This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6112386.stm
The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 9 | Version 10 |
|---|---|
| Gaza women end mosque stand-off | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A siege at a mosque in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun has ended after Israeli forces entered the compound and found no-one there, Israel's army says. | A siege at a mosque in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun has ended after Israeli forces entered the compound and found no-one there, Israel's army says. |
| An Israeli military spokesman told the BBC they believe the dozen Palestinian gunmen escaped by mingling with a crowd of women who had formed a human shield. | An Israeli military spokesman told the BBC they believe the dozen Palestinian gunmen escaped by mingling with a crowd of women who had formed a human shield. |
| The women went to the mosque after an appeal on Hamas radio. Two were reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire. | The women went to the mosque after an appeal on Hamas radio. Two were reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire. |
| Israel entered Beit Hanoun on Wednesday to stop rocket attacks, it said. | Israel entered Beit Hanoun on Wednesday to stop rocket attacks, it said. |
| Rocket attacks by militants against towns close to the Gaza border, including Sderot and Ashkelon, have continued since Israel pulled its troops out of Gaza in 2005. | Rocket attacks by militants against towns close to the Gaza border, including Sderot and Ashkelon, have continued since Israel pulled its troops out of Gaza in 2005. |
| Bulldozer assault | Bulldozer assault |
| In one of the biggest operations in the Gaza Strip in recent months, Israeli troops moved in and sealed the town off. | In one of the biggest operations in the Gaza Strip in recent months, Israeli troops moved in and sealed the town off. |
| Twenty Palestinians and an Israeli soldier died in the fighting that ensued. Many of the 20 Palestinians killed were gunmen, but a four-year-old boy died from his wounds overnight. | Twenty Palestinians and an Israeli soldier died in the fighting that ensued. Many of the 20 Palestinians killed were gunmen, but a four-year-old boy died from his wounds overnight. |
| We risked our lives to free our sons Um Mohammed, Beit Hanoun woman href="/1/hi/in_pictures/6113102.stm" class="">In pictures: Gaza offensive | |
| A tense stand-off developed after Israeli forces surrounded the mosque, where Palestinian gunmen had taken refuge along with about 60 others. | |
| Witnesses said bulldozers demolished a wall as the Israelis tried to force those inside to surrender and there were exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the gunmen. | Witnesses said bulldozers demolished a wall as the Israelis tried to force those inside to surrender and there were exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the gunmen. |
| However, following an appeal on Hamas radio, over 100 women approached the compound in groups. | However, following an appeal on Hamas radio, over 100 women approached the compound in groups. |
| Running to safety | |
| "We risked our lives to free our sons," Um Mohammed, a woman in her 40s, told the AFP news agency afterwards. | |
| "Hundreds of us entered the mosque and surrounded the resistance fighters to protect them," 21-year-old Nidaa al-Radih said. | |
| Press despair over Gaza raid Gaza's rocket threat | |
| With the gunmen shielded within their midst the women ran to an area north-west of the town which is clear of Israeli troops. | |
| There have been reports that the Israeli soldiers fired on the groups of women. Two women are reported to have been killed. | There have been reports that the Israeli soldiers fired on the groups of women. Two women are reported to have been killed. |
| Hamas radio has since reported that all of the militants in the mosque had escaped and were uninjured. | Hamas radio has since reported that all of the militants in the mosque had escaped and were uninjured. |
| The BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says that Israel's most immediate aim is to prevent rocket attacks against its territory, but beyond that it wants to strike a decisive blow at the militant group Hamas. | |
| Israeli officials are convinced Hamas has been acquiring new weapons and wants to turn Gaza into an even stronger base for attacks against them, just as the Lebanese group Hezbollah did on their northern border. | |
| In other developments: | In other developments: |
|
|
| Both the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya have described the Beit Hanoun operation as a massacre. | Both the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniya have described the Beit Hanoun operation as a massacre. |
| Israeli forces have made regular incursions into Gaza and the West Bank following the capture of an Israeli soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants on 25 June. | Israeli forces have made regular incursions into Gaza and the West Bank following the capture of an Israeli soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants on 25 June. |
| More than 300 Palestinians have been killed in army operations since then, according to Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. | More than 300 Palestinians have been killed in army operations since then, according to Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. |