Israeli Missile Hits Hospital Chapel
Israeli attack helicopters fired 11 missiles at Gaza City early Friday, hitting a hospital chapel and several metal workshops. Islamic militants retaliated by firing three crude rockets at an Israeli desert town.
In the West Bank on Friday, troops killed a Palestinian mother and her son in unclear circumstances. An army spokesman said one of them fired on an army outpost with a handgun. The army said both were found to be carrying an assault rifle, grenades and a bomb and were on their way to carry out a suicide attack when they were spotted by soldiers.
Neighbors said the mother and son set out along a dirt path to avoid a military checkpoint on their way into Nablus to buy groceries. Some spoke about the woman's grief and desire to avenge the killing of one of her other sons, a militant member of Islamic Jihad, by Israeli forces two months ago.
The missile attack on Gaza was launched hours after Palestinian gunmen killed three Israeli soldiers in a West Bank ambush. One missile overshot the target and hit an Anglican church building. Four Palestinians were wounded in the raids.
"This is an act of terrorism against our church," said Anglican Church Bishop Riah Abu Assal. "Its location next to the hospital is well known. There is no room for mistakes, and they (Israeli military officials) didn't even bother to issue a statement to express their regret."
The military had no comment on the damage to the chapel, but said the workshops were targeted because they made weapons. Palestinians said six people were wounded, though none of the 40 patients at the hospital were harmed.
A merchant living near the hospital compound — which includes a free clinic for refugees, a nursing school and an emergency ward — said he watched from his window as the missile struck.
"I saw a big flame coming from the sky toward me and getting very close," said Fuad Awad, 52, standing near to the smoking chapel in his pajamas. "I ran from the window and lay on the floor next to my bed and heard an explosion that shook my house."
Also in Gaza City, soldiers destroyed the house of a Hezbollah activist killed two years ago in a clash with soldiers, the army said. Troops also arrested two Palestinians, including a colonel in the Palestinian security services, and destroyed a tunnel used for weapons smuggling near the town of Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Early Friday, three short-range Qassam rockets fired from Gaza landed in the small Israeli town of Sderot, about 3 miles from the Gaza fence. The town of about 25,000 people, the largest population center within striking distance of the short-range projectiles, has been hit in several other attacks during more than two years of fighting.
School children in the town were taken to underground shelters, Israel Radio said.
One of the rockets left a hole the size of a truck tire in the yard of a home and lightly injured a woman hanging laundry, said police spokeswoman Michal Chaim. Two other rockets landed in a field near a swimming pool.
Hezbollah's al-Manar television reported that Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
The latest flareup came just five days before Israel's general election, which is expected to give hardline Prime Minister Ariel Sharon another term.
Visiting Sderot, Sharon said: "The people here are confident and have strong endurance to bear difficult situations. We haven't lost hope and even in this situation, we will prevail."
Meanwhile, Israel's dovish Labor party leader Amram Mitzna visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem Friday, Judaism's holiest site. He placed a note in the cracks of the wall, an age-old tradition of seeking divine intervention. That's just what Mitzna needs, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger, because he's way behind in the polls. Mitzna says he is not a believer, but when the chips are down, a trip to the Wall never hurts. As one Labor official standing next to Mitzna put it, "miracles can happen."
In the election campaign, Sharon is running on a platform of harsh military reprisals against Palestinians in response to violent incidents. He is favored over his dovish opponent, Amram Mitzna, who calls for a resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians and withdrawal from most of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip.
In the past, Palestinian attacks on the eve of Israeli elections have helped hard-line parties like Sharon's Likud, galvanizing Israeli fears of terror attacks and desires for reprisals.
What Israelis want is peace and security, CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier, but in the current environment, few think any political party can deliver.
The Comet family moved to Israel from Manhattan more than five years ago. In New York, they voted for the man who was toughest on criminals, former mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
That's what they want in Israel.
"I remember living on the Upper West Side with Rudy Giuliani, and what he did was improve the quality of our life, and that's what I'm praying for," said Michelle Comet.
"We have to elect a party that's going to protect us, to the best of an imperfect situation," added Joel Comet.
But will the elections bring change?
"I think basically, it's probably going to be more of the same," said Joel.
Palestinian factions were meeting Friday to discuss a cease-fire with Israel.
Egypt summoned all Palestinian factions to Cairo, including Islamic militants, in an attempt to broker an agreement to halt attacks on Israelis. The meeting underscores an ongoing debate among Palestinians: Some believe terrorist attacks are counterproductive, while extremists vow to continue the armed struggle. The talks have little chance of success, because even if a cease-fire is reached, the Palestinian Authority cannot enforce it, because it has lost control of militant groups.