Israel vows no let-up after killing 33 in Gaza

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RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops pushed further into the besieged Rafah refugee camp on Thursday despite international outrage at its killing of 33 Palestinians, many of them peaceful protestors, in the bloodiest Gaza raid in years.

The UN Security Council, convened at the behest of Arabs incensed at what they called Israel's "war crime" in Rafah, passed a resolution urging Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes.

Unusually, Washington did not use its veto to block the UN resolution, abstaining from the vote, and US President George W. Bush urged restraint from Israel.

But Israel, whose forces stormed Rafah after seven soldiers were killed by local militants last week, was undeterred.

In the early hours of Thursday, troops pushed into the Brazil district of Rafah, right along the border with Egypt, where the army says it is seeking tunnels used by gun smugglers.

Flames leapt into the night sky from a burning building as gunfire crackled.

"There is no diplomatic pressure being applied on the political or military echelons," Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said, adding that the raid was "vital...for the security of the state of Israel...and will continue as long as needed".

On Wednesday, tanks and helicopters fired toward protesters demanding humanitarian assistance. Medics said 10 Palestinians were killed, but the army put the death toll at seven. A witness described a "sea of blood with body parts flying all over".

Voicing "deep sorrow over the loss of civilian lives", the army said it did not deliberately target the rally but tank fire intended to repel protesters may have caused casualties. It said gunmen were among the demonstrators. The protesters denied this.


Amid the bloodletting, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon worked to revive his Gaza withdrawal plan, which aides said may be presented for cabinet approval as early as next week.

Violence has spiked since Sharon proposed evacuating troops and Jewish settlers in a plan backed by most Israelis and the United States, but rejected by his right-wing Likud party in a referendum this month.

Palestinian militants want to claim as a victory any pullout by Israel from territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, but the army is determined to smash them first.

Killings in Rafah's Tel Sultan neighbourhood intensified international calls for Israel to end its assault, which began on Tuesday with the stated goal of rooting out militants and uncovering tunnels used to smuggle weapons from nearby Egypt.

Medics said more than 50 people were also hurt. "It was horrifying," said demonstrator Mahmoud Abu Hashem, 35. "There was one person with his intestines coming out. Another had blood covering his face and you couldn't even make out his features."

Israel fired four more helicopter missiles on Wednesday night to cover the fresh armoured raid, witnesses said. The army said it aimed to deter gunmen who were attacking its forces. There were no reports of casualties.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called the strike a "war crime" against peaceful demonstrators, demanded punishment for those responsible and appealed for international intervention.

Bush urged restraint on Israel and, in rare criticism of a key ally, added: "It is essential people respect innocent life in order for us to achieve peace."

Secretary of State Colin Powell said Israel's actions had made the peace process with the Palestinians more difficult.

"I believe the activities of the Israeli defence forces in Gaza in recent days have caused a problem and have worsened the situation and I think made it more difficult to move forward and get back in the peace process," Powell told reporters.

A UN human rights envoy accused Israel of war crimes while the EU condemned the attack as "completely disproportionate".

Palestinians said the incident evoked bitter memories of the army's 2002 assault on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, where forces flattened an entire neighbourhood during pitched battles with militants following suicide bombings in Israel.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in Rafah and demanded the surrender of militants. Troops rounded up some 2000 men and youths but freed all but three after hours of questioning, witnesses said.

Israel raised an uproar abroad with threats to flatten hundreds of Rafah homes to widen an army-controlled security corridor along the border with Egypt.

- REUTERS