A four-month-old Palestinian baby became the youngest victim of the ongoing violence in the Middle East yesterday when she was killed by Israeli fire in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
Hours later, Israel announced that it had captured a boat in the Mediterranean which was filled with weaponry, including Katyusha rockets, and which was headed for the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli navy paraded the large arms cache, which also included Strela hand-held anti-aircraft missiles and RPGs. Israeli officials said the weapons could be used to strike deep inside Israel and were a clear sign that the Palestinian Authority of Mr Yasser Arafat planned to step up attacks.
"This leaves no doubt as to which direction they are headed," the Israeli Defence Minister, Mr Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, said, referring to the Palestinian Authority.
Naval officials said the boat was most likely manned by professional Lebanese smugglers, but had been dispatched by Mr Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Palestinian hospital officials reported that the dead baby, identified as Iman Hejjo, was killed by shrapnel after the house she was in was hit by Israeli tank shells. The baby's mother, grandmother and three more children in the extended family were seriously injured.
Twenty people were injured in the attack on Khan Younis. "Baby Iman has become the youngest casualty of the intifada," said a Palestinian minister, Mr Saeb Erekat.
The Israeli army said the assault was in retaliation for the firing yesterday of mortar shells at two Jewish settlements in Gaza. There were no injuries.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, expressed sorrow at the infant's death, insisting that soldiers were not intentionally firing at civilians. "I heard today to my despair that an Arab baby was hurt. I know that, though in the same area mortar bombs were fired today, I am certainly sorry about this matter," he said.
In battles overnight on Sunday on the perimeter of the West Bank city of Tulkarm, Israeli soldiers killed one Palestinian and wounded 10.
A 28-year-old Palestinian was injured last night when he was shot three times in the leg by settlers near Bethlehem.
Speaking earlier yesterday, before the revelations about the capture of the boat, Mr Ben-Eliezer said there had been a significant development regarding the Palestinian Authority's ability to wage its battle against Israel. "My assessment is that in the coming days, perhaps even in the coming hours, you will be facing a reality that you will find difficult to believe," he told his Labour Party at a faction meeting in Israel's parliament. "I am no longer talking about the firing of mortars."
In another allusion to the seizing of the arms cache, Mr Sharon accused the Palestinian Authority of making its "central goal" the procurement of more lethal weapons. There was no immediate Palestinian reaction to the capture of the boat.
In response to the death of the Palestinian infant, Mr Arafat's Fatah movement scheduled an emergency meeting for last night in Gaza. Israel Radio quoted a senior Fatah member as saying that the movement would learn new ways to respond to what he said was escalating Israeli violence.
The US yesterday criticised both Israelis and Palestinians for the recent escalation of violence and called on both to end the fighting. But the State Department spokesman declined to comment on the recent Mitchell report until a final version is released.