Posted on 09/25/2005 11:35:24 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - An Israeli aircraft fired missiles Sunday at a car driving along a coastal road in Gaza City, killing a top Islamic Jihad militant and wounding at least two other people, militants and Palestinian health officials said.
The attack hit a Mercedes carrying Mohammed Khalil, Islamic Jihad's top militant leader in southern Gaza, said a group spokesman known as Abu Abdullah.
Health officials said one militant was killed and two other people were wounded in the attack. Palestinian Interior Ministry officials said two were killed and four were wounded.
Atef Qatrous, 22, said he was leaving work when he saw a missile hit the car. One of those inside was decapitated and another was badly wounded, he said.
The army confirmed it launched an airstrike.
Welcome to the Gaza Free-Fire zone.
Please keep windows locked at all times.
Do not feed the animals.
That's a good start.
Mohammed al-Sheikh Khalil, a top Islamic Jihad commander, sits during a news conference at the ex-Jewish settlement of Netzarim in Gaza in this September 13, 2005 file photo. Israel killed a top Islamic Jihad commander on September 25, 2005, in an air strike on Sunday as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party considered whether he should soon face a leadership election over a Gaza pullout he championed. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File
Count that as 2 killed. I hate German cars.
Mohammed, Meet Destiny.
Another one bites the dust.
Hey! That's now a MoPar you're talking about!
bttt
Objects In The Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Hellfire's a bitch, Mohammed.
Get used to it.
Israeli launches missile strike against Hamas, vows 'crushing' response to Gaza rocket fire
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20050924-0817-israel-palestinians.html
By Lara Sukhtian
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel killed at least two Hamas militants in a missile strike Saturday and moved artillery cannons to the Gaza border, launching what it vowed would be a "crushing" response to a Hamas rocket barrage on Israeli towns.
Israel also sealed the West Bank and Gaza, barring all Palestinians from its territory, within hours of the Hamas attack – the group's first major violence since Israel withdrew from the Mediterranean coastal strip two weeks ago.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called his Security Cabinet for a meeting later Saturday to approve the military action, expected to last several days. A large-scale operation appeared unlikely but the timing of the meeting suggested a sense of urgency.
The Cabinet session came as Sharon faces a major leadership challenge in his Likud Party over the Gaza withdrawal. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned the pullout will endanger Israel, and the barrage of 34 rockets on Friday and Saturday – with five Israelis wounded – could strengthen his hand against Sharon.
The escalation followed an explosion Friday at a Hamas rally at a crowded refugee camp that killed at least 15 Palestinians. Witnesses said the blast went off near a pickup truck carrying masked militants and homemade rockets.
Hamas blamed Israel and said it fired rockets on Israeli border towns in retaliation. But the Palestinian Authority said the blast was an accident resulting from militants mishandling explosives. It renewed demands that armed groups stop flaunting their weapons.
In its struggle to bring order to Gaza, the Palestinian Authority won agreement from militant groups for a ban on displaying weapons starting late Saturday. Hassan Yousef, a Hamas leader, said the group would respect the ban. "There will be no military parades in the streets and Hamas weapons will go into the shadows," he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz met Saturday with the army chief and the head of the Shin Bet security service. "We have to make it clear to the Palestinians that Israel will not let the recent events pass without a response," Mofaz said in a statement. "The response (to Hamas) needs to be crushing."
Mofaz ordered large numbers of ground forces to deploy near northern Gaza, from where most rockets have been launched. Security officials said thousands of soldiers have been called up.
Later Saturday, Israeli aircraft fired five missiles at cars carrying Hamas militants in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, witnesses and officials said.
There were conflicting reports on the number of dead. The Palestinian Interior Ministry said two were killed, while medical officials and radio reports said four were killed. Nine people were wounded.
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath denounced the attack as an "act of criminal aggression" and accused Israel of trying to destroy a cease-fire that has largely held since February.
Hamas vowed to avenge the attack, calling on its militants in a statement to strike Israel "in every spot of our occupied land." While respecting the cease-fire, the group maintains it has the right to respond to alleged violations by Israel.
The Israeli army said Saturday's air strike hit two vehicles, one carrying weapons and the other carrying militants. It said it "will continue to act with determination" to protect Israeli citizens and called on the Palestinian security forces to prevent further attacks from Gaza.
In an unprecedented step, Israel also set up five artillery cannons on the Gaza border. Soldiers appeared to be settling in, building a command post and rolling out barbed wire.
Israel in the past has retaliated for Palestinian rocket fire with airstrikes or ground incursions. Less precise artillery shells fired into densely populated Gaza could cause many casualties, however, and Israel appeared to be signaling its determination to stop the rocket fire at any price.
At another border staging area, four armored personnel carriers, five tanks and four huge D-9 bulldozers joined a fleet of about 30 armored vehicles that are regularly deployed there.
In Gaza City, several loud booms were heard throughout the day as Israeli warplanes flew overhead. Frantic people ran for cover, but no casualties were reported. Palestinians accused Israel of launching "fake" air strikes to terrify the population.
The army also dropped fliers throughout Gaza saying that Hamas had sparked the escalation to deflect criticism for Friday's deadly explosion in the Jebaliya camp.
Hamas' lies are "driving you to destruction and despair," the flier said. It said the Palestinian Authority must "act immediately" to stop the violence and threatened a harsh response to further attacks.
Friday's explosion brought a terrifying end to what became the last militant victory celebration of Israel's Gaza pullout before the weapons ban takes effect. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement canceled a final rally planned for Saturday.
The number of casualties remained unclear Saturday. Doctors at two Gaza hospitals counted 15 dead and 83 wounded, but the Palestinian health ministry put the toll at 17 dead and 140 wounded, possibly due to duplicate hospital registration during the initial chaos.
About 10,000 mourners attended prayers for 10 of the dead at a Jebaliya mosque Saturday. After the ceremony, the crowd split into three processions, with Hamas holding a separate march for four of its dead. Gunmen shot in the air, and women watching from balconies threw rice into the crowd.
The deadly rally appeared to put Hamas on the defensive for the first time since the Israeli withdrawal; it also gave Abbas greater leverage to enforce the weapons ban.
Islamic militants took center stage after the withdrawal, holding military-style victory parades. Many Palestinians endorsed the militants' claim that they had driven Israel out by force.
Now, Israel's reprisals have caused new hardships for Palestinian civilians, who might blame Hamas.
The indefinite closure of the West Bank and Gaza, imposed Saturday, means thousands of Palestinian laborers won't be able to reach jobs in Israel. Many Gazans also had hoped for a return to calm after Israel's pullout and might not be willing to tolerate a new era of airstrikes.
Abbas, meanwhile, is under growing pressure to stop the rocket fire, with Israel demanding he deploy his troops in northern Gaza, the favored rocket launching ground. This could force Abbas into confrontations with Hamas that he has been trying to avoid.
More like Mohammed, meet the REAL God...
What a waste of a good set of airbags. :-}
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1491059/posts
An IAF combat helicopter flying over Gaza fired a missile towards a vehicle carrying the Palestinian terrorists.
According to an initial Zaka report, three people were reported killed in the air-attack, while two were said to be wounded.
The army announced that its forces carried out an interception of a car that was transporting Khalil and another man, Aya Latif Sheikh Khalil, who were the heads of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.
According to the IDF, the killed terrorists were responsible for the murder of the Hatuel family in May of 2004.
Tali Hatuel and her four young daughters were gunned down at point blank range on the Kissufim road.
------------------------
The terrorists got what they deserved.
Good shooting!! (And d-mn good intelligence!!!)
Thanks!
No, Mohammed, there are no virgins here. You took a wrong turn at Calvary.
"Atef Qatrous, 22, said he was leaving work when he saw a missile hit the car. One of those inside was decapitated and another was badly wounded, he said. "
According to Reuters, both are alive and well in a Paris hospital.
Whining for death?
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