04 October 2004	Monday	18 Shaban 1425

TEHRAN, Oct 3: Iran on Sunday accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and called for international intervention to halt the latest operation as a senior Palestinian leader hit out at the world's silence over the bloody incursion.

"The genocide of Palestinians and violations of international laws by the Israelis means that action from the international community is needed to defend the defenceless people of Palestine," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying.

"The brutal slaughter of innocent people in the Gaza Strip has further exposed the inhuman nature of the Zionist regime's leaders to the public," he said. Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat said the lack of international reaction to the Israeli onslaught of the Gaza Strip was encouraging Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to continue the vast operation.

"The absence of international reaction is encouraging Ariel Sharon to assert that the operation will continue, although the situation is getting worse and the Palestinian people are enduring massacres," he said.

Over 60 people have been killed - most of them Palestinians - since nearly 100 tanks backed by aircraft moved into the northern Gaza Strip in an operation called "Days of Penitence".

The US has failed to condemn its closest Middle East ally for the massive raids, saying that Israel had a right to defend itself, but "noted with regret reports of civilian casualties" sustained in the operation.

Washington on Friday called on Israel to use "only proportional force" in its ongoing military operations in Gaza and urged the Jewish state to avoid civilian casualties. -AFP