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Special report: Israel launches Gaza assault

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday put off by 24 hours a vote on a draft resolution condemning Israel's deadly attack in Gaza, after Arab nations agreed to soften the text.

Members of the 15-member body met briefly to discuss the draft,which was introduced by Qatar on behalf of Arab states.

The council would meet at noon (1700 GMT) on Saturday to vote on the text, whose wording was toned down somewhat from a version being circulated earlier this week, said Western diplomats.

Arab nations initially asked the council to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a UN observer force to enforce the ceasefire.

A new draft circulated on Friday dropped both the ceasefire call and a UN observer force, calling on the international community to take steps to stabilize the situation, revive the Middle East peace process, and consider "the possible establishment of an international mechanism" for the protection of civilians.

Both the original text and the revised version urged Israel to end its military operations in Palestinian territories and withdraw its troops from Gaza immediately.

But diplomats said the United States would likely veto the new draft although Washington had not publicly stated its position.

Israeli tanks attacked a residential neighborhood in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza early Wednesday, killing at least 18 people, including eight children.

It was the deadliest attack on Palestinian civilians in the past several years, prompting a wave of strong censure across the Arab world and the international community.

Israel has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and the United States has repeatedly supported Israel's military action against the Palestinians as defending itself from "terrorist" attacks.

A Palestinian carries the body of one-and-a-half year old Maram Al-Athamna, after she was killed together with her family by Israeli artillery shell, during her funeral at Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip Nov. 9, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Amid shouts of pain and anger and calls of revenge, thousands of Palestinians on Thursday buried the bodies of 18 civilians who were killed Wednesday by Israeli artillery shelling in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

The angry Palestinians, from all over the Gaza Strip, traveled to Beit Hanoun to take part in the funeral of the victims, most of whom were members of the al-Athamna family. <<Full Story

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