GAZA CITY, 18 March 2004 — In a stepped-up campaign, Israeli helicopters fired two missiles in separate attacks in the Rafah refugee camp yesterday, killing four people.
Two unarmed teenage boys and one fighter were among the dead, Palestinian officials said.
Amid the fighting, militants traded fire with Palestinian security forces in downtown Gaza City during morning rush after a car carrying armed men refused to stop for a police inspection, witnesses said. One civilian was killed and 17 people were hurt, Palestinian officials said. The confrontation raised new concerns about growing chaos in Gaza.
Israel launched the offensive into Gaza late Tuesday in response to a double suicide bombing earlier this week at the Israeli seaport of Ashdod that killed 10 Israelis. Security officials have also said they want to strike hard at militants ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“The extremists should know that they cannot be immune when they send terrorist groups to kill Israelis time and time again,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Since the start of the operations, a total of six Palestinians have been killed and 26 others wounded in a series of attacks.
In yesterday’s missile strikes, the army used the rare tactic of firing into a crowd of suspected gunmen during an ongoing operation.
The vast majority of Israeli airstrikes are aimed at specific targets, such as cars carrying militants, based on intelligence reports.
The army said it fired the missiles after groups of militants approached troops. Ground forces had raided the camp, located on the border with Egypt, overnight yesterday to uncover tunnels used by weapons smugglers, it said.
During the searches, Palestinians fired grenades, anti-tank missiles and bombs, it said. No Israeli casualties were reported.
A total of four people were killed in the Rafah missile strikes, which occurred several hours apart. Palestinians said the troops also demolished seven homes.
In the first strike, the army said a group of gunmen tried to place a powerful bomb along a road used by the military. Two people were killed. Palestinians identified one of the men as a fighter, while the affiliation of the second was unknown.
Later yesterday, a helicopter fired a second missile at a group. Residents said the crowd included civilians. Residents and hospital officials said two unarmed 14-year-old boys were killed, and four other people were wounded.
After nightfall, an Israeli tank fired a shell at the camp, wounding six men, Palestinians said. On Tuesday night, a helicopter strike in Gaza City killed two Palestinians and wounded 14, including a 2-year-old girl. The army said the building destroyed in the attack housed “Islamic Jihad terrorists, involved in attacks against Israelis.”
However, the two people killed were apparently bystanders, according to Palestinian officials and hospital doctors.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Security Cabinet approved the Gaza campaign on Tuesday. The offensive could include the assassinations of Palestinians, including leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, an Israeli security official said.
At his West Bank headquarters, President Yasser Arafat denounced the Israeli offensive yesterday. “They want to destroy Gaza before they leave it, but our people do not kneel,” he said. Arafat spoke before meeting with Osama El-Baz, a top adviser to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian envoy urged Arafat to take action against militant groups in Gaza, a Palestinian official who sat in on the meeting said on condition of anonymity. Egypt has said it will help ensure security in a post-Israel Gaza, although it rejects a direct military presence in the strip.
