Two Palestinians were killed as Israel pounded Gaza with fresh air raids yesterday. Ten people were wounded including three babies, in IsraelÂ’s campaign to retrieve a captured soldier. | and hold Hamas accountable for its actions. |
Firefighters were searching for bodies among the ruins of the building in Gaza City — which was demolished, with a huge crater dug out by the blast — according to an AFP correspondent. An Israeli Army spokeswoman said the building was being used as a rocket factory and ammunitions depot by members of the ruling group Hamas, and that Hamas members were inside at the time. “The powerful blast that occurred afterward could have been caused by the explosion of ammunition stashed inside the building,” she said. The building belonged to a Hamas member, a professor at the Islamic University in Gaza, although he did not live on the premises.
Some neighbors said the building now served as a shop selling wood for construction work, although others said it was used as a “secret meeting place” for various groups. Armed members of Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, swarmed around the building after the attack, pushing journalists away.
| As meeting places go, it doesn't seem to have been all that secret. |