Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 08, 2002
14 Palestinians Killed in Raid in Gaza
At least 14 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured Monday when Israeli forces raided an area of Gaza that is a stronghold of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
At least 14 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured Monday when Israeli forces raided an area of Gaza that is a stronghold of the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Palestinians said at least 10 of the dead were civilians, which would be the highest civilian death toll since an Israeli jet bombed a building in Gaza on July 23. That attack killed 13 civilians and a Hamas military commander.
Israel's military, however, said most of the dead were armed combatants. Among the wounded brought to hospitals were Palestinians still holding assault rifles.
Israeli forces reoccupied major Palestinian population centers in the West Bank over the summer in response to attacks on Israeli civilians.
A Bush administration spokesman urged caution but stopped short of criticizing Monday's raid. "Israel has a right to defend itself," National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said. "Israel should, however, consider carefully the consequences of its actions. That includes the need to take every measure to prevent the loss of innocent life in fighting terror."
The U.S. State Department was harsher. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States was "deeply troubled" by the incident.
In Monday's raid, more than two dozen Israeli tanks and armored vehicles backed by helicopter gunships swooped into the Al-Amal neighborhood west of Khan Younis.
The Israeli army said the goal was to hit the "terrorist infrastructure" of Hamas, which has carried out a wave of suicide bombings in Israel.