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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israel Launched Five Airstrikes in Gaza

Aired October 21, 2003 - 06:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting for the next round. We're going to talk about Israel now, because Israel launched five attacks in Gaza in the last 24 hours. A dozen people died.
Let's go live to Jerusalem now and Jerrold Kessel.

There are already vows of revenge -- Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed there are, Carol. But the Israeli army is saying, even as Israel braces for the possibility that the Palestinian militant groups will, as they declare, avenge themselves for the Israeli air actions, the Israeli military is saying it will continue its campaign to try to forestall actions by the Palestinian militant groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

This, as the Palestinian leadership Yasser Arafat appealing today to the international community to stop what he called this military madness, to stop the Israeli air attacks in Gaza.

And there were a slew of attacks yesterday, which have left Palestinians angry, very angry, and Israelis questioning about the efficacy and indeed the morality of the actions undertaken by its air force yesterday. We saw five attacks in all, some against what the Israelis call laboratories, weapons laboratories, weapons stores used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and also forestalling attacks by Palestinian militants aimed at Israelis.

Altogether, 12 Palestinians killed and around 100 wounded in those five airstrikes, the most controversial coming after nightfall near the refugee camp of Nuseraf (ph) in the central part of Gaza. The Israelis say they intercepted two men who were trying to launch an attack against Israel or were preparing to do so. They killed them from the air. Then, they pursued a car, which had moved away from that scene where there were other Hamas men inside, the Israelis say. Military helicopters fired one missile.

And the most controversial aspect of the Israeli actions yesterday, another missile was fired shortly after that first missile, when a crowd had gathered around the car containing the militants in it, and that's when most of the casualties happened late yesterday. The Palestinians are saying a doctor was among those who were killed, as he was tending the wounded from the first missile strike.

So, all together, a good deal of anger. And as the Palestinians bury their dead today, the Israelis are bracing for the possibility that Hamas will try to strike back in revenge or to get by the Israeli preemptive actions. A good deal of anger and a good deal of tension building up once again -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. Should I even bring up the road map to peace?

KESSEL: Well, it doesn’t look like anybody else is doing so. In fact, you get the strongest indication from that that the United States has indicated that the man who they've sent out to oversee the implementation that the two sides were supposed to do in their part of the bargaining -- of the bargain in the road map, John Wolfe, is not for the moment coming back with his team of observers to the area.

So, that's an indication that the United States is kind of accepting that the road map is not, as Israel's opposition leader, Shimon Peres, said yesterday, not alive at all. All he could see were accidents on that road to peace. It is a very, very gloomy picture in terms of the diplomatic option at the moment -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired October 21, 2003 - 06:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting for the next round. We're going to talk about Israel now, because Israel launched five attacks in Gaza in the last 24 hours. A dozen people died.
Let's go live to Jerusalem now and Jerrold Kessel.

There are already vows of revenge -- Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed there are, Carol. But the Israeli army is saying, even as Israel braces for the possibility that the Palestinian militant groups will, as they declare, avenge themselves for the Israeli air actions, the Israeli military is saying it will continue its campaign to try to forestall actions by the Palestinian militant groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

This, as the Palestinian leadership Yasser Arafat appealing today to the international community to stop what he called this military madness, to stop the Israeli air attacks in Gaza.

And there were a slew of attacks yesterday, which have left Palestinians angry, very angry, and Israelis questioning about the efficacy and indeed the morality of the actions undertaken by its air force yesterday. We saw five attacks in all, some against what the Israelis call laboratories, weapons laboratories, weapons stores used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and also forestalling attacks by Palestinian militants aimed at Israelis.

Altogether, 12 Palestinians killed and around 100 wounded in those five airstrikes, the most controversial coming after nightfall near the refugee camp of Nuseraf (ph) in the central part of Gaza. The Israelis say they intercepted two men who were trying to launch an attack against Israel or were preparing to do so. They killed them from the air. Then, they pursued a car, which had moved away from that scene where there were other Hamas men inside, the Israelis say. Military helicopters fired one missile.

And the most controversial aspect of the Israeli actions yesterday, another missile was fired shortly after that first missile, when a crowd had gathered around the car containing the militants in it, and that's when most of the casualties happened late yesterday. The Palestinians are saying a doctor was among those who were killed, as he was tending the wounded from the first missile strike.

So, all together, a good deal of anger. And as the Palestinians bury their dead today, the Israelis are bracing for the possibility that Hamas will try to strike back in revenge or to get by the Israeli preemptive actions. A good deal of anger and a good deal of tension building up once again -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. Should I even bring up the road map to peace?

KESSEL: Well, it doesn’t look like anybody else is doing so. In fact, you get the strongest indication from that that the United States has indicated that the man who they've sent out to oversee the implementation that the two sides were supposed to do in their part of the bargaining -- of the bargain in the road map, John Wolfe, is not for the moment coming back with his team of observers to the area.

So, that's an indication that the United States is kind of accepting that the road map is not, as Israel's opposition leader, Shimon Peres, said yesterday, not alive at all. All he could see were accidents on that road to peace. It is a very, very gloomy picture in terms of the diplomatic option at the moment -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jerrold Kessel live from Jerusalem this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.