Israel targets Palestinian refugee camp

The Israeli army has destroyed at least 30 homes in the Palestinian-controlled Rafah refugee camp in retaliation for the killing of four Israeli soldiers by Palestinian militants yesterday.

A dozen Israeli bulldozers and armoured vehicles entered Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, before dawn today, sending hundreds of residents fleeing through the heavy rain.

According to Palestinian officials, the Israelis destroyed 32 homes, leaving hundreds of innocent civilians homeless.

Israel said the buildings it demolished provided cover for smugglers and Palestinian gunmen.

Israel also said Palestinian militants threw grenades during this morning’s incursion, but nobody was injured.

The two Hamas members responsible for yesterday’s attack on an Israeli army post near Keren Shalom were from Rafah.

The pair infiltrated the outpost, near the border with the Gaza Strip, before dawn yesterday, throwing grenades and firing automatic weapons.

They killed four Israeli soldiers before being shot dead themselves.

Hamas had announced a suspension of attacks inside Israel in compliance with Yasser Arafat’s call for a truce, but it recently suggested that the informal ceasefire would not last.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the group said: "The resistance is continuing."

Baha Abu Libdeh, one of the Rafah residents made homeless by this morning’s Israeli attack, said the operation will cause more hatred.

"What danger does my house pose to the Israeli security to be destroyed?" he asked.

"I became homeless today and my children will remember one thing about the state of Israel - it is the enemy."