Teacher killed and pupils hurt in Israeli missile attack

A 38-year-old teacher died and three 16-year-old pupils were injured on Feb. 7 when an Israeli surface-to-surface missile struck an agricultural school in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, Hamas security forces said. In a separate incident, Israeli ground forces backed by aircraft exchanged fire with Hamas gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip, killing six militants. The Israeli military claimed it opened fire on the militants in retaliation for the firing of five rockets from the area, but denied it had targeted the school. "We definitely did not fire at a school," a military spokeswoman said. The military will investigate whether a stray missile caused the tragedy. The Palestinian education ministry said: "What was the fault of a teacher, an emissary on a sacred mission?" The military spokeswoman confirmed there had been an incursion in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, but said forces withdrew soon after. Residents said at least a dozen tanks accompanied by Israeli aircraft penetrated the fence near Jabalya, sparking the gun battle. The Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, pledged harsher military action should Gaza militants persist with firing rockets at southern Israel. "If the Qassam [rocket] fire continues, we will intensify our activity, and the other side's losses, until we resolve the Qassam rocket problem," he said. The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, criticized both Israel and Hamas for creating an unstable situation on Egypt's border. He blamed Israel for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and for "responding to the Palestinian missiles with collective punishment." But he also warned Palestinians not to breach the Egypt-Gaza border again. "Anyone who violates Egypt's borders will get his leg broken," the foreign minister was quoted as saying. He added that Egypt only allowed the Palestinians to cross the border after Hamas had blown up the wall because of fears over the humanitarian situation. He criticized Hamas for launching rocket attacks. "After Hamas's take over of Gaza, it has decided to clash with Israel, though this clash seems to be a laughable caricature, because clashing with an opponent in battle is supposed to mean damaging them," he said. "You do not go into battle just to damage yourself."