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May 2, 2004
Mother, 4 daughters, killed in Gaza shooting attack
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
A pregnant mother and her four daughters were shot dead Sunday after two terrorists opened fire at Israeli cars traveling near the Kissufim Crossing at the entrance to the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip.
The dead were identified as Tali Hatuel, 34, eight months pregnant and her daughters Hila, 11, Hadar, 9, Roni, 7, Merav, 2 all from the settlement of Katif. Details of the funerals have yet to be finalized
Two soldiers and an Israeli civilian were also wounded in the attack and were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheba.
The IDF said that both of the gunmen, who arrived at the area by car, were killed in an ensuing firefight.
The militant Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group, claimed responsibility for the "heroic" attack in a call to The Associated Press.
Police said the white Citroen station wagon, carrying the family, spun off the road after the initial shooting, then the attackers approached the vehicle and shot the occupants at close range.
The car was riddled with bullets, and the carpet inside was stained with blood. Israel Radio reported the mother had been on her way to protest against Sharon’s Gaza withdrawal plan. On the car was a bumper sticker saying, "Uprooting the settlements, victory for terror."
The terrorists arrived by car from the nearby Palestinian village of Dir al Ballah and began to fire at passing Israeli vehicles, consequently killing the mother and her four children. Another Israeli traveling in the opposite direction, was also wounded.
An IDF jeep arrived at the scene and engaged in gunfire with the gunmen, killing them. During the gun battle an explosion took place but it was still unclear whether it was caused by a grenade or by a bomb.
OC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Dan Harel told reporters that the shooting was the first attack in which civilians who use the Kissufim Road were hurt in the past 18 months and noted that just days ago several hundred meters away a terrorist driving in a car rigged with 300 kilograms of explosives blew up near IDF soldiers wounding three.
"We’ll have to do more to give an answer to the terror attacks," he said.
Speaking to reporters at the Kissufim crossing, Harel said soldiers manning positions on the side of the road shot the terrorists hitting one on the south side of the road and the second on the north side. The company commander with extra forces reached the site and shot and killed them. "We will investigate the incident and draw the necessary conclusions and I hope that it will be the last time Israeli civilians and soldiers are harmed," he said.
The terror groups said the attack was in response to Israel’s recent assassinations of the founder of the Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
"The attack is part of the Palestinian reprisals for the daily crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people, especially the killings of Yassin and Rantisi," the group said.
Two soldiers were wounded during the gun battle and were airlifted to Soroka hospital in Be’er Sheva together with the Israeli civilian.
A CNN crew which was driving in two vehicles before the car carrying the mother and her four children was hit by the first round of bullets and stopped on the road trying to prevent other cars from proceeding into the gunmen’s line of fire.
Following the attack, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz canceled his participation in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Center of Human Dignity Museum of Tolerance, sponsored by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in Jerusalem Sunday.
Settler leaders said that the attack proves that Likud members must vote against the disengagement plan in order not to give a prize to terrorists.
"People have to look us in the eyes and not throw us out of our houses,‘ Avner Shimoni, a Gaza settler leader, told Army Radio. ’We paid a very heavy price today."
Meanwhile Sunday, the Likud referendum on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan opened at 8 AM with polls to close at 10 PM. Final results will be announced at 2AM Monday.
443 polls have been set up for the 193, 000 card-carrying Likud members who are eligible to vote. Roughly 1, 300 security guards and police will secure the proceedings throughout the country. 176 lawyers have been tasked with overseeing the vote’s legality.
Matthew Gutman contributed to the report.
In Memoriam
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