At least 12 Palestinians were killed and more than 50 were injured during a major Israeli incursion into the center of Gaza City overnight, hospital sources said.
Many of those injured were said to be in serious condition.
An Israeli army spokesman said the troops had been attacked by light arms, anti-tank rockets and explosives.
Palestinian security sources said the Israeli troops dynamited two metal workshops in the town. The Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza City early Sunday.
Early Sunday, witnesses said nine Israeli tanks took up positions in the center of Beit Hanoun, a town at the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces blew up four bridges a day earlier.
The 12 victims were killed during exchanges of fire between armed Palestinians and Israeli units which rolled into Gaza City from three directions.
Those killed by Israeli forces during the invasion were:
1. Ashraf Samih Kuhail, 23, shot by several live bullets in the chest and thighs;
2. Ahmed Hassan al-Fayoumi, 24, a member of the Palestinian Military Intelligence, hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell;
3. Mohammed Rashad 'Obaid, 28, a member of the Palestinian Military Intelligence, hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell;
4. Ahmed Shihada 'Aabed, 23, a member of the Palestinian Military Intelligence, hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell;
5. 'Alaa' Zuhair Khalifa, 23, killed by several live bullets throughout the body;
6. Mohammed Akram al-Nakhala, 21, killed by several live bullets throughout the body;
7. Rami Fathi 'Eissa, 27, killed by shrapnel sustained throughout the body;
8. Marwan Zuhair Rahmi, 25, killed by several live bullets in the head and the neck;
9. Eyad Bader Jibril 'Akkawi, 20, killed by several live bullets in the chest and neck;
10. Wissam Fayez Yousef Hassan, 24, killed by a live bullet in the head;
11. Khaled 'Ali Hassan Shallouf, 17, killed by several live bullets throughout the body; and
12. Amjad Yusuf al-Hattab, 16, shot by several live bullets throughout the body;
More than 25 armoured vehicles backed by helicopter gunships rolled into Gaza's Askoula district, not far from Palestine place in the city centre.
"The Israelis will pay a heavy price for every drop of blood shed last night," Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a leader of Hamas, said Sunday. "Our battle will continue until we uproot this Zionist occupation from our holy land, no matter what the sacrifice."
In another incident, a six-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli fire Sunday afternoon while playing in an open field in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, Palestinian sources reported. His 5-year-old brother was wounded.
Also Sunday, the Israel military said it would tighten already stringent travel bans on Palestinians, completely sealing the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to prevent Palestinians from disrupting Tuesday's vote. The increased restrictions were to go into effect Sunday afternoon and be lifted Wednesday, the day after the election. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
