A 14-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and two others, ages 11 and 14, were wounded by Israeli soldiers near an army outpost in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital officials said Saturday.
Dr. Moawiya Hassanain, a spokesman for emergency services in Gaza, said the boy could have been saved had he received immediate medical care.
The incident took place near the Karni crossing between Gaza and Israel, an area where two dozen Palestinian teen-agers have been killed and several dozen have been wounded by Israeli troops in the past 19 months of fighting.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has delayed the launch of an offensive in the Gaza Strip, having lost the element of surprise, Israeli public television said.
Security sources, quoted by the television, said the operation has been suspended but significant forces remained deployed around the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, “senior Israeli sources” have said that the has been "frozen," Israel Radio reported Saturday. The radio quoted the sources as saying that the decision had been for purely military reasons, and emphasized that there had been no American or European pressure.
Prior to the decision, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called U.S. President George Bush and asked him to pressure Israel into putting off the operation. Mubarak also called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with the same request.
Israel’s Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer announced Friday that he requested the Israeli army to reevaluate its plans for the military incursion. Ben-Eliezer, who met with top Israeli officers during the day, cited the public discussion in recent days regarding details of the operations as one of the reasons for his decision.
Israel’s Channel Two television reported that Ben-Eliezer had actually decided to delay the operation and that he accused government ministers of leaking information about the planned attack to the press.
Israeli sources said that some reservists who had received an emergency call-up for the planned assault were notified that they would likely be released Sunday.
The Israeli army continued preparations Friday for a possible invasion, massing forces on the border of the Strip, after the Israeli cabinet approved what senior security sources call "a focused, time-limited operation," but they hinted it could be called off at the last minute as a result of American pressure.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Friday that he expected "careful and measured" in Gaza and said Israel had no plans to conquer the Palestinian-controlled territory.
"We don't have any intention to conquer Gaza, but to reach points where there are real centers of terror in a very careful and measured way," Peres told reporters shortly after arriving in Italy on an official visit.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops pulled out of the Palestinian town of Tulkarem, ending a raid of several hours. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
