Seven Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed during one of the most intense Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip in 17 months of Intifada, as Israeli troops shelled Palestinian targets early Wednesday by land, air and sea, in retaliation for a Hamas rocket attack on a southern Israeli town Tuesday evening.
In another incident in Gaza, Hamas said one of its members, Abdel-Raham Ghazal, had died in a blast at his home and accused Israel of killing him. One Palestinian is reported killed near the West Bank city of Jenin.
Gaza
Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine both claimed responsibility for the killing of an Israeli officer in fighting near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis.
The second Israeli soldier was killed overnight and three other soldiers wounded when Palestinians attacked them with gunfire and grenades while they were on a patrol along the border with Egypt.
The home of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in Gaza City and a UN-run school for the blind were severely damaged in the Israeli air strikes. The blasts blew out windows and collapsed a back wall in Arafat's home.
Palestinian security sources said Israeli warplane fired a missile at the Palestinian national security headquarters in Gaza City, a building which houses the offices of Major-General Abdel Razek Majaideh, the Palestinian security chief in the Gaza Strip.
Hospital officials said a woman and two children outside were lightly hurt by flying debris.
Palestinian intelligence chief Amin al-Hindi said the strike took place seconds before Palestinian security chiefs arrived for a high-level meeting, raising the prospect Israel had been trying to kill them.
Palestinian security sources said that among Wednesday's seven victims, three were relatives of a Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine activist during an unsuccessful search for him in the village of Abassan in the southern Gaza Strip.
Three others killed Wednesday were reported to be members of the Palestinian Authority naval force, hit by a missile fired from an Israeli gunboat.
The military wing of the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas said one of its members, Abdel-Raham Ghazal, had died in a blast at his home in Gaza City and accused Israel of killing him. Palestinian police said they were investigating the incident.
West Bank
At least four Palestinian youths were wounded by Israeli troops, two of them critically, in a shooting incident at a school in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
The mayor of Silat al-Baher, a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, alleged that Israeli soldiers had opened fire on a group of boys at the entrance to their school.
An Israeli spokeswoman said a military jeep had come under fire in Silat al-Baher and the soldiers had returned fire.
Hospital officials in the nearby Palestinian-ruled city of Tulkarem said two of the wounded - boys aged 11 and 17 - were in critical condition with bullet wounds, and that another two casualties were en route.
"The students were at the entrance to the school when an army bus full of soldiers stopped, and the soldiers opened fire. At least three students were wounded," said village mayor Ragher Abu Dayek.
Israel has also carried out air strikes on an office of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in Dahariya, south of the West Bank city of Hebron. Witnesses said one missile had destroyed the office, which was empty at the time. The Palestinians routinely evacuate such targets in anticipation of Israeli strikes.
Israeli Infantry and armored forces have been operating since Tuesday night near Al-Yamun village, west of Jenin. According to Palestinian sources, one Palestinian was killed in this village.
Meanwhile, an Israeli police officer and two Israeli Arabs were wounded under disputed circumstances at the Maccabim-Modi'in roadblock close to the border with the West Bank, Haaretz reported.
Soldiers at the roadblock said they opened fire at the Arabs' vehicle after they had received prior warnings about the car and after the two attempted to flee.
Sharon
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has cancelled a planned trip next week to London and Madrid, his office said Tuesday, as violence was spinning out of control in the Middle East.
Sharon's office said the visit was being cancelled because of "recent events" however provided no other details.
The Israeli Prime Minister is facing increasing opposition in Israel over his handling of the conflict with the Palestinians, which has escalated sharply in recent days.
He had been due to leave Israel on Sunday for a four-day trip during which he had arranged meetings with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish counterpart Jose-Maria Aznar, whose country is currently President of the European Union.
Meanwhile, Sharon spoke by telephone with US Secretary of State Colin Powell Tuesday evening about the "serious escalation" of the situation in the Middle East and vowed that Israel would take the "necessary measures" to defend its citizens. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
