8 Palestinians, 3 Israelis Killed in Gaza

JEBALIYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip – Israeli troops pushed deep into the largest Palestinian refugee camp on Thursday, a first in four years of fighting, after a Palestinian rocket killed two preschoolers in an Israeli border town.

Eight Palestinians and three Israelis – including a woman jogging in a Jewish settlement – were killed in fighting the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.

The sprawling Jebaliya refugee camp, a militant stronghold with hundreds of gunmen, was the scene of fierce battles. Seventy-two Palestinians, ranging in age from 10 to 60, were wounded by gunfire in the camp over a period of just six hours, hospital official said. Among those hurt were civilians and gunmen.

Bulldozers began demolishing homes along a relatively narrow road leading into the camp, witnesses said, apparently to widen it and allow more tanks to get through. Armored vehicles avoided the booby-trapped main street in the camp.

“A bulldozer entered our living room and demolished half the house,” said Hussein al-Jamal, a resident of the camp’s Block 2, adding that he and his family fled, along with many of his neighbors.

The push into Jebaliya came after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered more troops into northern Gaza to prevent rocket fire. Previous Israeli military operations – including 12 major ones – have not been able to stop the rockets.

On Wednesday, Hamas militants fired a rocket at the Israeli border town of Sderot despite the massive army presence, killing two children, ages 2 and 4, as they played on a sidewalk at the start of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Sharon wants to remove all settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but continued rocket fire could turn public opinion against his plan. His opponents argue that a withdrawal would only encourage Palestinian militants to stage more attacks.

Palestinian militants have intensified attacks in recent months in hopes of portraying the Israeli withdrawal as a retreat under fire. Israeli troops, in turn, have stepped up military operations to pound militant groups before the pullout.

On Wednesday morning, dozens of Israeli armored vehicles took up positions in northern Gaza, including the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and on the edge of Jebaliya, to prevent any rocket fire during the weeklong Sukkot holiday. However, later in the day, Hamas fired the deadly rocket at Sderot.

Before dawn Thursday, two Hamas gunmen attacked an Israeli observation post overlooking Jebaliya, killing an Israeli soldier before being killed by return fire.

Six more Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Jebaliya, including at least one Palestinian gunman and a 60-year-old civilian, hospital officials said.

Close to the border with Israel, gunmen shot and killed an Israeli woman jogging in the Jewish settlement of Elei Sinai. Another Israeli, who tried to administer first aid, was also killed, military sources said.

Nine Israeli armored vehicles drove into Jebaliya – the largest with more than 100,000 residents – on Thursday morning, under cover of heavy machine gun fire.

Dozens of masked Palestinian gunmen fired at the tanks, and hundreds of residents rushed into the streets, many throwing stones. Some of the gunmen were seen laying booby traps, while several children tried to climb onto tanks.

An Israeli bulldozer tore down the outer wall of a U.N. school close to the camp’s central market, and soldiers took up positions inside, signaling that the army intends to stay in the heart of the camp for some time.

It marked the first time in four years of fighting that Israeli troops pushed deep into the camp. In previous raids, they would enter outlying neighborhoods, but avoided longer stays, apparently for fear of entanglement.

A masked Hamas gunman carrying a rocket launcher said he expected Israeli soldiers to leave soon. “Jebaliya will be a burial ground for their soldiers,” he said on condition of anonymity. “They will run away and we will stay.”

Former Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan, seen as a key player in running Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal, said in a statement that the Israeli operation “will result in a bloodbath on both sides because the Palestinian people cannot remain silent in the face of this aggression.”

Gideon Meir, an Israeli government spokesman, said that Israel has an obligation to protect its citizens. “Once again we are witness to a brutal terror attack aimed at hurting innocent women and children … on the eve of a Jewish holiday,” he said.

Israeli helicopters dropped Arabic-language flyers over northern Gaza, telling residents that “terrorism pushes you further into a life of misery and poverty.” The leaflets also had a drawing of a monster, with the word terrorism written on it.