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American Morning
Mideast Violence Escalates
Aired June 13, 2003 - 07:06 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: To the Middle East again now, where more than three dozen people killed in two days, and vows of more violence yet again possibly today, perhaps this weekend in the Middle East. Israeli missiles struck a car in Gaza City yesterday, killing a senior Hamas leader and six others, including the man's wife and young daughter. The war of words also heating up yet again.
Live to Gaza City and Kelly Wallace for more there.
Kelly -- hello.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
Well, thousands of Palestinians are on the streets for funerals for those seven people killed yesterday. And Palestinians we've been talking to all morning say they are very angry after five airstrikes in just three days, and they are accusing Israel of targeting innocent civilians.
Now, Israel is rejecting those charges. The Israeli military, in fact, issued a statement last night expressing regret for the deaths of the Hamas commander's family members. A security source telling me that the army received faulty or inaccurate information and that the military did not know that the commander's family members were inside the car at the time.
Now, Israeli officials say they are going to continue to go after Hamas -- quote -- "forcefully," and they say -- or one aide is calling this an "all-out war."
Hamas, for its part, is saying that Jerusalem suicide bus bombing on Wednesday, which left 17 people dead and dozens and dozens injured, is just the beginning. In fact, Hamas issued a leaflet yesterday to news organizations warning foreigners, encouraging them to leave Israel to protect themselves from upcoming attacks.
And on this day, more funerals as well in Israel as some of those 17 victims are laid to rest, the ages ranging from a 19-year-old young woman to many men and women in their 60s.
A big question now is: What role can the U.S. play, if any, right now to try and stop this cycle of attacks and counterattacks. The Palestinians we've been talking to say they believe the U.S. should be putting pressure on Israel to stop its military actions here in the Gaza Strip. Israel officials say the pressure should be on the Palestinian Authority and on Arab leaders to convince Hamas to stop its attacks against Israelis. The new point man for the U.S. in this region, Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf, is expected to arrive this weekend. And, Bill, he faces an enormous challenge, trying to resuscitate a road map that many people in this region believe is currently dead -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly Wallace live in Gaza.
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 June 13, 2003 - 07:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: To the Middle East again now, where more than three dozen people killed in two days, and vows of more violence yet again possibly today, perhaps this weekend in the Middle East. Israeli missiles struck a car in Gaza City yesterday, killing a senior Hamas leader and six others, including the man's wife and young daughter. The war of words also heating up yet again.
Live to Gaza City and Kelly Wallace for more there.
Kelly -- hello.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
Well, thousands of Palestinians are on the streets for funerals for those seven people killed yesterday. And Palestinians we've been talking to all morning say they are very angry after five airstrikes in just three days, and they are accusing Israel of targeting innocent civilians.
Now, Israel is rejecting those charges. The Israeli military, in fact, issued a statement last night expressing regret for the deaths of the Hamas commander's family members. A security source telling me that the army received faulty or inaccurate information and that the military did not know that the commander's family members were inside the car at the time.
Now, Israeli officials say they are going to continue to go after Hamas -- quote -- "forcefully," and they say -- or one aide is calling this an "all-out war."
Hamas, for its part, is saying that Jerusalem suicide bus bombing on Wednesday, which left 17 people dead and dozens and dozens injured, is just the beginning. In fact, Hamas issued a leaflet yesterday to news organizations warning foreigners, encouraging them to leave Israel to protect themselves from upcoming attacks.
And on this day, more funerals as well in Israel as some of those 17 victims are laid to rest, the ages ranging from a 19-year-old young woman to many men and women in their 60s.
A big question now is: What role can the U.S. play, if any, right now to try and stop this cycle of attacks and counterattacks. The Palestinians we've been talking to say they believe the U.S. should be putting pressure on Israel to stop its military actions here in the Gaza Strip. Israel officials say the pressure should be on the Palestinian Authority and on Arab leaders to convince Hamas to stop its attacks against Israelis. The new point man for the U.S. in this region, Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf, is expected to arrive this weekend. And, Bill, he faces an enormous challenge, trying to resuscitate a road map that many people in this region believe is currently dead -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly Wallace live in Gaza.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
