Israeli helicopter gunships attacked what they called a Palestinian arms and munitions factory in the southern Gaza Strip overnight, the Israeli army said Saturday in a communiqué, according to reports.
But Palestinian sources, meanwhile, said the target was a steel factory belonging to a Palestinian family suspected of collaborating with Israel.
Early on Saturday morning, helicopter gunships fired missiles at the building in the Gaza Strip, which the army said was used by Palestinians to produce arms, including mortar bombs.
The military said it attacked the target near the Khan Younis refugee camp, and that pilots returned to base reporting direct hits. No casualties were reported, acording to Haaretz.
"Following the firing of mortar bombs this evening at the Gedid settlement, air force helicopters attacked a structure used to manufacture weapons," the army said in a statement.
Palestinian witnesses told the paper they saw a helicopter gunship fire three missiles near Khan Younis, but could not make out where they landed.
The raid was carried out in "retaliation" for Palestinian mortar fire on the nearby settlement of Gadid, the statement said. No Israelis were wounded in the mortar shelling, said AFP, but Haaretz said three suffered from light shock.
According to Palestinian security sources cited by the agency, nobody was hurt in the Israeli helicopter raid, which took place east of Khan Younis.
However, the Palestinian sources added that the target was not an arms factory, but rather a steel factory owned by the Abu Hassanein family.
They said the family was involved in a vendetta with another Palestinian family in Khan Younis.
Armed clashes erupted between the two families on Friday, leaving eight dead and more than 40 injured.
The Abu Hassanein family are suspected of collaborating with Israel, according to Abu Dhabi satellite channel.
The station said that members of the Abu Hassanein family shot dead Anwar Al Jurf to avenge the death of their brother, allegedly killed by Jurf several years ago in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza.
The killing provoked the Jurfs and Palestinian fighters from Fateh and other factions, who attacked the killers.
The PA security forces were unable to bring the fight under control due to the heavy weapons used by the Abu Hassanein family, according to the station’s report, which said that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had ordered the arrest of Jurf’s killers.
The Abu Hassanains were able to open fire for hours.
Two members of the Abu Hassanein family were killed in the clashes.
Reuters said that nine Palestinians lost their lives in the bloodiest family feud for years in the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip.
Police tightened security in other parts of Gaza to prevent the violence from spreading, said the agency – Albawaba.com
