JERUSALEM: The Israeli army admitted on Wednesday that troops killed the three daughters of a Palestinian doctor during the Gaza war, mistaking them for spotters directing Hamas fire.A probe of the January 16 incident "found that two shells were fired from an IDF (army) tank resulting in the deaths of Dr (Ezzedine Abu) al-Eish's three daughters," the military said in a statement. It said a unit of the Golani Infantry Brigade came under sniper and mortar fire in an area filled with improvised explosive devices. "The force identified and located the source of fire from a house adjacent to that of the doctor's, and in response opened fire," the military said. The troops also fired at "suspicious figures" on the upper level of Abu al-Eish's house they thought were "spotters who directed the Hamas sniper and mortar fire." "It is from this fire, that the three daughters of Dr Abu al-Eish were killed," the statement said. "Following the opening of fire, screams were heard from the direction of the house and immediately the IDF force ceased all fire. Only later was it understood that this was in fact the house of Dr Abu al-Eish. "When contact was made with the doctor, the IDF force operated in order to allow for ambulances to evacuate the injured via the Erez crossing for immediate emergency medical treatment in Israel." The military said it had repeatedly contacted the doctor before the incident, urging him to evacuate his home "because of Hamas operations and the intense fighting that was already taking place in that area for several days."
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
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