One of the Palestinian woman who ringed a mosque in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun fell to the ground after being wounded.
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JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 - Israeli troops fired at a large crowd of unarmed Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip today as the women approached as mosque to help Palestinian militants holed up inside. Two women were killed and about 10 injured, hospitals said, in a shooting that provoked widespread outrage among Palestinians.
The Israeli military said its fire was directed at Palestinian gunmen who were hiding among the women as they marched toward the Um al-Nasir mosque in Beit Hanun, the town in the northeastern Gaza Strip where Israeli troops and militants have been battling for the past three days. The Israelis said eight militants were shot, and it was not aware that women were hit, but was investigating.
Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister, angrily called on the international community to "come here and witness the daily massacres that are being carried out against the Palestinian nation."
Mr. Haniya also praised the women "who led the protest to break the siege of Beit Hanun."
The shooting, which was captured by television cameramen, marked the most dramatic episode in the fighting in Beit Hanun. Israeli forces entered the town early Wednesday in an attempt to stop Palestinian rocket fire coming from the area.
As Israeli forces pursued the militants in the town Thursday, an estimated 60 gunmen dashed inside the Um al-Nasir mosque, initiating a standoff that lasted through the night.
Israeli troops in armored vehicles surrounded the mosque. For several hours, soldiers on loudspeakers called for the militants to surrender, and several did, according to the military. The Israelis also fired tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to force out the gunmen.
Around 3 a.m. today, the gunmen in the mosque began firing on the Israeli soldiers, who shot back, and heavy exchanges ensued, the military said.
The Israeli army called in a armored bulldozer, which tore down one wall of the mosque compound, the military and Palestinian witnesses said.
Early this morning, a Palestinian radio station called on women to march to the mosque to support the gunmen inside. A short time later, hundreds of women, dressed in flowing black abayas and wearing head scarves, headed toward it.
As they approached the mosque, shots rang out, but the women continued marching. A moment later, a number of women were hit, and the crowd scattered. Some of the wailing women turning back, while others kept advancing toward the mosque, climbing over improvised dirt barriers set up by the Israeli forces.
"We heard the call for women to help the fighters, and we decided to go," said Mona Abu Jasir, 37, who was hit by a bullet in the right leg. "We had no weapons, and we were walking toward the mosque when I was shot."
Television footage showed at least one man in the crowd, though there was no indication he had a weapon. The man was shot and fell to the ground, and was surrounded by women until rescue workers arrived.
One marcher, Suhad el-Masri, 28, said she and several of her relatives were carrying abayas — long flowing gowns — and scarves to give to the men.
"We took them so they could disguise themselves as women and escape," said Ms. Masri. Her sister, Hiba Rajab, 20, was shot in both legs and her left arm and sustained serious injuries.
In the ensuing chaos, some women reached the mosque, and the gunmen managed to slip away, the Israeli military and Palestinian witnesses said. It was not clear whether the gunmen dressed as women to facilitate their escape. Shortly after the standoff ended, the roof of the mosque collapsed, apparently from the cumulative damage sustained in the fighting.
Palestinian hospitals identified the two women who were killed as Amna Abu Oudah, 42, and Intissar Ali, 40.
Later in the day, about 1,000 women supporters of Hamas marched outside Egypt's diplomatic mission in Gaza City, denouncing the Israeli actions and calling on Egypt to intervene.
Also in Beit Hanun, two young Palestinian males, ages 15 and 18, were killed by Israeli fire, Palestinian medical workers said. Over the past three days, more than 20 Palestinians have been killed, including militants and civilians, as well as one Israeli soldier.
Also today, Palestinian militants fired several more rockets from northern Gaza into southern Israel, but there was no damage or injuries, the military said. So far, the Israeli incursion has not reduced the rocket fire, which has continued for the past three days.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers arrested the Palestinian minister for housing and public works, Abdel Rahman Zaidan, who belongs to Hamas, the radical Islamic group that leads the Palestinian Authority.
Israel has arrested more than two dozen Palestinian legislators and cabinet ministers from Hamas in the West Bank over the past four months. The crackdown began after Palestinian militants, including those from Hamas, staged a cross-border raid and captured an Israeli soldier, and then took him into Gaza. That event also prompted the Israeli military to return to Gaza, which the army had left in September 2005.
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