Gaza suicide blast kills at least 4 Israelis ( 2004-01-14 16:42) (Agencies)
A female Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up Wednesday morning at the
main crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing at least four
people, Israeli officials said.
A
British peace activist going only by the name Alice cries for help as she holds
her hand over the headwound of British peace activist Thomas Hurndall, who
had been shot in the head moments earlier, at the start of a protest,
in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip April 11, 2003. Hurndall died late Tuesday
Jan. 13, 2004 at a hospital in London his family said Wednesday.
[AP]
Another 10 people were injured, one
gravely, according to Israel Radio.
The Erez crossing is the main entry point into Israel for thousands of
Palestinian workers every day.
The explosion happened in the area where laborers and foreigners cross over
the boundary, but there were few Palestinian workers in the area at the time and
all the dead appeared to be Israelis, Israeli officials said.
The army said it did not know on which side of the border the attack took
place.
Palestinian witnesses said a woman waiting to pass through to the Israeli
side blew herself up. The soldiers then forced everyone out and shut down the
crossing after the blast.
The Gaza Strip is surrounded by an Israeli security barrier, and none of the
suicide bombers responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in Israel in
the past three years of violence have come from there. Erez, however, has been
the target of occasional attacks.
The suicide bombing was the first since a Dec. 25 attack at a bus stop
outside Tel Aviv that killed four people.
On Oct. 14 three American security guards were killed in the Gaza Strip just
south of Erez, when a Palestinian set off an explosive device at a passing
diplomatic convoy.
