Tens of Israeli tanks, backed by helicopters, moved several kilometers into a town in the southern Gaza Strip and destroyed the houses of two Palestinian militants, Palestinian security sources said. The tanks pushed into the town of Khanun, just north of Khan Yunis, and began demolishing the two houses, which belonged to Palestinians who were recently shot dead by the army while attempting to carry out anti-Israeli attacks, they said, without giving further details.

It was not initially clear which attacks the two men had been involved in, nor what militant groups they belonged to.
The army confirmed there was "an ongoing operation" in the Gaza Strip, but would not give further details.

There were no reports of injuries during the incursion.

Palestinians Run 'Secret Schools'

The children of the Al Qasr neighborhood meanwhile dodge Israeli military patrols on the way to class in a cramped dorm room.

They sit on chairs brought from home or crouch on mattresses. Their teachers have no textbooks, only a blackboard.

The "secret school" in Al Qasr is one of several that have sprung up in mosques, empty factories and apartments in Nablus, the West Bank's largest city, since Israel first imposed a round-the-clock curfew June 21 to prevent Palestinian Resistance activists from attacking Israelis.

With no sign of the restrictions ending, parents and teachers say they do not want children to fall behind in their studies.

Secret schools were common during the first Palestinian uprising in 1987-1993, when Israel closed schools for extended periods, arguing that they were hotbeds of violence. Teaching was sporadic and many Palestinians of that generation have serious gaps in their basic education.

Earlier this week, a group of children from Nablus asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to pressure Israel to lift the restrictions

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian schoolgirls wave their schoolbooks and shout slogans as they demand to return to school during an Israeli imposed curfew in the West Bank city of Nablus, September 16, 2002. Palestinians demonstrated in front of offices of the International committee of the Red Cross in Nablus and delivered a letter demanding a lifting of the Israeli curfew and the reopening of schools. Palestinians have called the curfews collective punishment, while Israel says they are needed for its security. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini
- Sep 16 8:58 AM