Israeli forces pound Gaza relentlessly as the world watches Lebanon where Israeli crimes of aggression are no less appalling, writes Erica Silverman Israeli incursions continue in the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, and East of Gaza in Shijieh, placing residents in constant danger of artillery fire. Ninety-seven families -- 703 people -- were forced to abandon their homes in the As-Shouka area in south Gaza due to Israeli shelling, and UNRWA is operating three shelters in Jabalia sheltering 747 residents who fled their homes in north Gaza due to shelling. Since 24 July, Palestinian families have been receiving calls on their mobile phones from Israeli forces giving them 30 minutes to evacuate their homes before launching air strikes that demolish their houses. "Welcome, you and your family are requested to leave home because the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) intends to attack it. The house is used to hide warfare or terrorists," says a pre-recorded message in Arabic. At least four Palestinian families have had their homes destroyed after receiving the message, as surrounding homes are also destroyed in the process. Residents of several neighbourhoods, particularly those near Israel, have received leaflets warning their homes may be next. Israeli forces bombed the home of a Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) leader in Beit Hanoun Monday. Flying debris and glass wounded the resistance fighter's brother and sister-in-law in a nearby house. Witnesses said he received the Israeli warning message to evacuate before the strike. Since the start of the military offensive, Israeli forces have fired approximately 250 artillery shells per day into Gaza and conducted 202 air strikes, reports the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Camp incursions wreak the most carnage on the civilian population. During a recent three-day incursion into Maghazi Camp in central Gaza -- the second smallest of eight refugee camps with a population exceeding 31,000 -- more than 40 Israeli tanks and six bulldozers arrived killing 17 Palestinians and injuring 107. Frightened residents hid indoors, few daring to leave. Those who did flee moved swiftly, hugging walls to avoid Israeli snipers firing from rooftops. Others sat outside their homes clutching transistor radios, their only news source, after Israeli forces took out the power supply when they entered. For three days there was no water or electricity, and shops were closed. Ten Red Crescent ambulances were circling, waiting for the next victims to fall. "Our colleague lost his leg yesterday, he was shot by an Israeli soldier here in Maghazi," said Mohamed Yousif, a 24-year-old medic. "I see burned and amputated body parts, injuries I have never seen before," he said. The Ghazal family, including six children, were trapped at home for two days. "They [Israeli forces] shoot everything that moves: children, women, anything," said 39-year-old father, Ashraf, an assistant principal at an UNRWA school. "I am afraid to go outside, and afraid to be alone," said his 10-year-old son Khalil. I asked his six-year-old sister, Amira, if she thinks Hamas should release the Israeli soldier, to which she replied, "No, because they [Israelis] kill Palestinians." In Nuseirat Camp nearby, the Badwan family -- eight in total -- has been trapped at home for two days without water and electricity, hiding in the one room they think has the most secure foundations; that will not cave in from bombing. "Is this logical, this mass murder and destruction for one kidnapped soldier?" asks 51-year-old mother, Fathiya. "The Israeli invasion of Palestinian territory, firing missiles and destroying our land, they are creating many militants and filling people with hate," she adds. Israeli forces have killed almost 149 Palestinians in the past 10 days, 35 of which were children with 578 injured, mostly civilians, according to the office of President Mahmoud Abbas. Durin the same period, one Israeli soldier was killed with 14 injured. Homemade rockets fired into Israel, according to OCHA, have injured seven Israeli civilians. Meanwhile, many Gazans endure 24-hour periods without power, which means no water supply for most people who live in high-rise buildings that require electricity to pump water into homes. "The emergency solution that might work needs at least two to three months, and not for full operation; it can only provide 35 per cent of the plant's total capacity," said the Gaza Power Generating Company's (GPGC) project manager, Rafiq Maliha, who is urgently trying to repair Gaza's only power plant destroyed by Israeli missiles 28 June. That attack came at the beginning of a nearly six-week-long Israeli incursion into Gaza to purportedly halt the launching of Qassam rockets into Israel and to recover a soldier captured by Hamas. Israel's offensive in Gaza has been overshadowed by their offensive in Lebanon, leaving Gaza's population in the dark and even more vulnerable to Israeli massacres. Israeli forces have destroyed three major bridges, along with roads, crops, and piping crushed by rolling Israeli tanks. "The emergency solution will only slightly reduce the suffering of the people," said Maliha. "A permanent solution will take, optimistically, more than six months." The cost of power plant rehabilitation is estimated at $10 million, with production losses hovering at $15 million, according to Maliha, who is unsure who will finance much-needed repairs. Palestinian Authority (PA) officials travelled to Cairo Monday seeking equipment from Egyptian manufactures. It is still unclear if Israel will permit any such equipment to enter Gaza and "there is no guarantee Israel will not attack again," warns Maliha. "This is very clear: it was disproportionate. The law is clear: civilian infrastructure is protected. This plant is more important for civilians -- for mothers caring for their children, for hospitals, and for sewage treatment -- than any Hamas or Jihad man with a missile on his shoulder," asserted UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Jan Egeland, as he toured the destroyed site of the plant. "Taking away this lifeline (of electricity) creates more bitterness and hatred. It is counterproductive to all our aspirations and to legitimate security demands in Israel," he argued, referencing Israel's claims its operations aim to dismantle "terrorist infrastructures" inside Gaza. Households, businesses and hospitals across the Strip are without electricity and water in sweltering summer heat, while sanitation systems have collapsed. The small power supply available in Gaza is running on eight-hour shifts, but only if there are no interruptions from the Israeli side. Israeli artillery fire continues to topple electric lines, while workers are unable to repair damage located in areas restricted by Israeli forces. Angry residents often protest when the power supply is transferred from one area to another, causing further interruptions. The EU Commission has been paying Gaza's electric bill since 1 January, after Dor Alon, the largest Israel-based fuel company and the only source of fuel to the Palestinian territories, threatened to cut Gaza's service ahead of the Hamas- led government being sworn into office. The EU Commission pays Dor Alon, and in turn the Israeli company provides fuel to PA supply tanks at Nahal Oz. The EU has also begun supplying diesel fuel to keep water wells -- upon which the entire population is dependent -- operating via generators.
