Ramallah, 08-11-06: 24 Palestinians were killed as they slept this morning when the Israeli military fired 12 artillery shells on 6 homes in Beit Hanoun over a period of 15 minutes. The dead included at least 18 civilians – 8 children aged from 4-17 years and 7 women – and 16 members of the Al Athamneh family. A further 53 others were wounded, including 25 children and 12 women. [1]
Pictures of the devastation show men weeping next to pools of blood in the debris-filled street where the killings took place.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed since Israel began its bloody invasion into Beit Hanoun on 1 November, to 77. [2] Most of the dead were civilians, including 17 children and 9 women. In addition, at least 250 others have been wounded. [3]
PNI Head and Parliamentarian, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, who is currently in the Gaza Strip, described the massacre as a war crime, and 'a tragedy of the most unimaginable sadness.'
He condemned the killings in the strongest possible terms, and urgently appealed to the international community, and to the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention in particular, to condemn the killings and to take decisive action to bring an immediate end to Israel's continued human rights violations in the Strip.
Dr. Barghouthi also called upon friends and supporters of the Palestinian people throughout the world to petition their governments to take immediate steps to end Israel's use of disproportionate and indiscriminate force, which is taking a brutal toll on the most vulnerable members of Palestinian society, namely children, women and the elderly.
Notes
[1] Haaretz. 8 November 2006. 18 Palestinians killed in IDF shelling in northern Gaza.