Five Palestinians were killed on Thursday in two seperate incidents as Israeli troops moved into a new neighborhood in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on the third day of a massive military offensive, witnesses and Israeli sources said.
Palestinian doctors said two Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank shells before daybreak Thursday near the Egyptian border in the southern Gaza Strip. One of the victims was identified as Mahmoud Najib al Akhras.
Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian sources reported that three men were killed by an Israeli helicopter missile near the frontier. Two other men were said wounded in the attack. Israel said the helicopter fired at "gunmen" approaching Israeli forces. The dead were identified as Yusuf Muhammed al Maghari, 22, Mahmoud Mustafa Dib, 22 and Hamed Yassin Bahloul, 18.
Later in the day, Jamal Al-Attar was killed and four other Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli occupying forces in Tel-Sulatan neighborhood.
Witnesses said that Israeli snipers, positioned at Al-Assar residential building opened fire towards one of the houses, killing Al-Attar.
In addition, the body of Mohammed Ibraheem Jabber, 25, was evacuated to Abu Yousef Al Najjar hospital after being shot by Israeli soldiers.
In a separate incident, a 3 year-old-child, Samer al-'Arja, died of a shock because of a sudden Israeli bombardment on the neighbourhood of al-Jneina in Rafah, witnesses said.
Israeli forces also destroyed a four-story building in the camp belonging to Islamic Jihad leader Nafez Azzam and a small Islamic sports club, residents said.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution early Thursday calling on Israel to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes and condemning the killing of Palestinian civilians near the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.
The final vote was 14-0, with U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham abstaining.
The resolution expresses grave concern at "the recent demolition of homes committed by Israel, the occupying power, in the Rafah refugee camp." It "calls on Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law and insists, in particular, on its obligation not to undertake demolition of homes contrary to that law."
The White House early Thursday criticized Israel over its military actions in the Gaza Strip, saying they do not "serve the purposes of peace and security."
"While we believe that Israel has the right to act to defend itself and its citizens, we do not see that its operations in Gaza in the last few days serve the purposes of peace and security," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
"They have worsened the humanitarian situation and resulted in confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, and have not, we believe, enhanced Israel's security," he added.
West Bank
A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli fire in the Fawar refugee camp near the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday during clashes there.
Israeli sources said troops opened fire after a Palestinian threw a firebomb at Israeli forces.
Before dawn Thursday, an Israeli officer was critically injured by "friendly" fire in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, Israel's Army Radio reported.
A soldier mistook the officer for an armed Palestinian fighter and shot him in the stomach, Israel Radio reported.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces on Thursday swept into the West Bank city of Qulqilya, WAFA and witnesses said.
Local sources said that Israeli soldiers, under heavy machine gunfire, besieged a number of houses east of the city. They added that Israeli soldiers turned some houses into military posts. Israeli reports said two Palestinians were shot dead in the city. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
