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Palestinians gather around the bodies of dead brother and sister after they were killed in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City. (AP)
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| By Associated Press June 21, 2006 |
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Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car in the crowded Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday, missing targeted Palestinian militants but killing a teen, two children and wounding nine people, clouding efforts to restart peace talks.
The Israeli military said the car was carrying militants from the Al Aqsa martyrs' Brigades, affiliated with President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Witnesses said the men in the car jumped out before the missile hit.
The dead children were a five year old boy, Mohammed Roka, and his seven-year-old sister, Needa, said Dr. Jumma Fatah of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. A 16-year-old girl died later of her wounds, hospital officials said.
The car exploded on a narrow street in the crowded refugee camp. The front of the car was badly damaged, but the back was intact.
Hundreds of angry Palestinians gathered around the vehicle, shouting slogans. Khalil Roka, a cousin of the dead boy, said he was sitting in front of his car repair shop while the children played in front of the house nearby. He said he saw a red flash a the car exploded, and the children were hit, but he didn't see the boy who was killed. "I was carrying my other cousins to the ambulance," he said.
After the Israeli airstrike, Palestinian militant groups vowed Wednesday to carry out revenge attacks against Israel.
"The reprisal is coming soon," said Abu Qussa, a spokesman for the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, told Palestinian radios. Abu Qussa said the revenge attacks could be anywhere and called on other militants to strike as well.
A retired Israeli general said Wednesday that Israeli aircraft did not intend to kill Palestinian children in the airstrike on Jebaliya.
"Those who are operating within a population of 1.25 million people can't guarantee 100 percent success and that each time the forces won't hit innocent people," Ephraim Sneh told Army Radio. "We didn't intend to do this."
Israel had intended to target Palestinian militants in the missile strike on the Gaza Strip but they fled the scene seconds before and a group of Palestinian children were hit instead. The strike came a week after another air attack in which eight Palestinian civilians were killed in addition to the two militants who were targeted.
The army said it regretted any civilian casualties caused by the airstrike.
Israel's Channel 2 TV said the raid was "another failed assassination attempt, and again innocent civilians were hit."
Army spokesman Capt. Jacob Dallal said the militants in the car were involved in firing rockets at Israel and blamed the Palestinian government for allowing the attacks.
"When we see people who are actively involved in firing, they are completely legitimate military target," he said, "and we will continue to take every precaution to keep civilians out of harm's way."
An air strike last week killed eight civilians, in addition to the two militants it targeted. Earlier this month, eight beach-goers were killed in an explosion that Palestinians blamed on Israeli artillery fire. Israel has denied involvement in the blast.
About 100,000 Palestinians live in the Jebaliya camp, just north of Gaza City. Jebaliya is the largest refugee camp in Gaza. Most of its streets are unpaved, and housing is made up of small, concrete-block buildings. The poverty-stricken camp is a main breeding ground of militants.
Addressing a conference of Zionist leaders in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert aimed a barb at Palestinian Presiden Mahmoud Abbas, saying the Palestinian leadership has failed to stop attacks and dismantle violent groups, a requirement for peace talks, and "to my regret, there is no room for optimism on that issue in the near future."
After Tuesday's airstrike, Islamic Jihad fired rockets from Gaza toward Israel and vowed to turn the southern Israeli community of Sderot into a "ghost town," the group said in a statement.
Israel has attempted to stop the rocket attacks by targeting militants in deadly strikes and threatened this week to increase its activity after the rocket fire increased. The homemade rockets rarely hurt anyone but have severely disrupted life in parts of southern Israel.
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