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Israel imposes curfew in Gaza strip town
Israeli tanks and troops launched major incursions into the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least one Palestinian and imposing an unprecedented curfew, Palestinian security sources said early Saturday.
Israeli tanks and troops launched major incursions into the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least one Palestinian and imposing an unprecedented curfew, Palestinian security sources said early Saturday.
As tanks rolled into the town of Rafah, on the southern Gaza border with Egypt, Israeli troops opened fire with machine guns in the Tal al-Sultan area, 600 metres inside Palestinian territory. One Palestinian man was killed in that action at around midnight (2200 GMT Friday), the sources said. About an hour later, in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli troops, backed by a dozen tanks and bulldozers, made a major incursion into the town of Beit Hanun.
Apache helicopters overflew the military operation, which was launched from several directions, but did not fire any missiles.
The soldiers fired at Palestinian police patrolling the border between the northern Gaza Strip and Israel proper, wounding four officers, one seriously, the Palestinian sources said.
The Israeli forces penetrated four kilometres inside Palestinian territory reaching the centre of Beit Hanun, with heavy exchange of fire with armed Palestinians, leaving another two people injured, the same sources said.
Once there the Israelis imposed a curfew, using loudhailers to order local residents to stay indoors.
It is the first time Israel has imposed a curfew in a Gaza Strip town since the Palestinian Authority was set up in 1994.
Israeli troops took up positions around the house of a local leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Salah Shata, while another house was destroyed, the Palestinian sources said.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on Israelis including recent suicide bombings in Jerusalem, Haifa and Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Late Friday, Israeli F-16 fighter planes carried out raids on Palestinian security targets in Gaza, for the third night running.
The latest raids left 17 people injured, including women and children, a hospital source said.
The Israeli army said that it had targetted the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's elite Force-17 guard. That attack was a response to Palestinian mortar fire on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, the army said.
After the air raids, a Palestinian mortar shell was fired at another Israeli settlement at Gush Katif without causing any injuries, the army added.
Elsewhere, according to Palestinian witnesses, eight Israeli tank shells were fired towards the autonomous Palestinian town of Khan Yunes, abutting Gush Katif, damaging four homes.
Since the start of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in September 2000, some 1,100 people have been killed, including 841 Palestinians and 233 Israelis.
Bureau Report
As tanks rolled into the town of Rafah, on the southern Gaza border with Egypt, Israeli troops opened fire with machine guns in the Tal al-Sultan area, 600 metres inside Palestinian territory. One Palestinian man was killed in that action at around midnight (2200 GMT Friday), the sources said. About an hour later, in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli troops, backed by a dozen tanks and bulldozers, made a major incursion into the town of Beit Hanun.
Apache helicopters overflew the military operation, which was launched from several directions, but did not fire any missiles.
The soldiers fired at Palestinian police patrolling the border between the northern Gaza Strip and Israel proper, wounding four officers, one seriously, the Palestinian sources said.
The Israeli forces penetrated four kilometres inside Palestinian territory reaching the centre of Beit Hanun, with heavy exchange of fire with armed Palestinians, leaving another two people injured, the same sources said.
Once there the Israelis imposed a curfew, using loudhailers to order local residents to stay indoors.
It is the first time Israel has imposed a curfew in a Gaza Strip town since the Palestinian Authority was set up in 1994.
Israeli troops took up positions around the house of a local leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Salah Shata, while another house was destroyed, the Palestinian sources said.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on Israelis including recent suicide bombings in Jerusalem, Haifa and Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Late Friday, Israeli F-16 fighter planes carried out raids on Palestinian security targets in Gaza, for the third night running.
The latest raids left 17 people injured, including women and children, a hospital source said.
The Israeli army said that it had targetted the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's elite Force-17 guard. That attack was a response to Palestinian mortar fire on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, the army said.
After the air raids, a Palestinian mortar shell was fired at another Israeli settlement at Gush Katif without causing any injuries, the army added.
Elsewhere, according to Palestinian witnesses, eight Israeli tank shells were fired towards the autonomous Palestinian town of Khan Yunes, abutting Gush Katif, damaging four homes.
Since the start of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in September 2000, some 1,100 people have been killed, including 841 Palestinians and 233 Israelis.
Bureau Report