Mideast violence: Funeral for Beit Hanoun tragedy victims

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-10-2006 14:30

A funeral has been held in the Gaza border town of Beit Hanoun for the 18 civilians killed in what was believed to be the deadliest single Israeli attack on Palestinians in four years. The dead were all members of the same extended family, and included eight children. RECAPE THE STORY>>

Anger and grief are raging across the Palestinian territory.

A day after the tragedy, the bodies of the 18 family members were brought back from hospital morgues to their home for the funeral.

A local cemetery under construction was hastily opened to accommodate the victims. No other cemetery in town seems to be spacious enough to allow them to be buried together.

Palestinian leaders declared three days of mourning.

Solidarity seems to be the most important thing in the face of the tragedy. For the first time in months, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas' exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal spoke to each other on Thursday. Many view the talks as a sign that the rivals are close to forming a coalition government.

Israeli leaders say the incident was caused by a technical failure.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "This is certainly not the policy of Israel, this is not the objective of the government of Israel, and this is tragic and we are very sad about it, and we deeply regret it."

But the apology can hardly be a consolation for the Palestinians. Olmert said Israel will do everything possible to avoid similar mistakes. But he maintained the military operations in Gaza will continue as long as Palestinian rocket attacks persisted.

Olmert hope to meet with Abbas

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday expressed his hope to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following an Israeli artillery barrage that killed 18 Palestinian civilians by a "technical error."  Full Story >>

Editor:Wang Ping