Palestinian medical sources reported that nine Palestinians, including
two women and one child, died in Beit Hanoun, in the northern part of
the Gaza Strip, on Friday, as the army continued and expanded its
military offensive for the third day, at least 25 residents were
killed.
Two women were killed as dozens of women protested in Beit Hanoun and formed a human shield in an attempt to protect resistance fighters who were surrounded by the army in Um Al Nasser Mosque in Beit Hanoun; at least 16 women were injured, the fighters apparently managed to escape from the mosque.
The fighters who were holed in the mosque managed to escape before the army blew one of its rooftops.
One of the women said that the “basic plan was to bring dozens of women gowns and head covers to the fighters in order to enabled to leave the mosque among us without drawing the attention of the soldiers.
In a separate incident, Palestinian medical sources in Beit Hanoun reported that one child, identified as Bara' Fayyad, 4, died of serious wounds suffered two days ago after the Israeli army shelled his parents house.
Meanwhile, troops continued the massive arrests in Beit Hanoun and took 2000 residents prisoner and transferred them in military buses to unknown destinations.
Among the detainees is a senior Fateh official, Yazid Al Hweiji, leader of the Palestinian police in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, Majid Al Kafarna, and Fawwaz Ahmad, leader of the Palestinian Police in Beit Lahia.
A large number of women and members of the Palestinian National security forces are also among the abductees.
On Friday at dawn, four Palestinian fighter were killed in an Israeli aerial strike that targeted a Palestinian vehicle in Al Shujaeyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, a fifth resident was killed in Beit Hanoun.
Palestinian medical sources stated that the four fighters are members of the Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Three of them were identified as Ammar Mushtaha, 30, Mohammad Farhat, 23, and Tamer Hillis, 23. Their bodies were severely mutilated as a result of the blast.
One more resident, whose identity remained unknown, was shot and killed by Israeli military fire in Beit Hanoun.
