Israel Continues Offensive Despite Outcry

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20040520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians_10

RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops pushed deeper into the Rafah refugee camp Thursday in search of gunmen and weapons smugglers, killing seven Palestinians and demolishing several buildings despite an international outcry over a deadly tank attack on a group of protesters.

At least eight Palestinians, many of them children, were killed by Israeli fire Wednesday as they demonstrated against the military operation. The sight of bloodied children and reports of overwhelmed doctors treating dozens of wounded people on blood-drenched hospital floors added to world anger.

Israel apologized for the deaths, saying its troops did not deliberately fire on marchers. A preliminary army investigation concluded that a warning shot fired by a tank flew through a building and hit the crowd, security sources said on condition of anonymity.

Israel also blamed the Palestinians, saying gunmen infiltrated the crowd of about 3,000 people protesting the incursion into the Rafah refugee camp. Witnesses denied militants were among the marchers, and Palestinian leaders denounced the incident as a massacre.

over 40 civilians dead , over 1600 hundred homeless by bulldozers and the numbers keep going up. isn`t this collective punishment?..wasn`t that done before and it was deemed a war crime???? oh silly me, i should`t ask questions like this....

"A preliminary army investigation concluded that a warning shot fired by a tank flew through a building and hit the crowd, security sources said on condition of anonymity."

A typical IDF investigation is like: The IDF was forced to take defensive measures when threatened by a group of barefoot children. The children caused severe injuries to the IDF when during a routine stomping upon the children, a soldier injured his foot, bruising his big toe. Due to the attack upon the soldiers foot by the childs body, the IDF defended itself by firing several tank rounds into the crowd.