Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || File 3.67 MB || Time 4m 0s || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org, for Wednesday January 16th, 2008.

The Israeli army kills three Palestinian civilians in the Gaza strip and a resistance leader in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

Palestinian sources reported that Israeli jet fighters launched two missiles at a civilian car driving on a road east of Gaza city in the eastern part of the Gaza strip at midday on Wednesday, killing the 3 passengers in the car. Palestinian medical sources identified two of those killed as Amer Mohamed and Amer Al Yazigi, while witnesses said that one child was killed in the attack but his name remains unknown.

Media sources said that the jet fighters targeted the car carrying resistance fighters from Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad. The missiles missed and hit the civilian car. Israeli attacks on Gaza on Tuesday have left 17 dead, and 47 injured.

In response to the Tuesday Israeli attacks, in the evening Palestinian resistance groups fired a dozen Qassam home made shells at Sedrot lightly injuring five Israelis, among them two children.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning Walid Obeidi, 41, a leader of the Al Quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank and the top senior leader on the Israeli wanted list, was killed in clashes that broke out with the Israeli forces during their invasion of Qabatiya town, near Jenin.

Residents reported that Israeli forces besieged the house in Qabatiya, in the south of Jenin, where Obeidi lived. Troops asked Obeidi to surrender himself. When Obeidi refused, a gun battle with the military forces ensued and Obeidi was killed. Four resistance fighters of the Al Quds brigades were with Obeidi and were kidnapped by Israeli forces and two of them were injured in the attack.

On Wednesday n response to Obeidi’s killing, the Al Quds brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, fired 25 home-made Qassam shells at the southern Israel towns of Sederot and Ashkelon from the neighboring Gaza Strip, causing damage but no injures

Also in the West Bank on Wednesday Israeli forces kidnapped at least 24 Palestinians from different parts of Nablus city and the near refugee camps in pre-dawn invasion. The abduction operations in the Nablus area have intensified since the beginning of this week as army implemented several abduction campaigns in the area including 12 on Tuesday and three on Monday.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org. This report brought to you by Jenny Smith and Ghassan Bannoura.