Olmert calls Gaza strike a 'technical error'
Thousands mourn 18 civilians whose homes were struck by errant shells
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of grieving Gazans, weeping in anguish and screaming for revenge, crammed into a cemetery Thursday to bury 18 civilians killed by an errant Israeli artillery barrage that tore through a crowded residential neighborhood.
The emotional throngs reached toward the sky or collapsed in grief as a despondent father carried the lifeless body of his 1-year-old baby in his arms. About 20 gunmen fired sporadically into the air, and many mourners waved the yellow flags of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.
The cemetery, which had been under construction, was hastily opened to accommodate the victims because others in town were too small to allow them to be buried together. All belonged to a single extended family.
‘I will avenge!’
The bodies arrived in a convoy of 18 ambulances, which brought them from hospital morgues through the artillery-scarred cluster of apartment buildings. Cries of “God is greater than Israel and America,” punctuated by gunshots, rang out as the bodies were brought out on stretchers.
“I will avenge, I will avenge!” screamed one of the victims’ relatives as he fired his weapon, voicing a common sentiment among the mourners.
“The Zionist enemy understands only the language of force and therefore I say, ’an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose,”’ chanted Abdel al-Hakim Awad, a Fatah spokesman. “The residents of Sderot, the residents of Ashkelon, even the residents of Tel Aviv, are not going to enjoy security or peace as long as you are suffering, our beloved people in Beit Hanoun.”
The freshly dug graves were lined up in a single row, each marked by a concrete block. A Palestinian flag fluttered over each. Two Israeli unmanned aircraft buzzed overhead.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret for the loss of life but said Israeli operations in Gaza would continue as long as Palestinians fire rockets at Israel. He said a “technical error” caused the shells to miss their targets. He said Israel would try to ensure such mistakes would not recur but admitted, “It may happen.”
Fears of new bloodshed
Beit Hanoun has been the focus of a weeklong Israeli offensive meant to halt rocket attacks on southern Israel. Wednesday’s deadly shelling came 24 hours after Israeli ground forces pulled out of Beit Hanoun. The bloodshed, and calls for revenge by militant groups, have raised fears of a new wave of fighting with Israel.
The shells landed as residents were still asleep, and witnesses said many were killed as they fled their homes in panic. The bombardment was the deadliest on Palestinian civilians in the past six years of fighting, and undermined Abbas’s attempts to form a more moderate government and renew peace talks with Israel.
All of the dead belonged to a prominent family in town that includes several doctors and professionals. Relatives said they had fled during the recent Israeli offensive, returning home after Tuesday’s pullout.
Israeli military officials said the artillery was aimed at a target about 500 yards away. A top commander said artillery aiming devices had malfunctioned, though a formal investigation was still under way.
Streets empty amid mourning
All activity in Beit Hanoun was focused on the funerals. Ordinarily, on a Thursday morning, the town’s streets are teeming with people. In the hours before the funeral, the streets were all but deserted.
A three-day mourning period declared by Palestinian leaders kept shops closed.
Khadra Abu Shabat, 55, said sadness mingled with worry on an emotionally charged day.
“All of us are feeling sad, and worried, too,” said Abu Shabat, tears streaming down her face. “We are going to bury this family and ask ourselves, ’Who’s next? Me? My grandchildren? My neighbor?”’
The bloodshed provoked Palestinian threats of a new wave of violence. Khaled Mashaal, the exiled leader of the Palestinians’ ruling Hamas group, canceled a cease-fire with Israel that has largely held since February 2005, raising the specter of renewed suicide bombings.
Hamas calls for new attacks
Hamas’ military wing also called for attacks against U.S. targets — an appeal that Hamas political leaders in Gaza did not endorse. President Bush called for restraint on all sides Wednesday.
Abbas talked by phone to the Damascus-based overall Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, their first conversation in months, Palestinian officials said, in a sign that the two sides are close to forming a joint government after months of negotiations.
Abbas called Mashaal at the urging of advisers who realized that progress could not be made without dealing with the Hamas leader, officials said.
Earlier, Abbas condemned the “terrible, despicable crime” of the Israeli shelling, and the international community harshly criticized the deaths.
The U.N. Security Council was to meet in special session later Thursday. Palestinians hoped for a condemnation of Israel, on top of the denunciations Israel absorbed from governments worldwide after the attack.
Israeli police, fearing revenge attacks, stepped up their alert level, mobilizing forces across the country.
The 18 dead was the highest Palestinian civilian toll in a single incident since the current conflict erupted in September 2000. The highest toll of Israelis was 29 killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing at a Passover gathering in March 2002.
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