Three Palestinians Killed by Israeli Tank Fire in Southern Gaza

18/10/2003| IslamWeb

Three Palestinians, including a woman, were killed by Israeli tank shell fire in the southern Gaza Strip during a military incursion which began several days earlier, hospital sources said. Nine other Palestinians were injured in the shooting early Saturday, three of them seriously, the sources said. The three victims of the incident in the southern Gaza town of Rafah were named as Tarek Al-Hussein, a 45-year-old member of the Hamas movement, Widad Al-Ajrami, a 33-year-old woman, and Bassam Al-Mogheir. Two Palestinians had been killed by Israeli troops in Rafah on Thursday. On Tuesday, Israeli forces launched an operation in Rafah town and the adjacent refugee camp, saying they planned to destroy tunnels used to smuggle in arms from Egypt. During an earlier operation in Rafah, which ended Sunday, eight Palestinians were killed and a ninth died of his wounds on Thursday. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) 114 homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable in that operation Meanwhile, the American embassy in Israel on Friday suspended until further notice all trips to the Gaza Strip by American officials, following the latest bombing attack on an American convoy that killed three US security men. A senior embassy official said Friday that the question was being considered whether the Palestinians were still partners with the U.S. He said that American aid to the Palestinians would continue, as well as consulate services. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Palestinians carry the dead body of Tariq Abu Hussein, 25, into the Najar hospital after he was killed in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip Saturday, Oct. 18, 2003. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)