Special report: Israel launches Gaza
assault
JERUSALEM, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister
Amir Peretz on Wednesday ordered the army to cease artillery fire in the Gaza
Strip and urged a speedy probe into a shelling that killed 19 Palestinians, the
Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.
Early Wednesday morning, Israeli tank shells struck houses in
the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, killing at least 19 Palestinians and
wounding dozens of others. Eight children and four women were among the
dead.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni later deplored the
incident, saying in a statement that the army did not intend to harm civilians,
but mistakes occurred.
It was unclear whether the incident was caused by a technical or
human error. The army assumed that there were errors on a coordination level,
the Ha'aretz daily said.
Former army Chief Artillery Commander Brig. Gen. Danny Kasif
said that "if the shell deviated 500 meters from its target, then it could very
well be a mistake. The coordinates of the target must be examined, to see if
they were accurate until the deviation."
"There is a possibility that an artillery shell would cause many
casualties, but the incident this morning must be investigated thoroughly before
conclusions are reached," said Kasif.
An army spokeswoman confirmed to Xinhua that the army was
conducting an immediate and thorough investigation of the matter to determine
what had brought about civilian deaths.
According to witnesses, most of the victims were sleeping when
the 15-minute barrage of shells first hit.
The spokeswoman said that an artillery battery containing 12
shells that had been aimed at a launch site, from where Qassam rockets were
fired at the southern city of Ashkelon on Tuesday.
The artillery fire was directed at a site about one kilometer
from Beit Hanoun houses that were hit.
The incident came one day after the army ended a six-day
military operation dubbed Autumn Clouds in which more than 50 Palestinian
militants and civilians were killed.
