A blast, likely caused by an Israeli missile, on the home of a senior Islamic Jihad leader injured five people in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. The target of the strike, Mohammed Sheikh Khalil, was not injured, according to Palestinian sources.
The Israeli army denied involvement in the blast.
Medics said that two of Khalil's brothers were wounded in the strike. The explosion hit the house and set off a series of explosions there, witnesses said. Two Palestinians were reported in serious condition.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is refusing to halt the military operation in the northern Gaza Strip, despite the Israeli Army's recommendation to do so, Haaretz reported on Monday.
The operation, dubbed Days of Penitence, will therefore go on, despite the growing criticism by top officers, the report added.
Since the start of the operation on September 30, about 115 Palestinians have been killed, of whom some 30 were children.
Early Monday and late Sunday, three other Palestinians died.
An explosion, caused by an Israeli missile, rocked the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening. Palestinian witnesses said three people were wounded in the strike, one of them critically. One of the Palestinians - Sameh Zamil al Wahidi, 20, later died of his wounds.
Early on Monday, two other Palestinians died of their wounds in a Gazan hospital. The two, identified as Ahmed Hamad and Ahmed Abu Seif, were wounded a few days ago by an Israeli fire. They were both members of Fatah military wing. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
