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Palestinian mourners chant slogans during the Friday funeral for four Gaza youths killed in an IAF strike the day before. (AP)
Last update - 01:42 02/03/2008
At least 29 Gaza civilians, including 5 children, among dead
2 IDF soldiers, 61 Palestinians die in Gaza clashes
By Avi Issacharoff, Amos Harel, Mijal Grinberg, and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Tags: Qassam, IDF, Gaza, Hamas

Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers and at least 61 Palestinians, including at least 29 civilians, were killed on Saturday in an ongoing IDF ground incursion near the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabaliya.

Sergeants Eran Dan-Gur, 20, of Jerusalem, and Doron Asulin, 20, of Be'er Sheva, were killed by Palestinian gunfire in two separate incidents early Saturday morning. They both served in the Givati Brigade and were posthumously raised in rank to staff sergeant.

Military sources report that the two died during the Givati Brigade's routine action against terrorist activity in the Jabaliya area in northern Gaza.
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Five other IDF soldiers were wounded during the fighting - three of them lightly and two others who suffered light to moderate wounds. The soldiers were evacuated to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva for treatment.

Palestinians say that at least 29 civilians, including five children and three women, were among the dead in the raid that began before dawn Saturday.

Some 80 Gazans have been killed in IDF raids since Wednesday.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak called a late-night meeting of security commanders to discuss the situation, his office said in a statement on Saturday.

Gaza operation ongoing

The IDF and Israel Air Force continued to operate in the Gaza Strip over the course of Saturday.

Late Saturday evening, IAF planes killed one militant in an attack on the central Gaza town of al-Bureijj.

Just earlier, four Hamas militants were killed an airstrike on a police station in the southern town of Rafah. Palestinian witnesses said Israel targeted a prayer room next to the police station, which was destroyed.

Earlier Saturday evening, IAF planes struck a truck in northern Gaza carrying at least 160 rockets ready for launching at Israel.

Sources in Gaza report that earlier in the day IDF soldiers exchanged heavy gunfire with Palestinian gunmen on the eastern outskirts of Jabaliya, situated 2-3 kilometers from the fence which lies on the Israel-Gaza border.

The ground forces, which included units from Givati, the Armored Corps, and the Engineering Corps, received air support from the Israel Air Force.

They were met with heavy fire from Palestinian gunmen, mainly from Hamas, who used rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles against the troops.

IAF planes launched missiles at groups of armed Palestinians during the clashes.

The dead Palestinian civilians are believed to include a 17-year-old girl and her 16-year-old brother, a 45-year-old man and his 20-year-old son, and two sisters thought to be in their early 20s.

Tareq Dardouna, a resident of the Jabaliya area, told The Associated Press that a relative was killed outside his home in the crossfire that began raging at 3 A.M.

"His body is still on the ground," Dardouna said in a telephone interview from his home, where he was tending to four wounded people. "Ambulances tried to come, but they came under fire. ... We are in a real war."

Hamas fighters were unbowed by the spiraling violence.

"The Zionist forces failed in Gaza before," said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing. "We will respond to any aggression... with every available means."

The sisters and another civilian were killed by tank shells that struck two houses in separate attacks, Palestinian officials said. Rescue teams evacuated a 7-month-old boy from one of the houses, unharmed.

An IDF spokesperson said the army would look into reports of tank shells hitting houses.

Senior officials said Saturday that the increasing number of Qassams fired at the western Negev has no bearing on the continued military raids into Gaza.

Rather than making due with pinpoint strikes against rocket launchers, the army is recommending a series of steps against Hamas targets in Gaza.

Witnesses said one clash erupted early Saturday when Hamas gunmen engaged IDF troops backed by helicopters that had entered the Gaza Strip.

IDF troops have been operating on the outskirts of Beit Hanun in the northern Strip since Thursday night.

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      1.   They cant expect to fire rockets and not have casualties of their 12:15  |  stephanie taylor 29/02/08
      2.   6 month old baby 12:42  |  Patsy 29/02/08
      3.   Patsy - is this what we have come to? 13:03  |  Big Sooz 29/02/08
      4.   45% of the Palestinians killed were "civilians"! 13:43  |  Murray of Montreal 29/02/08
      5.   There is no military solution to this 14:22  |  Johnboy 29/02/08
      6.   Palestinian ALWAYS put put a few children as wounded or 14:34  |  ty 29/02/08
      7.   Big Sooz 14:35  |  Patsy 29/02/08
      8.   #4 - I`d trust Palestinians over Israelis any day 15:04  |  Itzhak 29/02/08
      9.   Child killers 15:21  |  David 29/02/08
      10.   Israelis are scum of the earth 15:22  |  David 29/02/08
      11.   Of course not Patsy, how could you possibly think that? 15:39  |  Yaakov Sullivan 29/02/08
      12.   #1 15:45  |  Said 29/02/08
      13.   Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin 16:03  |  Clickfool 29/02/08
      14.   Can anyone name a war where civilians were not killed? 16:16  |  Jon 29/02/08
      15.   #1, Stephanie Taylor... 16:18  |  Silvienne 29/02/08
      16.   yet ground occupation not favored 16:32  |  Paul Freedman 29/02/08
      17.   Patsy, I hope you`ll oneday find some humanity in you 16:37  |  Umm Einav 29/02/08
      18.   Replace ?peace? with strength and determination. 16:55  |  Jean Van Daem 29/02/08
      19.   Get ready for Israel`s "bigger holocaust" 17:05  |  POP 29/02/08
      20.   to message 2 six month baby died from aids 17:14  |  paulo2005 29/02/08
      21.   ` 1 so Irael is no better than Hamas and their murderers? 17:35  |  Kris 29/02/08
      22.   I don`t care 17:37  |  American Christian 29/02/08
      23.   five `hurt` is not nearly enough. 17:47  |  anup 29/02/08
      24.   just carpet gaza as the Russian did in Grozny.. 18:05  |  maurice 29/02/08
      25.   to Montreal Murray 18:09  |  Hilda 29/02/08
      26.   Palestinian terrorists often use "civilian" vehicles to transport 18:39  |  Marwan مروان خو 29/02/08
      27.   Hamas are war criminals for using civilians as shields and for 18:44  |  Marwan مروان خو 29/02/08
      28.   Have we forgotten? 18:50  |  Janice 29/02/08
      29.   American "Christian" 18:57  |  Janice 29/02/08
      30.   American Christian 19:19  |  gearoid 29/02/08
      31.   Hamas Child Abuse Continues Without a Word 19:24  |  Jane 29/02/08
      32.   1Arabs responsible for displaced gazans and their refugee status! 20:17  |  Avram 29/02/08
      33.   Arabs responsibility not Israel Part 2. 20:19  |  Avram 29/02/08
      34.   A rocket-production facility in the Shati refugee camp? 21:03  |  Tom 29/02/08
      35.   Janice 21:03  |  vik 29/02/08
      36.   No. 7 Can anyone name a country 21:10  |  dave duncan 29/02/08
      37.   Of course Palis will say Pali children are the victims 21:32  |  Mark 29/02/08
      38.   Janice #23 - Remember when Israel left Gaza? 21:34  |  Jon 29/02/08
      39.   Britain dealt with terrorists 21:44  |  Janice 29/02/08
      40.   Dave, Do You Recall Rockets Launched From Apartment Buildings? 22:21  |  Tex 29/02/08
      41.   that`s not enough 22:30  |  frenz 29/02/08
      42.   take the children from gaza 22:41  |  frenz 29/02/08
      43.   #2 Patsy. What are you implying? 23:00  |  Maureen Ann 29/02/08
      44.   DAVE DUNCAN 23:42  |  judith 29/02/08
      45.   #32 Dave Duncan; Can anyone name a country 23:43  |  Ian Robertson 29/02/08
      46.   #6 00:08  |  Jane 01/03/08
      47.   Said 00:17  |  Jane 01/03/08
      48.   What it has come to. 00:19  |  Tom 01/03/08
      49.   If one reads the article.... 00:23  |  Tom 01/03/08
      50.   #2 Patsy note the new headline. 00:39  |  Maureen Ann 01/03/08
      51.   vik,negociate with terrorists? 00:40  |  John 01/03/08
      52.   #4 - 100% of rockets are fired at civlians 00:48  |  sammy 01/03/08
      53.   33 Implying that baby was killed by a Kassam that fell short 00:48  |  I 01/03/08
      54.   dave D. US bombers killed higher percentage of civilians 00:53  |  I 01/03/08
      55.   32dave Dunkin, All countries at war killed MORE civilians 00:59  |  Rob 01/03/08
      56.   Expert and his assistant 01:02  |  Baz Mann 01/03/08
      57.   Congrats IDF & IAF! 01:06  |  Analyst 01/03/08
      58.   #38 Tom in Denver 01:06  |  MaryRose 01/03/08
      59.   What`s a 1 Year Old Doing Around Bombmaking? 01:07  |  Jane 01/03/08
      60.   #40 Tom. Nope! 01:11  |  Maureen Ann 01/03/08
      61.   #13 Muhammad Nasser Al-Borey 01:21  |  Aphemia 01/03/08
      62.   There is only one way 01:30  |  rich 01/03/08
      63.   For the clueless Dave Duncan # 32 on civilian casualties in war 01:32  |  Darth Zaider (Ed) 01/03/08
      64.   The concept of martyrdom 01:35  |  rich 01/03/08
      65.   #4Murray of Montreal 01:36  |  Hasan 01/03/08
      66.   #1stephanie taylor 01:38  |  Hasan 01/03/08
      67.   Gearoid and Janice 01:43  |  rich 01/03/08
      68.   Children are not disguised fighters 01:45  |  Dave Duncan 01/03/08
      69.   # 27 Jane 01:46  |  Swiss (Dino) 01/03/08