http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2556733.stm

Sunday, 8 December, 2002, 19:03 GMT

Woman shot dead in Gaza

Friday's killings sparked Palestinian rage
Israeli troops have killed a Palestinian woman and
wounded three of her children as they were walking
through a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian
sources say.

Palestinian witnesses said Nahla Aqel, 41, her teenage
daughter and two young sons were walking to their
home in Rafah when Israeli soldiers opened fire from a
position nearby.

The circumstances of the
shooting were not
immediately clear and the
army said it was checking
the report.

In a separate incident, the
army said it had fired on
armed Palestinians trying
to enter the Jewish
settlement of Rafiah Yam
nearby. There are no
details on casualties.

But a Palestinian witness
quoted by the Associated
Press news agency said
Israeli soldiers had opened fire at the Tel Sultan
refugee camp.

"The woman and her family were walking in the middle
of the street, and I saw her fall, and blood covering her
body, and not far from her, the two children also fell,"
Samir Abu Shahin said.

Israel has stepped up its military raids in the Gaza Strip
in the past few weeks, saying it is seeking out
Palestinian militants.

Al-Qaeda allegations

Early on Friday, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians in
the al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

There is ongoing controversy about how many of
Friday's victims were unarmed civilians.

They included two United
Nations workers and
prompted UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan to
condemn the killings and
urge the Israeli army to
exercise greater restraint.

Israel said at least five of
those killed were members
of Hamas and the group
itself issued a statement
saying six of its people
died in the raid, including
two from its military wing.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon said
that members of Osama
Bin Laden's al-Qaeda
terror network were at work
in the Gaza Strip, aiming to attack Israel.

But officials from the Palestinian Authority accused the
Israeli spy agency Mossad of setting up a fake
al-Qaeda terrorist cell in Gaza.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said that Israel had set
up the mock cell in order to justify attacks in Palestinian
areas.