By IRNA
Gaza City : Israeli troops raided the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing 17 Palestinians.
Hamas government declared three-day mourning and ordered flags on all government buildings to be lowered half-mast.
Son of a senior Hamas leader was among the civilians killed in the operation.
An undercover army unit moved first into the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, striking Palestinian houses and the civilians moving around in the city.
16 Palestinians and the son of a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, were killed, witnesses said.
Zahar accused Palestine Authority chief, Mahmud Abbas of Fatah, of complicity in his son’s death for negotiating with Israel.
“This is the hope of Abu Mazen and his colleagues, the collaborators with Israel and the spies of America,” Zahar said.
14 Palestinian fighters and three civilians, including a 65-year-old man, were killed by the time the operation wound up in early afternoon.
Forty-eight people were wounded, among them an 8-year-old boy who was seriously hurt, medical officials said.
Gaza Health Ministry official said many of the dead and wounded lost limbs.
Because of the high number of casualties, witnesses said that Israeli troops were using tank-fired flechette shells, an
anti-personnel weapon that throws out thousands of metal darts.
Shifa Hospital put out a radio call for blood donations because of the large number of wounded.
The Hamas government called for a general strike in Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday to protest the high death toll.