Nusseirat Refugee Camp (Gaza Strip), Oct 21: Eleven Palestinians died in a series of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, including eight in a refugee camp, where Israeli helicopters targeted a car on the main street. Israeli planes and helicopters struck five times yesterday, hitting a suspected Hamas weapons cache twice, another storehouse and a car carrying suspected militants.
Violent Islamic movements, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, threatened revenge for the Israeli air strikes, but Israel`s premier pledged more raids, further clouding Middle East peace efforts.
"The Israeli military will continue to act to foil terror attacks, capture murderers and liquidate terror organisations," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a speech to Parliament. The deadliest attack came after nightfall in the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Residents said Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at the main street, destroying a car.
Residents said one of the dead was a doctor who was treating victims when a second missile struck. The identity of the other victims was not immediately known, and the military did not comment.
An Israeli television channel said that none of the dead were militants, characterizing the refugee camp strike as a "mistake". Bureau Report