Raid On Beit Hanoun (2004)
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Between 29 June and 5 August 2004, the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) conducted a raid on
Beit Hanoun Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun () is a Palestinian city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017. As a result of the ongoing Gaza war, Beit Hanou ...
, a
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
town in the northern
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. The stated goal of The 37-day-long
invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...
and
siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
, called Operation Forward Shield by
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, was to prevent future rocket attacks from Gaza following the deaths of two residents of the Israeli town of
Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza St ...
on 28 June.''Preliminary Humanitarian Situation Report Operation "Forward Shield"''
. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 20 August 2004
Nineteen or twenty Palestinians were killed in the raid, including six children, and about 70 houses were destroyed.


Background

On 28 June 2004, two residents of the Israeli town of
Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza St ...
were killed in a rocket attack by
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
militants firing from inside the occupied Gaza Strip. Following these deaths, the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) conducted a raid, which they called "Operation Forward Shield", on
Beit Hanoun Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun () is a Palestinian city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017. As a result of the ongoing Gaza war, Beit Hanou ...
, a Palestinian town in the north-eastern Gaza Strip. The stated goal of the raid was to prevent future rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The operation, which occurred ahead of the planned unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, was preceded by Operation Rainbow and followed by Operation Days of Penitence.


Raid

The raid started around midnight of 28/29 June 2004 with a direct attack on the offices of local and international media. Four
missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
s were launched from an
attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...
at the offices of inter alia
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, the German broadcast ARD and Al-Jeel. It was the third Israeli attack against media in Gaza in less than two months. The IDF said it targeted "a structure which was used by the
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
terrorist organization in
Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
", that the building was "a communications center which maintained constant contact with terrorists", and that it had distributed "incitement material" from Hamas.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said it was a clear attempt to silence local Palestinian media.''Israel: Strikes to Silence Palestinian Media''
Human Rights Watch, 2 July 2004
The
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
wrote a letter to Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
, expressing its concerns.''CPJ expresses grave concern about Gaza strike''
Committee to Protect Journalists, 30 June 2004
At about 5 am on 29 June 2004, the IDF deployed its forces around Beit Hanoun, attacking it and neighbouring areas with tanks and helicopters. On 3 August, the IDF expanded the operation further west with tanks and other armoured vehicles. During the entire period of 37 days, civilian movement into, out of and within the town was banned. The IDF began its redeployment on 5 August at 1 am.''A paper on the IOF Invasion of the town of Beit Hanoun (29 June – 5 August 2004)''
. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, 12 August 2004. On


Casualties

During the raid, 19 or 20 Palestinians were killed, including 6 children.


Damage

The operation caused large-scale damage and destruction to property and infrastructure through the use of tanks and bulldozers. According to PCHR, 70 houses were destroyed. The Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported 33 completely destroyed homes. The IDF damaged and destroyed schools, health and other public facilities, kindergartens, mosques, factories, workshops, sewerage pumps and security posts. There was large-scale damage to infrastructure, including to the water supply, electricity, sewerage networks and roads. Sixteen water-wells were destroyed. One of the main components of Operation Forward Shield involved the levelling of agricultural land by IDF bulldozers and tanks. Orchards were almost completely destroyed. In addition, six livestock farms were destroyed. Some 2,600–4,000
dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...
s of agricultural land were razed and destroyed.''A special Issue at the End of 2004''
. PCHR, 30 December 2004


Violation of international law

According to PCHR, the IDF was responsible for large-scale damage and destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure. They also accused it of systematically obstructing medical assistance, stating that a number of Palestinians died as a result. They also claimed that ambulances, clinics, medical centres and medical crews were systematically fired at, and personnel were threatened.PCHR

par. ''Beit Hanoun ''
Al Mezan reported that the IDF occupied 36 homes. In one case, soldiers systematically detained the inhabitants inside one room of the house, held them hostage and used them as human shields.''Al Mezan paper on the IOF Invasion, 12 August 2004''

''"Another 36 homes were occupied by Israeli soldiers and used as watch posts. In every case of home occupation the IOF detained the inhabitants inside one room of the house"''
Al Mezan claimed that the siege constituted collective punishment of the entire population, calling it a breach of
international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...
, especially the 1949
Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...
. Attacks on the press are considered a breach of international humanitarian law.


See also

* Operation Autumn Clouds, 2006


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beit Hanoun raid, 2004 Battles of the Second Intifada Beit Hanoun in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip June 2004 in Asia July 2004 in Asia August 2004 in Asia 2000s sieges Raids of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Sieges involving Israel 2004 building bombings Residential building bombings in the Gaza Strip Attacks on mass media offices in Asia Attacks on agricultural buildings School bombings in the Gaza Strip Wartime hospital bombings in Asia Mosque bombings in Palestine Attacks on schools in 2004 2004 in Islam Attacks on preschools Attacks on hospitals during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli war crimes