Israeli Soldiers Kill 3 Palestinians Near Gaza Security Fence
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Version 0 of 1. GAZA CITY — Three Palestinian men died Thursday after being shot by Israeli soldiers near the security fence in the northern border town of Beit Hanoun, bringing to six the number of Gazans killed in military operations over 12 hours. An Israeli Defense Force statement said the men were part of a “terrorist squad that was planting an explosive device” near the fence, and were targeted by aircraft, armored corps and infantry. A spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qedra, said that the three had survived the attack, but that ambulances trying to evacuate them came under fire. The International Committee of the Red Cross intervened to coordinate with Israel, but by the time emergency crews arrived an hour later, the men, two of whom were brothers, were dead, Mr. Qedra said. No militant group claimed any of the three — or three men who were killed Wednesday night — as members, fueling speculation that they may have been working with less-organized Salafist groups that have recently reasserted themselves. In recent days, Salafists in Gaza linked to Al Qaeda have taken responsibility for firing more than a dozen rockets into southern Israel, apparently trying to ignite a new wave of cross-border violence at a time when the Hamas government has been cracking down on the Salafists’ activities. A Salafi group, Majles Shura al-Mujahedeen, said in a statement Wednesday that Hamas’s security services arrested 20 affiliate members in recent days and are pursuing others. The Salafists are mainly former members of Islamic factions like Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance committees. The Hamas fighters who join the groups are often unsatisfied by the shaky cease-fire Hamas observes with Israel. Wednesday night, an Israeli airstrike killed three militants near the eastern border fence in the central Gaza Strip, including Zakareya al-Jammal, the son of a prominent Hamas commander who was killed during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead nearly four years ago. The Israeli Defense Forces said the attack thwarted a rocket launching. |