A Palestinian and his wife killed in a new Israeli air strike on Gaza

Thursday January 17, 2008 22:08

by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC&Agencies

In an 'apparently' total disregard to civilian lives in Gaza, an Israeli warplane fired a missile on a car in northern Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian and his wife.

Gaza under attack - File Photo 2007

Palestinian medical sources reported that Ra'd Abu Fool, 43, of the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing and his wife Amna Abu Fool, 40, have been killed today noon, when an Israeli warplane fired at least one missile towards their car.

Moawiya Hasanin, chief of emergency and ambulance department at the health ministry, confirmed that the corpses of the two victims arrived at the hospital totally dismembered; in a way it was difficult to identify them earlier.

Dr. Bassam Abu Warda, chief of the Kamal Edwan hospital in northern Gaza, told reporters that he has never seen such burns of bodies before, saying that such a killing is unprecedented.
Medics also reported that a number of other Palestinians have been wounded in the latest deadly attack.

Palestinian health ministry's sources had earlier voiced belief that the Israeli army has been using fletchets and illicit weapons against Palestinian civilians. Such doubts have not been verified by independent sources yet.

Israeli army attacks on Gaza have been steadily increasing since early this week, with a death toll estimated at least 25 and injuries at about 30, 12 of whom have been in critical condition.

The Israeli government's officials were reportedly discussed today escalating the army attacks on the Gaza Strip, as Palestinian resistance groups including the ruling Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have declared a state of high alert, in reaction to the Israeli actions against resistance leaders.

Palestinian resistance announced earlier on Thursday firing a number of homemade shells onto the nearby Israeli towns of Sdserot, within what the resistance says 'a normal reaction' to recent Israeli deadly attacks on Gaza.

Meanwhile, senior Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Eriqat, was quoted as saying today that underway Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, will be blocked in the shadow of continued Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Palestinian presidency in Ramallah had earlier this week condemned the Israeli killings as ' an impediment to current final status talks, which were initiated on Monday in west Jerusalem.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah , in a phone call, paid condolences to Mahmoud aL-Zahar, a Gaza senior leader of Hamas, on the death of aL-Zahar's son, who was killed during an Israeli attack on eastern Gaza on Tuesday.