ITALIAN PLANES RAID TEL AVIV

Southland Times, Issue 24229, 12 September 1940, Page 7

ITALIAN PLANES RAID TEL AVIV

AMERICANS AMONG CIVILIANS KILLED (United Press Association—Telegraph Copyright) (Received September 11, 9 p.m.) CAIRO, September 10. An army communique states that many civilians, including five Arab children, were killed when Italian planes raided Tel Aviv and the adjoining area, bombing indiscriminately far from military objectives. A number of houses was destroyed. Fires were quickly controlled. The Palestine wireless announced that 150 persons, including some Americans, are believed to have been killed. t ■ ■ The Rome radio announced that Italian planes had bombed Jaffa, an Arab town which has no military objectives, but in reality they bombed Tel Aviv, the Jewish town next door. To complete their mistake, the Italians showered leaflets in Arabic on Tel Aviv. In Cairo it was remarked that Italy had broken her word not to attack the Arabs. Mussolini always held that the Arabs could be turned against Britain and spared no pains to achieve this result, but he has failed. Italy’s use of German methods of terrorism has not made a good impression on the Arabs as was shown when the Jewish Mayor of Tel Aviv received messages of condolence from Arab leaders throughout Palestine.

Italian planes raided Mersa Matruh, where slight damage was done, but no casualties resulted. A British patrol successfully encountered a party of Banda (native levies) at El Katulo, on the northern frontier of Kenya. A communique issued by the Royal Air Force states that British bombers on Monday successfully attacked aerodromes and harbours in eastern Libya. Two grounded enemy planes were destroyed by direct hits when the Derna aerodrome was raided. In the El Gazalla,' Boma and Eltini areas bombs fell among planes on slipways. Columns of smoke 1500 feet high followed explosions after an attack on objectives in the Tobruk, El Gabbi and El Aden areas. All the planes returned from all the operations. Enemy bombers raided Sidi Barrani on Monday. There were no casualties. The Royal Air Force

attacked Dessie, where military buildings were destroyed. Enemy fighters unsuccessfully attempted to intercept them. Assab, Massawa, Asmara, the Abdel Kader Peninsula and Metemme were all raided. One Caproni was shot down.

The activities of the Italian Armistice Commission have caused discontent in Syria. The people are alarmed and an Italian colonel was attacked in a square in Beirut by a crowd. General de Larminat, formerly Chief of Staff of the French Army in the Middle East and now General de Gaulle’s representative in French Equatorial'Africa, has appealed to Frenchmen in Syria to take action. It is reported that the Italians want to disarm and demobilize the French Colonial Army and to take over the air bases, leaving Syria at the mercy of any force from the Dodecanese Islands.