Four killed as Israel continues war against Palestinians

The Israeli army has killed four Palestinians so far today as the violence in the Middle East spirals closer to all-out war. Three gunmen were killed in fighting in the West Bank after 80 tanks and armoured vehicles surrounded refugee camps in Tulkarem and Nur Shams.

Witnesses said soldiers entered Tulkarem from three directions, declared a curfew and confined people to their homes before helicopters arrived and fired missiles.

In the West Bank village of Siris, Israeli forces also shot and killed a senior member of the Islamic Jihad militant group after he allegedly opened fire on soldiers approaching his house. 27-year-old Mohammed Anani was wanted by Israel over his alleged involvement in suicide bombings.

Israeli warplanes also fired missiles at the Palestinian police headquarters in Gaza City today, sending children from a nearby school fleeing from the area. The police headquarters has been largely abandoned in recent weeks following a string of Israeli attacks and only two of the compound’s 25 buildings remained standing after today’s assault.

There were no reports of any injuries. Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats targeted Gaza City early today, just an hour after a missile was fired at Yasser Arafat’s West Bank office while he was meeting a senior EU official, Miguel Moratinos.

The missile exploded 15 yards from the office, breaking windows, but nobody was hurt. In this morning’s attack, gunboats fired at a Palestinian police roadblock near the Gaza coast, wounding 13 policemen, three of them critically. Other gunboats also targeted Mr Arafat’s Gaza office.