Palestinian sources: Israeli army use illegal weapons in Gaza, as death toll reaches 16

Thursday December 06, 2007 15:28 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Medical sources in the Gaza strip reported on Thursday that during the latest attacks, the Israeli army has used weapons which are deemed illegal by international law.

File Photo - 2007

Medics at various Gazan hospitals have reported that the tank shells and missiles used by the Israeli army in these attacks were not the types which are traditionally used and they are designed to cause more severe injuries.

In Gaza in the meantime the death toll from Israeli attacks since last Saturday now stands at 16.

 One Palestinian was killed on Thursday morning when Israeli military forces opened heavy random fire on a group of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip city of Jabalia. Medical sources identified the man as Majed Mater, 34 .

In a separate operation, Israeli military forces shelled two targets in Beith Hanoun and Beit lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Three Palestinian resistance fighters from al Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas were killed when Israel targeted a group of resistance fighters in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya on Wednesday.

 Israeli air strikes killed three Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip city of Rafah in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Security sources in Gaza reported that the three Palestinian resistance fighters who were members of Al Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed when clashes broke out between Palestinians and the Israeli army.

Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian was killed and six others injured on Saturday afternoon, in an Israeli air strike that targeted a group of residents' gathered near a graveyard in the eastern side of Gaza city.

Israeli forces assassinated a group of five fighters in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. According to the Hamas movement, the five are members of the Al Qassam brigade.

While the Israeli army attacks continue, medical sources in the costal region reported on Wednesday that several medical centers and clinics in the Gaza Strip have closed due to fuel shortage.

The shortage has come from Israel's decision to reduce fuel supplies to the strip which took effect earlier this week. Medical centers are not the only ones affected by the fuel shortage. The 1.5 million Palestinian population of Gaza are unable to travel by car between locations within the Gazan borders, since there is no gas for cars any more.

The population is already prevented from traveling anywhere outside of Gaza, as Israeli forces have completely sealed off the borders.

 In addition, many Palestinians who depend on gas for cooking food will be unable to do so with the cut-off in place.

Adding to the worries of the Gaza residents this week, the Israeli army chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi stated that the Israeli military forces are ready for a wide scale ground invasion of the Gaza strip.

 Israeli and international human right groups had already deemed the Israeli army actions in Gaza as a collective punishment, and raised high concerns that a humanitarian crisis is just around the corner in Gaza.

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