Time: 12:30 pm Today, Tuesday 11 May 2004, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed five Palestinians, and injured 80 others, 18 of whom are children, in an incursion into the Al Zaytun neighborhood of Gaza City.
Severe damage was caused by IOF’s tanks and bulldozers to private and public property in the area.
the Israeli restrictions on Palestinians’ movement were tightened.
About thirty minutes after midnight today, about 40 IOF tanks and bulldozers entered the area of Al Zaytun, southeast of Gaza, and opened fire on the area.
Helicopter gun-ships took part in the incursion and fired six missiles into crowds.
Medical sources in Gaza reported that five people were killed.
Following are the names and ages of the four who were identified: Ammar Awad Al Jirjawi, aged 23, Fadi Ibrahim Nassar, aged 18, Muhammad Faraj Adas, aged 20.
Ahmad Khalid As-Swerki, aged 16 Eighty people were injured, eleven of whom seriously.
This includes 18 school-children who arrived the Shifa hospital in uniform.
An unknown number of stores and property, in addition to the fence of one factory and infrastructure, were also destroyed in the area.
IOF announced curfew in the area and is still occupying it until the time of issuing this release.
Moreover, Israel’s restrictions on Palestinians movement were escalated after imposing a travel ban on people between 15 and 35 years old on April 15, 2004.
Additionally, IOF completely closed the Abu Holly and Al Matahin Checkpoints in the middle of the Gaza Strip at 8 am today.
Tanks also closed the Beach road near the settlement of Nitzarim, south to Gaza City.
The Gaza Strip is now divided into three separate parts.
In the town of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, IOF entered the western neighborhood of the town last night and destroyed two apartment buildings, which were occupied by 64 people.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights gravely condemns Israel’s continued 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, which are part of the collective punishment procedures against them, 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, especially the High Contracting Parties to the 4th Geneva Convention bear a moral and legal obligation to ‘respect and ensure respect of the Convention in all circumstances’, and to intervene at this particular time while indicators show the IOF’s intention to escalate their aggression in the OPT, after a long time of silence and the announcement of US support to Israel's policy.
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