Two Palestinians Killed in Israeli Demolition of Gaza Homes
Two Palestinians, one a toddler, were killed and more than 30 wounded in the Gaza Strip on Sunday when Israeli troops raided a crowded refugee camp and razed houses.

The army demolished two homes that it said concealed arms-smuggling tunnels. The force of the blast leveled the walls of nearby homes, killing a three-year-old boy in one and wounding at least 25 people in others, witnesses said.

Witnesses and Palestinian medics said a 26-year-old local man was also killed by Israeli machinegun fire and five people were wounded in the overnight tank raid into Rafah refugee camp.

Since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in 2000, the army has often raided Rafah in operations it says are aimed at destroying tunnels dug by militants to bring arms and fighters into the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

It said in the latest operation soldiers found one tunnel access point behind a baby's crib and another in a kitchen.

Rafah is a militant stronghold and at least one Israeli army vehicle came under grenade attack during the raid, which the army said was an operation to ``fight terror and the smuggling of weapons in the Gaza Strip.''

Palestinian adviser Nabil Abu Rdainah said the raid was part of a ``dangerous policy and escalation which targets not just the Palestinians but also puts the whole area in danger.''

Israeli diplomatic sources said Washington gave a letter to Israel on Friday criticizing it for not fulfilling promises to ease the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for Palestinians and for Gaza raids in which civilians were killed.

Soldiers also shot dead two Palestinian gunmen as they tried to penetrate the Israeli town of Yevul near the frontier with Egypt. Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in the gunfight.

The infiltration was the first militant action across the Israel-Egypt border in more than a decade. Yevul is a few kilometers south of Israel's boundary with the Gaza Strip, one of the areas where Palestinians are fighting Israeli occupation.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html