military raid on an area of the Gaza Strip that Israel called a stronghold of the Hamas Islamic movement.
"The killing of civilians must be punished by the killing of civilians," the Reuters news agency quoted Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior member of Hamas, which has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings that have killed dozens of Israelis.
Reporters said that the overnight raid involved Israeli tanks backed by helicopters who they claimed "thundered"" into the al-Amal neighborhood near the town of Khan Younis, sparking a fierce battle.
TROOPS WITHDRAW
At least two Palestinians were killed in the exchange, and witnesses said most of the others were killed when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile near a crowd, as troops withdrew, the Voice of America (VOA) and other sources said.
Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Sa’eb Erekat condemned the raid, calling it "a massacre" and saying he believes it is part of Israel’s goal to fully re-occupy the Palestinian territories, VOA said.
However the Israeli army defended the operation which it said was aimed at a stronghold of the militant group Hamas. Soon after the operation, gun battles broke out between Palestinian policemen and what were believed to be Hamas followers, television footage showed.
MASKED MEN
It came as witnesses in Gaza City said masked gunmen killed Colonel Rajeh Abu Lehya, the head of riot police in the Palestinian territories, raking his car with bullets, news reports said.
Palestinian police blamed Hamas for killing him, and threatened to start jailing Hamas members if the killer was not handed over. Two men believed to be Hamas supporters were shot dead late Monday, October 7 in a confrontation with Palestinian police.
However Palestinian officials have made clear that Israel’s actions make it difficult to arrest alleged terrorists. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana was to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to ease the two- year conflict, shortly after Christians from around the world prayed for peace and expressed support for the Israeli Government.
CHRISTIANS LEAVE
Christians from dozens of countries left Israel these days, following a week of festivities organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) to mark the Feast of Tabernacles and express support for the Israeli Government.
It has emerged that Arab Christians were also attending the pro-Israel events. "Johnny Agrab and Maher Nasrwi, Arab Christians from Jerusalem, have been doing "hard labor with the logistics team, many times beginning before 7 a.m. and working until well after midnight," the ICEJ News Service reported.
"We were born again, but we never knew how to serve the Lord," Agrab was quoted as saying. He suggested that their involvement as Arabs volunteering at the pro-Israel meetings is a prophetic symbol of unity.
"ARABS LOVE JEWS"
"The Jews need to know we are peaceful and we love them," he said. However other Arab Christians and Western believers have condemned these Pro-Israel festivities at a time when Palestinians are rocked by gunfire.
At the same time teenagers are suffering on both sides. ICEJ volunteers reported that Israeli youngsters can’t go to malls or hang out in the city because their parents are worried of suicide attacks.
Some reportedly turn to drugs or alcohol, others just get depressed. "We’re letting them know they are not alone, that they do have people who care about them," said Matt Stewart, a Christian youth worker from California, who also attended the ICEJ week of festivities.
