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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, November 25, 2001

Israel Army Expresses Sorrow Over Deaths of Palestinian Children

The Israeli army Saturday expressed its sorrow over the deaths of five Palestinian children killed in a tank shell blast in Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.


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The Israeli army Saturday expressed its sorrow over the deaths of five Palestinian children killed in a tank shell blast in Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, the Israeli army expressed "deep sorrow" over the incident, saying that the army has been initiating an investigation into the cause of the event.

The blast was initially believed to have been caused by an unexploded Israeli tank shell, but the Palestinians alleged Friday that the boys were killed by a booby trap planted by Israel.

The initial investigation showed that "the children were handling a device that was placed by an Israel Defense Force (IDF) in the sand bag position used by Palestinians for firing and other sabotage activities against Israelis," the statement reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, who had instructed the IDF investigation Friday, said that the results of the investigation would be passed directly to him.

The investigation is still underway and when completed, the necessary measures will be taken, the statement said.




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