Israel kills five Palestinians, four from one family, Hamas vows revenge
Palestine-Israel, Military, 8/30/2002

The Israeli forces on Thursday killed five Palestinians in Gaza, four of them are from one family. This was when the Israeli tanks bombarded a residential area in al-Sheikh Ajleen. Two children were killed and nine wounded during an Israeli incursion in Rafah.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the "massacre" and called on Israel to try those responsible for it and cancelled a meeting which was due between its minister of the Interior Abdul Razzaq al-Yahya and the Israeli defense minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer who expressed his "regret."

Meantime, al-Qassam group, the military wing of the Hamas movement, vowed to retaliate the Israeli operation very quickly.

Rami Shamlakh, the neighbor of the bombarded Palestinian family said "an Israel tank stormed into our area while opening fire in all directions and one house was at least hit by four shells." Officials at the central hospital in Gaza said that four members of al-Hajeen family were killed in the Israeli raid. They are Rweida ( 55 year old) and her two sons ( Ashraf 23 year old ) and Nuha ( 17 year old and a relative to the family ( Muhammad, 20 year old).

A Palestinian medical source said that other five from the same family which is composed of nine members were wounded, one is in a very critical health condition and that they are still receiving medical treatment at al-Shefaa hospital.

Meantime, an Israeli military source said that the raid carried out by the Israeli army before dawn in al-Sheikh Ajleen coastal city, the second raid within two days was because of "suspected moves of several persons" in an area banned for the Palestinians near Natsareim settlement.

The Israeli defense ministry said in a statement that "Ben Eliezer expressed his regret to the incident in which innocent Palestinian people were killed in Gaza following the Israeli fire." The statement added that the Israeli minister of defense "ordered the army to submit a report to this effect very soon."

Previous Stories:
  Two Palestinians shot by Israel, new incursions for Gaza, Jenin, Halhoul   (8/29/2002)
  Sharon will not recognize new council for Palestinian authority   (8/29/2002)
  Ben Eliezer cancels Israeli- Palestinian security officials meeting   (8/29/2002)
  Israel continues breaking in operations, arrests two leaders of the people's front   (8/28/2002)

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