Soldiers Search Gaza City for Remains

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli soldiers searched Gaza City on Wednesday for the remains of six soldiers killed by a roadside bomb, but Palestinian militants proudly displayed some of the body parts and said they would only turn them over in negotiations.

Also Wednesday, an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a building owned by a slain Hamas activist Ahmed Ishtaweh in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, scene of a deadly bombing that killed six Israeli soldiers. The missile strike caused an unknown number of casualties,

Israel refused and threatened swift retribution for the soldiers’ deaths Tuesday, the most in a single army operation since November 2002.

After an overnight lull, the heavily armed Israeli forces, backed by tanks and combat helicopters, resumed searches early Wednesday. Gun battles erupted from time to time with Palestinian militants. Residents in the Zeitoun neighborhood – scene of Tuesday’s explosion – were confined to their homes.

Soldiers stormed 45 shops and garages during the searches. Residents and schoolchildren gathered at the edge of the neighborhood – a Hamas stronghold – while gunmen streamed into the area, sparking gunfights with troops.

The bomb exploded under an Israeli armored personnel carrier as troops were pulling out after a small, routine Israeli military operation to destroy Palestinian weapons workshops in Zeitoun. That touched off a fierce battle that pitted hundreds of gunmen against Israeli troops firing from tanks, helicopters and rooftops.

Eight Palestinians were killed Tuesday and another died Wednesday in the fighting. More than 120 have been wounded.

The armored personnel carrier was carrying at least 220 pounds of explosives from the operation and the roadside bomb shattered it. Body parts of the six soldiers were spread over a large area.

Palestinian militants were seen rejoicing, picking up remains and displaying them for TV cameras. In a grisly video broadcast on Al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language satellite TV channel, Islamic Jihad militants showed what they said was the head of an Israeli soldier.

Hamas militants displayed pieces of metal and bits of flesh, laying them out on the ground. A Hamas gunman on a motorcycle held up a bloody burlap bag with body parts.

Outraged Israeli leaders demanded that the remains be returned to Israel and threatened reprisals. They appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross for help, and the humanitarian organization started making contacts, according to Red Cross officials.

The Palestinian Authority, along with Egypt, urged Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants to return the remains.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb, but two other militant groups, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement – and Islamic Jihad, said in a statement they also had some of the remains. They offered to negotiate with Israel. However, Israel refused.

“We are not conducting any negotiations,” said Israeli military commander Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon. “We will show no forgiveness toward those who are responsible for (what happened to) the bodies,” he said.

Arafat called his security council into session in the West Bank city of Ramallah and issued a statement saying the Palestinian Authority is in touch with “our brothers in Gaza” to solve the problem of the body parts “according to religious and humanitarian traditions.”

Saed Abdullah, a 45-year-old father of six who lives about 200 yards from the site of Tuesday’s explosion, described the last 24 hours as a nightmare. He said he and his children spent hours hiding under beds as bullets hit their building, shattering windows and destroying furniture.

Soldiers stormed the house, locking the family into a room for more than five hours, Abdullah said. Then they took him and two other neighbors and used them as “human shields” as they searched the neighborhood, he added.

“I believe there is no space for them on our land and there is no space to bury their body parts on our land either. The factions should hand over the bodies because the message has reached the world that we have defeated the Israeli army,” Abdullah said.

Israel is known for going to great lengths to recover the remains of fallen soldiers, both because Jewish law requires the body to be buried intact and the army fears militants will try to use the remains as bargaining chips.

Israel has carried out a number of lopsided deals, most recently in January, exchanging hundreds of Arab prisoners for the remains of dead soldiers.

The deaths of the six soldiers renewed debate in Israel over a proposed withdrawal from Gaza. Sharon is pushing for a withdrawal, saying he wants to reduce friction and create defensible borders, but the plan was rejected by his Likud Party in a nonbinding referendum last week.