AlonzoMourning23
06-09-2006, 11:54 PM
GAZA CITY (AFP) - The armed wing of Hamas has threatened to break a moratorium on attacks against Israel after seven Palestinians, including three young children, were killed by Israeli artillery fire while on a day out at the Gaza seaside.
The deaths Friday on the beachfront in the Sudania area of the narrow coastal territory raised the toll from Israeli strikes to 14 in less than 24 hours. The other seven were killed in air raids, according to medical sources.
Around 35 other people were wounded in the firing off the coast of Gaza, from which all Israeli ground troops were withdrawn last September.
The upsurge in violence in the Gaza Strip prompted the armed wing of the ruling faction Hamas, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, to threaten to resume attacks against Israel after a de facto one-and-a-half year truce.
"The Brigades will decide the right moment and place to strike back with force against the criminal attacks of Israel," a statement from the armed group said.
"The Zionist crimes open the battle in the Zionist towns," said the group, responsible for killing hundreds of Israelis in suicide attacks in Israel over the past decade.
The United States said while Israel had a "right to defend itself" it should consider the effect of such military strikes.
"Let me just state what we have said before: that Israel has a right to defend itself," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"We also at the same time encourage Israel to ... consider the consequences of its actions."
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for a "full investigation" of the incident, saying through his spokesman that he was "deeply disturbed" by the killing of Palestinian civilians.
Russia, a member of an international quartet mediating in the moribund peace process, roundly condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza, saying it was deeply shocked by an "unacceptable" and "disproportionate" use of force.
"What happened was an unacceptable recourse to disproportionate use of force, especially when the result is the death of innocent Palestinians," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Medical sources said five of those killed at the beach were members of the Ghali family from Gaza. Children aged one, three and 10 died alongside their parents, Ali and Raisa.
Terrified crying children who were injured in the attack were rushed to nearby hospitals in Jabaliya and Gaza City where they were visited by Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya who denounced what he called "a warcrime in every sense of the word".
The victims had been bathing on the coast on the traditional Muslim day of rest, which was also one of the hottest days of the year.
The Palestinian observer to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, warned the situation in Gaza was "extremely explosive" and urged the Security Council to intervene to halt "these vicious attacks" by Israeli forces.
The Israeli military confirmed that the navy had fired onto the beach, but said it was believed the deaths were caused by shelling, not by firing from the gunboats.
"As of now it is clear that Israeli naval fire did not cause this incident. The possibility of land-based artillery fire is being examined. The IDF deeply regrets any harm caused to innocent civilians," said a spokesman.
The army later announced that chief of staff Dan Halutz had ordered a suspension to the bombardments as an inquiry was launched.
The deaths at Sudania capped an upsurge of Israeli attacks on Gaza which began with an overnight air strike, which killed the leader of a hardline armed faction and three other militants.
A further three suspected militants were killed in a fresh round of air strikes on Friday that targeted a group behind a new series of rocket attacks.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned what he called the "bloody massacres" in the Gaza Strip, and one of his top officials contacted Western governments to persuade them to help rein in the Israeli military.
"I don't know the reasons that cause the Israeli government to commit such atrocious crimes against the Palestinian people," he said.
The strikes came at a sensitive time for Abbas as the moderate president prepared to announce a controversial referendum that calls for an end to attacks on Israel.
He is well aware that the deadly operations by the Israeli military inside Gaza will make it that much harder to secure backing for such a measure.
Israeli army radio quoted Defense Minister Amir Peretz as saying the military activity was in response to increased attacks from militants.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians had earlier attended the funeral in southern Gaza for the victims of the overnight air strike in which Jamal Abu Samhadana, head of the Popular Resistance Committees, was killed.
Many of the mourners in the town of Rafah, which borders Egypt, chanted calls for suicide bombings inside Israel to avenge the death of Abu Samhadana who had served as an advisor to the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060610/wl_afp/mideastunrest;_ylt=AnbwVyYpGZwuNZbF6AUBiH6s0NUE;_y lu=X3oDMTA3b3JuZGZhBHNlYwM3MjE-
I'm trying to figure out what's going on with Israel. It took them a while to even figure out what the hell they were doing, as earlier reports had them claiming that they were trying to figure out who fired them, and whether they themselves had even attacked the area.
And I can't figure out what benefit they see here. There's a power struggle between moderate factions and the more radical factions in palestinian society, a referendun in which the palestinian people will state whether they want to recognize Israel, and Israel takes actions that will only push more people towards conservative views.
Oddly, the political wing of hamas has been silent, and it's uncertain if they agree with their armed wing or not.
The deaths Friday on the beachfront in the Sudania area of the narrow coastal territory raised the toll from Israeli strikes to 14 in less than 24 hours. The other seven were killed in air raids, according to medical sources.
Around 35 other people were wounded in the firing off the coast of Gaza, from which all Israeli ground troops were withdrawn last September.
The upsurge in violence in the Gaza Strip prompted the armed wing of the ruling faction Hamas, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, to threaten to resume attacks against Israel after a de facto one-and-a-half year truce.
"The Brigades will decide the right moment and place to strike back with force against the criminal attacks of Israel," a statement from the armed group said.
"The Zionist crimes open the battle in the Zionist towns," said the group, responsible for killing hundreds of Israelis in suicide attacks in Israel over the past decade.
The United States said while Israel had a "right to defend itself" it should consider the effect of such military strikes.
"Let me just state what we have said before: that Israel has a right to defend itself," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"We also at the same time encourage Israel to ... consider the consequences of its actions."
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for a "full investigation" of the incident, saying through his spokesman that he was "deeply disturbed" by the killing of Palestinian civilians.
Russia, a member of an international quartet mediating in the moribund peace process, roundly condemned the Israeli actions in Gaza, saying it was deeply shocked by an "unacceptable" and "disproportionate" use of force.
"What happened was an unacceptable recourse to disproportionate use of force, especially when the result is the death of innocent Palestinians," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Medical sources said five of those killed at the beach were members of the Ghali family from Gaza. Children aged one, three and 10 died alongside their parents, Ali and Raisa.
Terrified crying children who were injured in the attack were rushed to nearby hospitals in Jabaliya and Gaza City where they were visited by Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya who denounced what he called "a warcrime in every sense of the word".
The victims had been bathing on the coast on the traditional Muslim day of rest, which was also one of the hottest days of the year.
The Palestinian observer to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, warned the situation in Gaza was "extremely explosive" and urged the Security Council to intervene to halt "these vicious attacks" by Israeli forces.
The Israeli military confirmed that the navy had fired onto the beach, but said it was believed the deaths were caused by shelling, not by firing from the gunboats.
"As of now it is clear that Israeli naval fire did not cause this incident. The possibility of land-based artillery fire is being examined. The IDF deeply regrets any harm caused to innocent civilians," said a spokesman.
The army later announced that chief of staff Dan Halutz had ordered a suspension to the bombardments as an inquiry was launched.
The deaths at Sudania capped an upsurge of Israeli attacks on Gaza which began with an overnight air strike, which killed the leader of a hardline armed faction and three other militants.
A further three suspected militants were killed in a fresh round of air strikes on Friday that targeted a group behind a new series of rocket attacks.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned what he called the "bloody massacres" in the Gaza Strip, and one of his top officials contacted Western governments to persuade them to help rein in the Israeli military.
"I don't know the reasons that cause the Israeli government to commit such atrocious crimes against the Palestinian people," he said.
The strikes came at a sensitive time for Abbas as the moderate president prepared to announce a controversial referendum that calls for an end to attacks on Israel.
He is well aware that the deadly operations by the Israeli military inside Gaza will make it that much harder to secure backing for such a measure.
Israeli army radio quoted Defense Minister Amir Peretz as saying the military activity was in response to increased attacks from militants.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians had earlier attended the funeral in southern Gaza for the victims of the overnight air strike in which Jamal Abu Samhadana, head of the Popular Resistance Committees, was killed.
Many of the mourners in the town of Rafah, which borders Egypt, chanted calls for suicide bombings inside Israel to avenge the death of Abu Samhadana who had served as an advisor to the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060610/wl_afp/mideastunrest;_ylt=AnbwVyYpGZwuNZbF6AUBiH6s0NUE;_y lu=X3oDMTA3b3JuZGZhBHNlYwM3MjE-
I'm trying to figure out what's going on with Israel. It took them a while to even figure out what the hell they were doing, as earlier reports had them claiming that they were trying to figure out who fired them, and whether they themselves had even attacked the area.
And I can't figure out what benefit they see here. There's a power struggle between moderate factions and the more radical factions in palestinian society, a referendun in which the palestinian people will state whether they want to recognize Israel, and Israel takes actions that will only push more people towards conservative views.
Oddly, the political wing of hamas has been silent, and it's uncertain if they agree with their armed wing or not.