One Palestinian killed, 5 wounded in Israeli air strike on Beit Hanoun

Saturday October 13, 2007 11:58 by IMEMC Staff

A Palestinian man was killed and five others injured when Israeli gun ships shelled the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on Saturday morning.

Palestinian sources reported that Hassan Na'eem, 21, a member of the al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, was killed and five civilians wounded in the attack, which took place near the Gaza-Israeli borders.

The Israeli army claimed that the attack targeted a group of Palestinian resistance fighters who were preparing to fire home made shells at Israeli targets.

Deputy Chief of Staff of The Israeli Army, Moshe Kaplinsky, last week spoke of the likelihood of an imminent invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, adding that troops would "stay there for a few months."

Speaking in an interview with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Kaplinsky branded a future invasion "a matter of timing," arguing that the Israeli army could not ignore a perceived military strengthening of the Hamas movement and the continued firing of home-made shells from the coastal region.

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