Thursday, 8 January 2009Gaza - Ma'an – More than 800 Palestinian families have fled their homes in the city of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border, as Israeli warplanes bombed the area.
The displaced Palestinians have taken refuge in UN schools in the area.
Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad reported the bombing in Rafah in an interview with Ma'an. ”Israel is demolishing dozens of houses in Rafah in the pretext of targeting tunnels,” he said.
“Israeli missiles destroyed the homes of people near the border and made the area a testing ground for their weapons,” he added.
The Israeli military says it was attempting to destroy smugglers tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border. The tunnels serve as a lifeline to Gazans, delivering goods made scarce by the Israeli blockade of the territory.
Earlier on Wednesday night, Israeli jets spread leaflets over the southern Gaza Strip area of Rafah, ordering residents to flee their homes in advance of impending shelling.
The papers urged Palestinian residents to escape what will apparently be a major air operation in the southern Gaza Strip later on Wednesday night.
Israel has been shelling homes on the pretext that they were constructed over tunnels, calling on the 30,000 residents to flee the area, while many believe Israel is planning to take over the area that serves as a border between Gaza and Egypt. |
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Ma'an News
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