Israelis Kill 7 Palestinians in Gaza Raid

19/02/2003| IslamWeb

Backed by helicopter gunfire, dozens of Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza City late Tuesday, setting off clashes with Palestinians that left seven Palestinians dead and 20 wounded, Palestinian hospital officials said. The incursion, the second in Gaza in as many days, was part of a crackdown after the resistance Islamic group Hamas blew up a tank over the weekend, killing four soldiers. Hamas claimed Wednesday that once again, it destroyed a tank, this time with a bomber.

The Israeli occupation army said it knew nothing about an attack on its tank and would only say that the incursion was limited in nature, not an invasion of Gaza.

occupation soldiers blew up a metal workshop, one of the largest in Gaza city, Palestinians said.

Gunfire and explosions could be heard all over Gaza City, which was blacked out early Wednesday after Israel cut the electricity supply to the city of about 300,000, Palestinians said.

The Israelis left behind considerable destruction when they pulled out of the city before 4 a.m., residents said.

Palestinians Ask for Massive Aid

In London, Palestinian officials asked for massive aid to revive their economy devastated from 29 months of Mideast violence.

Palestinian officials meeting with donor states said they need DLRS 1.5 billion through April 2004 to put their economy back on its feet.

Terse Rode-Larson, the United Nations Mideast envoy, described the situation in Palestinian areas as a "man-made humanitarian crisis."

Meanwhile, Participants in the London meeting tied their economic assistance to the Palestinians to political reforms in Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority and welcomed his plans to create the post of prime minister.

PHOTO CAPTION

An elderly Palestinian man rests in front of his demolished house in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, February 18, 2003. Photo by Radu Sigheti/R