Six Palestinians were killed in a massive Israeli raid in southern Gaza, hospital sources said on Friday, as question marks still hung over the future of Palestinian premier Ahmed Qorei amid reports he wants to quit.
Up to 100 armoured vehicles backed by helicopters thrust deep into densely-populated refugee camps in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah on the border with Egypt, Palestinian security sources said.
The Israeli army said the raid launched late on Thursday — codenamed Operation Root Canal — was aimed at thwarting weapons smuggling through secret tunnels dug under the border by Palestinian militants.
An Israeli officer at the scene said the army feared militants were trying to smuggle more sophisticated weapons such as Stinger-type missiles, which could threaten Israeli warplanes and civilians aircraft.
But he admitted that so far no tunnels had been found, as the army said it was encountering strong resistance from Palestinians using dozens of home-made bombs, rocket-propelled and other grenades and automatic weapons.
Two children, aged eight and 12, and a teenager were shot dead by Israeli troops, while three other Palestinians were also killed during the operation, which was still ongoing on Friday morning.
Two of them were killed when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile into the Ybna district of the Gaza Strip camp.
At least five houses were demolished and the electricity and water networks heavily damaged, witnesses and Palestinian security sources said.
An army statement said one soldier had been lightly wounded in the operation, one of the largest in the area since the start of the intifada just over three years ago.
The raid sparked condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s top adviser describing the killings as ”warcrimes”.
”We strongly condemn these Israeli warcrimes, which are causing a human tragedy,” Nabil Abu Rudeina said in Gaza City.
”As a result of this aggression, we ask the international community, the quartet and the UN Security Council to take immediate steps to stop the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people, especially in Rafah,” he said.
The latest flare-up provided a tense backdrop for Palestinian efforts to resolve their political crisis, after reports that prime minister Qorei had tendered his resignation to Arafat just two days after being sworn in.
”Ahmed Qorei has submitted his resignation to the president,” a source close to Arafat said on Thursday, following the postponement of a key session of the Palestinian parliament.
It was not immediately clear if the resignation was accepted, but the top aide said the Palestinian leader retained his confidence in Qorei and another senior source said the dispute would probably be resolved in 24 hours.
The news came after the parliament session at which Qorei was due to outline his government programme was called off amid differences over the cabinet’s status.
Arafat and Qorei, two veterans of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and close allies, reportedly had a bitter row over the key issue of security within the new government.
Senior European politicians reacted with dismay and apprehension at reports of the resignation, fearing it would deal a further blow to the battered Middle East peace process.
”This gives another negative contribution to the peace process,” said Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission.
Meanwhile, Israel was on high alert for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, running from Friday sunset until October 18. Security was beefed up in and around the West Bank to prevent infiltration by would-be Palestinian suicide bombers.
Military sources said troops arrested eight militants overnight, including three from the hardline Islamic Jihad movement which carried out a devastating suicide bombing in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa a week ago. – Sapa-AFP