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| Friday, 15 October 2004 |
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Israel kills two Hamas militants after renewed threat GAZA, Thursday (Reuters) Israeli air strikes killed two Hamas militants in Gaza on Thursday just after the Islamic group renewed its threats to continue rocket attacks against Israelis despite a massive army offensive aimed at stopping them. The missiles killed the gunmen in Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, where over 200 tanks and armoured vehicles have been operating to kill militants who fire rockets into Israel. Two more Hamas men died in air strikes in the area on Wednesday. Israel began the raid after two Israeli toddlers were killed in a rocket strike on the town of Sderot on September 29, an attack that fuelled right-wing opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate Israelis from Gaza by the end of 2005. Militants want to claim any pullout as a victory. Israel is determined to smash them first. Ninety-nine Palestinians have been killed in 16 days of fighting. At least 57 of them were militants and most of the rest were believed to be civilians, Palestinian medics say. Israel says the vast majority of Palestinian dead were gunmen. Three Israelis and a Thai worker have also been killed. In south Gaza, an Israeli air strike killed two Palestinians in Rafah refugee camp, also a frequent scene of Israeli raids. Witnesses said the men were unarmed. A military source said the men had fired an anti-tank missile at troops operating in the area to uncover tunnels used to smuggle in weapons from Egypt. The army says dozens of such tunnels have been found. Witnesses said the army later began demolishing several houses in the camp. Israel often destroys Palestinian homes that it says are built to cover entrances to tunnels. Palestinians and human rights groups call the practice collective punishment. Israel has vowed to continue its northern Gaza offensive, one of its biggest and bloodiest in four years of conflict, until rocket attacks stop. A new custom-built early warning radar installed in Sderot passed its first live test on Wednesday, alerting residents 20 seconds ahead to incoming Qassam rockets in time for them to take cover, officials said. Hamas, an Islamic group sworn to Israel's destruction, vowed to upgrade its makeshift rockets and keep firing them despite the Israeli offensive and the new radar system. Israel also dealt an additional blow to Hamas on Wednesday, arresting a West Bank leader held responsible for a twin suicide bus bombing that killed 16. |
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