IDF blows up two buildings in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-08-21-israel-gaza_x.htmIsrael blows up Gaza apartments
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (APOnline) — Israeli troops blew up two apartment buildings in a Gaza Strip refugee camp Wednesday, just hours after undercover forces killed the brother of a radical Palestinian leader during an arrest raid in the West Bank.
The Israeli strikes, which came a day after a Hamas sniper killed an Israeli soldier, further undercut shaky attempts to reach a partial truce. However, officials from both sides said Wednesday they were not walking away from the deal.
In the agreement reached earlier this week, Israeli soldiers withdrew from the West Bank town of Bethlehem and were to pull back from positions in Gaza, in exchange for Palestinian efforts to maintain calm in the test areas.
Militant Palestinian groups have rejected the plan and said they would carry out more attacks on Israelis. On Tuesday, a Hamas sniper firing from the Khan Younis refugee camp killed an Israeli soldier guarding nearby Jewish settlements, in what the Islamic militant group said was an attempt to disrupt the truce.
In response, Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopters blew up a five-story and a six-story building in Khan Yunis in what the army said was an operation to prevent gunmen from firing on nearby Jewish settlements. <snip>