|
Deadly fighting erupts in Gaza
17/04/2008 10:32 - (SA)
Gaza City - The Gaza Strip braced for more violence on Thursday after 18 Palestinians - one a cameraman for an international news agency - and three Israeli soldiers were killed in a helicopter-backed incursion.
Heightening the tension, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said Hamas bears "direct responsibility" for the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
"We consider that Hamas bears sole, direct responsibility for what happened in Gaza and it will pay the price," Olmert said in an interview with Israel's Maariv newspaper.
"There is a war in Gaza and we will act against terrorism. Last year we killed more than 200 terrorists," he added.
His remarks came after deadliest day in the Hamas-ruled territory in weeks and with Israeli troops continuing to strike Palestinian militants. They killed two fighters from Islamic Jihad in a pre-dawn operation in the northern West Bank, Palestinian security officials said.
On Wednesday, 23-year-old Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was critically wounded when he was hit by a shell from an Israeli tank he had been filming and died after being taken to hospital.
Another three people were also killed in the strike, including two boys on a bicycle.
Abbas condemns military assault
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, on a visit to Moscow, strongly condemned the Israeli military assault and called on all sides to respect a ceasefire.
Abbas, whose forces were driven from Gaza in June when Hamas seized power there, has been holding US-sponsored peace talks with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert since November.
Israel has meanwhile launched near-daily military operations in the Gaza Strip aimed at halting rocket fire on southern Israel.
The rockets, most of them home-made, have killed 14 people since 2000.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday: "We are aware of the suffering of the people of Gaza, but in our eyes, the suffering of the residents of communities that border on that area, and those of the Israeli army, count more."
|
News
