By IINA,
Gaza City : At least seven Palestinians have been killed after the Israeli Army shelled a house in the northern Gaza Strip. Four children and an elderly man were among the dead; the children’s mother was taken to hospital but died later as doctors struggled to save her life. The health ministry said shells were fired at a house in the town of Beit Hanoun – the family inside were eating breakfast at the time. The Israeli army say there was an air and tank attack on a group of armed men which were said to be nearby, but they say no houses were targeted.
David Chater, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza described chaotic scenes at the house and pools of blood in the street and the wreckage of the house. “There is an overwhelming feeling of bitterness and shock among the residents,” he said. The children were aged between seven months and five years old. Residents said an Israeli shell smashed through the ceiling of the one storey dwelling; the dead included a school boy who was walking past the house. “A family was sitting and have their breakfast here and now what? We come to pick up their body parts,” said Abu Mohamad, a neighbour.
Omar Abdel Nabi, a farmer said he was driving his tractor in a nearby field when at least two explosions shook the area. “People were screaming that a tank shell landed in the next street. I carried two people covered in blood out of a house,” he said.
David Chater said he heard “more tank shells and heavy machine gun fire in the area” as they filmed the rescue operation. Reports say a member of Islamic Jihad was also killed in the attack. Fighters regularly fire rockets from Beit Hanoun into western Israel, and the Israeli military say three rockets were fired early on Monday morning, but no damage was caused. Hamas claims one of its snipers shot an Israeli soldier in the town, and the Israeli military confirmed one of its men was “slightly wounded” by gunfire.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said the operation in Beit Hanoun was launched to “ensure that rocket crews, snipers and tunnel diggers are kept away from the border”.
Hamas has offered a six-month truce if Israel lifts its current embargo on the Gaza Strip, but Israel says the move is a ruse to allow them to re-arm and recruit new fighters. “The continued Zionist massacres are new proof that the Occupation (Israel) is not interested in calm,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, an spokesman for Hamas, “therefore Palestinian armed wings should continue to respond to the aggression by all possible means.