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Israeli forces battle gaza egypt border Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap10-09-214107.asp?reg=MIDEASThttp://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap10-09-214107.asp?reg=MIDEAST
Israeli forces battle gunmen in refugee camp on Gaza-Egypt border
Six Palestinians killed
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Oct. 9 — Israeli forces trying to demolish smuggling tunnels fought gunmen for hours Friday in the largest raid in half a year in the Rafah refugee camp, a frequent battlefield in the Gaza Strip. Six Palestinians were killed and 50 wounded, and an Israeli soldier was also hurt.
In the West Bank, the survival of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's proposed Cabinet was in question after the legislature put off a vote of approval amid intense political wrangling Thursday. An exasperated Qureia told Yasser Arafat he no longer wants the job, but stopped short of formally resigning.
Also Thursday, a Palestinian suicide bomber struck an Israeli liaison office, wounding two soldiers and a Palestinian. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, an armed group linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Israel's raid of the Rafah refugee camp — code-named ''Operation Enchanted Day'' — began around midnight Thursday and could last several days, military sources said. It was part of stepped up military activity in response to last weekend's suicide bombing that killed 20 Israelis in a restaurant in the port city of Haifa.
Earlier this week, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered two more battalions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and decided to call up four battalions of reserve soldiers, or about 1,000 troops, after the Sukkot holiday, which ends in a week.
The Rafah raid was aimed at uncovering weapons smuggling tunnels. Armored vehicles and attack helicopters swept into the camp on Gaza's border with Egypt, joined by special forces, including engineering units with dogs trained to find tunnels.
Gunbattles that erupted between soldiers and Palestinian gunmen continued until after daybreak Friday.
Six Palestinians were killed and 50 people wounded by Israeli fire, Palestinians said. Most of the casualties were caused when a helicopter fired a missile at crowd, they said. The military said the missile targeted a group of gunmen.
An Israeli soldier was also lightly wounded in the fighting.
Dr. Ali Mousa, director of Rafah's small Najar Hospital, said two of the dead were identified as members of militant groups and at least two others were civilians.
An 8-year-old boy shot in the stomach died of his wounds while on a respirator, Mousa said. Another one of the dead was decapitated.
Mousa said his hospital was overwhelmed by the large numbers of casualties. He said many of the wounded required surgery, but that he has only one operating room and did not have enough medicine and other supplies.
Normally, serious cases are sent to hospitals in other towns, but those patients could not be transferred because of the Israeli travel restrictions, he said.
The Israeli army bulldozed three houses it said gunmen were firing from near the border. Thunderous explosions could be heard. The military said Palestinians hurled hand grenades and fired anti-tank missiles at the forces.
The army positioned snipers on rooftops, witnesses said, and fired a tank shell at an electricity transformer, plunging the camp into darkness.
Because of the heavy fighting, the military was not able to begin searching for smuggling tunnels until after daybreak and had not yet found any, the army said.
Israeli military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel had intelligence warnings that Palestinians were planning to use tunnels to smuggle in anti-aircraft missiles — weapons that could have a strategic impact on the three-year conflict.
They said Palestinians were trying to get shoulder-held Stinger missiles that could shoot down attack helicopters and threaten civilian aircraft.
They also said Palestinians were trying to smuggle Katyusha rockets, which would have the range to hit Israeli cities near Gaza. During the conflict, the Palestinians have been aiming homemade mortars and rockets at Israeli towns and settlements.
The officials provided no evidence to back up their claims. They said Egypt was not taking steps to stop the smuggling.
So far this year, the military said it has destroyed 33 smuggling tunnels in the area. The tunnels have been used to bring in munitions and rifles as well as drugs.
Aides said Arafat received reports about the Rafah incursion and went to bed at 2:30 a.m. Friday. They denied rumors that he was seriously ill.
On Thursday, in a heated closed-door meeting at Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Qureia suggested he no longer wanted to be prime minister, just four days after taking office, officials said.
Qureia's success is key to efforts to salvage the stalled U.S.-backed ''road map'' peace plan, which outlines a path to ending three years of conflict and forming a Palestinian state by 2005. Thursday's public embarrassment seemed to bode ill for his chances of survival.
Unable to agree on whether to confirm the eight-person emergency Cabinet appointed by Arafat on Sunday, the officials abruptly rescheduled the vote for Saturday.
© 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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