Israeli tanks carried out fresh Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas

By Mustafa Al Sawwaf & Suleiman Besharat, IOL Correspondents 

GAZA CITY, August 26 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Israeli occupation forces stormed into a governmental hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, August 26, and abducted two Palestinians treated for gunshot wounds, medical sources said.

Some 20 members of Israeli Special forces in civvies broke into the Intensive Care department on the second floor of the Rafidyeh hospital and detained the two casualties, a hospital doctor told IslamOnline.net.

There are 10 Israeli armored vehicles backed by Apache helicopter gunships and unmanned reconnaissance plane still lay siege to the hospital, said the doctor who refused to give his name.

The Israeli army claimed the two casualties are members of the Fatah’s military offshoot who were injured when Israeli soldiers shot the room where they were allegedly holing up into the hospital on Friday.

The Israeli army also reimposed a curfew on Nablus on Tuesday morning, and took up positions they had left 24 hours ago, Israel Radio said.

The military operation now into its fifth day in the city has not yet been ended, and will continue for a long time, it added. 

Four Wounded 

In the meanwhile, four Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank.

In Jenin, at least one Palestinian was wounded Tuesday when the Israeli army staged an incursion early morning into the northern West Bank town, according to witnesses and security sources.

The victim was injured during an exchange of fire as Israeli soldiers entered on board some 25 jeeps.

The Israelis then proceeded to impose a ceasefire on the town and to search houses, the sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

On Monday, three people were wounded after Israeli tanks based in a block of Jewish settlements in southern Gaza fired shells near the town of Khan Younis, Palestinian medical and security sources said on Monday.

"Several houses were also damaged," a Palestinian security source said.

Hamas Alerts Members

Having been inflicted by a series of Israeli attacks, the Islamic resistance movement Hamas called on its members to be on high alert and “all should consider themselves wanted for assassination” by Israeli occupation forces.

“Israeli unmanned warplanes still hover the skies of Gaza all times, and Apache helicopters await the chance to fire, so why should not we be more concerned with making them fail their targets,” said a statement by the group a copy of which was obtained by IOL.

Hamas is one of Palestinian resistance groups seeking an end to the more than 50-year-old Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The group says it will halt attacks against Israeli targets if Israeli army pulled out of all of the occupied territories.

The group warned its members against defining their movements on phones, as all air waves could be easily deciphered.

It warned that all members should exercise caution while using cars in movement.

“In the case of the emergency use of cars, members should not move in groups and try to use narrow streets,” said the statement.

Hamas heavily felt the pinch of Israeli attacks intensively carried out in the last few days, with a number of its activists killed and several others injured.

Senior Hamas political figures Ismail Abu Shanab and two of his associates were assassinated in an Israeli air strike on Gaza on Thursday, August 21.

Israeli helicopter gunships fired Sunday, August 24, five missiles into a car in western Gaza, killing four Hamas activists and wounding five others.

A report released by a Palestinian human rights organization revealed on August 12 that Israel has in the last month alone killed seven Palestinians and carried out 854 violations of the truce. (Click to see a breakdown for Israeli violations).