IOF incursions in Beit Lahia Kill 9 Palestinians and Injure 50 others

On 21 April 2004, the IOF entered the area located between Al Awda Towers and the Bedouin village in northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia, killing nine civilians, destroying property, infrastructure and agricultural land.
At approximately 3 am, 30 Israeli military vehicles and tanks opened fire on civilians, including a group of children gathered in the area.
As a result, 5 civilians were killed and 24 were wounded.
They also opened fire on an ambulance as it was picking up the wounded, despite prior authorization to enter the area was given to its driver by IOF soldiers.
After it was damaged, the ambulance was consequently forced to leave the area without providing assistance to the injured.
In addition, the IOF broke into and searched the offices of NGOs and public facilities in the area, and occupied the roof of a building of the Directorate of Education in the North-Gaza Governorate, to use it as a military watch point.
In terms of property and infrastructure demolition, the fence of a rehabilitation center for disabled persons as a result of the Intifada was wrecked, as well as the only water line supplying the Bedouin village with fresh water.
Around 5.
45 am, an Israeli helicopter fired a rocket towards a group of young people gathered the same area, which lead to another 5 civilians injuries, two of them in critical conditions.
This adds to an incursion that took place the previous morning at 8.
30 am in which 2 bulldozers and 10 military vehicles entered to level land in the same area of Beit Lahia.
During this operation, IOF opened fire, killing 4 civilians and injuring 26 persons.
During these last days, the IOF have yet again tightened the siege on the Gaza Strip, preventing emergency medical cases for entering Israel for medical treatment, and Palestinians who are aged 15 to 35 years to travel outside the Gaza Strip.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemns the continued Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians in the OPT and emphasizes that the excessive use of force, the tightening of the siege and the limitations on freedom of movement of Palestinians constitute grave breaches to international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War, of 1949.
Al Mezan, calls upon the International Community to immediately intervene to bring to an end to the continued violations perpetrated by Israel in the OPT and provide protection to Palestinian civilians exposed to continued war crimes.
The International community has a moral obligation to intervene at this particular time while indicators show the IOF’s intention to escalate their aggression in the OPT, after the announcement of US support to Israel's policy.
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