Palestinian sources said on Wednesday that five Palestinians, including a two-year-old girl, were killed in clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Rafah, near the Gaza Strip's southern border with Egypt.
They said an Israeli tank shell killed the toddler and a 25-year-old man when a tank fired at houses near the border. Seven people were wounded, six of them from the girl's Bedouin family.
Another Palestinian man was killed and three people wounded in a gun battle, which erupted when Israeli tanks entered about 200 meters into Rafah early on Wednesday, the Palestinians said.
According to Reuters, an Israeli source said a tank had fired a single round at a group of Palestinians who set off a roadside bomb aimed against an Israeli armored vehicle patrolling the border.
The source said the shell killed one of the bombers, a second ran away and a third was arrested.
"If Israeli fire, aimed at terrorists who had just set off explosives, killed a two-year-old child, we place responsibility for this horrible tragedy directly on the hands of the terrorists who are using women and children as human shields," the military source said.
Palestinian doctors said the two-year-old was killed by shrapnel wounds to the head. They said the seven injured from the tank shell were either suffering from shrapnel wounds or had been hit by rubble.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces completed their withdrawal early Wednesday morning from the West Bank city of Hebron, three days after troops and armored vehicles had rumbled into the town.
The Israeli military said 150 Palestinians were arrested in Hebron, including 52 “wanted men.” Nine Palestinians were killed during the raid, including six civilians.
Before pulling out, Israeli soldiers detained Loi Kafisha, a local leader of Hamas Israel charges with responsibility for several attacks. According to Israeli media, he was hiding in a local hospital and tried to escape disguised as a doctor. (Albawaba.com)
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