IMEMC: Israeli "Summer Rains" continues

From City to Town to Village, Israeli 'Summer Rains' Continue to fall on Gaza

Rami Almeghari - Sunday, 13 August 2006, 04:21

Excerpts:

Mayor Mansour pointed out that "For more than 40 days, the Shouka rural area has been under Israeli attack, as the Israeli tanks have been firing, by day and night, on the people's houses and farms.”

"The damages are immense; 129 green houses have been destroyed, 58 houses were torn down, while many of our village's inhabitants have been evacuated to safe shelters at local UNRWA(United Nations Refugee and Works Agency)'s schools. The water networks in the village have been totally destroyed. Shouka is a traumatized village", Mayor Mansour confirmed.

26 year-old local farmer Toufic Albraikat, described the destruction he has suffered: "2000 square meters of green houses plus 4000 square meters of electronically-irrigated garlic crops plus 9 sheep and 2000 bricks as well as a barbed-wire fence around my land, all have been destroyed by the Israeli tanks ".

"The last invasion of Shouka by the Israeli military forces resulted in a total of 17 dead, 50 injured. Around 25 of the dead and injured are children under the age of 15. We found that in this attack that the Israeli forces used a new weapon, as most or even all of the dead received by the hospital had been shot by missiles and tank bombs. The bodies of the victims had been torn apart, covered with burns. Fifteen of the wounded are in critical condition, having each had at least one limb amputated."

According to the latest Palestinian Health Ministry reports, since the June 26 military attack codenamed 'Summer Rains' has begun, the Israeli occupation army has killed 203 Palestinians, including 58 children and 25 women, and wounded 783 others, including 281 children, and 86 women. 72 of the injured have had limbs amputated.