Fighting Plunges Gaza Further Into Chaos
Pastor Dale Morgan
Fighting Plunges Gaza Further Into Chaos*
May 19th, 2007 2:23 PM
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
Israeli warplanes pummeled Hamas targets Friday in a stepped-up campaign
against militants firing rockets into southern Israel, while Palestinian
factions battled with automatic weapons and grenades at a Gaza university.
Street battles between Fatah and Hamas remained less intense than the
heavy fighting that terrorized Gaza City two days earlier, but a truce
agreement late Thursday enjoyed no more success than previous
cease-fires declared this week.
With the political leaders of the factions seemingly not in control of
their gunmen, Hamas militiamen raised the internal strife to an ominous
new level by widening their targets beyond armed rivals and seizing
aides to two Fatah officials.
The infighting that began Sunday has killed more than 50 Palestinians
and wounded dozens, while the death toll from Israeli attacks rose to 20
as airstrikes killed eight people Friday.
Israeli missiles came screeching down at least five times in retaliation
for Hamas rocket attacks that have panicked people in southern Israel.
At least 13 more militant rockets fell, wounding four Israelis in the
battered town of Sderot.
Despite the escalating air campaign, a senior Israeli army officer said
there were no immediate plans for a major ground offensive against
rocket teams, saying Israel was reluctant to do something that might
unite the Palestinian factions. He spoke on condition of anonymity
because no final decision had been made.
One airstrike incinerated a minivan carrying Hamas militants and what
the Israeli army described as "a large amount of weapons." Three
fighters were killed and 12 people were wounded, Palestinian hospital
officials said.
"We were sitting outside my grocery store when a huge explosion shook
the area and a small minivan turned into a ball of fire," Jawad Dallou
said. People in a nearby mourning tent also were wounded, he said.
An earlier airstrike east of Gaza City killed five Palestinians,
including at least three Hamas militants, and wounded six. Israel's
military said the target was a Hamas headquarters building.
Other air attacks caused no fatalities.
Hamas said the Israeli military had called the home of Ahmed Jaabari,
head of Hamas' military wing, and warned his family the house would be
hit. People gathered around the building to discourage an attack, he
said. The Israeli military had no comment.
The fighting between Hamas and Fatah all but destroyed a power-sharing
government formed two months ago in hopes of ending nearly a year of
periodic clashes between the rival groups.
The latest bloodshed was touched off by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas of Fatah to deploy thousands of security officers in Gaza City
last week to try to restore law and order. Hamas called that a
provocation because it wasn't consulted and fighting broke out Sunday.
Hamas' two abductions in Gaza on Friday broadened the mayhem; it was the
first time senior civilians with ties to Fatah were targeted.
The gunmen freed Abdel Salam Abu Askar, a veteran journalist who advises
Fatah's Gaza strongman, Mohammed Dahlan, after several hours. But
Abdullah Franji, office director of a senior Fatah leader in Gaza,
remained in captivity late Friday.
Gunbattles between the two factions killed at least three people Friday.
Bullets and rocket-propelled grenades flew outside Islamic University, a
Hamas stronghold, as Hamas fighters battled Fatah gunmen in the nearby
Foreign Ministry building. Grenades hit the office of the school
president, who appealed for an immediate halt to the violence.
One person was wounded at the school.
Although Israel said it wasn't taking sides, its airstrikes made it
harder for Hamas gunmen to move around, and Hamas used that fact to
argue that Fatah and Israel were in collusion.
Hamas TV named three Fatah security chiefs who it said were in secret
contact with "foreign" security personnel. "They are deep into treason,
and we will deal with them accordingly," the broadcast said.
The TV did not specify which foreigners, but Fatah forces affiliated
with Abbas have received advice and training from the U.S., which lists
Hamas as a terror group for killing more than 250 Israelis in attacks
over the years.
Earlier in the week, some 500 Fatah security men trained in Egypt under
a U.S.-brokered deal returned to Gaza, passing through the border with
Israel's permission.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved