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Israeli, militants clash near key Gaza crossing

Posted on: Saturday, 8 July 2006, 02:13 CDT

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Israeli tanks have withdrawn from their forward positions inside the town of Beit Lahiya but remained poised on the outskirts, witnesses said.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

Source: REUTERS

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