. More than sixty people have been injured, some are still fighting for their lives. Since Thursday afternoon the Gaza Strip is besieged by drones, Apache helicopters, F16 and E15 fighter planes, gunboats in the south and tanks by the border.
At approximately 16:00 on Thursday, Israeli forces targeted areas surrounding the previously destroyed Gaza International Airport in the far southeast of Rafah city, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces positioned along the border fired approximately 10 artillery shells, while Apache helicopters opened machine gun fire. A number of the artillery shells landed near three Palestinian civilians who were sitting near the airport. Two of them, Mohammed Eyada Eid el-Mahmoum (25) and Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari (17) were killed immediately and the third civilian, Saleh Jarmi Ateya al-Tarabin (38) died of his wounds in the hospital on the evening of the same day.
Israeli forces continued to fire as a number of Palestinian civilians attempted to rescue the wounded; Musaab Mohammed Ubeid Sawwaf, 20, was killed and another 14 civilians, including five children and a paramedic from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, were wounded.
Salama El-Dabari is seated in a tent, mourning the loss of his nephew, the 17 year old Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari, while he explains to ISM volunteers what has happened.
Khaled was following the ambulances on his motorbike, to assist the medics in evacuating the injured people. As soon as the ambulances arrived, an Apache helicopter shelled the site again. Khaled got stuck under his motorcycle, which caught fire during the shelling.
The ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were not able to evacuate him immediately. They recovered his body the next morning, covered in burns, with open head wounds, a hole in the abdomen, bullets in the legs and without hands. His father, my brother, was looking for him, but we didn't want him to see his son in such a condition, so we sent him home before evacuating Khaled's body.
Salama switches to the inequality of the conflict and says the following:
Look at us, the Palestinians; we are a peaceful people who are trying to shake off the occupation to live in freedom. But we don't have any meaningful military power: we have no drones nor F16's, we don't have any of Israel's modern weaponry. There is no comparison possible. We are desperate. Nobody seems to care about the Palestinians and our struggle for justice.
21 year old Abdel Hadi Jumma el-Sufi is one of the injured and is currently hospitalized in Shifa hospital in Gaza City. He stares at the ceiling of his hospital room while recalling the murderous event.
One of the men was hit in the beginning of the attack, so me and my friends approached to evacuate him. We found out that the man was already dead. Tanks kept on shelling and killed another man. We managed to get the two dead bodies and one severely wounded man out of there, into the ambulance, but could not reach the fourth man as shelling prevented us.
I thought he was still alive, but in the morning the ambulance recovered another dead body from the scene. Abdel himself sustained shrapnel wounds to his legs, lungs and the back of his head and is currently awaiting surgery.
20 year old Mahdi Joma'a Abu Athra is worst of: the doctor at Europa hospital in Khan Younes describes him as a dead body kept alive by machinery.
His maternal uncles are sitting around the hospital bed and are explaining that Mahdi got married a couple of months ago: his wife is pregnant. It seems unlikely that Mahdi will ever lay eyes on his firstborn.
One of the uncles bursts out: How come the West is so interested in defending the Lybian's human rights and is doing nothing for the Palestinians? You, who come here in solidarity with us, should send a clear message to your countries: it is not us that is attacking Israel, it is Israel that is attacking us! They are the terrorists and the criminals! Our rockets and missiles are fireworks compared to Israel's weaponry! They have the most high-tech accurate equipment: they can target very precisely. When they kill civilians, it's because they intend to kill civilians!
Gaza under attack: death and destruction in Rafah
On the afternoon of Thursday April 7th, Israeli forces escalated their attacks on the Gaza Strip. The murderous offensive has killed 18 people so far, the majority of them being civilians. Among the massacred are a mother, her daughter, two children, two elderly men and four members of Al Qassam Brigades. More than sixty people have been injured, some are still fighting for their lives. Since Thursday afternoon the Gaza Strip is besieged by drones, Apache helicopters, F16 and E15 fighter planes, gunboats in the south and tanks by the border.
At approximately 16:00 on Thursday, Israeli forces targeted areas surrounding the previously destroyed Gaza International Airport in the far southeast of Rafah city, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces positioned along the border fired approximately 10 artillery shells, while Apache helicopters opened machine gun fire. A number of the artillery shells landed near three Palestinian civilians who were sitting near the airport. Two of them, Mohammed Eyada Eid el-Mahmoum (25) and Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari (17) were killed immediately and the third civilian, Saleh Jarmi Ateya al-Tarabin (38) died of his wounds in the hospital on the evening of the same day.
Israeli forces continued to fire as a number of Palestinian civilians attempted to rescue the wounded; Musaab Mohammed Ubeid Sawwaf, 20, was killed and another 14 civilians, including five children and a paramedic from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, were wounded.
Salama El-Dabari is seated in a tent, mourning the loss of his nephew, the 17 year old Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari, while he explains to ISM volunteers what has happened.
Khaled was following the ambulances on his motorbike, to assist the medics in evacuating the injured people. As soon as the ambulances arrived, an Apache helicopter shelled the site again. Khaled got stuck under his motorcycle, which caught fire during the shelling.
The ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were not able to evacuate him immediately. They recovered his body the next morning, covered in burns, with open head wounds, a hole in the abdomen, bullets in the legs and without hands. His father, my brother, was looking for him, but we didn't want him to see his son in such a condition, so we sent him home before evacuating Khaled's body.
Salama switches to the inequality of the conflict and says the following:
Look at us, the Palestinians; we are a peaceful people who are trying to shake off the occupation to live in freedom. But we don't have any meaningful military power: we have no drones nor F16's, we don't have any of Israel's modern weaponry. There is no comparison possible. We are desperate. Nobody seems to care about the Palestinians and our struggle for justice.
21 year old Abdel Hadi Jumma el-Sufi is one of the injured and is currently hospitalized in Shifa hospital in Gaza City. He stares at the ceiling of his hospital room while recalling the murderous event.
One of the men was hit in the beginning of the attack, so me and my friends approached to evacuate him. We found out that the man was already dead. Tanks kept on shelling and killed another man. We managed to get the two dead bodies and one severely wounded man out of there, into the ambulance, but could not reach the fourth man as shelling prevented us.
I thought he was still alive, but in the morning the ambulance recovered another dead body from the scene. Abdel himself sustained shrapnel wounds to his legs, lungs and the back of his head and is currently awaiting surgery.
20 year old Mahdi Joma'a Abu Athra is worst of: the doctor at Europa hospital in Khan Younes describes him as a dead body kept alive by machinery.
His maternal uncles are sitting around the hospital bed and are explaining that Mahdi got married a couple of months ago: his wife is pregnant. It seems unlikely that Mahdi will ever lay eyes on his firstborn.
One of the uncles bursts out: How come the West is so interested in defending the Lybian's human rights and is doing nothing for the Palestinians? You, who come here in solidarity with us, should send a clear message to your countries: it is not us that is attacking Israel, it is Israel that is attacking us! They are the terrorists and the criminals! Our rockets and missiles are fireworks compared to Israel's weaponry! They have the most high-tech accurate equipment: they can target very precisely. When they kill civilians, it's because they intend to kill civilians!
9 apr 2011
Family denies assassination of key Hamas figure in Sudan
The family of a senior Hamas figure reported killed in a Tuesday Israeli strike in Sudan, on Friday denied his death.
Palestinian security officials said Monday that Abdul Latif Al-Ashqar was the target of the strike.
Tuesday's strike hit a car on Sudan's Red Sea coast near the main port killing two, and on Wednesday, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Karti accused Israel of carrying out the attack.
Arab media quoted 'Israeli sources' saying the assassination was executed by a special unit that entered Sudanese territory from the sea and fired on the car with a ground-to-ground missile.
Al-Ashqar's uncle, senior Hamas figure Ismail Al-Ashqar, told Ma'an that Abdul Latif was well, having been the subject of several Israeli assassination attempts in the past, and been tracked by Israeli forces for many years.
Hamas Deputy Politburo Chief Moussa Abu Marzouq, told the Jerusalem-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the two "were not Palestinian and had no connection to Hamas."
There were conflicting media reports, with Sudanese media claiming both victims were nationals of the country, while daily London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Arabiya said one of the victims was a national of an Arab country, and said the man was involved in arms smuggling for Hamas.
Israeli newspapers also reported the strike, with one running the headline "IDF carried out attack on Sudan," but the Israeli military and foreign ministry both declined to comment.
Abdul Latif Al-Ashqar, a senior member of Hamas' military wing, is said to have taken over the role of weapons gathering formerly carried out by Mahmoud Mabhouh, who was assassinated in a Dubai hotel room last year.
In his 40s, Al-Ashqar was born in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and was arrested by Israel during the First Intifada.
He was a founder of Hamas' "aid and logistics department," which coordinated weapons smuggling to the Gaza Strip. It is not known when he arrived in Sudan, or how long he resided there.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=376681
The family of a senior Hamas figure reported killed in a Tuesday Israeli strike in Sudan, on Friday denied his death.
Palestinian security officials said Monday that Abdul Latif Al-Ashqar was the target of the strike.
Tuesday's strike hit a car on Sudan's Red Sea coast near the main port killing two, and on Wednesday, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Karti accused Israel of carrying out the attack.
Arab media quoted 'Israeli sources' saying the assassination was executed by a special unit that entered Sudanese territory from the sea and fired on the car with a ground-to-ground missile.
Al-Ashqar's uncle, senior Hamas figure Ismail Al-Ashqar, told Ma'an that Abdul Latif was well, having been the subject of several Israeli assassination attempts in the past, and been tracked by Israeli forces for many years.
Hamas Deputy Politburo Chief Moussa Abu Marzouq, told the Jerusalem-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the two "were not Palestinian and had no connection to Hamas."
There were conflicting media reports, with Sudanese media claiming both victims were nationals of the country, while daily London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Arabiya said one of the victims was a national of an Arab country, and said the man was involved in arms smuggling for Hamas.
Israeli newspapers also reported the strike, with one running the headline "IDF carried out attack on Sudan," but the Israeli military and foreign ministry both declined to comment.
Abdul Latif Al-Ashqar, a senior member of Hamas' military wing, is said to have taken over the role of weapons gathering formerly carried out by Mahmoud Mabhouh, who was assassinated in a Dubai hotel room last year.
In his 40s, Al-Ashqar was born in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and was arrested by Israel during the First Intifada.
He was a founder of Hamas' "aid and logistics department," which coordinated weapons smuggling to the Gaza Strip. It is not known when he arrived in Sudan, or how long he resided there.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=376681
Young Palestinian men bear the body of Hamas commander Taysir Abu Snima, who was killed Saturday in an Israeli airstrike
The Palestinian Authority’s president has called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League over the escalation of conflict between the Israeli military and Gaza-based militants, the Palestinian Authority-run news agency WAFA said on Saturday.
President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Cairo-based organization to convene on Sunday, PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erakat said, according to WAFA. In the latest fighting on Saturday, Israeli air force struck and killed three Hamas personnel in southern Gaza, according to both the Israeli military and Palestinian medics. The Israel Defense Forces said the people were a senior Hamas military wing leader and his two bodyguards. In another incident, a Palestinian man died of wounds in an early evening airstrike in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City.About 42 rockets and mortars had been fired into Israel on Saturday, including 10 longer-range Grad rockets, but no injuries have been reported, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
The IDF said in a statement about 50 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel since Saturday morning. It said aircraft and armored forces targeted 11 squads of “terrorists” in the northern and southern Gaza Strip and 15 “terror activity sites,” including “terror infrastructure sites, Hamas outposts, smuggling tunnels and weapons manufacturing and storage facilities.” The developments are the latest in a three-day tide of intensified violence that began on Thursday, when Hamas militants attacked an Israeli school bus that critically wounded a 16-year-old boy and prompted Israeli retaliatory strikes against fighters in Gaza. The three-day death toll in Gaza rose to at least 18, 10 militants and eight civilians. Since Thursday, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of mortars and rockets into southern Israel. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on a civilian bus “crossed the line” and that “whoever tries to hurt and murder children will have no immunity.”
The mounting death toll in Gaza represents the highest number of Palestinian casualties since the 2008-09 Israeli military offensive, when more than a thousand Palestinians were killed. The offensive was prompted by daily missile bombardments from Gaza into southern Israeli communities, which Israel intended to end. Now, there is increasing speculation in both Israeli and Palestinian media that another large-scale Israeli military operation could be launched soon. In a Friday letter to the U.N. Security Council, Riyad Mansour — permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations — charged Israel with using “indiscriminate and excessive force” and asked for the world body to intervene to “prevent the slaughter of more innocent civilians.”
The Israeli military said Saturday that its newly deployed anti-rocket defense system known as the Iron Dome successfully intercepted Grad rockets that had been fired from Gaza Friday and Saturday. Over the past 48 hours, “terrorist organizations” in Gaza have fired more than 120 Grad missiles, rockets and mortars at Israel, the IDF said. In a statement released Saturday, the Israeli military said it “continued striking terror sites in the Gaza Strip” in coordination with Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet.
Hamas warns against escalation of violence in Gaza
Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday said it would step up its attacks against Israel if aerial assaults on the Gaza Strip are not halted, the Xinhua reported. “We warn the Israeli occupation against continuing its crimes,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman. “The occupation should study the consequences of its crimes and should not misunderstand the position of the Palestinian resistance factions.” Abu Zuhri said Gaza groups are still inhibiting themselves and that their rocket attacks were still “restricted and controlled.” Increased violence between Gaza-based militants and the Israeli military entered its third day Saturday. Israel on Thursday began a series of retaliatory strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza after the Islamist group’s missile attack against an Israeli school bus that critically wounded a 16-year-old student. Since Thursday, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of mortars and rockets into southern Israel.
Israeli airstrike turns Gaza family’s life into torment
Ibrahim Qdieh, a 52-year-old resident of southern Gaza village of Abassan, never knew that a few-minute absence from home would rescue him from a possible death but left him gulping the pain of losing wife and daughter for the rest of his life.
His wife and daughter were killed in an Israeli air raid on their home, a 90-square-meter house built on a farm in the village in the east of Khan Younis city, during the ongoing tit-for-tat violence between Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the coastal enclave since June 2007.
When the air raid took place on Friday afternoon, Qdieh and some family members were praying in a mosque, while his wife stayed at home, about to wash the children's school uniforms for the school day right after the weekend.
"I went to a nearby mosque for prayers as I usually do every week. I was shocked when a person suddenly stepped in and shouted 'the Israelis struck the house of Ibrahim Qdieh,'" said the father, adding "I couldn't believe what he said and I jumped and rushed to my house to see what happened."
Qdieh began to run unconsciously towards his house, "and as soon as I reached the house, I saw the horrible and awful crime, smears of blood and remnants all over the place. I wasn't able to believe my eyes to see my daughter Nidal, who was preparing for her wedding next week and my wife are dead."
An Israeli reconnaissance drone fired one missile, directly hitting the house. The missile took the lives of Nidal and her mother, and injured four others in the family.
"The missile didn't even give my wife enough time to prepare lunch for our children, and I saw all my kids were crying and screaming with fear and pain after they were all injured ... I'm not telling you something that I saw on television, it was live and I saw by my eyes," said the father.
Qdieh's 14-year-old son Ahmed, who was with his father in the mosque, told Xinhua that "when I heard that the our house was attacked, I went out running, screaming and crying until I arrived at home, and I saw the remnants of my mother and my sister and their blood."
"What did my mother and my sister do to cause Israel to strike our house with missiles? The Israelis made me lose the most precious persons in my life, my mother and my sister, who everyday checks out her wedding dress and was going to get married next week," said Ahmed.
Ahmed's 18-year-old sister Nedaa was critically wounded with the missile shrapnel hitting all her body. "My sister Nedaa is wounded, but still alive and waiting for God's mercy," the boy said, "She may live and she may die, while the other sister Wafa, 15, suffers wounds in her legs and abdomen."
"We were helping my mother in drying the laundry. We didn't do any kind of military action. There were no gunmen," Wafa said, " Suddenly and without any warning, the missile landed into our house. I fainted and I found myself in the hospital."
"When I woke up, I was told that my mother and my sister Nidal died and my sister Nedaa is in critical conditions," said Wafa.
The family called on Arab and international right groups "to come to the house and see the Israeli crimes that don't differentiate between militants and civilians."
They also called for an independent committee to investigate " the Israeli crime," saying that they had determined to sue Israel and its leaders "for the crimes they committed against innocent armless civilians while they were in their homes."
Since Thursday afternoon, 17 Palestinians have been killed and 60 wounded during intensive Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip following the rocket attacks on towns and communities in southern Israel, for which Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility.
http://alhayatwadounia
The Palestinian Authority’s president has called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League over the escalation of conflict between the Israeli military and Gaza-based militants, the Palestinian Authority-run news agency WAFA said on Saturday.
President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Cairo-based organization to convene on Sunday, PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erakat said, according to WAFA. In the latest fighting on Saturday, Israeli air force struck and killed three Hamas personnel in southern Gaza, according to both the Israeli military and Palestinian medics. The Israel Defense Forces said the people were a senior Hamas military wing leader and his two bodyguards. In another incident, a Palestinian man died of wounds in an early evening airstrike in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City.About 42 rockets and mortars had been fired into Israel on Saturday, including 10 longer-range Grad rockets, but no injuries have been reported, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
The IDF said in a statement about 50 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel since Saturday morning. It said aircraft and armored forces targeted 11 squads of “terrorists” in the northern and southern Gaza Strip and 15 “terror activity sites,” including “terror infrastructure sites, Hamas outposts, smuggling tunnels and weapons manufacturing and storage facilities.” The developments are the latest in a three-day tide of intensified violence that began on Thursday, when Hamas militants attacked an Israeli school bus that critically wounded a 16-year-old boy and prompted Israeli retaliatory strikes against fighters in Gaza. The three-day death toll in Gaza rose to at least 18, 10 militants and eight civilians. Since Thursday, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of mortars and rockets into southern Israel. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on a civilian bus “crossed the line” and that “whoever tries to hurt and murder children will have no immunity.”
The mounting death toll in Gaza represents the highest number of Palestinian casualties since the 2008-09 Israeli military offensive, when more than a thousand Palestinians were killed. The offensive was prompted by daily missile bombardments from Gaza into southern Israeli communities, which Israel intended to end. Now, there is increasing speculation in both Israeli and Palestinian media that another large-scale Israeli military operation could be launched soon. In a Friday letter to the U.N. Security Council, Riyad Mansour — permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations — charged Israel with using “indiscriminate and excessive force” and asked for the world body to intervene to “prevent the slaughter of more innocent civilians.”
The Israeli military said Saturday that its newly deployed anti-rocket defense system known as the Iron Dome successfully intercepted Grad rockets that had been fired from Gaza Friday and Saturday. Over the past 48 hours, “terrorist organizations” in Gaza have fired more than 120 Grad missiles, rockets and mortars at Israel, the IDF said. In a statement released Saturday, the Israeli military said it “continued striking terror sites in the Gaza Strip” in coordination with Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet.
Hamas warns against escalation of violence in Gaza
Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday said it would step up its attacks against Israel if aerial assaults on the Gaza Strip are not halted, the Xinhua reported. “We warn the Israeli occupation against continuing its crimes,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman. “The occupation should study the consequences of its crimes and should not misunderstand the position of the Palestinian resistance factions.” Abu Zuhri said Gaza groups are still inhibiting themselves and that their rocket attacks were still “restricted and controlled.” Increased violence between Gaza-based militants and the Israeli military entered its third day Saturday. Israel on Thursday began a series of retaliatory strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza after the Islamist group’s missile attack against an Israeli school bus that critically wounded a 16-year-old student. Since Thursday, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of mortars and rockets into southern Israel.
Israeli airstrike turns Gaza family’s life into torment
Ibrahim Qdieh, a 52-year-old resident of southern Gaza village of Abassan, never knew that a few-minute absence from home would rescue him from a possible death but left him gulping the pain of losing wife and daughter for the rest of his life.
His wife and daughter were killed in an Israeli air raid on their home, a 90-square-meter house built on a farm in the village in the east of Khan Younis city, during the ongoing tit-for-tat violence between Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the coastal enclave since June 2007.
When the air raid took place on Friday afternoon, Qdieh and some family members were praying in a mosque, while his wife stayed at home, about to wash the children's school uniforms for the school day right after the weekend.
"I went to a nearby mosque for prayers as I usually do every week. I was shocked when a person suddenly stepped in and shouted 'the Israelis struck the house of Ibrahim Qdieh,'" said the father, adding "I couldn't believe what he said and I jumped and rushed to my house to see what happened."
Qdieh began to run unconsciously towards his house, "and as soon as I reached the house, I saw the horrible and awful crime, smears of blood and remnants all over the place. I wasn't able to believe my eyes to see my daughter Nidal, who was preparing for her wedding next week and my wife are dead."
An Israeli reconnaissance drone fired one missile, directly hitting the house. The missile took the lives of Nidal and her mother, and injured four others in the family.
"The missile didn't even give my wife enough time to prepare lunch for our children, and I saw all my kids were crying and screaming with fear and pain after they were all injured ... I'm not telling you something that I saw on television, it was live and I saw by my eyes," said the father.
Qdieh's 14-year-old son Ahmed, who was with his father in the mosque, told Xinhua that "when I heard that the our house was attacked, I went out running, screaming and crying until I arrived at home, and I saw the remnants of my mother and my sister and their blood."
"What did my mother and my sister do to cause Israel to strike our house with missiles? The Israelis made me lose the most precious persons in my life, my mother and my sister, who everyday checks out her wedding dress and was going to get married next week," said Ahmed.
Ahmed's 18-year-old sister Nedaa was critically wounded with the missile shrapnel hitting all her body. "My sister Nedaa is wounded, but still alive and waiting for God's mercy," the boy said, "She may live and she may die, while the other sister Wafa, 15, suffers wounds in her legs and abdomen."
"We were helping my mother in drying the laundry. We didn't do any kind of military action. There were no gunmen," Wafa said, " Suddenly and without any warning, the missile landed into our house. I fainted and I found myself in the hospital."
"When I woke up, I was told that my mother and my sister Nidal died and my sister Nedaa is in critical conditions," said Wafa.
The family called on Arab and international right groups "to come to the house and see the Israeli crimes that don't differentiate between militants and civilians."
They also called for an independent committee to investigate " the Israeli crime," saying that they had determined to sue Israel and its leaders "for the crimes they committed against innocent armless civilians while they were in their homes."
Since Thursday afternoon, 17 Palestinians have been killed and 60 wounded during intensive Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip following the rocket attacks on towns and communities in southern Israel, for which Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility.
http://alhayatwadounia
The Israeli Air Force bombarded on Saturday evening the Al Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, killing one member of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades. Eighteen Palestinians were killed and nearly 70 were injured by Israeli fire and shells since Thursday.
Medical sources reported on Saturday evening that Raed Zuheir Al Bir, 30, of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades of the Popular Resistance Committees, died of wounds sustained after the army bombarded an area in Al Zeitoun neighborhood; several residents were injured.
Three residents were wounded when the army fired at least one missile at an area near the Cars market in Al Zeitoun neighborhood. One of the wounded residents died of his wounds later on, medical sources reported.
Also on Saturday, the army bombarded an area west of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip; two residents were wounded, one seriously.
On Saturday morning, the army killed one fighter and seriously wounded another in a renewed wave of Air Strikes targeting northern Gaza. The slain fighter was identified as Ahmad Al Zeitouna.
Furthermore, Israeli sources reported that resistance groups in Gaza fired dozens of shells into the Western Negev.
An Israeli army spokesperson reported on Saturday evening that the Air Force targeted a group of fighters who fired shells at the Eshkol Regional Council in the Negev, and wounded some of them.
The Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas stated in a press conference on Saturday evening that talks about calm or a truce with the enemy while it continues its crimes against the Palestinian people, are unacceptable.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson of the Brigades in Gaza, said that the resistance has the right and the moral responsibility to retaliate and defend the Palestinian people.
Medical sources in Gaza provided this list of Palestinians killed by the army since Thursday (Until Saturday evening.)
Medical sources reported on Saturday evening that Raed Zuheir Al Bir, 30, of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades of the Popular Resistance Committees, died of wounds sustained after the army bombarded an area in Al Zeitoun neighborhood; several residents were injured.
Three residents were wounded when the army fired at least one missile at an area near the Cars market in Al Zeitoun neighborhood. One of the wounded residents died of his wounds later on, medical sources reported.
Also on Saturday, the army bombarded an area west of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip; two residents were wounded, one seriously.
On Saturday morning, the army killed one fighter and seriously wounded another in a renewed wave of Air Strikes targeting northern Gaza. The slain fighter was identified as Ahmad Al Zeitouna.
Furthermore, Israeli sources reported that resistance groups in Gaza fired dozens of shells into the Western Negev.
An Israeli army spokesperson reported on Saturday evening that the Air Force targeted a group of fighters who fired shells at the Eshkol Regional Council in the Negev, and wounded some of them.
The Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas stated in a press conference on Saturday evening that talks about calm or a truce with the enemy while it continues its crimes against the Palestinian people, are unacceptable.
Abu Obeida, spokesperson of the Brigades in Gaza, said that the resistance has the right and the moral responsibility to retaliate and defend the Palestinian people.
Medical sources in Gaza provided this list of Palestinians killed by the army since Thursday (Until Saturday evening.)
Ahmed Nabil Zaitonia 23
|
Tayseer Abu Sunaima
|
1. Mahmoud Al Manasra, 50, Al Shijaeyya.
2. Mohammad Al Mahmoum, 25, Rafah. 3. Mosab Al Sufi, 18, Rafah. 4. Saleh Al Tarabeen, 38, Rafah. 5. Khaled Ad-Dabary, 23, Rafah. 6. Mo'taz Abu Jame', Khan Younis. 7. Abdullah Al Qarra, Khan Younis. 8. Nidal Qdeih, 21, Khan Younis. 9. Najah Qdeih, 48, Khan Younis |
10. Talal Abu Taha, 55, Khan Younis.
11. Raed Shihada, 27, northern Gaza. 12. Bilal Al 'Ar'ir, 23, Al Shijaeyya. 13. Mahmoud Al Jaro, 10, Al Shijaeyya. 14. Ahmad Ghorab, northern Gaza. 15. Mohammad Awaja, Rafah. 16. Taiseer Abu Sneima, Rafah. 17. Ahmad Al Zeitouniyya, northern Gaza. 18. Zuheir Al Bir, Al Zeitoun neighborhood Gaza. |
Updated from
18 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes since Thursday. Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:04:00
According to Palestinian medical sources, eight Palestinians were killed and at least twenty more injured, some seriously, when Israeli airstrikes struck neighborhoods in northern and southern Gaza on Saturday.
Two of those killed were resistance fighters - Tayser Abu Snima, with the armed wing of Hamas, and Raed Zuhair Al-Bar, 30, with the Popular Resistance Committees.
The identities of the other people killed remains unknown, but hospital officials say that the killed and injured are mostly civilians.
Israeli authorities claim that they conducted 11 targeted assassination actions on Friday and Saturday. Targeted assassinations are considered violations of international law, as they invariably result in civilian casualties.
14 of the 60 Palestinians wounded since Thursday are in critical condition in Gaza hospitals.
updated from:
Ten Palestinians Killed In Gaza Since Thursday. Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:38:23
Medical Sources in Gaza stated that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli shells since Thursday arrived to ten. A woman and her daughter were the latest casualty until the time of this report.
The sources stated that the army bombarded a home on resident Ibrahim Qdeih, in Abasan Al Kubra area, east of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, killing his wife, Najah, 41, and her 21-year-old daughter.
At least four residents who were at the bombarded home were also wounded, including a young woman who suffered serious injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that the army will continue its offensive against Gaza at least for several more days.
Three Palestinians Killed In Gaza. Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:00:00
As the Israeli army continued its offensive against the Gaza Strip, three Palestinian were killed on Friday, while the total number of slain Palestinians killed by the army since Thursday reached eight; dozens of residents, including children, were injured.
An elderly man, identified as Talal Abu Taha, 55, was killed when the army bombarded homes in Al Qarara area, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The man was praying at his home when it was hit by a shell fired by the army.
The army also killed two Palestinians fighters on Friday, the two are members of the Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing Hamas.
The two fighters were killed when the Israeli Air Force bombarded an area at the entrance of Khuaza town, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. They were identified as Abdullah Al Qarra and Mo'taz Abu Jame'.
Two Palestinians were wounded in the attack and were moved to a local hospital, medical sources reported. Furthermore, three family members were injured when the army bombarded a home in Al Faraheen area in southern Gaza. Among the wounded is a woman who is currently in a serious condition.
At least two Palestinians were wounded as the army bombarded a civilian area, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. They were moved to the Gaza European Hospital in the city.
Meanwhile, Israeli sources stated that at least six mortars were fired at the Eshkol area, in the Western Negev, on Friday at noon.
The army added that nearly 50 mortars were fired at the Western Negev on Friday, and considered the issue as the most serious escalation since Operation Cast Lead.
The army also bombarded an area believed to be a training base for fighters of the Al Qassam Brigades in Gaza City.
On Friday at dawn, the army bombarded several areas in Gaza, and fired two missile at an abandoned home that belongs to a family in Al Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza said that it held talks with different factions in an attempt to restore calm and prevent Israel from conducting a larger scale offensive. Palestinian factions declared a ceasefire that came into effect on Thursday at 11 at night but Israel resumed its shelling.
The resistance groups said that the ceasefire does not mean maintaining calm while Israel continues to bombard Gaza.
Two Palestinians Killed Friday, At Least Three Injured
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:12:31
As the Israeli Army and Air Force continued its strikes against the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire declared by the resistance in Gaza, two Palestinians were killed on Friday morning, while at least three residents were injured.
Medical sources in Gaza reported that two fighters, members of the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas, were killed as the army carried out a series of attacks against several areas in the coastal region.
The two fighters were killed when the Israeli Air Force bombarded an area at the entrance of Khuaza town, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.They were identified as Abdullah Al Qarra and Mo'taz Abu Jame'.
On Thursday, at least five Palestinians were killed and more than 40, including children, were injured in a number of Israeli attacks targeting several areas in Gaza.
Three more residents were wounded when the army bombarded an area east of the Rafah International Airport that was repeatedly bombarded and destroyed by the Israeli army since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that its stances never changed, and that resistance against the occupation and aggression will not stop.
The Brigades stated that there will be no truce with the Israeli occupation while it continues its aggression and crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Salah Ed-Deen Brigades, the armed wing of the National Resistance Committees, also issued a release stating that the Israeli crime committed on Thursday will not pass unpunished.
Mohammad Bahar, deputy head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) slammed the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people, and voiced an appeal to Egypt, the Egyptian head of the Higher Command of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Tantawi, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to intervene and stop the Israeli violations.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61027
18 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes since Thursday. Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:04:00
According to Palestinian medical sources, eight Palestinians were killed and at least twenty more injured, some seriously, when Israeli airstrikes struck neighborhoods in northern and southern Gaza on Saturday.
Two of those killed were resistance fighters - Tayser Abu Snima, with the armed wing of Hamas, and Raed Zuhair Al-Bar, 30, with the Popular Resistance Committees.
The identities of the other people killed remains unknown, but hospital officials say that the killed and injured are mostly civilians.
Israeli authorities claim that they conducted 11 targeted assassination actions on Friday and Saturday. Targeted assassinations are considered violations of international law, as they invariably result in civilian casualties.
14 of the 60 Palestinians wounded since Thursday are in critical condition in Gaza hospitals.
updated from:
Ten Palestinians Killed In Gaza Since Thursday. Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:38:23
Medical Sources in Gaza stated that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli shells since Thursday arrived to ten. A woman and her daughter were the latest casualty until the time of this report.
The sources stated that the army bombarded a home on resident Ibrahim Qdeih, in Abasan Al Kubra area, east of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, killing his wife, Najah, 41, and her 21-year-old daughter.
At least four residents who were at the bombarded home were also wounded, including a young woman who suffered serious injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that the army will continue its offensive against Gaza at least for several more days.
Three Palestinians Killed In Gaza. Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:00:00
As the Israeli army continued its offensive against the Gaza Strip, three Palestinian were killed on Friday, while the total number of slain Palestinians killed by the army since Thursday reached eight; dozens of residents, including children, were injured.
An elderly man, identified as Talal Abu Taha, 55, was killed when the army bombarded homes in Al Qarara area, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The man was praying at his home when it was hit by a shell fired by the army.
The army also killed two Palestinians fighters on Friday, the two are members of the Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing Hamas.
The two fighters were killed when the Israeli Air Force bombarded an area at the entrance of Khuaza town, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. They were identified as Abdullah Al Qarra and Mo'taz Abu Jame'.
Two Palestinians were wounded in the attack and were moved to a local hospital, medical sources reported. Furthermore, three family members were injured when the army bombarded a home in Al Faraheen area in southern Gaza. Among the wounded is a woman who is currently in a serious condition.
At least two Palestinians were wounded as the army bombarded a civilian area, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. They were moved to the Gaza European Hospital in the city.
Meanwhile, Israeli sources stated that at least six mortars were fired at the Eshkol area, in the Western Negev, on Friday at noon.
The army added that nearly 50 mortars were fired at the Western Negev on Friday, and considered the issue as the most serious escalation since Operation Cast Lead.
The army also bombarded an area believed to be a training base for fighters of the Al Qassam Brigades in Gaza City.
On Friday at dawn, the army bombarded several areas in Gaza, and fired two missile at an abandoned home that belongs to a family in Al Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza said that it held talks with different factions in an attempt to restore calm and prevent Israel from conducting a larger scale offensive. Palestinian factions declared a ceasefire that came into effect on Thursday at 11 at night but Israel resumed its shelling.
The resistance groups said that the ceasefire does not mean maintaining calm while Israel continues to bombard Gaza.
Two Palestinians Killed Friday, At Least Three Injured
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:12:31
As the Israeli Army and Air Force continued its strikes against the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire declared by the resistance in Gaza, two Palestinians were killed on Friday morning, while at least three residents were injured.
Medical sources in Gaza reported that two fighters, members of the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas, were killed as the army carried out a series of attacks against several areas in the coastal region.
The two fighters were killed when the Israeli Air Force bombarded an area at the entrance of Khuaza town, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.They were identified as Abdullah Al Qarra and Mo'taz Abu Jame'.
On Thursday, at least five Palestinians were killed and more than 40, including children, were injured in a number of Israeli attacks targeting several areas in Gaza.
Three more residents were wounded when the army bombarded an area east of the Rafah International Airport that was repeatedly bombarded and destroyed by the Israeli army since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that its stances never changed, and that resistance against the occupation and aggression will not stop.
The Brigades stated that there will be no truce with the Israeli occupation while it continues its aggression and crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Salah Ed-Deen Brigades, the armed wing of the National Resistance Committees, also issued a release stating that the Israeli crime committed on Thursday will not pass unpunished.
Mohammad Bahar, deputy head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) slammed the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people, and voiced an appeal to Egypt, the Egyptian head of the Higher Command of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Tantawi, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to intervene and stop the Israeli violations.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61027
For the fourth time on Friday, Israeli forces hit the Gaza Strip, with three killed, bringing the total for the past 24 hours to eight dead.
According to the government news agency WAFA, the most recent strike killed a mother and injured her two children.
The bombings were said to have been in retaliation for the launching of a projectile from the Gaza Strip, which hit a school bus in southern Israel, injuring two people on Thursday. The strike was claimed by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel has reported the landing of five more projectiles near Ashkelon since Friday morning. None of the strikes have been claimed.
Thursday afternoon strikes hit a home east of Gaza City, killing one, and late at night four others were killed in strikes across the Strip.
A Thursday move from Hamas to prevent further Israeli strikes appears to have gone unaccepted, after the party said it had gotten most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza to sign on to a ceasefire pledge.
Friday attacks have been reported as follows:
1:45 p.m. Israeli artillery fire hits the Al-Farahin area east of Khan Younis. WAFA reported a mother killed and her two children injured.
Israeli media reported shortly before the strike that five projectiles launched from Gaza landed near Ashkelon, with no injuries.
9:45 a.m. An airstrike combined with artillery hit the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, killing two.
Israel's military said in a statement that "forces identified two terrorist squads from the Hamas terrorist organization," adding that air and artillery fire were used and the military "identified hits."
Hamas' military wing, the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, named those killed as Abdallah Al-Qarra and Muataz Abu Jamea.
8:00 a.m. An Israeli strike hit in an open area east of Rafah, no injuries were reported.
7:00 a.m. Israeli shelling on Rafah airport in southern Gaza injured three, witnesses reported.
Thursday strikes kill five
Air strikes hit what was described by the Israeli military as positions in and around Gaza City where projectiles had been fired from on Thursday, and other raids hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
The strikes killed four, identified as resistance fighters affiliated with Hamas. A statement from the Al-Qassam Brigades identified those killed as leader
Salah Tarabin, 38,
Musab al-Sufi, 18,
Muhammad Almanmom, 25, and
Khaled Aldbari, 23.
Thursday afternoon, Artillery fire also hit the southern Gaza Strip, with witnesses saying artillery fire injured five people, including a small child, and killed Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who died after shells landed near his home in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
In total, more than 40 people were wounded across the Gaza Strip overnight.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=376717
Five Palestinians Killed, 40 Injured By Israeli Missiles In Gaza
By: Saed Bannoura
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Thursday that five Palestinians were killed and at least 40 residents, including children, were wounded in several Israeli air strikes and a ground attacks that were initiated on Thursday at noon.
A fighter of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, was killed when the army bombarded Al Shouka area, in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The fighter was identified as Saleh Al Tarabeen. Three residents, identified as Mohammad Al Mahmoum, 22, Mos'ab Al Soufy, 17, and Khaled Ad-Dabary, 23, were killed when the army bombarded Al Jaradat area in Rafah.
On Thursday at noon, resident Mahmoud Al Manasra, 50, was killed, and at least five residents, including a child, were injured when the army fired more than 20 artillery shells into Al Shijaeyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Furthermore, four Palestinians were moderately wounded when the army fired three shells into the Gaza International Airport in Rafah. The airport remains nonoperational since 2000, and was repeatedly bombarded and bulldozed by the army.
The army also bombarded several homes east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip; causing damage; no injuries were reported.
One child was wounded by an Israeli artillery shell that hit Al-Qarara area, east of Khan Younis.
The Israeli Air Force fired missiles at a training camp using by the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and also bombarded an open area close to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
In southern Gaza, the army fired a missile at a local ambulance causing damage and mildly wounding the driver.
Medical sources reported that another ambulance was targeted by the Israeli Air Force in Rafah, and that eight Palestinians, including children, were wounded.
Five Palestinians, including a journalist, identified as Mohammad Al Madhoun, were wounded when the army bombarded a Police training base west of Jabalia, in northern Gaza. The reporter was seriously wounded.
A Palestinian farmer was also wounded when the Israeli Air Force fired missiles into the Al Waha area, north west of Gaza city.
Several Air Strikes also targeted areas east of Dir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and Al Hawouz area in addition to the Al Rantissi Base, north of Gaza, leading to excessive damage.
Visiting Cairo, Palestinian Chief Negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, told the Maan News Agency that the Israeli threats and escalation jeopardize the security of the region, and that Israel must halt all of its violations against the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, Israeli Army spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, told Maan that the army is evaluating the situation and could resort to a larger scale attack against Gaza.
He added that what the army is conducting right now is only a routine operation that precedes a larger attack likely to be carried out after the army and the political leadership in Israel evaluate the situation.
Adraee further stated that the Hamas movement is responsible for the latest escalation.
Also on Thursday, two Israelis, including a school student, were wounded when a shell fired from Gaza hit a school bus in southern Israel.
Furthermore, the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas fired shells at the Sofa military base, near the Gaza border.
The Brigades said that attack comes in retaliation to the assassination of three fighters who were killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli army chief of Staff, Benny Gant, visited the military base and toured the area speaking to locals urging them to remain calm, adding that the army will do whatever it can to ensure their security, even if this means a military operation against Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, said that the army is acting against the attacks and will do whatever it can to ensure they stop.
He further stated that the Iron Dome system that was installed to intercept shells fired from Gaza is operational, but added that Israel cannot claim that the system provides full protection.
On Thursday night, approximately at 11, Palestinian factions in Gaza declared a ceasefire while Israeli tanks were seen moving towards the border area.
Israeli airstrike kills 2 Palestinians
At least two Palestinians have been killed after Israeli fighter jets pounded near the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, medics say.
The Friday morning strike hit Khuza'a, an area near the border that lies ine eastern Khan Younis, a spokesman for the emergency services told AFP.
On Thursday, Israeli forces attacked the Gaza Strip, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others.
The Israeli army has confirmed that its planes and ground forces have targeted the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been regularly bombarding Gaza ever since its 22-day war on the impoverished enclave in December 2008 and January 2009, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians -- many of them women and children.
The assaults come as Tel Aviv has imposed an all-out siege on the coastal enclave since June 2007.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted on Thursday that the Tel Aviv regime would not stop short of taking any military action against the Gaza Strip.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173686.html
According to the government news agency WAFA, the most recent strike killed a mother and injured her two children.
The bombings were said to have been in retaliation for the launching of a projectile from the Gaza Strip, which hit a school bus in southern Israel, injuring two people on Thursday. The strike was claimed by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel has reported the landing of five more projectiles near Ashkelon since Friday morning. None of the strikes have been claimed.
Thursday afternoon strikes hit a home east of Gaza City, killing one, and late at night four others were killed in strikes across the Strip.
A Thursday move from Hamas to prevent further Israeli strikes appears to have gone unaccepted, after the party said it had gotten most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza to sign on to a ceasefire pledge.
Friday attacks have been reported as follows:
1:45 p.m. Israeli artillery fire hits the Al-Farahin area east of Khan Younis. WAFA reported a mother killed and her two children injured.
Israeli media reported shortly before the strike that five projectiles launched from Gaza landed near Ashkelon, with no injuries.
9:45 a.m. An airstrike combined with artillery hit the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, killing two.
Israel's military said in a statement that "forces identified two terrorist squads from the Hamas terrorist organization," adding that air and artillery fire were used and the military "identified hits."
Hamas' military wing, the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, named those killed as Abdallah Al-Qarra and Muataz Abu Jamea.
8:00 a.m. An Israeli strike hit in an open area east of Rafah, no injuries were reported.
7:00 a.m. Israeli shelling on Rafah airport in southern Gaza injured three, witnesses reported.
Thursday strikes kill five
Air strikes hit what was described by the Israeli military as positions in and around Gaza City where projectiles had been fired from on Thursday, and other raids hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
The strikes killed four, identified as resistance fighters affiliated with Hamas. A statement from the Al-Qassam Brigades identified those killed as leader
Salah Tarabin, 38,
Musab al-Sufi, 18,
Muhammad Almanmom, 25, and
Khaled Aldbari, 23.
Thursday afternoon, Artillery fire also hit the southern Gaza Strip, with witnesses saying artillery fire injured five people, including a small child, and killed Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who died after shells landed near his home in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
In total, more than 40 people were wounded across the Gaza Strip overnight.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=376717
Five Palestinians Killed, 40 Injured By Israeli Missiles In Gaza
By: Saed Bannoura
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Thursday that five Palestinians were killed and at least 40 residents, including children, were wounded in several Israeli air strikes and a ground attacks that were initiated on Thursday at noon.
A fighter of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, was killed when the army bombarded Al Shouka area, in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The fighter was identified as Saleh Al Tarabeen. Three residents, identified as Mohammad Al Mahmoum, 22, Mos'ab Al Soufy, 17, and Khaled Ad-Dabary, 23, were killed when the army bombarded Al Jaradat area in Rafah.
On Thursday at noon, resident Mahmoud Al Manasra, 50, was killed, and at least five residents, including a child, were injured when the army fired more than 20 artillery shells into Al Shijaeyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Furthermore, four Palestinians were moderately wounded when the army fired three shells into the Gaza International Airport in Rafah. The airport remains nonoperational since 2000, and was repeatedly bombarded and bulldozed by the army.
The army also bombarded several homes east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip; causing damage; no injuries were reported.
One child was wounded by an Israeli artillery shell that hit Al-Qarara area, east of Khan Younis.
The Israeli Air Force fired missiles at a training camp using by the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and also bombarded an open area close to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
In southern Gaza, the army fired a missile at a local ambulance causing damage and mildly wounding the driver.
Medical sources reported that another ambulance was targeted by the Israeli Air Force in Rafah, and that eight Palestinians, including children, were wounded.
Five Palestinians, including a journalist, identified as Mohammad Al Madhoun, were wounded when the army bombarded a Police training base west of Jabalia, in northern Gaza. The reporter was seriously wounded.
A Palestinian farmer was also wounded when the Israeli Air Force fired missiles into the Al Waha area, north west of Gaza city.
Several Air Strikes also targeted areas east of Dir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and Al Hawouz area in addition to the Al Rantissi Base, north of Gaza, leading to excessive damage.
Visiting Cairo, Palestinian Chief Negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, told the Maan News Agency that the Israeli threats and escalation jeopardize the security of the region, and that Israel must halt all of its violations against the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, Israeli Army spokesperson, Avichai Adraee, told Maan that the army is evaluating the situation and could resort to a larger scale attack against Gaza.
He added that what the army is conducting right now is only a routine operation that precedes a larger attack likely to be carried out after the army and the political leadership in Israel evaluate the situation.
Adraee further stated that the Hamas movement is responsible for the latest escalation.
Also on Thursday, two Israelis, including a school student, were wounded when a shell fired from Gaza hit a school bus in southern Israel.
Furthermore, the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas fired shells at the Sofa military base, near the Gaza border.
The Brigades said that attack comes in retaliation to the assassination of three fighters who were killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli army chief of Staff, Benny Gant, visited the military base and toured the area speaking to locals urging them to remain calm, adding that the army will do whatever it can to ensure their security, even if this means a military operation against Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, said that the army is acting against the attacks and will do whatever it can to ensure they stop.
He further stated that the Iron Dome system that was installed to intercept shells fired from Gaza is operational, but added that Israel cannot claim that the system provides full protection.
On Thursday night, approximately at 11, Palestinian factions in Gaza declared a ceasefire while Israeli tanks were seen moving towards the border area.
Israeli airstrike kills 2 Palestinians
At least two Palestinians have been killed after Israeli fighter jets pounded near the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, medics say.
The Friday morning strike hit Khuza'a, an area near the border that lies ine eastern Khan Younis, a spokesman for the emergency services told AFP.
On Thursday, Israeli forces attacked the Gaza Strip, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others.
The Israeli army has confirmed that its planes and ground forces have targeted the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been regularly bombarding Gaza ever since its 22-day war on the impoverished enclave in December 2008 and January 2009, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians -- many of them women and children.
The assaults come as Tel Aviv has imposed an all-out siege on the coastal enclave since June 2007.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted on Thursday that the Tel Aviv regime would not stop short of taking any military action against the Gaza Strip.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173686.html
