Operation Rainbow - the IDF's anti-terror operation along the Israeli-Egyptian border in southern Gaza - was expanded last night. Large forces, covered by combat helicopters, entered another neighborhood of Rafiach, named Al-Barazil, along the Philadelphi Route. The Philadelphi Route is the sterile area that the IDF has plans to widen, under which the Arabs have dug many tunnels for the purpose of smuggling weapons to Gaza.
Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz said that the offensive in Rafiach is "vital and crucial for Israel's security," and that it will continue. He expressed regret over yesterday's incident in which two Arab children were killed, apparently the result of Israeli tank fire. Although PA sources disseminated reports to the effect that the number of dead in the incident was 20, and despite the fact that most reports have now downgraded the number to "around ten," the IDF reports that the actual number of casualties was only 7-8, including 5-6 armed terrorists.
The clash began when terrorists attempted to mingle in a crowd of demonstrators, and made off towards Israeli forces. After several warning shots, including a missile fired into an open field, were ignored, an Israeli tank fired four shells at an empty building not far from the terrorists/protestors. The ensuing explosion, which may have been caused by explosives in the building, led to the deaths and injuries. A perusal of Israeli news internet sites shows that many Israelis feel that the Arabs themselves are to blame for having started the war and for bringing children to battle zones.
IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Ruth Yaron said yesterday that the fatal explosion occurred on a route that is full of Arab-placed explosives, and that these may have blown up as a result of the Israeli tank shells.
Extreme left-wing Israeli groups such as Gush Shalom have been protesting against Israel's anti-terror offensive. One of the protestors, who has spent the past three days at the Sufah Crossing in southern Gaza, said today, "The prime objective of the army is to make sure that its soldiers get home safely. The soldier who was shot in Jenin today [in an Israeli friendly-fire incident; he is in serious condition] - what was he doing there?! If he wouldn't have been there, he wouldn't have been shot!"
Deputy Education Minister Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said, "The chutzpah of the left-wing has no limits. The group of armed murderers surrounded themselves with children to guarantee their own safety, and thus endangered our soldiers. With all due sorrow, we dare not allow the pictures of those cannibals with the body parts of our soldiers to repeat themselves."
INN correspondent Ruti Avraham reports that UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, hurried to release a statement yesterday before the facts were verified: "UNICEF expresses deep concern regarding the influence of the ongoing military operation in Gaza on the children - especially regarding the missile attack that claimed the lives of ten Palestinians, including many children." As noted, the number of dead is 7-8, including only two children. In what sounded like it could have been a condemnation of the terrorists' abuse of children in using them as protection, the UNICEF statement continued, "It is the right of the Palestinian children to be protected from the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." UNICEF calls on Israel to fulfill its international obligations and prevent the exposure of children to violence.
The IDF reports that since the beginning of the Oslo War in Sept. 2000, 29 suicide attacks were perpetrated using minors. In the past three years, PA children committed 22 shooting and bombing attacks, and since January 2001, over 40 Arab minors have been arrested for planning to commit terror attacks.
Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz said that the offensive in Rafiach is "vital and crucial for Israel's security," and that it will continue. He expressed regret over yesterday's incident in which two Arab children were killed, apparently the result of Israeli tank fire. Although PA sources disseminated reports to the effect that the number of dead in the incident was 20, and despite the fact that most reports have now downgraded the number to "around ten," the IDF reports that the actual number of casualties was only 7-8, including 5-6 armed terrorists.
The clash began when terrorists attempted to mingle in a crowd of demonstrators, and made off towards Israeli forces. After several warning shots, including a missile fired into an open field, were ignored, an Israeli tank fired four shells at an empty building not far from the terrorists/protestors. The ensuing explosion, which may have been caused by explosives in the building, led to the deaths and injuries. A perusal of Israeli news internet sites shows that many Israelis feel that the Arabs themselves are to blame for having started the war and for bringing children to battle zones.
IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Ruth Yaron said yesterday that the fatal explosion occurred on a route that is full of Arab-placed explosives, and that these may have blown up as a result of the Israeli tank shells.
Extreme left-wing Israeli groups such as Gush Shalom have been protesting against Israel's anti-terror offensive. One of the protestors, who has spent the past three days at the Sufah Crossing in southern Gaza, said today, "The prime objective of the army is to make sure that its soldiers get home safely. The soldier who was shot in Jenin today [in an Israeli friendly-fire incident; he is in serious condition] - what was he doing there?! If he wouldn't have been there, he wouldn't have been shot!"
Deputy Education Minister Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said, "The chutzpah of the left-wing has no limits. The group of armed murderers surrounded themselves with children to guarantee their own safety, and thus endangered our soldiers. With all due sorrow, we dare not allow the pictures of those cannibals with the body parts of our soldiers to repeat themselves."
INN correspondent Ruti Avraham reports that UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, hurried to release a statement yesterday before the facts were verified: "UNICEF expresses deep concern regarding the influence of the ongoing military operation in Gaza on the children - especially regarding the missile attack that claimed the lives of ten Palestinians, including many children." As noted, the number of dead is 7-8, including only two children. In what sounded like it could have been a condemnation of the terrorists' abuse of children in using them as protection, the UNICEF statement continued, "It is the right of the Palestinian children to be protected from the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." UNICEF calls on Israel to fulfill its international obligations and prevent the exposure of children to violence.
The IDF reports that since the beginning of the Oslo War in Sept. 2000, 29 suicide attacks were perpetrated using minors. In the past three years, PA children committed 22 shooting and bombing attacks, and since January 2001, over 40 Arab minors have been arrested for planning to commit terror attacks.