(Jerusalem Post) Margot Dudkevitch - IDF forces left the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip Tuesday, redeploying in Palestinian areas located between the camp and IDF posts near Neve Dekelim. The redeployment allows troops to overlook areas used by Palestinians to fire mortar shells and anti-tank rockets at Gush Katif communities. Soldiers killed 20 armed Palestinians during the operation in Khan Yunis. Lt.-Col. Razili Dotan, deputy southern Gaza district commander, said, "The aim is to distance the mortar fire from Gush Katif and especially from Neve Dekelim. The main threats faced by security forces operating in the area are Palestinian sniper fire, bombs, and antitank rocket attacks....We shot many armed groups of terrorists spotted by troops. Some attempted to place bombs near security forces, others fired antitank rockets." "In many cases we saw armed Palestinians surrounded by children approaching troops to detonate bombs or shoot at them. Sadly, it is not the first time we witnessed the cynical use of children by terrorists. All the soldiers deployed in the area go to great lengths and sometimes personal risk to refrain from harming the children in the area," Dotan said.
2004-10-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive