Israeli war ships bombarded the city of Gaza Friday morning after the city came under a missile attack that injured 13 Palestinians at least. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed there would be no let-up until there was an "end to terror."
No injuries from the sea attack were reported, said Al Jazeera satellite channel.
Referring to the strikes on Palestinian targets, Sharon told reporters: "This is part of the campaign that is being waged and this campaign will be conducted until there is a complete restoration of security. Not a reduction of terror, but an end to terror," the hawkish leader was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The missile strikes were in retaliation for a roadside bomb that killed two migrant Romanian laborers repairing an Israeli border fence at Kissufim crossing point in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, in a statement faxed to Reuters, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Smoke rose from a Palestinian security compound, known as Saraya, hit by three surface-to-surface missiles, in the heart of Gaza City.
Two missiles punched holes into the offices of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fateh faction near the beach, causing balconies to crumble and extensive damage to two of the building's four floors.
But according to The Jerusalem Post, the Israelis fired at least four surface-to-surface missiles at the main headquarters of the Fateh Tanzim and the Palestinian National Security base in the center of Gaza City; it said the wounded reportedly reached 25 Palestinians, five of them seriously.
The paper quoted reports as saying that said an office in one of the buildings on the base was used to manufacture mortars.
But the attack seemed to make no difference as far as the Palestinians are concerned.
"We are not afraid of death," chanted a crowd outside the security compound, which is surrounded by residential buildings, after the missile strike, reported Reuters.
Ten surrounding homes were also damaged, said the Palestinians.
The site contains offices of Palestinian Public Security, Military Intelligence and General Intelligence. Witnesses said only a one-storey building housing a research unit was hit.
"This is a new dangerous escalation. We warn the Israeli government against the continuation of its aggression against the Palestinians. This escalation will destabilize the entire region," senior Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters.
According to the paper, Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army also targeted the Gaza headquarters of Palestinian Police chief Ghazi Jabali, near the Islamic University. The Fateh headquarters in the Rimal neighborhood is located near Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's office and the security base was where Meretz MKs and human rights activists met with Abdel Razeq Majaideh, head of the Palestinian security forces in Gaza, hours before the IDF attack.
Meanwhile, the town of Rafah in the strip was shelled by Israeli tanks, reported the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Ten were injured in the attack, while three security people were hurt in a simultaneous raid on Qarara, near Khan Younis.
Within the same context, Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza reported that an Israeli soldier was wounded by a Palestinian sniper's fire near the borders with Egypt.
He added that Fateh's dismantled Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack.
AT LEAST SEVEN PALESTINIANS INJURED IN GUNBATTLE AS ISRAELI TROOPS DESTROY PA BUILDINGS IN GAZA
At least seven Palestinians were wounded in a gunbattle earlier in the day when Israeli soldiers bulldozed PA buildings in a refugee camp near the Gaza-Egypt border, said reports.
Majaideh said at least three houses and two Palestinian police posts were destroyed by Israeli bulldozers protected by armored vehicles in Yebna refugee camp close to the Egyptian border, according to Reuters.
The Israeli army said its troops destroyed a Palestinian police post and other buildings adjacent to an Israeli-controlled road from which, it charged, Palestinians had thrown hand grenades, explosive devices and anti-tank grenades, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper said.
Majaideh said the troops had entered Palestinian-controlled territory, but the Israeli army said the area was under Israeli control according to interim peace agreements between the two sides.
At least six Palestinians were injured in the fighting, one critically, and an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded, hospital and security sources told the agency.
The Israeli army said Palestinians fired anti-tank grenades during the battle.
Also overnight Wednesday, four anti-tank grenades were reportedly fired at Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif in Gaza, said Haaretz.
Shots were also fired at troops near the Ganei Tal settlement in Gaza and at an Israeli army base east of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
The Palestinians said the Israelis entered areas under their control in the Ramallah area overnight, but the Israeli army denied the report.
US ENDORSES MITCHELL REPORT ON MIDEAST VIOLENCE
US Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed a controversial independent report on Middle East violence on Thursday and said it could provide the basis for a new initiative for peace in the region, reported Reuters.
In the first US comment on the conclusions of a commission led by former US Senator George Mitchell, Powell described it as "a very fine report".
Israel and the Palestinians have welcomed aspects of the report, which calls for an end to violence and measures to restore confidence between Israelis and Palestinians.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has objected to the commission's recommendation that Israel stop work on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel also rebuffed a proposal by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that he and Sharon meet for a summit to discuss the report. It said there could be no meeting until seven months of violence comes to an end.
Powell said: "We also have received the Mitchell commission report -- a very fine report. ... The Mitchell report may also give us a launch pad to start a new initiative."
His comments appeared to reinforce the impression that the United States intends to press Israel hard to change its position on settlements, widely seen as the biggest single obstacle to convincing Palestinians that Israel wants peace -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
