Israeli, militants clash near key Gaza crossing

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces clashed with militants near
the Gaza Strip’s main commercial crossing on Saturday, killing
two Palestinians including a policeman in a stepped up
offensive to free a soldier and halt rocket fire.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli aircraft fired missiles
at gunmen in the pre-dawn fighting on the edge of the densely
packed neighbourhood of Shijaia, a stronghold of the governing
Hamas movement.

Medics said the Palestinian policeman who was shot dead was
wearing his uniform. It was unclear whether he was taking part
in the fighting.

An Israeli army spokesman said forces exchanged heavy fire
with militants in the area but he was unaware of any policeman
being hit.

Several other Palestinians were wounded overnight,
including another policeman.

The clashes took place near the Karni crossing after
Israeli troops and tanks moved into the area in search of
tunnels that could be used by militants, the army said.

It was the first time fighting had broken out in the area
since Israel launched its Gaza offensive last week in a bid to
free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

A third Palestinian died from wounds suffered in fighting
on Friday in northern Gaza, medics said.

Israeli tanks have withdrawn from their forward positions
inside the town of Beit Lahiya but remained poised on the
outskirts, witnesses said.

At least 41 Palestinians, a majority of them militants,
have been killed since the Israeli operations began, according
to Palestinian medics and officials.

The incursion has piled pressure on the Hamas-led
Palestinian government, already reeling from a Western aid
embargo, and has dashed any hope of renewing peace talks
anytime soon.

An Israeli army spokesman said the Karni operation was not
as large scale as the one launched along Gaza’s northern tip,
where tanks and troops this week took over former Jewish
settlements.

EXTENDING CONTROL

Israel has also established a hold in southern Gaza in the
strip’s disused international airport.

Karni is in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, not far
from Gaza City.

Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians in clashes with
gunmen across northern Gaza on Friday.

That followed clashes on Thursday in which 20 Palestinians
and one Israeli soldier were killed in the bloodiest day of
fighting since 2004, drawing accusations from the European
Union that Israel was using excessive force.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan also expressed concern
about the escalating tensions.

“As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, I
appeal again to both sides to pull back from the brink for the
sake of all civilians in the region,” Annan said in a
statement.

In a possible attempt to end the crisis, Israeli Public
Security Minister Avi Dichter on Friday suggested Palestinian
prisoners might be released as a “goodwill gesture” if
militants first freed Shalit and ended rocket fire.

Other Israeli officials said there would be no
negotiations.

The Hamas Islamist movement rejected Dichter’s apparent
overture but said for the first time that Shalit was alive. It
demanded talks for his release and warned the Israeli incursion
complicated efforts to defuse the crisis.

Despite taking over what amounts to a buffer zone inside
northern Gaza, Israel says it has no plans to re-occupy
long-term territory it quit last year after 38 years of
military rule.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered tanks into Gaza
after Hamas militants fired rockets into a major Israeli city
for the first time. The offensive began 10 days ago with the
main goal of freeing Shalit, captured in a raid on June 25.