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Palestinians Open Fire from Residential Areas; Civilians Hit By Return Fire

(Jerusalem Post/Maariv) - On the outskirts of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian snipers opened fire at bulldozers working to prevent the digging of tunnels used to smuggle weapons from Egypt. The terrorists then fired an anti-tank rocket, which damaged one vehicle. In light of the danger to the soldiers, the commander of the IDF force received approval to fire tank shells at the source of fire. IDF sources said accurate fire was directed against three terrorists identified as having fired the rockets, who had hidden in nearby buildings. In the exchange of fire, a number of Palestinians including civilians were killing and wounded. The IDF Spokesman said the army regrets the harm done to civilians, but stressed that the terrorists used residential homes for cover. According to Col. Ofer Shifran, deputy commander of IDF forces in Gaza, "The Palestinians began shooting using light weapons, anti-tank rockets, and grenades. The soldiers returned accurate fire toward the source of Palestinian gunfire....The Palestinians take advantage of the residential area and use families there as cover. Soldiers do everything possible not to shoot at houses, but when the Palestinian shooting endangered the soldiers' lives, they responded with accurate tank fire toward a number of armed Palestinians....If the Palestinians don't open fire, our soldiers will have no reason to shoot back." Shifran emphasized that tens of armed Palestinians participated in the fighting and the Palestinians were firing from morning to night.
2002-10-18 00:00:00
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