GAZA CITY, 30 July 2006 — Israel bombed a suspected weapons factory and a border tunnel in the Gaza Strip yesterday and sent its troops back into the north of the territory in the latest chapter of a month-long assault that has left nearly 150 people dead.
The new raids followed the withdrawal of troops Friday from northeastern Gaza after a two-day operation that the military said was aimed at smashing “terror infrastructure” and that left 30 people dead.
Yesterday, ground forces launched a “limited incursion” near the Erez Crossing point between Gaza and Israel in what the army said was a bid to destroy tunnels and “neutralize” bombs. Witnesses said Israeli bulldozers backed by tanks demolished and damaged buildings while firing heavily at homes and residents in the area.
Overnight, warplanes bombed a house in Gaza City which the army said contained arms and ammunition and tunnels near the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, two Palestinian men wounded during an Israeli raid on Thursday have died, hospital sources said yesterday. One of them was hit by an air raid in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, and the second by a tank shell that struck his home in Gaza City.
A total of 147 Palestinians have now been killed since Israel launched a massive offensive against Gaza following the capture of an Israeli soldier on June 25.
Three armed groups claimed responsibility for taking the soldier captive. The military says it aims to free the seized Cpl. Gilad Shalit and stop Palestinian groups from firing rockets onto Israeli territory from the narrow coastal strip from which it withdrew last year after a 38-year presence.
The rocket attacks have sharply decreased during the past month, but two Israeli children were lightly wounded Friday when a rocket landed in the town of Ashkelon, an attack claimed by the Islamic Jihad group.
The month-long offensive has also wreaked massive damage on the impoverished Gaza Strip, where electricity is now rationed and sewage left untreated.
European Union External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told AFP after a visit to the territory on Thursday that the situation was critical.
“There is a situation of total crisis in the Gaza Strip,” she said. “The EU clearly sees that the civilian population is suffering. We hope that there will be immediate work to put a stop to the violence on both sides.” Ferrero-Waldner came to Gaza to oversee the distribution of sorely needed aid, ensuring it went straight to the Palestinians and bypassed the Hamas government.
— With input from agencies
