GAZA CITY: An Israeli tank shell struck a Palestinian home in the northern Gaza Strip early Monday, Palestinian officials said, killing four young siblings and their mother in an attack that threatened to derail attempts by Egyptian mediators to bring a cease-fire to the area. One insurgent also was killed.
Palestinian medics identified the dead children as sisters Rudina and Hana Abu Meatik, ages 6 and 3; and their brothers, Saleh, 4 and Mousab, 15 months.
The attack occurred in Beit Hanoun, a town in northern Gaza near the Israeli border often used by Palestinian insurgents to fire rockets into southern Israel.
The Israeli army said it had used tanks and aircraft to target a group of gunmen who approached the border. Palestinian insurgents have carried out a series of attacks along the border in recent weeks. The Islamic Jihad group said one of its gunmen was killed about 400 meters from the family s home.
But in a separate strike, a tank shell apparently veered off target and struck the home. Beit Hanoun farmer Omar Abdel Nabi said he was driving his tractor in a nearby field when two or three explosions shook the ground.
“People were screaming that a tank shell landed in the next street, he told The Associated Press. “I carried two people covered in blood out of a house.
The children were taken to a local hospital morgue, where distraught family members and medics stood over the bodies, wailing and flailing their hands in the air.
The Israeli army frequently operates in the Gaza Strip against Palestinian insurgents, who have fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel since the Hamas group took control of Gaza last June. Israel says it holds Gaza s Hamas rulers responsible for the attacks, and accuses insurgents of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas like Beit Hanoun.
In recent weeks, insurgents have tried to infiltrate the border at least four times. They say the operations are a response to Israel s economic blockade of Gaza. Israel has sealed Gaza s borders since the Hamas takeover, greatly restricting the flow of fuel, cement and other basic goods into the area and worsening the hardship in the already impoverished area.
Egypt, which borders Gaza s south, has been trying to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Last week, the Islamic group said it would agree to a six-month truce with Israel. The Israelis have dismissed the offer, saying Hamas will use the lull to rearm.
Officials also reportedly say Hamas must control smaller and even more radical armed groups, such as Islamic Jihad, for a cease-fire to work.
While battling Hamas in Gaza, Israel has been conducting peace talks with the rival Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. The sides hope to reach a peace deal by the end of the year, though Abbas complained after a trip to the White House last week that he was growing pessimistic about the lack of progress in negotiations.
Early Monday, the Israeli army lifted a blanket closure of the West Bank and Gaza it had imposed for 10 days over the Jewish Passover holiday.
The lockdown, imposed on April 18, barred Palestinians from entering Israel. Israel routinely seals the Palestinian territories during Jewish holidays, seen as a time of high risk of militant attack as Jews gather in public places for prayer and celebration.
The closure mostly affected the West Bank, since Gaza has been virtually sealed since the Hamas takeover. Thousands of Palestinians enter Israel each day for work, medical care and to see relatives.
