Gaza militants pledge bloody fight with Israel

Gaza militants pledge bloody fight with Israel
Palestinian militants take cover during a gun battle in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip July 6, 2006. (Oleg Popov/Reuters)

July 6, 2006

By Luke Baker

ATATRAH, Gaza (Reuters) - Palestinian militants battling Israeli troops in the streets of northern Gaza threatened a long and bloody campaign on Thursday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the coastal strip.

"We are ready to fight for as long as it takes and die as martyrs," said a bearded, 25-year-old fighter who gave his name as Abu al-Bara, taking a break from the clashes with Israeli troops, who were sent into northern Gaza to curb rocket fire.

Abu al-Bara said many young men had joined his group, a small faction that is part of the Popular Resistance Committees, and suicide bombers were preparing to carry out attacks.
"We are Muslims, our God will protect us," he said, crouching in an alleyway off the streets of Atatrah with two other uniformed fighters as Israeli helicopters flew above.

At least two militants were killed in Atatrah on Thursday and several others injured, including an armed man who dashed into a house that was hit moments later by a missile fired from an Israeli drone.

A total of 12 Palestinians were killed in the fighting on Thursday. Doctors said at least 8 of them were civilians.

The thud of machine-gun fire echoed across the neighborhood as Israeli troops moved to solidify their hold on ground around three settlements in northern Gaza that they quit last year and parts of the adjacent town of Beit Lahiya.

The operation is designed to stop militants firing rockets into Israel and part of a larger move to rescue an Israeli soldier who was captured by militants nearly two weeks ago.

Around 50 Palestinian fighters, some armed with rocket-propelled grenades and others with assault rifles, could be seen maneuvering through the narrow backstreets of Atatrah as they edged away from Israeli forces.

Some were dressed in black uniforms with baseball caps showing their affiliation, others wore green camouflage trousers with matching bullet-proof vests. Others were in jeans and t-shirts and some were masked.

Followers of three factions -- the Islamist group Hamas, the Fatah movement and the Popular Resistance Committees -- provide the bulk of the fighters, but there are other, smaller factions involved, too, those fighting said.

At the same time, they were quick to point out that there were no ideological differences between them, even though only two weeks ago, before the Israeli soldier, 19-year-old Gilad Shalit, was captured, they were at loggerheads.

"The factions are all together now," said Abu Nameer, another fighter in Atatrah. "We fight as one fist."

Complicating Israel's ability to battle the militants is the fact they are hiding out in civilian areas and are frequently surrounded by gangs of curious boys keen to watch the clashes.

In an effort to try to stem any deeper Israeli advance into Atatrah and Beit Lahiya, militants laid explosives by roadsides on Thursday, covering the detonation wire with sand. Boys were employed to make sure the wire was constantly covered.