Two Palestinian residents wounded as Israeli army enters Gaza

Wednesday May 09, 2007 15:40 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

an Israeli tank, stationed on northern Gaza/ archive photo

Israeli army shot and wounded on Wednesday two Palestinian residents in eastern Gaza, as army tanks rolled about 500 meters depth into northern Gaza Strip.


Palestinian medical sources confirmed that one Palestinian resident was shot and wounded in his legs after the Israeli army opened a hole in the barbed-wire fence on the eastern Gaza-Israel border line.

Meanwhile, witnesses said that the Israeli forces involving tanks and bulldozers rolled about 500 meters depth into Palestinian-owned lands in evacuated Israeli settlements close to the Beit Lahiya town in northern Gaza.

The Israeli army denied that such incursion was meant to carry out a ground offensive on the region.

Three Palestinian resistance groups including Hams’s military wing ‘Ezzeldin Alqassam’, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Islamic Jihad group ‘holy war, warned against an Israeli offensive on Gaza and vowed to continue firing homemade shells into nearby Israeli communities.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli army warned of a possible ground offensive on Gaza to stop Palestinian shells fire, yet earlier this week, Israeli defense minister, Amir Perets, didn’t set any dates for such an attack.

Israel and the Palestinians agreed last November to a ceasefire in Gaza, following a deadly Israeli attack on 19 family members including children and women.

The ceasefire has been undermined recently after the Israeli army killed nine Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Resistance groups insist that the ceasefire should be expanded to the West Bank if Israel wanted to observe calm.

gaza strip | israeli attacks | news report rami at imemc dot org