Israel Perpetrates A Massacre In Jabalya Refugee Camp, 11 Palestinian Civilians Murdered, 140 Wounde

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday March 06, 2003 14:05 by Fathi Tobail - International Press Center ftobail at sis dot gov dot ps Gaza - Palestine 00972-8-2838778

JABALYA, Gaza Strip, March 6, 2003 (IPC+ Agencies)—11 Palestinian civilians were killed and 140 others wounded late at yesterday night in the northern Gaza Strip densely-populated refugee camp of Jabalya, as Israeli occupation forces (IOF) once again perpetrated a massacre in the camp, using tanks and combat helicopters

JABALYA, Gaza Strip, March 6, 2003 (IPC+Agencies)—11 Palestinian civilians were killed and 140 others wounded late at yesterday night in the northern Gaza Strip densely-populated refugee camp of Jabalya, as Israeli occupation forces (IOF) once again perpetrated a massacre in the camp, using tanks and combat helicopters

Palestinian hospital officials at local Palestinian hospitals in the northern part of Gaza Strip, said they received dead bodies of 11 Palestinian civilians and scores of wounded others.

The officials told our correspondent that most of the dead Palestinians sustained heavy live Israeli bullets, apparently from helicopters gunship and tanks.

A number of the wounded had critical injuries, while the rest of others sustained different kinds of injuries, including moderate and light, after being shot with tank shells fired by the invading Israeli tanks.

Palestinian Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip announced that local hospitals are in need for more blood units due to the huge number of wounded inflicted by the Israeli random and indiscriminate fire against a crowd of people in the Jabalya refugee camp.

A ministry’s statement called on Palestinians to donate blood in local clinics and blood banks to meet shortage of blood due to the large number of wounded.

Dozens of Israeli occupation tanks and armored vehicles, backed with Apache combat helicopters, invaded late at Wednesday night, the Jabalya camp, Palestinian security sources told WAFA News Agency.

The sources said that the invading Israeli tanks rolled out of the nearby illegitimate Jewish settlement of Eli Sinai and stationed in different parts of the Jabalya camp, mainly in the Camp’s local market, under a barrage of heavy tank and helicopter fire.

Eyewitnesses said the Israeli forces shelled heavily several Palestinian-owned houses, shops along with a local mosque, causing a state of panic among Palestinian men, women and children.

Eyewitnesses added that the Israeli helicopter fire set into flames a three-storey Palestinian-owned house, then crowds of Palestinian civilians along with the Palestinian Civil Defense rescue team rushed to the place to extinguish the fire and rescue the house’s inhabitants.

“ while all are engaged in the fire fight and rescue of civilians, an Israeli tank aimed at the crowds, firing two shells, causing the fatal death of a number of civilians and injury of at least 100 others”, Ahmad 24, a local Palestinian resident said.

Ahmad added that the victims of the Israeli tank shooting fell like sheep in the street. They were bleeding severely as Israeli occupation troops were barring access of Palestinian paramedics and ambulances into the scene.

The said Palestinian victims of Israeli troops invasion of the such a densely-populated refugee camp comes a couple of days after the Israeli tanks and helicopters killed 8 Palestinian civilians and wounded 40 others in the middle Gaza Strip refugee camp of Al-Buraij.

Several international bodies including Washington condemned Monday the Israeli killing of Palestinian civilians in Al-buraij and other Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps.