GAZA CITY, 24 November 2006 — A 64-year-old Palestinian grandmother yesterday blew herself up near a group of soldiers as Israeli missiles and tanks killed five Palestinians, three of them fighters, in the Gaza Strip.
The oldest Palestinian bomber, Fatma Omar An-Najar, approached Israeli soldiers operating in the Jabaliya refugee camp. The army said the troops hurled a stun grenade at her when she was still some distance from them. Startled, she detonated her charge, killing her instantly but slightly injuring two of her intended victims.
Earlier, an Israeli airstrike on a car in northern Gaza killed two fighters, residents said. Another fighter was killed in a separate air attack, hospital officials said.
Israeli soldiers also fought periodic gunbattles with Palestinians, witnesses said. Hospital officials said a 20-year-old male civilian was shot dead by Israeli troops east of the town of Beit Lahiya. Residents said troops backed by tanks earlier thrust into Beit Lahiya. Firing machine guns, they stormed a housing project, killing a 19-year-old male civilian, hospital officials said.
Two Israeli soldiers were wounded by anti-tank missiles, the army said.
Residents said the incursion into Beit Lahiya was one of the biggest since Israel launched an offensive in late June after gunmen, including Hamas members, captured a soldier in a cross-border raid from Gaza.
Elsewhere, Israeli helicopter gunships targeted a money exchange in the center of the Gaza City and a sports club in Al-Shati town, west of the city. Witnesses said the money exchange was completely destroyed in the attack. The club was severely damaged.
Despite the Israeli operation, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said its fighters managed to fire several rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot. Rockets fired from Gaza have killed two Israelis in the past week. Palestinians say the rockets are a response to Israeli assaults.
— Additional input from agencies
