Egypt denounces Israeli military offensive on Gaza

June 10, 2006

People's Daily

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit condemned the Israeli bombing of the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, the official MENA news agency reported.

Abul Gheit was quoted as saying that Israel's use of force on the Palestinian territories was totally rejected.

He said that the use of excessive force in the populated area was banned under international law.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya earlier called on the international community, mainly Jordan and Egypt, to halt Israeli aggression.

Eleven Palestinians were killed and 43 others wounded in the Israeli air and naval strikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday, doctors confirmed.

Palestinian security sources said that Israeli naval gunboats fired three shells at the beach of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, killing eight Palestinians and wounding 35 others, six of them in critical conditions.

Witnesses said that seven of those killed at the seaside were from the same family, including women and children.

Source: Xinhua