Israeli forces raid Nablus in the West Bank and Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza, Wednesday morning

July 19, 2006

Ma'an- On Wednesday morning, Israeli forces invaded both the city of Nablus in the West Bank, and the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Invasion of Nablus

Three Palestinians were killed and an unknown number injured when Israeli forces surrounded the headquarters of the Al Muqata'ah in Nablus early on Wednesday morning. The Al Muqata'ah houses the Palestinian national security forces, the Palestinian preventive security body, the Palestinian special police unit and a prison.

Palestinian sources said that Palestinian medical crews were allowed to reach the three dead bodies that were in the Al Muqata'ah. However the Israeli forces then detained the medical crew in the Ministry of Health building that they used as a military barracks and detention center to verify the identities of those who had been killed.

Director of Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Services, Anan Al Atirah, told Ma'an that the Palestinian Red Crescent retrieved three dead bodies from the Al Hursh region behind the Al Muqata'ah.

She added that the bodies were riddled with dozens of bullets which were concentrated on the upper parts of the torso. She also confirmed that the Israeli forces left those they had injured to bleed for several hours before they allowed the Red Crescent to access the Al Muqata'ah. The continuous bleeding after injury led to their deaths.

She confirmed that the Israeli army seized the dead bodies and held them in the headquarters of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Thousands of family members of Palestinian security forces and prisoners entered an area close to the sealed-off Al Muqata'ah. Their families are extremely concerned about the safety of their sons and other family members while the Israeli forces continue to besiege the Al Muqata'ah.

There are currently one hundred and fifty Palestinian detainees inside the headquarters of the Al Muqata'ah and Muqata'ah prison.

Invasion of Gaza refugee camp.

A total of six Palestinians were killed and dozens injured by Israeli force bullets in the Maghazi refugee camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. Five Israeli soldiers were injured when the Israeli forces entered the middle of the Gaza Strip, 2 of them seriously.

Intensive shooting took place in the Maghazi refugee camp after Israeli forces entered the area early on Wednesday morning, killing 2 Palestinians and injuring at least 20, including five children.

Eyewitnesses said that dozens of Israeli tanks entered the eastern Maghazi refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday morning. They were followed shortly afterwards by the Israeli special forces who were reinforced with bulldozers. The bulldozers demolished at least three houses and razed dozens of dunums of farmland and crops. The Israeli forces also launched a missile at the Yasir Abu Holi mosque, causing damage to the mosque.

Sa'ed Qandil, 21, allegedly a member of the Hamas-affiliated Izzedine Al Qassam Brigades, was killed by the Israeli ground forces that entered the camp, while Muhammad Abu Shu'aiba was killed by a missile fired from an Israeli reconnaissance plane.

Palestinian medical sources said that Muhammad Omar Al Bashiti, a member of the Palestinian National Security forces was killed. Omar Abu Muhisin, Ali An Najjar, 16, and Ahmad An Na'ami were also killed. More than 40 Palestinians were injured, including Anwar Abu Holi who had his leg amputated.

An Israeli source said that at least five soldiers were injured in the clashes that took place in the Maghazi refugee camp.

The Izzedine Al Qassam Brigades announced that their members had killed and wounded at least four Israeli soldiers in the operation.

There was an increased presence of Israeli warplanes overhead at the same time. They fired at homes and residents of the Maghazi refugee camp, leading to violent clashes between members of Palestinian resistance groups and the Israeli forces.

This Israeli invasion of Maghazi came one day after Israeli tanks withdrew from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip in an invasion led which killed 7 Palestinians and injured dozens more. The Israeli forces' invasion caused enormous damage to public property and infrastructure with some estimates suggesting that it would cost millions of dollars to repair the infrastructure of the area.

This ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip follows a military operation carried out by members of the Palestinian resistance groups on 25/6/2006 in Kerem Shalom which led to the death of two Israeli soliders and the capture of one.

Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Israeli attack on which began on 27 June 2006 Gaza. Israeli warplanes continue to bombard Palestinian civilian infrastructure, including bridges, roads, educational institutions, charitable organisations and electricity stations, as well as numerous government buildings and ministries.

Israeli forces reinforced by dozens of military tanks and bulldozers raided Nablus from all directions amid intensive random shooting. They surrounded the headquarters of the Al Muqata'ah and the prison belonging to the Al Muqata'ah. They used loudspeakers to demand that the Palestinian security forces evacuate the headquarters and the prison claiming that there were "wanted" Palestinians hiding inside the buildings.

The Israeli army announced that one member of the Palestinian police force was killed at the beginning of the invasion of the building and the raid on the prison.

Palestinian sources reported that Mahmoud Bsharat, 27, was shot by the Israeli forces when they broke into the prison. There was no indication of the nature of his injuries.

The Ma'an correspondent reported that more than fifty Israeli military vehicles and three tanks surrounded the prison. The Israeli forces imposed a blockade on the area extending for a distance of kilometers around the besieged headquarters and prevented journalists and ambulances from entering the area.

The correspondent added that the Israeli forces have fired intermittently at the besieged headquarters. This led to Muhammad Bsharat's thigh injury. The Israeli forces are not allowing ambulance crews to reach him to take him to hospital.

Eyewitnesses said that all those who are inside the headquarters and the prison were forced to surrender at gunpoint. They were forced to remove their clothes before they were taken to the Palestinian Ministry of Health which is close to the prison. The Israeli forces have turned the Ministry of Health into an investigation center.

Link:

Israeli forces arrests all Palestinian security forces members in Nablus siege

Situation of hospitals in the Gaza Strip a grave danger

Israeli forces surrounding Al Muqata'ah in Nablus, kill 3, holding 150 hostage