Mother is shot dead by Israeli soldiers

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian woman and wounded three of her children last night as they left their home in southern Gaza's Tel Sultan refugee camp. Palestinian witnesses said they came under machinegun fire from tanks guarding the neighbouring Rafiah Yam Jewish settlement.

Dr Ali Mussa, director of the Rafah hospital near the Egyptian border, told The Independent that the mother, Nahla Akel, 41, was hit in the neck. She died soon after reaching the hospital. Her two sons, aged four and 12, and a 15-year-old daughter were being treated for shrapnel wounds. Their lives were not in danger, Dr Mussa said.

The daughter, Niveen, said they had set out to visit her grandfather. "There was no shooting, no unusual movement by the army," she recounted. "We felt safe. Then suddenly the soldiers started shooting at us."

Israeli military sources said that troops spotted a group of armed men approaching the settlement. They were in a buffer zone Palestinians were barred from entering. The soldiers were said to have identified the infiltrators, then opened fire on them, wounding four. Two others were said to have escaped.

Pressed on how a mother and her children came to be shot, the military sources said they were still checking. One possible explanation, they suggested, was that the family had been hit by bullets that went astray or ricocheted. There was no indication of two separate incidents, though frequent attempts have been made in the past to hit Rafiah Yam and other settlements in the Gush Katif block on the Mediterranean coast.

Palestinian sources, however, denied that the soldiers were exchanging fire with armed intruders. Dr Mussa said no men were brought in for treatment. He and other Palestinians insisted that no clash had taken place.

The shootings came after a roadside bomb wounded two Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese border early yesterday, the first attack against Israeli forces along the frontier in four months. The Israeli army accused the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah, which denied involvement. Though Israel withdrew its forces behind a border drawn by the United Nations, Hizbollah insists that a small section in the eastern sector belongs to Lebanon but was given to Israel. Guerrillas have frequently attacked Israeli forces there.

Israeli forces in Gaza demolished a two-storey Palestinian house, a few hundred yards from the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, Palestinian residents said. The Israeli army did not immediately comment.

The growing tension comes as Israel prepares for next month's election. The Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his hawkish Likud party are likely to win. Yesterday Likud was choosing its candidates for the Knesset. The results could influence not just the make-up of Likud's Knesset faction but also the next cabinet, since the most popular candidates are expected to be awarded the most coveted ministries.