Israeli tanks fired several shells at the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing one Palestinian and wounding eight, including a mother and her 6-month-old baby, Palestinian officials said.
Palestinian witnesses said the shells hit three houses in Beit Lahia.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli aircraft bombed targets in the Gaza Strip. The aircraft fired three missiles into Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' compound. The missiles landed at the Ansar 2 compound's helicopter landing pad about 100 meters from Abbas' office. At the time of the bombing, Abbas was at his main office in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for attacking the Israeli city of Ashkelon with two home-made Quds-3 missiles Tuesday dawn.
A statement issued by the group affirmed that the two rockets have accurately hit their targets in the city. "The missile assault was in retaliation to the continued Israeli occupation government against our unarmed Palestinian civilians and resistance fighters, including the assassination of Raed Obayyat in Bethlehem Monday", a statement stated.
West Bank
A Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli soldiers overnight Monday outside of the West Bank town of Ramallah. According to Palestinian sources, 13-year old Muhammad Farid Naameh was killed when Israeli soldiers shot and killed him in the Kalandiya refugee camp in which he lived.
The sources added that Naameh and a group of his friends had been throwing stones at the soldiers, according to Ynet.
Meanwhile, 22 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli troops in the West Bank Sunday night.
The men belonged to the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine factions, and were arrested in the towns of Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, and Bethlehem.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
