Palestinians: Israeli strike in Gaza kills 18

Israelis claim it was a mistake
Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, head of Israel’s southern command, told Channel 2 TV that the initial investigation showed that the target was about 500 yards from the apartment buildings.

“Our estimate is that it was something connected with the aiming devices, or the alignment, or the balance between them, or our radar’s location of the shell hit ... Our investigation is concentrating on these points,” he said.

In Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the “terrible, despicable crime” jeopardized peace prospects. “We tell the Israelis, you are not seeking peace at all, but are destroying all chances for peace. You must therefore bear all the consequences of these crimes,” he told Palestine TV.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas suspended talks with Abbas on forming a coalition government. Abbas, a moderate from the rival Fatah party, urged that negotiations continue. Both men declared a three-day mourning period throughout the West Bank and Gaza and, in a rare gesture, the two visited victims in a Gaza hospital together and each donated blood.

After the explosions, thousands of people, including relatives of the dead, gathered outside Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, where some of the bodies were brought. Many called for revenge.

Hamas: ‘The armed struggle is free to resume’
Mashaal, Hamas’s Syria-based leader, said his group was abandoning a February 2005 truce and would resume attacks, raising the prospect of a new wave of suicide bombings. Scores of Israelis have been killed in attacks by Hamas over the past decade.

“The armed struggle is free to resume, and the resistance is dictated by local circumstances,” he told Al-Jazeera from Damascus.

Since the 2005 cease-fire there has been a sharp drop in violence, although rocket fire and periodic suicide attacks have continued. Hamas, however, has not been involved in any of the suicide bombings. The last Hamas suicide attack was in August 2004.

Hamas militants in Gaza, accusing the U.S. of supporting Israel, urged Muslims around the world to target “the American enemy.”

But Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led government, said the group had no intention of attacking American targets. Israel, he added, “is a state that believes in killing, and therefore this state should cease to exist.”

Worldwide condemnation
The killing of Palestinian civilians in the past has often preceded a sharp escalation of violence. A series of deadly incidents last summer, including a June 9 explosion on a Gaza beach that killed eight civilians, was followed by the capture of an Israeli soldier and an ensuing Israeli invasion of Gaza.

The civilian deaths drew swift condemnations around the world. France and Russia warned of an escalation of hostilities, and the British foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, demanded that Israel “respect its obligation to avoid harming civilians.”

“It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified,” she said in a statement.

The U.N. special envoy to the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, said he was “deeply appalled and shocked.” Jordan, one of three Muslim states with diplomatic ties to Israel, denounced the “heinous massacre.”

Spontaneous demonstrations erupted across Gaza and the West Bank. In the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, thousands called for revenge and chanted, “Death to Israel, death to America.” Black smoke billowed into the skies of northern Gaza as protesters set tires ablaze.

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

Bombs target Iraqi Christians, Shiites Reports: Iran protesters ‘savagely attacked’ Report: Hasan asked about killing GIs in '08 Destination of N. Korean arms cache is murky Captain of famed Exodus refugee ship dies at 86   Ex-President Carter offers apology to Jews   Gates proposes $2 billion for unstable countries Mediator in prisoner swap meets with Hamas in Gaza Ahmadinejad dismisses nuclear deal deadline General: No trials of pregnant soldiers in Iraq Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: