Israeli Military Operations - 2002-03-13

Israeli forces have launched their largest military operation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, unprecedented in the recent 18 months of violence. In Gaza, Israeli forces, supported by tank units and helicopter gunships, attacked the Jabalia camp, which is the largest and most populated Palestinian refugee camp. During these attacks that began last night, at least twenty Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured. In another location in Gaza, Israeli soldiers shot dead four Palestinians who were attempting to attack a Jewish settlement. In the West Bank, Israeli forces took control of the important settlement of Ramallah and a refugee camp named 'Amari' near that city. Five Palestinians were killed due to Israeli fire in that area. In northern Israel, armed individuals opened fire on vehicles traveling a few kilometers from the border with Lebanon, killing at least seven Israelis and injuring several others. Israeli soldiers killed two of the attackers and exchanged fire with a third assailant near the settlement of 'Shlomi' and an agricultural complex located a few kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea.