Around the world

Israeli forces kill 8 Palestinians

GAZA CITY — Israeli military forces killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded 25 in an airstrike and a tank-led ground operation Wednesday, the bloodiest day in the Gaza Strip since Israel declared it a "hostile territory."

The Israeli army said the raids were a response to near-daily bombardment of Israeli border towns, including 20 mortar shells and 10 rockets fired Wednesday, and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that "we are moving closer to a broad and complex operation in Gaza" to stop rocket fire.

Israel's designation of Gaza as a "hostile territory" last week was a precursor to the possible cutoff of electricity and other utilities to the coastal strip, which is ruled by the Islamic militants of Hamas.

ISRAEL

Soldier's wife faces Ahmadinejad

JERUSALEM — The wife of an Israeli soldier abducted by Hezbollah confronted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a news conference at the United Nations, urging him to use his influence over the guerrilla group to allow aid workers to see her husband.

In an exchange broadcast on Israeli radio stations Wednesday, Karnit Goldwasser accused the Iranian leader of responsibility for her husband's capture.

"My name is Karnit and I'm the wife of Goldwasser that was kidnapped by Hezbollah to Lebanon more than a year ago and you're responsible for this by your support. I'm asking how come you're not allowing the Red Cross to go to visit them," Goldwasser said at the Tuesday news conference.

Ahmadinejad ignored her, saying "next question."

Goldwasser told Israeli Army Radio on Wednesday that Ahmadinejad was clearly caught off guard. "He was pretty surprised to find me there," she said. "The distance between us was about 2 meters ( 2 yards)."

ITALY

Vatican: John Paul did not refuse care

ROME — A doctor alleged Wednesday that Pope John Paul II violated Catholic teaching against euthanasia by refusing medical care that would have kept him alive longer — a charge immediately dismissed by Vatican officials.

In an article in the Italian journal Micromega, Dr. Lina Pavanelli, an anesthesiologist, questioned why John Paul was fitted with a nasal feeding tube on March 30, 2005, only three days before he died. She said he clearly was in need of artificial nutrition well before then.

John Paul was rushed to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital two times in February 2005 with breathing crises related to his Parkinson's disease; he was released for the last time March 13. He died in his Vatican apartment on April 2, from what the Vatican said was septic shock and cardiocirculatory collapse.

The Vatican announced March 30 that John Paul had been fitted with a nasal feeding straw to improve his nutrition so he could recover strength.

However, Vatican officials said Wednesday that the tube had actually been inserted well before March 30 but that the procedure was only announced on that date — casting doubt on Pavanelli's core argument. They disclosed the information in response to Pavanelli's charges, which they said weren't serious because she had no access to the medical records and based her accusations only on press releases and news reports.