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Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre http://www.imemc.org for Monday August 7th, 2006

At least two Palestinians, including a thirteen year old boy, have been killed today in ongoing air strikes to the southern Gaza Strip. The death toll rises to more than 1000 people in , mostly civilians while in the Gaza strip the army continues to take prisoners in the West Bank and kill civilians.

 These stories and more coming up stay tuned.

Gaza Update

At least two Palestinians, including a thirteen year old boy, have been killed today in ongoing air strikes to the southern Gaza Strip.

In the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli air strike destroyed a house Monday but there were no reports of casualties. Nearly two dozen Palestinians have been killed in the past five days as the Israeli army continues its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Separate air strikes over the weekend killed two members of the same family in addition to two alleged members of the Islamic Jihad military wing.

Sixteen-year-old Kifah Natour and her brother Amar, 15, were killed when a missile hit the front of their house early Saturday in Rafah, Al-Jazeera TV reported. Their mother was also seriously wounded, along with four other residents, including two children.

An Israeli army spokesman denied the attack and said the only air strikes the military carried out were 2km away from Rafah against Palestinian fighters.

Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses in Gaza reported that one child was killed shortly after midnight Saturday during an Israeli air strike that injured three other. The child was identified as Ibrahim Al Thagheedy, 12, from the Al Jneina neighborhood in the southern part Rafah.

Seventeen residents, including five children, have been killed in air strikes to the Al Shouka neighborhood in Rafah since Thursday, including a three-day old infant.

Twelve people have been detained in the incursion since Thursday. In Gaza City, the Director of Palestinian Military Intelligence, Colonel Mohammed Al Musa, was seriously injured Sunday after unknown gunmen shot him in his car. One of his bodyguards and a bystander were also injured in the shooting.

Update

The death toll rises to more than 1000 people in , mostly civilians, and 94 Israelis. Five Lebanese civilians were killed and eight Israeli soldiers were wounded after a raid that took place in the south of Tyre. Israeli commandos clashed with Hezbollah fighters after raiding an apartment Monday.

According to the latest reports more than 3000 civilians have been injured, 1000 killed, 1,000,000 displaced and more than 160 roads and bridges destroyed by the Israeli attacks on .

attacked the village of Houla, killing more than 40 civilians. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora called it a “deliberate massacre.” Four Israeli soldiers were also killed in the attack. Ground fighting intensified after Israeli soldiers attempted to advance on the border villages of South Lebanon. One Israeli soldier was killed and four were wounded in Bind Jbail. According to Israeli forces, five Hezbollah fighters were also killed.

Fourteen Lebanese civilians were killed when launched air strikes. Seven members of one Lebanese family were killed in the village of Ghazzaniyeh, according to police. Another 4 were killed and 13 were wounded in Kfar Tibneet village in a separate strike. Two civilians were killed in a strike in the nearby Harouf village and one was killed in Ghaziye, close to Sidon.

The port city of Tyre has been severed from the rest of , due to continued Israeli bombardments. Three main roads and one bridge have been destroyed. The roads include one leading to the Masnaa border post, the road between Baalbek and Rayak, which links the Baalbek region with Zahle in central and the Aita al-Fukhar road, which connects villages in the Bekaa Valley with . Four additional raids targeted the hills east of Baalbek, about 10km from the Syrian border.

With the destruction of many of southern ’s bridges and roads, all aid supply routes have been cut, leaving humanitarian groups with no choice but to deliver supplies by hand across the Litani River.

Four explosions were also heard in the Baalbek region, but no casualties have been reported. Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz met Monday morning to discuss new strategies for ’s ground offensive in southern . Expanding the offensive to include the targeting of civilian infrastructure is among their suggested plans of action.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council also met today to continue trying to reach an agreement for a ceasefire. One setback has been whether to include Hezbollah’s demand that troops withdraw immediately from .

West Bank Update

Naseem Abu Amoud, 34, and Mahmoud Abu Amoud, 19, were injured Monday morning due to an explosion by an unidentified object in Nuba village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron. Medical sources reported that Naseem sustained medium injuries and will go into surgery in the city hospital, while Mahmoud escaped with minor injuries.

Also in Hebron, the Israeli army took five prisoners from the West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby Al-Shookh village, Monday at dawn. Eyewitnesses reported that soldiers attacked and hit two children during the search campaign.

The Israeli army troops invaded the West Bank city of Nablus and took Mohammed Atoubasi, 20, as prisoner. Troops and army vehicles stormed the city and searched several homes before taking Altoubasi to an unknown location,

Saed Ibrahim was taken as prisoner late Sunday night from the West Bank city of Tubas, after being attacked by the Israeli soldiers, eyewitnesses reported.

Local residents said that the boy Ibrahim was standing near his house in the city when an army jeep stopped next to him. Soldiers then attacked him and took him away to an unknown location. Israeli forces invaded the West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp on Monday at dawn.

Fadil Hamdan, Hamas Legislator in the Palestinian Legislative Council, was taken prisoner by the Israeli army from the West Bank city of Ramallah, late Sunday night.

Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army took Dr. Aziz Dwake, Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as a prisoner from his house in Ramallah.

Hussein Fahmi was killed and his son sustained injuries after being shot at by a group of settlers near the West Bank city of Nablus. The settlers attacked Fahmi and his son near Zataraa Israeli military checkpoint, which caused his death and the injury of his son. Both were moved to Rafeedya hospital in Nablus.

Both victims were using Zataraa checkpoint for work purposes, coming from their village Habla, near the West Bank city of Qalqilia. Israeli army troops and jeeps invaded the West Bank city of Bethlehem Monday morning. Soldiers stormed residents’ homes and ransacked them in the Al Midbesa neighborhood in the city center.

Conclusion

Thanks for joining us from Occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today for the International Middle East Media Centre, http://www.imemc.org brought to you by Jacque Shoen, Maya Williams – Carpenter & Ghassan Bannoura