Israeli army gets rights criticism

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM -- Israeli soldiers fired indiscriminately and without justification at civilians and paramedics in the Gaza Strip this week and apparently used illegal anti-personnel shells in the incident, an Israeli human rights group said Wednesday.

The Israeli fire left three Palestinian civilians dead and four wounded, including children, ages 4, 11 and 16. One of the dead was a 17-year-old girl.

The Israeli military had no comment on the report by the Betselem group which sent a fieldworker to take statements from survivors. Betselem said it suspects so-called Flechette tank shells were used. They are packed with darts for greater deadliness.