ISRAEL: Israel detains dozens of Palestinians in Gaza raid; Olmert visits Israel's northern command

Israeli forces detain scores of Palestinians after raid in Gaza. While in northern Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meets with military leaders of Israel's Northern command. Israeli troops detained around 80 Palestinians for questioning Tuesday (August 14), an army spokesman said. The 80 men were captured during a raid onto the southern tip of Gaza, Khan Younis. Israeli ground forces backed by military aircraft killed at least two Palestinians during a Gaza Strip incursion Tuesday night. The raid touched off clashes with local gunmen, witnesses and hospital officials said. They said the dead from the raid on the southern Qarara village were a militant and a 40-year-old bystander. Witnesses said at least one other civilian had been killed but this could not immediately be confirmed. An Israeli army spokesman said the operation aimed to uncover a suspected militant tunnel network at the Gazan frontier and prevent cross-border Palestinian rocket fire. Close to Israel's northern border, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with military commanders and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Israeli officials said Olmert was briefed on the status of Hezbollah militants operating in Lebanon, and Syria's military deployment near Israel. Israel went to war against Hezbollah last year, after two Israeli soldiers were abducted by Hezbollah guerillas in Israel, near the border with Lebanon.

ITN Source | August 15, 2007

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