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Two Palestinian Children Killed By Israel in Failed Assassination Attempt
AL-KHALIL (Hebron), West Bank, Dec 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Two Palestinian children, aged three and 13, were killed by Israeli helicopter gunships Monday in a botched assassination attempt aimed at liquidating an Islamic Jihad leader, medics and Jihad officials said.
At least five other people were injured when four Israeli attack helicopters fired missiles into the center of al-Khalil (Hebron), witnesses said, news agencies reported.
Mohammed Sidr, 26, a member of Islamic Jihad was injured in the attack and was in moderate to serious condition, medics said. His three-year-old nephew was one of the two children killed.
The strike came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced he would increase his military operations in the Palestinian territories.
Since the beginning of the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, 15 months ago, Israeli forces have assassinated more than 70 political figures and activists in a string of hits strongly condemned by the international community, human rights organizations and the U.S. -Israel's staunchest ally.
Today's attack also came after U.S. special envoy General Anthony Zinni threatened to end his mission to seek ways of enforcing a lasting ceasefire if both sides failed to make substantial progress within 48 hours.
The al-Khalil attack occurred at around 2:15 PM (1215 GMT) after a morning of relative calm, which followed one of the worst upsurges of Israeli aggression since the beginning of the latest Palestinian Intifada.
Officials from the resistance Islamic Jihad said the strike was an attempt to kill Sidr, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. They stated that the first missile fired by a helicopter missed his car, hitting a group of children in the street and killing Shadi Arafa, 13 and seriously injuring several others.
The second rocket smashed into Sidr's car, mortally wounding his three-year-old nephew Burhan al-Himuni and blowing off the legs of one passenger, Jihad officials said. One of the children was virtually decapitated and burned beyond recognition. Sidr and his brother-in-law Mohammed were also in the vehicle, they said.
The Israeli helicopters, accompanied by a surveillance plane, circled the town in the southern West Bank for almost an hour before the strike.
The Israeli army declined to give any immediate comment.
Zinni was meeting Israeli hard-line Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Monday, government officials said.
The former Israeli general tried to convince the ex-commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf not to give up on his two-week mission, which has been marred by increased Israeli aggressions against the Palestinians.
Israel has engaged in sweeping air raids against Palestinian Authority targets in the past week in what many see as a bid by Sharon to topple Arafat and his leadership.
Zinni told both sides during a trilateral security meeting Sunday they had 48 hours to make substantial progress in reducing the violence or he would return to Washington, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
Since the beginning of the Intifada, 1,065 people have been killed, with Palestinians comprising more 800 of the victims - many of whom are children.
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