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American Morning

Israel Launches New Strikes on Major Palestinian Targets in West Bank and Gaza

Aired December 04, 2001 - 08:07   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to go now live to the Middle East. Israel today launched some new strikes on major Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza. CNN's Matthew Chance has a rooftop view of the military assault in Gaza. He joins us now with the very latest -- Matthew, what can you tell us?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Paula. There have been some dramatic developments here in the Middle East, and in the Gaza Strip particularly.

We have this rooftop view overlooking Gaza City itself, a city of more than a million Palestinians and seen over the course of today of some very dramatic airstrikes coming from the Israeli Security Forces on selected targets across the Gaza Strip. It's very -- that contrasts very starkly from the scenes we witnessed earlier -- warplanes and helicopter gunships flying over the Gaza Strip pounding at installations and targets across the territory.

First, according to Palestinian officials, the Office of Preventative Security, a wing of the Palestinian Authority associated with picking, arresting and detaining members of militant Palestinian groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Also one base of the National Guard attacked, again according to Palestinian officials, as well as a base of 417 (ph), Yasser Arafat's personal unit of body guards. Also Yasser Arafat's presidential compound hit for a second successive day by Israeli helicopter gunships -- all of the targets apparently being very closely connected with the Palestinian Authority and with Yasser Arafat personally.

Now, as these airstrikes continue throughout the course of today, pandemonium on the streets of Gaza City, with people running out of their buildings screaming into the streets, trying to see exactly for themselves what the situation was in the skies over Gaza -- also many of them running for cover -- ambulances screaming with their sirens through the streets of Gaza City, ferrying the injured to the hospital.

The latest figures we have on that coming from Palestinian hospital sources are that three people have been killed as a result of the latest round of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian officials are saying some 120 people have been injured. The hospital tells us that they are preparing for the possibility of more airstrikes in the hours ahead -- back to you. ZAHN: And if there are, in fact, more airstrikes, Matthew, what are the likely targets of those?

CHANCE: Well, if the previous targets are anything to go by, then as I mentioned, it does seem that the facilities that are closely associated with Yasser Arafat himself, or with his Palestinian Authority, seem to have been singled out by the Israelis for particular attack. This a very clear message from the Israeli government that they will no longer tolerate what they say is Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians' continuing association with terrorist groups -- Paula.

ZAHN: Matthew Chance, thanks so much for that update.

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