Israeli tanks, helicopters and warplanes pounded a Hamas training camp on Tuesday, killing 14 militants in the deadliest attack in Gaza for nearly four months, as Israel struck back after a double suicide bombing. A barrage of tank shells and missiles hit the outskirts of the town of Shijaia, a stronghold of Hamas, the Palestinian faction behind nearly simultaneous blasts that killed 16 people on two Israeli buses in Beersheba last Tuesday. Gaza’s main hospital was overwhelmed by the flood of casualties. More than 20 people, including militants and bystanders, were injured, medical officials said. “This ugly Israeli crime… will not pass unpunished,” Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri told Reuters. “It is an open war between the Zionists and us.” The growing spiral of violence could further complicate Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to withdraw troops and settlers from the occupied Gaza Strip by the end of 2005. Full Story
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