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Your support makes all the difference.Israeli soldiers, backed by attack helicopters and tanks, stormed the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza today. At least 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured.
Palestinian witnesses said at least eight were killed when Israeli soldiers fired shells and artillery into a crowd gathered to look at buildings set ablaze during an overnight raid on the home of a suspected Hamas militant.
The Israeli army denied they fired a tank shell or missile at the crowd and said the deaths were related to a device planted by Palestinian militants.
A gun battle erupted in Jabalya during an overnight Israeli operation in the refugee camp, witnesses said, and continued as troops pulled out of the area and withdrew into an alley.
Residents came out into the streets to see the aftermath of the overnight raid into their neighbourhood as the gun battle raged nearby. They watched smoke and flames pour out of a three-story building. Firefighters tried to stoke the flames, witnesses said.
Suddenly, the troops fired heavy machineguns from tanks and shells, they said, and a helicopter hovered overhead fired missiles. Blood and body parts flew through the air, witnesses said.
Palestinian witnesses being treated in a Gaza hospital gave conflicting reports over whether the tank shells or missiles hit the crowd. They agreed that the group hit was unarmed and was watching the firefighters at work.
Marwan Abu Shamales, aged 49, said he came out of his house after he believed the troops had withdrawn to see what had happened to the nearby building was in flames.
"When the fire engines arrived and started working to control the fire the sound of an explosion was heard and I felt like flames were cutting into my leg," Mr Shamales said, as he was treated for shrapnel injuries in his hand and side, and searched everywhere for his two sons who were with him at the time.
"I started screaming and I fell down. My bad luck was I fell on the two legs of a dead man and it covered my face with blood. I will never forget this disgusting scene," he added.
Doctors at the hospital said most of the injuries they treated were caused by tank shell shrapnel.
"Until now, we have 11 killed and more than 100 wounded, among them 30 are in very critical condition, in a new massacre committed against the citizens of Jabalya," said Dr. Moawia Hassanen, chief of emergency services at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the army's raid into Jabalya, calling it the "Israeli government's revenge" for the suicide bombing in Haifa yesterday.
"We hold the Israeli government fully responsible for such acts of revenge," he said. "We urge President Bush to reshift his focus from war on Iraq to helping the Palestinians and Israelis break this vicious cycle."
Earlier, two other Palestinians were killed during the army's operation in Gaza, whenthe army blew up two buildings, including one belonging to a Hamas activist.
A Reuters TV cameraman and photographer were among the wounded.
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