Children Among Palestinians Killed

Eight Palestinians, including a baby and two small boys, were killed yesterday during various IDF actions in Gaza and the West Bank. The IDF arrested five Palestinians with explosives belts in a car at Gush Katif, apparently on a suicide bombing mission.

In Hebron the IDF released an award-winning Reuters Palestinian cameraman they had held overnight, but continued to hold another Palestinian Reuters reporter.

Late Tuesday night in Rafah, where 20-month-old Huda Shaluf was killed, IDF forces, including a tank, responded to a large explosion on the road near the Rafah crossing, firing at the suspected bombers and killing one, while the other was arrested.

During the shooting, houses in the Shuka neighborhood about half a kilometer away, where the Shaluf family lives, were hit by four to six shells. The baby was killed in the house. Her father and mother, and four other members of the family, were wounded. An armored force then rolled into the neighborhood, and after it departed, the body of a 25-year-old deaf man was found, apparently crushed by a tank.

About two hours later, an IDF force entered Yibneh refugee camp, searching for underground tunnels used by smugglers from Egypt. They encountered an armed group of men who resisted. During the firefight, three men were killed, two 20-year-olds and a 56-year-old man who was not involved in the fighting.

In another incident, on the West Bank, 11-year-old Abed Ismail was killed by an explosion in the center of the village of Artas, south of Bethlehem, near the police station. According to official Palestinian sources, the IDF had held the building for a number of days during Operation Defensive Shield, but left a few days ago. The IDF said it was not aware of the explosion that killed the boy. The Palestinians also reported yesterday that a 7-year-old boy, Fadel Ajlouni, was killed when a military vehicle hit the car in which he was traveling.

The army meanwhile said it finished leaving Hebron yesterday, but Palestinian sources said that troops remained in the Abu Sneineh area, overlooking the Jewish compound in the heart of the city.

Award-winning Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana was released yesterday in Hebron, after the IDF held him blindfolded and handcuffed in the open air overnight, but another Reuters journalist remained in custody. Troops detained Dana and his soundman, Jussry al-Jamal, on Tuesday afternoon in the West Bank city of Hebron and took them away in an armored vehicle. The IDF said yesterday the two were not carrying proper identification as journalists. Dana said after his release that they had been held in the open air at an army base in close confinement with about 200 other detainees before he was taken away for questioning. He said the questioning appeared superficial and focused on his work as a journalist.

Reuters protested to the Israeli army and the government over the treatment of Dana and Jamal, saying it was in "blatant violation of international standards for conduct toward journalists legitimately doing their jobs ... The episode raises serious questions about the treatment of journalists and respect for media freedoms," wrote Michael Stott, Editor for Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The Foreign Press Association in Israel criticized the treatment of Dana and Jamal, as well as the detention for the past week of Agence France Presse photographer Hossam Abu Alan. The FPA also condemned an Israeli policy under which it has refused to accredit all but a few Palestinian journalists this year. Daniel Seaman, the head of the Government Press Office, has dismissed criticism of the policies, saying they are needed for security reasons.

And in other developments, two wanted men were arrested in Azoun, east of Qalqiliya, two others were arrested in al-Fawer, south of Hebron. In Hizma, north of Jerusalem, two Palestinians were arrested.