The Israeli army on Tuesday killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded 45 in ground and air raids on Gaza City. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel’s operation which took place on the day after Palestinian-Israeli teams began negotiations on a peace deal.

“There was a massacre against our people, and we say to the world that our people will not remain silent about such crimes,” Abbas stated. “It is impossible to bring peace under these circumstances.”

Clashes commenced late Monday when Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopters entered the eastern sector of the city of a million people.

Among the fatalities was the son of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, the last surviving Hamas founder. A hardliner, he served as foreign minister in the government formed by the movement in 2006. Husam Zahar, 24, who took part in the defence of the city, was the Hamas leader’s second son to be killed by Israel. The elder, Khaled was slain and Zahar was wounded seriously when the Israeli air force bombed the family home in 2003.

Dr Moaiya Hassanain of the Health Ministry said many of the dead and wounded had lost limbs, prompting speculation that Israel was using tank-fired flechette shells, an anti-personnel device that fires thousands of metal darts. Its use in populated areas is deemed a war crime by human rights organisations.

In retaliation

Hamas shot 17 missiles into Israel and a Palestinian sniper fired through the border fence, killing a volunteer from Ecuador who was working in a field near an Israeli communal farm. Israel claimed the operation was launched to halt daily rocket attacks on its southern cities. Although Palestinians have lobbed thousands of crude missiles into Israel since 2000, they have largely fallen on open ground and only seven Israelis have been killed.

Zahar said the raid was “one of the results of the Bush visit. “He encouraged the Israelis to kill our people. We will respond to them in the appropriate way.” He condemned as collaborators members of the Palestinian Authority and Arab rulers for meeting with George W Bush.