Israeli troops fire on women in mosque siege
· One killed, 10 hurt in march to free gunmen
· Beckett voices concern over civilian deaths
Rory McCarthy in Gaza
Saturday November 4, 2006
The Guardian
Palestinian women try to approach an Israeli tank in Beit Hanun. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian women described yesterday how they were shot and injured in the face and the legs by Israeli troops as they led a protest march into the scene of the biggest military incursion into Gaza in months.At least one woman was killed and 10 were injured as large crowds of women walked past tanks into the town of Beit Hanoun yesterday morning saying they wanted to help free a group of Palestinian gunmen holed up inside a mosque.It was the third day of fighting in the town, the most serious military operation in Gaza since June. More than 20 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed in three days.Elham Hamad, 48, said she left her house in Beit Hanoun at 5am yesterday with two of her daughters-in-law to join the march into the centre of the town. Her son Mazen, 30, like hundreds of other men from the town had been held by Israeli troops for questioning."There were about 30 women in our group, all in the main street. We were moving into the town and passing by the Israeli tanks. We carried two white flags. They didn't ask us to stop and then suddenly we saw them shooting at us," she said. "I was hit but there were no ambulances. We were calling for them but there was nothing." Her husband found a donkey cart and put the injured women on the back and led them out of the town to waiting ambulances. Mrs Hamad was hit on the forehead and in the left shoulder and was yesterday being treated at the al-Ouda hospital in Gaza.Her daughter-in-law, Asma, 23, was in the bed next to her. She was hit just above her left ankle and suffered a broken leg. She heard the call to march on her radio early yesterday. "We wanted to see what had happened to the youngsters who were taken by the Israelis," she said. "There were tanks on the road in front of us but without telling us anything they started shooting at us." Other women on the street helped them into a nearby house, where they were briefly treated, until they could find their way out of the town.The Israeli military said its operation was against militants who have been launching crude Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel. The military said it was investigating reports that women had been shot but said its snipers identified hitting eight gunmen who were hiding among the crowd of women. It said the gunmen who had been hiding in the mosque had escaped.Britain's foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said she was concerned by the increased violence and civilian deaths. "Israel has a right to defend itself but any action should be proportionate and in accordance with international humanitarian law," she said.On Thursday, in the midst of the incursion in Beit Hanoun, Israeli troops issued a call through loudspeakers for all men in the town between the age of 16 and 45 to present themselves for questioning. Hundreds were held and interrogated. At the same time a group of armed Palestinian fighters took up positions inside a mosque and fought gun battles overnight with Israeli troops and tanks.Then early yesterday calls went out from mosques and local radio stations asking women to march towards Beit Hanoun to help free the gunmen in the mosque.Ambulance crews at Kamal Adwan hospital said at least one woman was killed in the incident, hit twice in the face.Some doctors and reports said a second woman in the crowd was also killed. Two boys, one aged 15, the other 16, were also among the crowd and were injured, both in the lower leg.A Palestinian cameraman was also shot in the chest and was seriously ill in hospital.Last night the Israeli military said it was investigating reports that women were killed and injured in the fighting. A spokesman for the Israel Defence Force said the women had marched towards the mosque intending to free the gunmen holed up inside.![]()
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