Israel launches blitz on refugee camp

Israel sent tanks and bulldozers into the Khan Younis refugee camp early today as a response to continued mortar and rocket fire by Palestinian militants, the military and residents said.

The military said that during the operation, set to last about two days, some uninhabited structures used as cover by Palestinian gunmen would be torn down.

Residents said there were exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen. There were no reports of casualties.

The military said more than 15 mortars and rockets have been fired from the camp at nearby Israeli settlements in the past few days. One hit a synagogue and another exploded next to a kindergarten. Both caused considerable damage but no casualties.

Israeli soldiers ordered Palestinians to leave the neighbourhood of the Khan Younis camp called the “Austrian Project” as the operation began. The military said the residents were being asked to leave for their own safety, and their houses would not be damaged.

Residents said bulldozers destroyed the rest of a clinic damaged in an earlier raid.

On Sunday Israeli forces withdrew from the same areas after a two-day operation that followed dozens of mortar attacks, including one on a settlement that killed a Thai agricultural worker and another on an army base that wounded 11 soldiers.

During that raid, 11 Palestinians were killed in exchanges of fire with Israeli forces, and UN officials said about 40 houses were destroyed.

The military said the current operation would be smaller in scale, but warned that it could escalate if there is significant Palestinian resistance.

Israeli troop movements were also reported at the northern entrance to the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians have been firing rockets at Israeli towns just outside the territory. Palestinian police evacuated their positions near the Israeli border, and residents said the area was without electricity.