Mother, four children killed in terror attack in Gaza [CNN crew tries to
help]

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service 2 APril 2004
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/422652.html

Five members of an Israeli family - a mother and her four children - were
killed Sunday afternoon in a Palestinian shooting attack on their vehicle
while they were traveling on the road that leads to the Gaza Strip
settlement bloc of Gush Katif.

The victims of the attack were identified as mother Tali Hatuel, 34, and her
daughters Hila, 11, Hadar, 9, Roni, 7, and Merav, 2.

Settlers said the family lived in the Katif settlement in central Gaza. The
mother was in her sixth month of pregnancy, Israel Radio reported.

Police said the white Citroen station wagon spun off the road after the
initial shooting, then the attackers approached the vehicle and shot the
occupants at close range.

Another Israeli civilian traveling in a separate car suffered moderate
gunfire wounds in the attack near the Netzer Hazani settlement.

IDF troops were called to the scene and killed the two terrorists. Two
Givati Brigade infantrymen suffered serious and moderate wounds during the
exchange of fire with the gunmen.

An explosive device was detonated near the site of the shooting while the
IDF troops were chasing the terrorists, but it caused no injuries.

The wounded were airlifted by air force helicopter to Soroka Medical Center
in Be'er Sheva.

Israeli tanks moved into the area following the attack, and army bulldozers
reportedly destroyed a number of buildings near the road.

The militant Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella
group, claimed responsibility for the "heroic" attack in a call to The
Associated Press.

The resistance committees said the attack was in response to Israel's recent
assassinations of the founder of the Hamas militant group, Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin, and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi.

"The attack is part of the Palestinian reprisals for the daily crimes
committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people, especially the
killings of Yassin and Rantisi," the group said.

A resident of Gush Katif settlement Kfar Darom said the family was on its
way to campaign against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan.
The attack took place the same day as the party referendum on the pullout
from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz canceled scheduled appearances Sunday and
planned to convene with top security officials to plan a response to the
attack, military sources said.

Likud MK Yuval Steinitz reacted to the attack and said it did not make the
disengagement plan any less necessary.

Likud MK Ehud Yatom said the attack must enhance the fierce opposition to
plan to withdraw and evacuate the settlements from the Gaza Strip.

The attack was the first to kill civilians in Gaza in more than a year.

CNN: Film crew tried to warn family

CNN said the Palestinian terrorists opened fire on one of its film crews
working near Gush Katif in Gaza. The film crew was not wounded because they
were travelling in an armored vehicle, CNN said.

The CNN crew also told Israel Radio that after fleeing the terrorists, they
attempted to warn and stop unsuspecting Israeli civilian vehicles leaving
Gush Katif in the direction of the terrorists. They did not successfully
stop the mother and four daughters who drove past the armored CNN vehicle
and were subsequently gunned down by the terrorists.