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CNN Live At Daybreak

Israel Retaliates After Shooting, Missile Strike

Aired February 11, 2002 - 06:01   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: There is an escalation in the Middle East with the fourth airstrike by Israeli forces in less than a day.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel is live in Jerusalem with the latest. Jerrold, what can you tell us?

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol -- well, a major Israeli airstrike over the last hour taking place in Gaza City at the main hub, the main urban hub in Gaza. Israeli Apache helicopters shooting missiles into the Suraya Complex (ph). Now that's the main security and prison headquarters in the heart of Gaza City. The major explosions there, and as the police, security officials, firemen were dealing with the results of those explosions caused by the missile strikes by the Israeli helicopters, Israeli warplanes also delivering their payload down on those -- on that same complex in the heart of Gaza City.

The early reports of casualties speak of several Gaza people being wounded, none seriously according to the initial report. Mostly suffering from shrapnel damage and people also from anxiety as this Israeli -- major Israeli bombardment took place within the last hour or so. This was the fourth Israeli airstrike into Gaza City in the last half a day, and it is indeed clearly the most elaborate and most serious.

Now the Israelis have just put out to the Israeli military commanders, just put out a statement from -- about this air attack, saying specifically it was in response to the firing of what is called the Qassam 2 missile from Gaza into Southern Israel yesterday. This is a homemade device developed by the Hamas, the militant Islamic group and the one missile that was fired landed in Israel landed harmlessly in a field causing no injuries or casualties. But the fact that it has a range of up to eight kilometers, that's about five, five and a half miles has led the Israelis to warn in the past that the firing of such missiles particularly into residential and main urban complexes into Israel would lead Israel to respond very ferociously indeed.

While the Israelis, even though that attack did not result in any casualties or damage yesterday, certainly struck back and have struck at this major complex in the heart of Gaza. Now in addition to the fact that there have been casualties, this is a complex, a security complex who are housing a number of prisons in Gaza, and we understand that many prisoners have been released. We are getting reports that this was done deliberately by the Palestinian authority after the attack on that prison complex, on that security complex, but it's not clear because there were a large of Palestinians demanding the release of prisoners after the Israeli airstrike.

Now we have been trying to get in touch with the chief United Nations envoy to the region, Terje Roed-Larsen who's down in Gaza at the U.N. headquarters, which is not far away from there. In fact, in the previous Israeli airstrike last night, the U.N. complex also sustained collateral damage and two of the U.N. officials were wounded. I am trying to see if we do have Mr. Larsen on the line -- no we don't have him at this stage. We shall try to be speaking to him later. For now, it's back to you Carol as this volatile situation becomes perhaps even more volatile.

COSTELLO: Oh yes, well we'll check back with you. Thank you. Jerrold Kessel reporting live for us from Jerusalem this morning.

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