Israel troops clashed with Palestinian fighters and stone-throwing youths in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least eight Palestinians and wounding some 40, a hospital said.
The clash erupted when Israeli soldiers began putting up a new lookout tower in the Gaza town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt. Palestinian youths threw stones and bottles, and fighters fired on the troops, Palestinian witnesses said, according to AP.
The Israeli troops responded with tank and machine-gun fire, the witnesses added. The Israeli military said it was checking into the reports.
Dr. Ali Musa, the director of Rafah Hospital, said at least eight Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded in the clash. The dead included two women, a four-year-old girl and a 12-year-old child and many of those killed or injured were in their homes and were hit by tank fire, Palestinians at the hospital said.
The Palestinian Authority denounced what it called "the massacre" in Rafah and renewed its call for international protection for Palestinians.
The news about the events in Rafah came while Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, on the last leg of his three-day trip to Washington.
During their meeting, the two discussed an upcoming Middle East tour by U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns, who will visit the region in an effort to implement President George W. Bush's "roadmap for peace."
Powell also asked Sharon for details about events in Rafah. After the meeting with Powell, Sharon was to return to Israel. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
