Hamas says didn't mean to target Israeli school bus
Thursday's attack, which critically wounded a teen and moderately wounded a bus driver, has sparked latest round of border fighting; Israel air strikes have killed 17 Gazans thus far as rockets continue to be fired into Israel.
By Haaretz Service and Reuters Tags: Israel news Hamas Benjamin NetanyahuHamas said on Saturday its militants did not intend to target Israeli schoolchildren when they fired a rocket at a bus two days ago, critically wounding a teenager and moderately wounding the bus driver, in an attack that sparked the latest round of border fighting.
"It was not known that the bus targeted on the outskirts of Gaza carried schoolchildren," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, adding that the road where the bus was travelling was often used by Israeli military vehicles.
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Bus damaged by missile strike from Gaza which wounded two people, April 7, 2011. |
| Photo by: Ilan Assayag |
Israel has maintained that the bus, because it was yellow, should have been easy to identify by whoever fired the anti-tank rocket. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Islamist Hamas, which rules Gaza, of "crossing a line".
Two years of low-level skirmishing on the border escalated suddenly last month when Hamas, which rules Gaza, fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. Hamas had largely withheld fire at Israel since a Gaza war of late 2008 in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.
The IDF retaliated to Thursday's rocket fire with strikes in Gaza that day, resulting in the death of five Palestinians.
On Friday, a barrage of rockets and mortar shells was fired at Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip, and one of the shells exploded in a chicken coop in the Eshkol Regional Council in the Negev.
Rockets were fired near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, and the Iron Dome missile defense system was successful at intercepting three of them. One rocket fell in an open area near Ashkelon, and no one was hurt.
Later on Friday, two mortars were fired at a Negev town and two additional mortars exploded in open areas. Although no one was hurt, the mortars exploded near homes and chicken coops, causing damage.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman's office confirmed that IAF jets attacked three top Hamas officials in the Gaza strip, as well as a smuggling tunnel and a truck carrying ammunition, after southern Israel suffered a barrage of rockets overnight.
The early morning air strike brought the two-day death toll from Israel's ongoing retaliation to 17 Gazans - 10 militants, a Hamas policeman and six civilians - amounting to the bloodiest tally since Israel and Hamas wrapped up their three-week-long war more than two years ago.
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when you play with fire you will get burnt.!
they did not mean to?? what a joke from the same people who cheer in the street and pass out candy when children are slaughtered,
but if it were not an accident, Hamas would not be saying it was. Hamas has no problem with being honest and straightforward about their resistance to Israel. Israel claims the kiling of a thousand Palestinian civilians during the Gaza op was an accident. Not only is this untrue, this is an insult to any that Israel would expect to believe it. The Hamas accident involved on team making one shot. The Israeli "accident" involved a whole army making countless shots over a two week period.
Destroy their banks and monetary institutions!
perhaps we can raise money for eyeglasses?
Just like killing of samouni 29 in cast lead, sometimes soldiers make understandable mistakes in difficult conditions, road was known to carry legimate military targets and it could not be expected that the threating four-wheeler was a school bus. No apology necessary. It is a blood libel to slander hamas and to delegimate it. On a bright side hamas did carry a inquiry on itself quickly and in significant degree.
Israeli's are missing their one BIG move... when someone rains terror destruction on you, you can be destroyed by it or defend yourselves...if you defend yourselves it could be passive defense (dig a hole and hide scared) or eliminate the threat by immediate INDEPENDENT individual RESPONSE, just like the present killers in independent JIHADISTS... by ARMING ALL ISRAELI'S with their own rockets and mortars to be used as a RESPONSE...one million INDEPENDENT Israeli's each with a modern accurate and fabulous way to hit back when terror attacked, the personalized (every rocket will have an I.D.#) independent response! response to terrorists. never again, no schalit, no recognition no state!
this way we know which ones to attack
But my real advice is tyo not reposond ti Israel;,s provacations---that is what they are trying to do--so they can resume thweir decades old faux victim claims.
ALL ISRAELI'S OVER THE AGE OF 21 MUST BE GIVEN THEIR OWN MORTARS AND ROCKETS TO SHOOT BACK...homeland self defense is the number one priority of israels gov't. so it must support it's citizens with their own self defense weapons.... imagine 1,000,000 Israeli's shooting back and defending themselves...I for one support self defense...and how about an eye for an eye...arocket for every mortar aimed at Isael a mortar for every Israeli household... what did you expect? a rain umbrella?
Stop rocket attacks so you may survive.
What pathetic disgusting liars
How could anyone believe any statement from hamas, They are polished liars, whitewashed cups full of vile lies parading before the world acting as if they are somehow the ones that are being discriminated against. They are disgusting, loathsome, hateful, hearts full of murder and strife. What more can be said as the world deserves exactly what it is currently receiving because of their treatment of Israel.
atleast they acknowledged they initiated the trouble. but their logic is, as usual ass backwards. now they will whine that they are victims, when retaliation is deeply imbued in their own medieval logic. israel should bomb bus parking lots in Gaza til they get the message.
Forget what the world media says and go in once and for all and remove Hamas. Hezbollah will respond and then we go into Lebanon and take them out. After that we can face Iran one on one!
I have been to many countries that use school buses and the one thing they have in common is that they are easily distinguishable as school buses. This excuse by Hamas has no merit. They know they made a big mistake and are paying the consequences.
I have been to many countries that use school buses and the one thing they have in common is that they are easily distinguishable as school buses. This excuse by Hamas has no merit. They know they made a big mistake.
Now that they are getting banged on their heads,they've changed their tune,First they were bragging that they hit the Yellow bus.but only after they paid a price,they say it was unintentional. Ha ! Ha!. You see that's the way to go with these Zeros !
Oh so sorry for hitting a school bus we only meant to kill civilians over 18 years old. the fact is they know it was not a military vehicle so where is the worlds condemnation of this blatent attack on civillians. or is it ok because hey there were only jews on that bus
Oh so sorry for hitting a school bus we only meant to kill civilians over 18 years old. the fact is they know it was not a military vehicle so where is the worlds condemnation of this blatent attack on civillians. or is it ok because hey there were only jews on that bus