Israel intensifies Gaza offensive

Helicopter gunships fired missiles as troops moved into two areas on the south side of the town of Rafah.

So far on Thursday, seven Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli forces in Rafah refugee camp.

In Rafah, the funerals of Palestinians killed in Wednesday's violence have taken place.

About 40 Palestinians have died since Tuesday when Israel launched one of its biggest operations in Gaza in decades.

Last week, 13 Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinian militants in the Rafah area.

The latest deaths occurred when three Palestinian militants were hit by an Israeli missile, while another two were killed by tank fire.

Two other Palestinians were shot dead in Rafah and the Tel Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah refugee camp.

Early on Thursday, Israeli forces moved into two southern districts of Rafah, trading fire with gunmen.

The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rafah says tank shelling and machine gun fire can be heard across the town.

Mortuary 'overflowing'

Our correspondent says mourners surged through the streets in a chaotic procession to the cemetery.


He says 22 Palestinians have died in Tel Sultan, which has been occupied by Israeli troops for three days, but relatives cannot bury them until a curfew is lifted.

Rafah's mortuary, he adds, has overflowed and many of the dead of Tel Sultan have had to be stored in freezers in different parts of town.

While the funerals went ahead, Israel vowed to continue its operation to find wanted militants and demolish houses concealing tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt.

UN rebuke

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the deaths and demolitions.

Palestinian sources said at least eight Palestinians died when an Israeli tank opened fire on demonstrators protesting against the demolition of homes in Rafah.

Israel put the death toll at seven.

The Security Council resolution, which was adopted by 14 votes to 0, also urged Israel not to demolish homes in violation of international law.

The US, which usually vetoes anti-Israeli resolutions, abstained from the vote.

The White House issued a statement, saying it did not believe Israel's actions in Gaza served "the purposes of peace and security".

US Secretary of State Colin Powell reinforced the message, saying: "I believe the activities of the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza in recent days have caused a problem and have worsened the situation, and I think made it more difficult for us to move forward and get back into the peace process."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the European Union have also condemned Israel's actions.

The UN says recent house demolitions in Rafah by the Israeli army have left about 1,600 residents homeless.

Israel 'sorry'

Israeli army chief Lt Gen Moshe Yaalon apologised for the civilian deaths, but said troops did not deliberately fire on marchers.

"No commander or soldier gave an order or got an order or deliberately aimed at civilians and we're sorry that innocent civilians got hit, we don't aim at Palestinian civilians."

The Israeli army said four tank shells were fired at an abandoned building which obstructed Israeli soldiers' view of about 3,000 protesters, including Palestinian gunmen.

At least one of the shells tore through the building and hit the crowd, it added.

Palestinian sources say that there were no gunmen among the crowd and that the demonstration was peaceful. Many of the injured and some of the dead were school-aged children.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3731371.stm