“Israeli” strikes kill 5 Palestinians, wound 30

Source: Reuters, 1-11-2006
GAZA - "Israel" killed five Palestinians including three militants and wounded 30 people in a series of air strikes and gun battles in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.
"Israeli" infantry troops backed by armoured vehicles entered northern Gaza before dawn and gun battles erupted, followed by air strikes and tank shelling, witnesses said.
The operation was one of the biggest since "Israel" launched an offensive in Gaza to press for the release of a soldier captured by Palestinian gunmen on June 25 in a cross-border raid and to halt militant rocket fire into the Jewish (Zionist) state.
It also came ahead of a meeting of "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert`s security cabinet at 9:00 a.m. (0700 GMT), where a further widening of the Gaza offensive was expected to be debated, "Israeli" media reported.
Separately, dozens of armoured vehicles massed at "Israel's" border with southern Gaza late on Tuesday, witnesses said.
In northern Gaza, the air strikes killed a Palestinian policeman and two gunmen, including one from the governing Hamas Islamic movement, Palestinian security sources said. Another Palestinian was killed by tank fire, witnesses said.
A Hamas gunman, who also served as a cabinet member`s bodyguard, died from his injuries after one clash, doctors said.
At least 23 people were wounded in the clashes, including gunmen and civilians. Others were wounded in the air strikes.
It took hours for ambulances to reach some casualties due to the intensity of the gunfire, witnesses said.
An "Israeli" military spokesman confirmed there was "ground action in northern Gaza" and said there had been two air strikes targeting gunmen either approaching troops or planting a bomb.
More than 270 Palestinians have been killed in the four-month-old "Israeli" offensive, about half of them civilians.
JAMMING RADIO BROADCASTS
The "Israeli" military jammed the frequencies of local radio stations to broadcast a message urging Palestinians to evacuate an area of Rafah in southern Gaza, near the frontier with Egypt, listeners said.
"Israel", accusing militants of stepping up arms smuggling into Gaza near Rafah, sends in troops periodically to try to find and destroy tunnels beneath the border and underground hideouts.
"Israeli" raids in northern Gaza are mostly aimed at preventing gunmen from firing rockets at southern "Israeli" towns.
"Israel" withdrew its army and Jewish settlers from Gaza last year after a 38-year occupation but tension has risen on the frontier since Hamas came to power after winning Palestinian elections in January.
The increased violence came after signs of movement on efforts to arrange a prisoner exchange for the release of the "Israeli" soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, captured by the Gaza militants, and also two other soldiers seized by Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas in July.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for talks, amid conflicting reports about progress on a possible prisoner exchange involving Palestinians jailed in "Israel" and Shalit.