Mosque roof falls on militant hideout

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A Gaza mosque roof collapsed on some 60 militants hiding out during a 3-day fight with Israeli forces, it was reported Friday.

The mosque at Beit Hanoun was being used as a weapons and ammunition storehouse, the Israeli Defenses Forces said. Some of the militants reportedly escaped with help from the surrounding crowd, ynetnews.com reported.

The IDF said 34 people died in the fight that began Wednesday.

"There will be no safe haven for terrorists," Binyamin Ben Eliezer, the infrastructures minister, vowed on Israeli army radio. "These are not girls from a dormitory in the mosque. They are the people firing the rockets. They are the enemy."

The IDF took control of Beit Hanoun, a northern Gaza town of about 30,000 people, in an effort to halt rocket attacks on the Negev.