Not content to destroy Palestinian homes Israeli forces ambushing ambulances carrying the injured Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes yesterday amid news of Israeli military plans for a more extensive round of house demolitions in Gaza found themselves this morning caught up in a new Israeli offensive.
At least 14 Palestinians were killed, and 33 injured in separate attacks during Israeli invasions and shelling by helicopters of Tel al-Sultan and Al Gharbiya Refugee Camp in the Rafah city area.
According to medical personnel at the Abu Yousef al Najar Hospital, thirteen corpses have been received, four of which were the bodies of children. The hospital also had information that three hours ago two men were shot and most likely killed by snipers in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood, until now their bodies remain in the street as ambulances have not been permitted to reach them.
This latest assault began at 2am this morning. Under cover of darkness and in defiance of an international outcry, Israeli apaches began shelling Block O of the refugee camp killing three Palestinians instantly. Large numbers of Israeli infantry then surrounded Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood, deploying in the streets to block all entrances and taking vantage points in high buildings as soldiers carried out house-to-house searches.
Another six Palestinians gathering for pre-dawn prayers at the Bilal Bin Rabah mosque were killed as it was set ablaze by a missile strike.
Medical sources report that Israeli troops have ambushed a number of ambulances attempting to transfer the wounded to hospital. The medical teams were first allowed to enter Tel al-Sultan on the road from Rafah city but when they tried to return they were fired on and are now surrounded. Also according to the Abu Yousef al Najar hospital, soldiers have prevented the transfer of patients to other facilities. One ambulance that had first coordinated such a transfer to Khan Yunis was nevertheless shot at then delayed for one hour before being ordered back to Rafah.
Abu Yousef Najar is the only hospital in Rafah. Until the beginning of the Intifada it was only a medical centre, and became a hospital out of necessity however it is still lacking vital amenities and equipment. There is no intensive care facility and only around 50 beds in the entire hospital. 45,000 Palestinians live in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood alone.
The situation in Rafah is critical. According to commentators, Israel has amassed more armour in Gaza than since capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war. Both Shaul Mofaz and Moshe Yaalon have indicated that the operation is going to endure many days. Already the implications for the Palestinian communities are huge. The morgue at Rafah’s only hospital is totally full – families cannot come to take the bodies because of the curfew and 3 bodies lie in a hospital room. One woman of the Zaki Abu Ghalli family has been forced to give birth in her house with help from neighbours; she still cannot reach the hospital. The Emergency Community in the city is afraid that under continuing curfew food, milk and water supplies will be finished long before the Israelis pull out. This situation is compounded by the fact that many of the refugees fleeing their homes close to the border yesterday fled to friends and family in Tel al-Sultan. – Under the shadow of all this Israel continues the demolition of Palestinian houses to expand the Philadelphia route on the Egyptian border.
In just the first 15 days of May, UN relief teams reported that 2,197 people lost their homes following the demolition of 191 homes throughout Gaza, with Rafah the worst-affected area. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has opened a school to house the latest victims of the destruction and is distributing tents, food, water, kitchen kits, mattresses and blankets. The Agency estimates that it will cost $32 million to re-house the 18,382 people who have lost their homes across the Gaza Strip.
But it is not just about the money. As UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said there is the job of dealing with the human tragedy behind each demolition - the distressed children in the schools, the homeless families in need of basics like blankets, food and water, and the communities shaken by the stress of ceaseless conflict.
Yesterday United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan repeated his condemnation of Israel's widespread destruction and repeated his call on the Government of Israel to fulfill its obligations under international law and cease such acts of collective punishment immediately. Today it looks like Israel has done little to heed these words, highlighting once more Israel’s scant regard for international human rights, humanitarian and international law.
