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4 Palestinians, Including 2-Year-Old Girl, Killed In Rafah
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18-months-old Huda Abu Shalof killed in Rafah
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GAZA
CITY, May 1 (News Agencies) - Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian
near Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, May 1, the fourth
killed within a few hours, while 14 others were wounded, hospital
sources said.
Bilal
Al-Derbi, 22, was hit in the head. One of the wounded Palestinians was
in "critical" condition, doctors said.
Earlier
three other Palestinians, including a two-year-old girl, were killed
in Rafah on the border with Egypt, Palestinian hospital sources told
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Ahmed
Abu Khepleh, 21, was struck in the head by machine-gun fire while at
home pre-dawn Wednesday, said Dr. Ali Mussa, director of Rafah
hospital.
In
the same Block J neighborhood, Bilal Al-Derbi, 22, was taken to Rafah
hospital where he was listed in "very serious condition"
after bullets hit him in his home, Mussa said.
Israeli
tanks had moved 200 meters into Palestinian territory and sprayed
heavy machine-gun fire in the residential neighborhood, Mussa said.
An
army spokesman said, "We have no information on this incident.
There is no activity in the south."
Elsewhere
in the flashpoint border town, a Palestinian was killed and eight
others were wounded when Israeli tanks lobbed a shell and sprayed
machine-gun fire at houses early Wednesday, Mussa said.
Abdullah
Shaluff, 23, died after being hit in the head by Israeli fire outside
his house, he said.
Israeli
tanks had entered a few meters into Palestinian territory and fired a
tank shell when residents came outside and the army opened a round of
fire, Mussa said.
Three
of the injured were brothers. It was not clear if there had been any
attacks on Israeli soldiers posted on the Egyptian-Rafah border
beforehand.
Two
of the eight hurt were listed in serious condition, one with bullet
wounds to the head and the other with wounds to the chest, Mussa said.
Meanwhile,
a two-year-old Palestinian girl was killed late Tuesday when an
Israeli tank fired on her family's home in Rafah, Palestinian medical
sources told AFP.
Huda
Muhamad Shaluf, 2, died from shrapnel wounds to the head and body,
said Mussa.
Three
other members of her family were injured in the incident, including
her father and uncle, hospital sources said.
Palestinian
witnesses said they heard a large explosion in the border area, after
which three or four tanks started shelling Palestinian houses. At
least two homes were damaged in the attack, an AFP correspondent said.
In
another development, fifteen tanks rumbled into the northern West Bank
city of Qalqilya at 12:45 am Wednesday (2145 GMT Tuesday), provoking
an exchange of fire with gunmen as the army occupied the western half
of the city, Palestinian security sources said.
Tanks
rolled through the streets in the early morning, but soldiers had made
no arrests, while gunfire was exchanged sporadically, the sources
said.
The
army had seized Qalqilya as part of its month-long West Bank blitz
across the West Bank launched March 29, but withdrew from the city on
April 9 before pouring in again briefly on April 26.
A
top Palestinian official said talks over the U.S.-brokered agreement
to end the siege of Yasser Arafat fell apart here early Wednesday
morning when the Palestinian delegation was unable to reach Arafat's
compound to seek final go-ahead for a deal.
"Nothing
happened. Nothing happened," Palestinian information minister
Yasser Abd Rabbo told AFP after a 15-minute discussion with British
and U.S. security experts.
He
added there were no immediate plans to meet again with the British and
U.S. experts.
Abd
Rabbo then left the Palestinian ministry building where he had just
returned minutes before after Israeli forces refused to let his
delegation head to Arafat's compound to obtain their leader's approval
on an agreement to end his siege and turn over six militants to an
international guard.
"We
could not reach the compound. They [the army] have closed the whole
city," the information minister said.
The
sudden turn of events stood in sharp contrast to Abd Rabbo's comments
shortly before trying to see Arafat.
"We
hope we will be able to conclude tonight, but I am not sure,"
said Abd Rabbo, after three hours of talks with U.S. and British
security experts.
"If
there will be an agreement tonight, implementation will happen within
12 hours."
Abd
Rabbo and the Palestinian delegation, which also included Gaza Strip
security chief Mohammed Dahlan and Arafat economic advisor Mohammed
Rashid, then tried to head to Arafat's compound.
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