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Terrorism

5 more soldiers killed as Gaza heats up


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
May 12, 2004

Five more IDF soldiers were killed defending Israel against the “Palestinian” terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip Wednesday evening in a double bomb attack on an armored convoy.

The first attack targeted an armored IDF bulldozer and wounded two soldiers lightly as they patrolled the “Philadelphia Route” along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Five of their comrades were blown apart when a massive bomb was detonated against their armored personnel carrier as they arrived to help evacuate the casualties.

Following the attack, Israel Channel One News quoted a “very senior military officer” as saying, “this is war and we are taking the gloves off. The rules of the game have just changed.”

IDF ground forces were seen streaming into Gaza and taking up positions around the PA-controlled border town of Rafiah.

Battleground Gaza

An IDF armored bulldozer was damaged and two of its crew lightly wounded in a “Palestinian” bomb attack in the “Philadelphia Route” along the Gaza-Egypt border earlier Wednesday evening.

When a nearby APC arrived to help evacuate the wounded a second bomb was detonated, killing five soldiers. The APC was reportedly carrying a large amount of explosive materials, which magnified the blast.

Ten “Palestinian bystanders” were reportedly wounded in the explosion.

A short time later a “very senior military officer” told Channel One News that the IDF was engaged in “war” with the “Palestinians” in Gaza, and that Israel was “taking the gloves off.”

“The rules of the game have just changed,” he said.

Channel Two News showed busloads of IDF troops streaming into Gaza, and tanks and other armored vehicles were reportedly also en route.

The forces were said to be taking up positions for a major military offensive in the southern sector of the Strip. Additional troops were also sent to Jewish communities in northern Gaza.

Reuters reported that electricity to parts of southern Gaza had been cut, and that Arab civilians were fleeing the area fearing an IDF reprisal.

Arutz 7 reported that IAF helicopter pilots had been given permission to fire at will on any armed Arabs in the border town of Rafiah.

Body snatchers

Immediately following the “Philadelphia Route” bombings, the army received warnings that Palestinian Arabs were approaching the Israeli corpses with the possible intent of snatching the bodies or parts of them, SMS Israel reported.

A day earlier “Palestinian” terrorists stole body parts from six IDF soldiers killed in a major anti-terror operation in Gaza City.

A large contingent of IDF ground forces, including as many as 15 tanks and backed by heavy air power, moved to attack the area and extract the bodies.

Witnesses said the tanks rolled in with their heavy machineguns blazing.

Negotiated deal?

“Palestinian” sources reported that the remains of the Israelis killed in Tuesday’s fighting would be handed over to the Palestinian Authority Wednesday evening in exchange for a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza City.

The IDF insisted it would not negotiate with the terrorists over the soldiers’ remains, and would continue operations in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun until the body parts were recovered.

That the “Palestinians” demanded exactly what the IDF had already said it would do was seen as a “face-saving” tactic on their part.

Egyptian, PA and Red Cross officials were all reportedly involved in pressuring the terrorists to relinquish the body parts.

Defense Minister Sha’ul Mofaz Wednesday vowed to hunt down those who had desecrated the soldiers’ remains.

"After we finish the task of recovering the remains, we will settle the score with the terrorists who mutilated the bodies,” he told reporters.

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