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At least 14 killed in Gaza clashesIDF launches two operations after days of rocket fire
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- At least 14 people were killed in Gaza on Sunday in a day of violent exchanges between Israeli forces and Palestinians. The violence continued into the evening, when Palestinians fired five Qassam rockets from Gaza into southern Israel, prompting the day's second incursion by the Israeli military into Gaza. The rockets caused no damage or injuries. The violence flared two days before Israeli general elections. The campaigns have focused on security and the 28-month-long Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Likud party are expected to win Tuesday. (Full story) Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that a number of terrorism threats have been received ahead of the elections. In the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting Sunday, he said 1,500 soldiers would bolster Israeli police during voting. In the latest violent incident, a 50-year-old Palestinian man, identified as Sami Abu Abda, was killed in Rafah by a shell fired from an Israeli tank, Palestinian security sources said. The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers fired at figures moving through a closed military area in southern Gaza, along the border with Egypt. No tank shells were fired, said the IDF, which had no casualty figures. Palestinian sources said a 4-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire in a separate Rafah neighborhood Sunday. The IDF said it had no knowledge of its troops firing in that area. 'Defensive' actionSunday's rocket attack from Gaza came after the IDF said its forces entered a southeastern Gaza City neighborhood for several hours late Saturday in an extensive anti-terror sweep. Palestinian sources said at least 12 men were killed and 65 others wounded in the incursion. The action, which Israel called "defensive," came after Palestinians fired as many as 10 rockets and mortar shells from Gaza at cities in southern Israel during the previous two days. Parts of the neighborhood were extensively damaged after 20 Israeli tanks moved in late Saturday, Palestinian security sources said. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire before the tanks began to pull out later in the evening. Mofaz said Israeli forces blew up 40 Palestinian weapons workshops, which he said were producing rockets fired at Israel. Palestinians have said that the workshops were metal factories. Palestinian officials accused Sharon of ordering the incursion in a bid to win votes. "It is obvious that Prime Minister Sharon wants to end his election campaign with more Palestinian blood and destruction," said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erakat in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "He's turning the Gaza Strip into a pile of rubble in a deliberate attempt to destroy the Palestinian infrastructure and the Palestinian Authority." An Israeli government official called Erakat's comments "total and complete rubbish." The official said the Israeli operations have been going on for months, since before the election campaign began. Sunday evening, the IDF said two rockets landed near Kibbutz Nir-Am, in southern Israel, and three others landed on fields after apparently being fired from Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza. Israeli forces responded by entering Beit Hanoun in the second incursion of the day. There they found two spent rocket launchers and five others ready to fire, the IDF said. The soldiers destroyed the launchers and withdrew, according to the IDF. Mofaz told Israel Radio on Sunday morning that Israel was considering reoccupying Gaza in light of recent attacks. He said plans were being made to move against what he called "terrorist infrastructure" in Hebron, in the West Bank. Hamas homes hitPalestinian sources said Israeli forces also destroyed three houses belonging to members of the radical Islamic group Hamas. Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group, has been labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. The group's military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has acknowledged terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as well as attacks on the Israeli military. Erakat said more than 100 armored vehicles were in Gaza at the height of the incursion. Palestinian sources also reported two Israeli Apache helicopters flying over northern Gaza and said Israeli marines fired three shells at Al Waha Casino, near Gaza City. An Israeli military source declined to provide details, saying only that there was activity in the area. Palestinians fired anti-tank missiles and activated 11 explosive devices aimed at Israeli forces, an Israeli military source said.
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