Muck of the Irish

Israeli dawn ‘massacre’ in Gaza Strip leaves nine dead

 

Israeli forces backed by tanks killed eight Palestinians, including at least five militants, yesterday and one soldier was also killed in one of the heaviest Israeli raids into the Gaza Strip in months.

 

Israeli soldiers entered northern Gaza before dawn and fighting quickly erupted around the town of Beit Hanoun, followed by air strikes and tank shelling, witnesses said. The operation was one of the biggest since Israel launched an offensive in Gaza to press for the release of a soldier whom Palestinian gunmen captured on June 25 and to halt militant rocket fire into the Jewish state.

 

Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was waging “all-out war”, and called the operation “despicable”.

 

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he hoped the “massacre”, would not derail Egyptian-brokered talks trying to arrange a swap of Palestinian prisoners in Israel for the captive soldier.

 

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s security cabinet agreed to continue current Gaza operations and step up pressure on Hamas, a government statement said.

The IDF carried out three aerial attacks against armed gunmen approaching the forces and planting explosives in the area. In one incident, forces fired at two gunmen who had fired anti-tank missiles at the soldiers. A second strike targeted an armed gunman who was approaching the IDF troops, and another targeted a group of armed militants who were placing an explosive device near the troops. Fourteen Palestinian militant groups took responsibility for attacking IDF troops.