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Key Events
Massacre in Beit Hanoun (8 November 2006)
At dawn 8 November 2006, the successive firing of ten to twelve Israeli shells at a Beit Hanoun residential street resulted in what Palestinians on the scene described as the Gazan "tsunami." Eighteen Palestinian civilians -- mostly women and children -- were killed. The Israeli military stated it regretted the killings and attributed the shelling to human error, provoking much anger in the rest of the Gaza Strip, which had just buried 55 of its residents after a week-long offensive in Beit Hanoun and extrajudicial executions elsewhere in Gaza.
The Independent (UK) reports:Eighteen Palestinian civilians, most of them women and children from the same family, have been killed as they tried to flee a barrage of Israeli artillery shells fired on and around the house where they had been sleeping minutes earlier ....
All but one of the dead were members of the Athamneh family and included six children under 16. They were killed when they rushed out into the dirt road beside their four-storey building after the first shell struck, punching a hole two feet in diameter through the roof. Large puddles in the road were still dark with blood five hours after the attack. The deadly attack came a day after Israeli forces redeployed from Beit Hanoun upon the stated completion of a six-day-long offensive dubbed "Operation Autumn Clouds," ostensibly aimed at the stopping of rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, in which at least 50 Palestinians were killed. "Operation Autumn Clouds" came after the recent "Operation Summer Rain" in which around 300 Palestinians -- half of them civilian -- were killed.
The reaction of Israel foreign minister Tzipi Livni was, "Unfortunately, in the course of battle, regrettable incidents such as that which occurred this morning do happen." The Israeli military appointed Maj-Gen Meir Khalifi, who headed the inquiry into the deaths of seven members of the Ghalia family killed in an explosion on a beach earlier this year and which found the Israeli army not responsible despite independent findings to the contrary.
The Guardian (UK) reports the international reaction: "The US called on Israel to exercise 'restraint', noting its 'regret' at civilian casualties and the launch of an inquiry into how a residential area had come under artillery fire. The EU said it was 'appalled'. The Palestinian movement Hamas called for swift retaliation. Islamic Jihad promised suicide bombings. Sadly, only the latter statements carried much conviction."
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| A Palestinian man mourns after his family members were killed in Israeli shelling of a residential area in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, 8 November 2006. (MaanImages/Wesam Saleh) |
Reports
"We just need to live," say Beit Hanoun residents, IRIN (8 November 2006)
Palestinian human rights groups denounce Beit Hanoun massacre, Palestinian human rights groups (8 November 2006)
Occupying army kills 18 civilians in the shelling of Beit Hanoun, PCHR (8 November 2006)
Israeli bombardment of Beit Hanoun kills at least 18, including 11 from one family, Ma'an (8 November 2006)
Diaries
Aftermath of the Beit Hanoun Siege and Massacre, Dr. Bill Dienst writing from Beit Hanoun, occupied Palestine (26 November 2006)
Massacre in Beit Hanoun, Yousef Alhelou writing from Beit Hanoun, occupied Gaza Strip (8 November 2006)
Investigations into Massacre
Lack of Israeli cooperation prevents UN fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun, UN News (11 December 2006)
Nobel laureate Tutu to head UN rights probe of Israeli killing of Palestinian civilians, UN News (29 November 2006)
Human Rights Council decides to urgently dispatch a high-level fact finding mission to Beit Hanoun, UNHRC (15 November 2006)
HRW: IDF probe no substitute for real investigation, Human Rights Watch (10 November 2006)
International Reactions and Protest
Civilians bear brunt of abuses, UN rights chief says, UN News (23 November 2006)
General Assembly considers draft resolution on Israeli attacks at Beit Hanoun, UN News (17 November 2006)
Lebanese activists: UN past time to disarm Israel, Lebanese activists (13 November 2006)
UN expert urges Israel to stop destruction in Gaza, calls for military sanctions, UN News (13 November 2006)
Human Rights Council to hold special session on Israeli attacks, UNHRC (13 November 2006)
Arab Foreign Ministers criticize US veto on Gaza, IRIN (13 November 2006)
Montreal in Solidarity with Beit Hanoun, (12 November 2006)
UNSC fails to adopt draft resolution, owing to US veto, UN Security Council (11 November 2006)
R2P could prove solution for protection failure in Gaza, Arjan El Fassed (11 November 2006)
US vetoes Security Council draft resolution on Israeli operations in Gaza, UN News (11 November 2006)
Women demand an end to attacks on Gaza civilians, UNIFEM (11 November 2006)
Qatari draft resolution calls for ceasefire and UN observer force, IRIN (10 November 2006)
Gaza violence, mounting death toll, provoke grave concern in Security Council, UN Security Council (10 November 2006)
After deadly Gaza shelling, senior UN official urges Israel, Palestinians to return to talks, UN News (9 November 2006)
Stand up and Stop the Massacres in Palestine!, Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (8 November 2006)
UN officials voice 'shock and dismay' at deadly Israeli shelling of Gaza civilians, UN News (8 November 2006)
Secretary-General calls on Israeli government to cease its military operations in Gaza, UN News (8 November 2006)
Letter: Switzerland must act on Gaza even as others choose silence, Ali Abunimah (8 November 2006)
B'Tselem: The Killing of Civilians in Beit Hanun is a War Crime, B'Tselem (8 November 2006)
UNRWA strongly condemns Israeli military operations in Beit Hanoun, UNRWA (8 November 2006)
Amnesty International delegate visits scene of Gaza Strip killings, Amnesty International (8 November 2006)
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