/ 16 April 2008

Cameraman among 20 killed in Gaza clashes

Three Israeli soldiers and 17 Palestinians, one a cameraman for an international news agency, were killed on Wednesday as troops backed by helicopters stormed into the Gaza Strip. Fadel Shana (23), a Reuters cameraman, was critically wounded when a missile hit his vehicle in the central Gaza Strip.

Three Israeli soldiers and 17 Palestinians, one a cameraman for an international news agency, were killed on Wednesday as troops backed by helicopters stormed into the Gaza Strip.

Fadel Shana (23), a Reuters cameraman, was critically wounded when a missile hit his vehicle in the central Gaza Strip. He died after being taken to hospital, Dr Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, said.

An Agence France-Presse photographer driving behind the Reuters jeep, which had TV and press stickers plastered across its doors and roof, said the vehicle burst into flames after a missile slammed into it.

When a group of photographers rushed to try to rescue their colleague a second missile struck the area, he said.

Two more people were killed in the air strike, medics said.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident. — AFP