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CNN Sunday Morning

Israel Retaliates to Palestinian Terror Attacks

Aired March 10, 2002 - 08:06   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the explosive situation in the Middle East, Israel is launching retaliatory attacks, after a pair of deadly Palestinian terror attacks yesterday. With the latest from Jerusalem, our Senior International Correspondent Sheila MacVicar brings us up to date -- hello, Sheila.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra.

Well after a week that Israelis describe as the "darkest week," after one single day Friday described by Palestinians and Arabs as "black Friday," more violence last night here in Jerusalem. A suicide bomber exploded his bomb inside a popular cafe. A cafe just yards from the Prime Minister's residence here in the city. Eleven Israelis were killed. The suicide bomber also, obviously, and many dozens were wounded.

Now this is a cafe in the plain part of the city, where there was obviously a high security presence. A place that many Israelis had though would be safe. And because many Israelis have left the center of the city, it was especially crowded last night.

Earlier in the evening, in the coastal city of Netanya, Palestinian gunmen opened fire there on a wedding party, killing two Israelis, one of them a nine-month-old baby. Now that was the violence last night against Israelis. Overnight there has been a major Israeli strike against the headquarters of Yasser Arafat. His seaside headquarters in Gaza, where he had received many influential visitors, many diplomats, even heads of state have come to meet with him there. It has been completely reduced by rubble -- to rubble as a result of the Israeli attack launched by Israeli gunboats firing off the coast and by missiles fired by Apache helicopters.

That's the situation we're in right now, Kyra. The situation that General Zinni will find when he arrives in the region later on today. Of course, we've got the Israeli cabinet meeting today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Sheila MacVicar. Thank you very much.

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