The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, IDF troops occupy the Dahaniyya airport, seal the Rafah crossing (reopened on 8/10), raze large areas of agricultural land, destroy several greenhouses and sites used by the PA security forces, blow up what it says is a smuggler’s tunnel. In the West Bank, the IDF raids 2 hospitals in Hebron, conducts random ID checks on the streets in search of wanted Palestinians, but makes no arrests; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Azun, Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack Palestinian homes in Hebron. Unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a PA General Intelligence officer in Gaza City. (OCHA 8/16; PCHR 8/17)

Hizballah, the Lebanese government endorse UN Res. 1701, Hizballah says it will maintain its “natural right to resist” in keeping with international law as long as IDF troops “are practicing an occupation and acts of aggression” inside Lebanon. Meanwhile, the IDF continues heavy air and artillery strikes across Lebanon, mostly targeting infrastructure and roads, including destroying electricity plants nr. Sidon, a Lebanese army base in the Biqa‘ Valley, 2 homes nr. Bint Jubayl (killing at least 15 Lebanese civilians); air strikes are concentrated around Sidon and Tyre (cutting electricity to Tyre), in the north btwn. Akkar and Arida, and in central s. Lebanon nr. Bint Jubayl. The IDF also rapidly expands ground offensives in the south, sending in additional troops and artillery, with heavy clashes reported in the Bint Jubayl area, in Ghanduriyya and Dayr Sirin s. and w. of Marja’uyun, and s. of Tyre. Hizballah continues to fire rockets into n. Israel (hitting targets in Kiryat Shimona, Ma’alot, Safad and nearby Amirim) and downs an IDF helicopter, killing 5 IDF soldiers (including Israel’s 1st female combat fatality). The casualty toll during the day includes 24 IDF soldiers dead (2 when an IDF tank rolls over them) and 70 wounded, and at least 26 Lebanese civilians, 1 Lebanese soldier killed; the IDF claims to have killed 50 Hizballah mbrs. in the previous 24 hrs. (al-Manar TV 8/12; NYT, WP, WT 8/13)

IDF gunboats off the Gaza coast shell the fmr. settlement areas of Ganei Tal, Netzer Hazani in s. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and in Abu Dis, Hebron. The IDF also bars Palestinians under age 40 fr. Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. (OCHA 8/16; PCHR 8/17)

In the afternoon, after seeing a draft UN res. on halting violence that he says he cannot accept, Olmert authorizes the IDF to expand ground operations in s. Lebanon. The IDF quickly begins moving additional troops, armor into s. Lebanon, while troops already in Lebanon prepare to move toward the Litani. During the day, the IDF continues air and artillery strikes, hitting targets in s. Beirut, areas of n. Lebanon (including Abu Diya, Akkar), s. of Sidon, and in the Biqa‘ Valley (including strafing some 1,300 cars evacuating some 3,000 residents of Marja’uyun, occupied by the IDF on 8/10, who chose to follow a convoy of 350 UNIFIL and Lebanese army troops evacuating the area in coordination with the IDF; 6 Lebanese civilians, 1 Lebanese soldier are killed and 36 are wounded). Ground operations continue in Labuna in the east, Aita al-Sha‘b in central s. Lebanon, and Khiyam, Markaba, Qantara, Qlei‘a further to the northeast. Hizballah fires 124 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 5 Israelis and targeting sites in Acre, Carmiel, Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad, Shlomi. (AP, WP 8/11; NYT, WP, WT 8/12; NYT, WP 8/13; WP 8/24)

Late in the evening, the UN Security Council unanimously passes Res. 1701, calling for Israel and Hizballah to halt violence in place as of 8:00 A.M. on 8/14 local time (1:00 A.M. ET), demanding that Hizballah cease all attacks and that Israel stop offensive operations (allowing “defensive” responses if they perceive a threat). (IFM, NYT, WP, WT 8/12; NYT 8/14; NYT 8/15) 

In Gaza, the IDF opens Rafah crossing for departures only, opens Qarni crossing for imports only; makes late-night air strikes destroying a store, house in Jabaliya r.c. (warning the residents in advance to leave), damaging 3 nearby homes. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Tulkarm in a car with Palestinian license plates, surrounds the home of a wanted Hamas mbr., fires on the home, arrests the wanted man when he surrenders; sends troops into Ramallah, occupying offices in the PA Public Works Min. as an observation post, surrounding an apartment building, ordering residents to evacuate, arresting 3 Palestinians, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho; issues military orders confiscating 8 d. of Palestinian land nr. Qalqilya for the separation wall. (OCHA 8/16; PCHR 8/17)

The IDF drops leaflets on Beirut warning residents of the capital to expect escalated bombing whose “painful and severe results will not be limited” to Hizballah targets, urging residents of 3 neighborhoods (Burj al-Barajneh, Hay Sullum, al-Shiyah) to evacuate immediately (the areas are vacant by the end of the day, with the government bussing residents without transportation to Juniyah); drops leaflets on n. Lebanon, warning truck drivers to stay off roads to Syria. Meanwhile, Israel asks the U.S. to speed delivery of M-26 artillery shells (short-range antipersonnel rockets armed with cluster munitions) along with other unspecified weapons for use against Hizballah. The IDF continues air and artillery strikes across Lebanon, including firing missiles at an unused radio tower in downtown Beirut; targeting traffic on roads nr. Tyre, destroying roads in the Biqa‘ Valley, killing at least 2 Lebanese. Ground operations continue in s. Lebanon, reportedly focusing on areas stretching fr. Marja’uyun to al-Khiyam (with the IDF claiming to have taken control of Marja’uyun) and fr. Aita alSha‘b to Bint Jubayl, leaving at least 1 IDF soldier dead, 2 wounded nr. Qlei‘a. Hizballah fires at least 140 rockets into n. Israel, hitting Acre, Carmiel, Dayr al-Assad (killing an Israeli Palestinian woman, her son and wounding 11), Haifa, Kiryat Shimona, Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad. (WP 8/10; NYT, WP, WT 8/11; WP 8/13)

In Gaza, the IDF closes the Nahal Oz pipeline, Qarni crossing for the day; makes an air strike on a group of PRC mbrs. n. of Gaza City, killing 2 PRC mbrs., a 3- yr.-old girl in a house nearby, wounding 2 PRC mbrs.; makes air strikes destroying the home of an Islamic Jihad mbr. in Bayt Hanun, a 2d home elsewhere in Gaza (warning residents to leave beforehand). A Palestinian is killed in Jabaliya r.c. when he accidentally detonates unexploded IDF ordnance. In the West Bank, the IDF also makes air strikes on a house in Jenin r.c., assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Amjad al-‘Ajami, Muhammad Atik, wounding 12 bystanders (including 7 children); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Jenin, in Nablus, nr. Tulkarm (targeting PA security force mbrs.). (BBC, REU 8/9; PCHR 8/10; OCHA 8/16; PCHR 8/17)

The Israeli security cabinet approves plans to expand ground operations in s. Lebanon, speed IDF deployment to the Litani River. The IDF immediately begins reinforcing troops on the n. Israel border (anticipating a build-up of as many as 5,000 troops) and moves an additional 1,000 troops into s. Lebanon. The IDF continues air, naval, and artillery strikes across Lebanon, shelling ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c. (allegedly targeting the home of a Hizballah mbr., killing at least 2 persons, wounding 5), making an air strike on an apartment in Mashghara in the Biqa‘ Valley just n. of the Litani (killing a Hizballah official, 8 family mbrs.), hitting targets in s. Beirut. Ground operations also continue in s. Lebanon, with heavy clashes reported in Aita al-Sha‘b (4 IDF soldiers killed), Bint Jubayl, Dibil (9 IDF soldiers killed), Labuna, Jibbayn, al-Khiyam, Marja’uyun (1 IDF solider killed), Qantara, Taybeh, resulting in Israel’s highest daily toll to date, with 15 IDF soldiers dead and 38 wounded; the IDF claims to have killed 40 Hizballah mbrs. Hizballah fires some 170 rockets into n. Israel, hitting targets in Acre, Kiryat Shimona, Ma’alot, Safad. (BBC, HA, IFM, NYT, WP 8/9; NYT, WP, WT 8/10)

The IDF closes the Qarni crossing, Nahal Oz pipeline for the day; fires across the Israeli border at a group of children in a bedouin village nr. Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Hebron, Jenin (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 5); patrols in Tubas, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 3. (PCHR 8/10)

Israel announces that it will evacuate to s. Israel within 24 hrs. some 15,000 Israelis from the north who cannot afford to leave on their own, suggesting that the IDF intends a major escalation against Lebanon. In Lebanon, the IDF continues air and artillery strikes, hitting targets in s. Beirut, s. Lebanon (including killing 13 Lebanese in Ghaziyya s. of Sidon), the Biqa‘ Valley. Ground offensives also continue in s. Lebanon, with heavy clashes reported in Aytrun, Bint Jubayl (where the IDF claims to have killed 30 Hizballah mbrs.), Dibil (where 1 IDF soldier is killed), Labuna (where 2 IDF soldiers are killed); another 2 IDF soldiers are killed elsewhere and 23 wounded. Hizballah fires 160 rockets into n. Israel, hitting Acre, Fazouta, Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad, Tiberias. The WHO warns that if within 5 days Israel does not provide safety guarantees for oil tankers bringing fuel shipments to Lebanon (see 8/1), 60% of hospitals in Lebanon will “simply cease to function.” (BBC, Marketplace 8/8; BBC, HA, NYT, WP, WT 8/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Azun in a car with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, arrests 1 PSF mbr. who surrenders; conducts random ID checks in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; burns 70 d. of agricultural land btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Tulkarm (see 8/5). In Ramallah, 7 Palestinians working in the PC building are taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties after opening a suspicious letter addressed to PM Haniyeh; the building is evacuated. The PA head of military intelligence for n. Gaza dies of injuries received in an ambush in Jabaliya r.c. on 8/6; no group claims responsibility. (AP 8/7; WP 8/8; OCHA 8/9; PCHR 8/10)

Overnight, the IDF destroys the last remaining bridge over the Litani River linking n. and s. Lebanon; this cuts off access to Tyre. The IDF announces a 10:00 P.M. curfew on Tyre, saying that any movement there after dark and any vehicular traffic s. of the Litani River at any time will henceforth be considered Hizballah activity and a legitimate target. As UN mbrs. narrow differences on a cease-fire res., Olmert’s security cabinet discusses speeding up the IDF’s advance to the Litani River, escalating attacks on Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. During the day, the IDF continues heavy air, artillery strikes on some 150 targets across Lebanon, hitting s. Beirut (including 47 killed, 70 wounded in the Christian-Shi‘i suburb of al-Shiyah, where Shi‘a are pro-Amal), the Biqa‘ Valley (including Baalbek, Masnaa), in and around Nabatiyya (including 7 civilians killed in air strikes on cars traveling in Qasmiyya; 15 killed, 20 wounded in an air strike on an apartment building in Ghaziyya), and across s. Lebanon (including demolishing a 4-building apartment complex in Tyre), killing at least 69 Lebanese civilians; continues ground operations across s. Lebanon that leave 3 IDF soldiers dead, 7 wounded in Bint Jubayl and include heavy fighting in Hula (the IDF claims to kill at least 15 Hizballah mbrs.); downs an unmanned Hizballah drone off the s. Lebanon coast. Hizballah fires 130 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 10 Israelis, hitting targets in Acre, Carmiel, Kiryat Shimona (70 rockets), Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad. The ICRC says that the IDF has barred humanitarian aid missions to the south for 3 days. (BBC, NYT, WP 8/7; BBC, NYT, WP, WT 8/8; WP, WT 8/9; WP 8/10)

The IDF continues operations al-Shuka, making air and artillery strikes on buildings allegedly housing Hamas and Islamic Jihad weapons caches, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, conducting house-tohouse searches, prompting residents to flee, leaving 2 Palestinian civilians, 1 Palestinian militant dead, at least 1 Palestinian wounded. Late in the evening, the IDF expands operations deeper into Rafah, making air strikes on militant targets in heavily residential areas, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., 2 other armed Palestinians, a Palestinian woman and her 2 children, wounding at least 3 Palestinians; also destroys the remaining parts of a PA security barracks. Also in Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike destroying a home in Shatti r.c. nr. Gaza City after warning residents to evacuate. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm town; patrols in Tulkarm r.c.; conducts random ID checks in Hebron. The IDF also bars Palestinians under age 45 fr. attending Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. (NYT 8/4; WP 8/5; PCHR 8/10)

The IDF calls up more reservists (no details reported), moves additional artillery to the border with Lebanon; escalates air strikes on s. Beirut (killing at least 1 Lebanese soldier, wounding 2 soldiers, 4 civilians), hitting bridges and roads in Christian areas n. of the capital along the coast for the 1st time (killing a least 5 Lebanese civilians, wounding 19; hitting an 8-truck UN convoy, preventing the movement of other aid convoys south); also strikes targets in s. Lebanon (flattening 2 houses, leaving 50 Lebanese missing) as well as in Baalbek, Hermel, Qana (killing at least 28 farm workers, mostly Syrian Kurds) in the Biqa‘ Valley. Ground operations in s. Lebanon continue, with especially intense fighting in Aita al-Sha‘b, Markaba (where at least 3 IDF soldiers are killed and 1 tank is destroyed), Taybeh. Hizballah fires 195 rockets into n. Israel, hitting Buaineh, Carmiel, Hadera (50 mi. fr. the border, the deepest strike to date), Kiryat Shimona (hit by 60 missiles), Ma’alot, Migdal Hamek, Nahariya, Qunaytra, Safad, Shar Yishuv; killing 4 Israelis (including 3 Druze; 1 in Maghir, 2 in Majd al-Krum) wounding 8. (AP, NYT 8/4; NYT, WP, WT 8/5)

The IDF withdraws troops fr. the outskirts of Gaza City, where residents find the bodies of another Hamas mbr. and a 13-yr.-old Palestinian killed during recent clashes, 9 Palestinian homes completely demolished, 16 partially destroyed, at least 80 d. of agricultural land razed; conducts an air strike destroying a shed nr. the Rafah border allegedly hiding a smugglers tunnel. Palestinians fire rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly wounding 2 Israelis. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Azun nr. Qalqilya, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. (NYT, WT 7/29; PCHR 8/3)

The IDF continues air and artillery strikes across Lebanon, including making about 70 air strikes on Baruk in the central Biqa‘ valley, hitting a convoy of civilian vehicles evacuating Rmaysh in s. Lebanon, wounding a journalist. Ground fighting continues in Bint Jubayl, where the IDF claims at least 26 Hizballah mbrs. are killed; 6 IDF soldiers wounded. Hizballah for the 1st time fires 2 Khaybar-1 rockets (range up to 50 mi, payload up to 200 lb), striking Afula, 30 mi inside Israel, just n. of the West Bank; fires more than 100 rockets into n. Israel during the day, wounding 14 Israelis and hitting targets in Carmiel, Ma’a lot, Nahariya, Safad, Tiberias. (AP, ICRC press release 7/28; NYT, WP, WT 7/29)

In Gaza, the IDF closes the Nahal Oz pipeline; shells areas nr. Gaza City, killing at least 1 Palestinian militant, 1 Palestinian farmer working in her field; shells areas nr. Bayt Hanun (killing 1 Palestinian child outside his home, wounding 5 Palestinians), in al-Shuka; makes air strikes destroying 3 houses nr. Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 Palestinian bystander), in Bayt Hanun, Khan Yunis (also destroying 2 adjacent homes). In Jerusalem, a Palestinian gunman fires on Israeli police, wounding 2 before being shot dead. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin r.c. in cars with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, opens fire (wounding a Palestinian bystander in an apartment building nearby), occupying several surrounding houses as sniper positions, evacuates and checks IDs of residents, arrests 1 Palestinian, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 8 Palestinians (including 2 journalists covering the incident for al-Jazeera, Reuters); patrols in al-Bireh; begins construction of a new segment of the separation wall in Bayt Jala that will cut Palestinians off fr. 5,000 d. of agricultural land and cut off the access of Battir and Husan Nahalin villages to Bethlehem. The body of a Jewish settler fr. Yakir missing since early in the morning is found in a burnt-out vehicle nr. a West Bank Palestinian village; the AMB takes responsibility for kidnapping, killing him. In Israel, Israeli police free dual Israeli-Canadian citizen Falah after a Haifa District Court orders the police and/or Shin Bet to file formal charges against him or let him go (see 7/26). A Palestinian wounded during the 7/26 IDF raid on Kafr Qadim dies. A 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received during IDF operations in Nablus on 7/19. (OCHA 7/27; NYT 7/28; NYT 7/29; PCHR 8/3)

Israel’s security cabinet approves call-ups for up to 3 divisions of reservists (15,000–30,000 reserves) for the war on Lebanon. The IDF makes some 180 air and artillery strikes on targets across Lebanon, including hitting radio and TV relays in Amshit n. of Beirut, 3 trucks in the Biqa‘ Valley carrying emergency food supplies to Beirut. Ground clashes continue in Bint Jubayl, 2 residential apartment buildings nr. an Amal headquarters in Tyre; a Lebanese army base in n. Lebanon; roads, buildings in s. Lebanon and the Biqa‘ Valley, including al-Khiyam, Kafr, Nabatiyya, Sidon, Tuffah, Riyaq, Zahleh. The IDF broadcasts radio warnings to s. Lebanon residents that their villages would be “totally destroyed” if rockets are fired fr. them. Hizballah fires some 110 rockets into n. Israel, wounding 7 Israelis and hitting an empty factory in Haifa, also hitting sites in Carmiel, Nahariya Safad, Tiberias. (IFM 7/27; NYT, WP, WT 7/28)

The IDF withdraws troops fr. n. Gaza, leaving 60–130 Palestinian homes and a UNRWA clinic completely destroyed or uninhabitable; sends troops into al-Shuka village nr. Rafah, cutting electricity, bulldozing large areas of agricultural land, forcing 97 families (703 Palestinians) to flee their homes (UNRWA sets up 3 tent shelters in Jabaliya r.c. to house them); fires across the border into residential areas of Nussayrat r.c., wounding 1 Palestinian; shells and fires missiles fr. helicopters at areas in and around Abasan and nr. Khan Yunis; allows EU monitors to reopen the Rafah crossing for entry to Gaza; resumes shelling of n. Gaza late in the evening. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Bethlehem, raiding an apartment building, checking residents’ IDs, detaining 1 Palestinian; raids, vandalizes an UNRWA office and a youth center in Aida r.c.; raids the Ramallah Governate offices and the nearby office of the Palestine News Agency (WAFA), vandalizing them, detaining 5 Palestinians, including 2 PA police officers; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin. Unidentified gunmen fire on the home of a senior PSF official, killing 1 bodyguard, wounding 2. (OCHA 7/18; NYT 7/19; PCHR 7/20; OCHA 7/27)

The IDF strikes at least 110 targets across Lebanon, hitting a Lebanese army base (killing 11 soldiers, wounding 35), a home in s. Lebanon (killing 9 Lebanese civilians), targets in Baalbek; targets trucks in what is seen as a new campaign aimed at preventing Hizballah from relocating rockets, though most trucks hit are civilian ones bearing essential goods to Lebanese towns, including destroying a convoy in the Biqa‘ Valley carrying medical supplies fr. the UAE; continuing to destroy roads and bridges. At least 20 Lebanese are killed during the day. The IDF confirms that small special forces teams have been conducting “pinpoint operations” in s. Lebanon, searching for arms caches and tunnels, withdrawing quickly; today some teams clash with Hizballah mbrs. reportedly leaving 2 IDF soldiers dead, 3 injured. Hizballah fires up to 130 rockets at some 10 cities in n. Israel, killing 1 Israeli, wounding around 20 in Nahariya, also hitting Haifa, Kiryat Shimona, Safad, Tiberias. The UN estimates that 500,000 Lebanese (out of a population of 4 million) have fled their homes to escape the violence. Lebanese begin to report shortages and rising costs of essential items, such as food and gas; begin withdrawing cash from banks and converting money into dollars in preparation for long-term deflation and economic hardship. (AP 7/18; AP, REU 7/19; NYT, WP, WT 7/19)