13 Palestinians Killed by Israeli Occupation Tanks and Air Strikes in Gaza

13 Palestinians killed, 2 Israeli soldiers wounded as Army invades Gaza 

Wednesday June 27, 2007 16:20 by Wisam Afifeh - IMEMC News news at imemc dot org

At least 13 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday when the Israeli army invaded the region and attacked two neighborhoods.

Israeli military sources said two troopers sustained serious wounds in clashes with the Palestinian fighters.

The Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip come one day after a four-way summit in Egypt in which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met. The summit was meant, according to Egyptian officials, who called for the summit to boost Abbas and his emergency government.

On Wednesday afternoon invading Israeli Tanks shelled houses located Al-Shija’iyeh area in eastern Gaza, the shilling killed three Palestinians. Medical sources identified the three as Khalil Ijha, Sami Manasra, and Yousef Manassra.

So far the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza strip that started Wednesday morning has calmed the lives of 13 Palestinians among them one child and left 40 injured among them seven in critical conditions.

Two Palestinian resistance fighters, named as Nafiz Mahmoud Hillis, 27, and Ahmad Ayyad Hillis, 18, were reported to be killed, on Wednesday midday, in armed clashes with the invading Israeli troops in eastern Gaza city.

The two men were members of Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah.

Earlier on Wednesday Palestinian Medical sources reported that five Palestinians, including a child, were killed and several others wounded in the Al-Shija’iyeh neighborhood in eastern Gaza, when Israeli tanks and artillery shelled the crowded residential area in the early hours of the morning.

The four were identified as Wisam Al-Shaer, Ahmad Zuhdi Hillis of the Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Nafez Hillis of the Al-Aqsa brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, senior Islamic Jihad resistance fighter Ra'ed Fanuna. and Ahmad Abbad Hillis, a bystander.

Palestinian medical sources identified the wounded as Mahmoud, Wala’, and Ali, all from the Hillis Family.

In a separate incident, Israeli forces invaded the Abu Reida area, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, and clashed with resistance fighters. The clashes claimed the lives of Dia’ Abu Dakka of Al-Quds brigade.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the Israeli army used Palestinian civilians as human shields as they invaded the city, with the same sources reporting that the army invaded several homes, taking up position on the rooftops. At the time of this report, the operation is still ongoing.

A seventh Palestinian was killed in an Israeli air strike which targeted his car in the Al-Shija’yeh neighborhood in Gaza city.

Eyewitnesses said an Israeli Helicopter fired at least one missile at a white Mitsubishi car which was driving in a residential area near the police station.

Local residents also reported that Israeli tanks shelled a civilian house which belonging to Qassem Jindiyeh on early Wednesday morning. Medical sources reported that two were wounded and were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital for treatment.

Palestinian security sources said at least 15 Israeli military vehicles invaded the Gaza Strip from the Karni border crossing and clashed with the resistance fighters.

Unconfirmed reports said the resistance fighters damaged an Israeli tank. No comment has been made by the Israeli army in this regard.

Israeli military tanks and jets strike Gaza, killing twelve Palestinians 

Date: 27 / 06 / 2007 Time: 09:26

Khan Younis - Ma'an - 

In a ground incursion and in airstrikes, the Israeli occupation forces  killed eleven Palestinians, early on Wednesday morning in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli occupation tanks invaded the southern Gaza Strip, east of Khan Younis, while Israeli occupation fighter jets bombarded eastern Gaza City, in the north of the strip. Israeli occupation troops also invaded Gaza City.

9 deaths in Gaza City

Our Gaza correspondent reported director of emergencies in Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, Dr Muawiya Hassanein, as stating that two Palestinians, named as Nafiz Mahmoud Hillis, 27, and Ahmad Ayyad Hillis, 18, were killed in armed clashes with Israeli troops in eastern Gaza City.

The two men were members of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah.

An airstrike on the Shaja'iyya neighbourhood of east Gaza City killed Ra'ed Fannouna, from the Al Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's military wing.

Our Gaza correspondent said that Israel warplanes and helicopters launched a strike in the area, killing Fannouna as he was travelling in his car at around 9am. Three other Gazans were injured in the strike.

Israeli tanks also shelled the Shaja'iyya area, killing Anan Ar'er, 25, a member of Hamas' armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades. Clashes erupted between Palestinian armed men and Israeli forces in the same area.

According to Palestinian medical sources, three other Palestinian civilians were also killed in the airstrike on Shaja'iyya. They were named as Hazim Ziad Jundiyah, 25; Deib Said Jundiyah, 9; and Yousef Manasra, in his twenties. Sami Manasra, 29, from the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades was also killed.

Another man, Zakaria At Tatar, also died on Wednesday from wounds he sustained two days ago when Israeli forces attempted to assassinate him in the northern Gaza Strip. He was a member of the Al Quds Brigades in the area.

Medical sources said on Wednesday afternoon that another Palestinian has been killed. Yousef Khalil, in his twenties, from the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades, was killed in a clash with the Israeli forces in Shajaiya, near Gaza City.

4 killed in clashes in southern Gaza

In the south of the strip, three activists from Islamic Jihad's armed wing were killed and three others injured, during an Israeli military incursion. One other Palestinian man was killed and many other Gazans were also injured, our Khan Younis correspondent reported.

Diyaa Abu Daqqa and Hussam Abu Ta'eimah from the Al Quds Brigades were killed, and three other Al Quds members were injured, after dozens of Israeli tanks penetrated the area of Khuza'a and Abasan at dawn amid intense shooting, the correspondent added. Armed clashes broke out during which the two men were killed.

Mahmoud Ash Sha'er, another member of the Al Quds Brigades, was killed when a bombing device exploded in Khan Younis.

A fourth man, Mahmoud Abdul-Fattah, 25, was also killed by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.

In a statement, the Al Quds Brigades said they are mourning Abu Daqqa, adding that the blood of "every martyr will enforce the brigades".

Armed groups affiliated to both Fateh and Hamas engaged in gun battles with the invading Israeli forces, according to statements from the Fatah-affiliated Al Buraq Army and the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades.

The Buraq Army claimed that the fighting resulted in Israeli casualties and injuries. The Al Qassam Brigades also claimed to have shot an Israeli soldier east of Khuza'a.

The Al-Quds Brigades, meanwhile, claimed to have fired a projectile towards the southern Israeli town of Sderot in retaliation for the assignation of both Ra'ed Fannouna and Diyaa Abu Daqqa.

The spokesman of the Popular Resistance Committees, Abu Mujahid, also told Ma'an that PRC fighters confronted the invading troops in Khuza'a and launched two projectiles at Israeli special forces. He also claimed that, according to Israeli sources, two Israeli soldiers had been injured.

Condemning the Israeli forces' action, Abu Mujahid also accused Israeli Prime Minister Olmert of ignoring the promises he made in the recent Sharm Al Sheikh summit. "Olmert promised at the Sharm Al Sheikh summit to allow the passage of food and other basic necessities, and the first thing he does is invade the Strip," Abu Mujahid told Ma'an.

200 kidnapped for interrogation

In Khuza’a, located east of Khan Younis, eyewitnesses said that the Israeli occupation forces kidnapped around 200 Palestinians and took them to a military post, south of the town. They are reportedly currently undergoing interrogation.

The witnesses added that the Israeli forces bulldozed dozens of dunums (thousands of metres²) of agricultural land in the area.

Some Israeli journalists have speculated that the rise in the death toll in this incursion relative to recent invasions of Gaza is due to the new appointment of Ehud Barak as minister of defence.

Fateh condemns the invasion

Spokesperson of Fatah, Dr. Jamal Nazzal, issued a statement on behalf of Fatah, in response to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. It read as follows:

“We are aware that Israel is now ready to use the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip as a pretext to justify its actions against our citizens in this area. We call on all human rights organisations to do their utmost to closely watch, uncover and condemn the Israeli aggression on Palestinian civilians.

“We in Fatah reject all forms of Israeli intervention into Palestinian affairs and we call upon all Palestinians to reject the measures undertaken by Israel against Gaza.”

Presidency condemns Israel

Spokesperson of the Palestinian presidency condemned the “crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces, which left eleven Palestinians dead.” He added “this Israeli escalation launched by the government from Tel Aviv is a clear violation of the truce and an Israeli attempt to provoke retaliation from Palestinians in order to perpetuate the cycle of violence.”

The spokesperson also noted that “this escalation is at a time when the strip is still suffering from the effects of the coup. This will only add more complications and obstacles to the Palestinian situation and will create more bloodshed.”

He continued, “The aggression was initiated just one day after the Sharm el Sheikh summit, which casts serious doubts on the true nature of the intentions of Olmert.”

The spokesperson concluded by appealing to the Middle East Quartet and the United Nations Security Council to intervene to protect Palestinians.

**updated 16:30, 27 June 07

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