Palestinian officials said that six Palestinians were killed Monday morning by IDF fire in the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip and 30 others were wounded. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing, describing the incident as a "criminal massacre." Abbas urged the international community to intervene in order to prevent a further escalation in the situation. He called on Israel and Palestinian armed groups to halt the fighting.
Five of those killed are members of the Shanbari family: Atta Shanbari, a commander at the Salah al-Din Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees' military wing, Khaled Shanbari Muhammad Fouad Shanbari, Ibrahim Fouad Shnbari and Kamal Adnan Shanbari. The sixth casualty is Rammy Mussa Hamdan.
Palestinians said that shots fired during an altercation between two rival families were mistaken as gunmen fire by the IDF, causing the troops to responded with gunshots. The Palestinians added that the military force that entered the town took over several houses and opened gun and shell fire at the locals. One of the men killed is Atta Shinbari, a commander for the Salah al-Din Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees' military wing.
The IDF reported that its forces fired at some 10 armed terrorists who were approaching the soldiers while they were engaged in an operation to thwart Qassam attacks. Several of the gunmen were hit, the army stated.
The forces, which include troops from the Givati brigade, are operating near a cemetery located east of Beit Hanounm, an area from which terrorists have launched numerous Qassam rockets at the western Negev recently. At one point during the operation Palestinians opened fire at the forces who fired back and hit the gunmen.
The IDF emphasized that all the casualties were armed members of the Popular Resistance Committees. IDF sources stated that allegations saying that the IDF interfered in an internal conflict are not known to the military and that soldiers only fired at the cell which fired on the structure they were in.
Pity the poor IDF – I mean, how were they suppose to know that the shoot-out was just a family squabble a la OK Corral and not an attack on their position?
Furthermore, Abbas can scream, rant and beg but there will not be one 1st or even 2nd world national who will ride into Gaza’s Dodge City willingly.
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