Thursday, March 06, 2003

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday rejected Palestinian claims that eight Palestinians were killed and at least 30 wounded by a tank shell fired at a group of people during military operations in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian witnesses and medics said the shell hit as people were trying to remove furniture from a woodworks set ablaze during fighting between Palestinian militants and IDF troops who stormed the Jabalya camp. The shell was fired by a tank about 150 meters from the workshop, witnesses said.

But a senior IDF officer involved in the Jabalya operation told Army Radio that the majority of Palestinian casualties resulted from an explosive device that was detonated inside the building, and only a short time later did the tank fire a shell at a man spotted with an RPG in an alleyway and hit him.

An Israeli tank shell exploded near a Palestinian crowd in a Gaza Strip refugee camp on Thursday, causing dozens of casualties, a Reuters correspondent reported.

He saw the shell land as the crowd was trying to take furniture out of a workshop set ablaze during fighting between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces who stormed into the Jabalya camp after a Palestinian suicide bombing in Israel.

Hospital officials said at least 30 people were wounded, some critically, by the shell blast.

The incident occurred toward the end of the incursion. Hundreds of Jabalya residents poured into the streets, believing Israeli troops had withdrawn. Many crowded around a furniture store that was on fire.

Fadl Nadi said he was watching the scene from his apartment when he noticed two gunmen firing from near the burning building at an Israeli tank.

"From the direction of the tank, I saw a projectile flying past and ... I saw a fireman flying in the air," Nadi said.

Tahsin Azzam, 30, said he saw an Israeli tank parked near a mosque in the camp. "All of a sudden, I saw smoke come out of the turret," he said.

Part of the incident was captured by TV crews. At first, two firefighters aim their water hoses at the burning building, and the sound of gunfire can be heard nearby. At one point, streaks of light -- apparently from a projectile -- hit near the burning building. A firefighter is thrown to the ground, and frenzied bystanders flee the scene. Several men carry a body.

Doctors later confirmed that a firefighter was among those killed.

posted by Shaun Kenney | 3/06/2003 02:59:00 PM | 0 comments

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