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A Palestinian terrorist shows off his Kassams (file)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners July 28, 2006 |
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Israeli troops withdrew from northern Gaza early Friday after a two-day sweep that killed 29 Palestinians, the most effective anti-terrorist action since Israel's incursion in Gaza began over a month ago following the kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit and the killing of several Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack.
According to Palestinian sources, the IDF killed five Palestinians on Thursday, including a 75-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy, who was killed by Israeli gunfire as he stood on the roof of his house at the edge of the Jebaliya camp, residents and hospital officials said.
As the world's attention has been focused on Lebanon, Israel's army and air force have been in Gaza Strip to try to stop terrorists from firing rockets at southern Israel. Early Friday, the terror group Islamic Jihad said it launched a rocket at the southern Israeli town of Zikim. The strike hit a kindergarten and wounded two Israeli children, who were hit by shrapnel, Israeli rescue services said.
"We were right before the end of the class and then the Red Alert siren was heard, and the children simply began running in all directions. Some of them ran in the direction of where the Qassam fell," said Ronny Basin, a youth leader who with the children during the attack.
"I called them over to stand underneath the tree, but it was a matter of seconds and two children were injured by shrapnel," he said. "The children were very frightened, some of them cried and some of them were in shock. I tried to calm them down and within a few minutes the security forces arrived. The situation is very stressful, but what can we do? To our great luck, until now there were no injuries," Basin said.
The mother of one of the injured children said: "They were playing outside in the kibbutz, and they suddenly heard the Red Dawn alert. They ran to search for cover. It was apparently too late because the rocket already landed and exploded -- my son was injured by shrapnel in the back and his friend was injured by shrapnel in the leg. To our great luck we had a guest who was trained in first aid and quickly treated him. Very quickly, soldiers also came from the nearby base and they helped us treat the two children."
Zikim residents, despite the increased threat, are not about to flee. "I have no doubt that this is a very difficult reality for us -- we had a serene kibbutz, quiet, with an incredible beach. But we have turned into a kibbutz that is shelled again and again by Qassam rockets -- and the children can't play outside anymore. We very much hope this won't cause a serious crisis in the kibbutz," one resident told ynet.
The Israeli operation in Gaza began after Hamas-linked militants killed two soldiers and captured a third, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid on a military outpost on June 25. Israeli troops have killed more than 100 Palestinians since its Gaza incursion began.
A Hamas political leader said Friday that Hamas would not release Shalit until Israel releases Palestinian prisoners first, and added that the group expected to conduct negotiations for a prisoner swap side-by-side with Hezbollah.
"Tying (the fate of) of the soldier we have and the soldiers with Hezbollah supports the interests of the two people, especially on the issue of prisoners. All choices are open before us," Osama al-Muzaini said in an interview on a Hamas Web site.
After the Israeli pullout from northern Gaza, as residents streamed outside before dawn to inspect the damage, rescue workers found the body of a militant killed in the fighting. Militants began removing mines and explosives they planted to try to stop the Israelis.
In southern Gaza, Israeli aircraft hit a metal workshop in the city of Khan Younis early Friday, wounding nine people, including two children, hospital officials said. The military said the target was a weapons storehouse.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in Algiers that the situation in the Palestinian areas and Lebanon was only likely to get worse after world leaders failed to agree on an immediate cease-fire at a summit in Rome on Wednesday.
"The situation will worsen and the consequences will be very heavy, not only for the region but probably for the entire world," he told Algeria's official APS news agency.
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