The Palestine Chronology

Overnight, the IDF launches ground operations in al-Shuka, using helicopters, drones, and some 50 tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers; seals off Dahaniyya airport, the eastern entrance to Rafah, the main north–south Gaza highway; makes heavy air and artillery strikes on residential areas throughout the day, with Palestinian militants retaliating with antitank and light weapons fire, leaving 2 Hamas mbrs., 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., 1 PA security officer, 5 bystanders dead and more than 30 Palestinians wounded (including at least 8 militants, 18 civilians). Palestinians fire 4 rockets toward Israel, but all land inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya and in ‘Ayn alSultan r.c. nr Jericho, Balata r.c., Hebron, Nablus. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 8/3; NYT, WP 8/4; PCHR 8/10)

The IDF operates in 20 villages in s. Lebanon, most of them less than 2 mi. inside the border, engaging in intense clashes with Hizballah (particularly in Bint Jubayl, Maroun al-Ras, Marwahin, Rajmin), with Hizballah killing 4 IDF soldiers, wounding 4, destroying at least 4 APCs in Aita al-Sha‘b and Taybeh. The IDF also continues air strikes across Lebanon, including in s. Beirut (hitting houses of senior Hizballah and Hamas mbrs.), Blat, Nabatiyya, Rashaya, Taybeh, in the Biqa‘ Valley, and in the far n. nr. the border with Syria. Hizballah fires around 180 rockets into n. Israel, killing 5 Israeli civilians in Acre and 3 bedouin in Tarshiha nr. Ma’alot (all 8 killed during a 1- hr. barrage of 40 rockets), also hitting Kiryat Shimona (in another barrage of 30 rockets). (BBC, JAZ, NYT 8/3; AP, NYT, WP, WT 8/4)

In Gaza, the IDF shells areas nr. Khan Yunis, wounding 2 Palestinians and damaging an ambulance coming to their rescue; fires on a Palestinian family tending their fields nr. the border fence with Israel e. of al-Qarara, killing a Palestinian teenager; bulldozes 7 d. of agricultural land nr. al-Maghazi r.c. Palestinians fire several rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the Israeli forces send undercover units into al-Bireh for a day-long operation, imposes a curfew, surrounds 2 apartment buildings, occupies neighboring homes as sniper and observation posts, orders all residents out for ID checks, then raids the building arresting a wanted Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 1), Nablus; bulldozes 10s of d. of agricultural land nr. Bethlehem for construction of the separation wall. To protest U.S. Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice’s mtg. with Abbas today, Palestinians in Ramallah observe a general strike, 100s conduct a protest march (some waving Lebanese flags). A Jewish settler fr. Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem fires on a 47- yr.-old Palestinian walking nearby, wounding him with a live bullet in the jaw. A Jewish settler fr. Tene Oranim in Hebron throws a grenade at Palestinian shepherds tending a flock nearby, wounding 1 Palestinian, killing 3 sheep. A Palestinian civilian injured during Israeli operations in al-Maghazi r.c. on 7/19 dies. (NYT, WP, WT 7/26; PCHR 7/27)

Israeli Forces conduct air and artillery strikes on a UN Observer Group Lebanon post near al-Khiyam, hitting the area 21 times (at least 11 of them air strikes), killing 4 unarmed UN Truce Supervision Organization mbrs., continuing the aerial assault while rescue efforts are underway; continues air strikes in s. Beirut and across s. Lebanon, especially in Nabatiyya (where at least 6 Lebanese civilians are killed when 2 homes are hit by missiles), Tyre. Ground battles involving Israeli tank and Hizballah antitank fire, fierce house-to-house combat supported by Israeli artillery and helicopter fire continue in Bint Jubayl and Maroun al-Ras and are reported in Yaron to the west; by nightfall, Israel claims to have secured control of Bint Jubayl, killed senior Hizballah cmdr. Abu Jaafir and 20–30 Hizballah mbrs., though there is no independent confirmation; at least 3 Israeli soldiers are wounded. Hizballah fires more than 90 rockets into n. Israel, killing an Israeli Druze in Maghir, injuring 30 Israelis (mostly suffering fr. shock); other targets include Haifa, Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad, Tiberias. (NYT, WP, WT 7/26; NYT 7/27)

In Gaza, the IDF drops leaflets on and makes automated phone calls to residents in n. Gaza warning them to evacuate areas around rocket launch sites, buildings used by militants; shells Bayt Lahiya, killing 3 Palestinian civilians, wounding 11 others (the IDF says a shell may have misfired); repeatedly shells Bayt Hanun and perimeter, killing 3 Palestinian civilians, wounding 8; shells a shed on a farm nr. Gaza City, allegedly serving as a weapons depot. IDF troops stationed at the Dahaniyya airport fire on residential areas of nearby al-Shuka, wounding 1 Palestinian woman outside her home. Palestinians fire 8 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts air strikes destroying 2 Palestinian homes in Gaza City and Khan Yunis (belonging to an Islamic Jihad mbr.), damaging surrounding stores and residences, wounding 3 bystanders; in both cases, the IDF phoned the homes 20 min. before the attack to warn residents to evacuate. The IDF also makes an air strike destroying a house of a Hamas mbr. under construction in Brazil r.c., also destroying 2 neighboring homes, damaging several others, wounding 15 bystanders (including 7 children). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Beitunia nr. Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jericho, Tulkarm, and in ‘Askar r.c., Azariyya, Jenin town and r.c.; bulldozes 35 d. of Palestinian land for construction of the separation wall nr. Jerusalem. (WP 7/24; NYT, WP 7/25; PCHR 7/27; B’Tselem 8/3)

IDF ground forces advance another halfmile into s. Lebanon, using bulldozers to clear roads and demolish buildings, engaging Hizballah mbrs. in Bint Jubayl and encountering artillery fire, antitank weapons, land mines, leaving 2 IDF soldiers dead, 14–20 IDF soldiers wounded, 2 Hizballah mbrs. captured, an unknown number of Hizballah casualties, up to 5 IDF tanks disabled; an IDF helicopter returning fr. Bint Jubayl crashes in the n. Galilee, killing another 2 IDF soldiers. Meanwhile, IDF-Hizballah clashes continue in Maroun al-Ras. The IDF also continues air strikes across Lebanon, targeting at least 70 Hizballah sites (particularly around Tyre), killing at least 7 Lebanese civilians; also hitting a UN post, injuring 4 UNIFIL soldiers. Hizballah fires around 80 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 20 Israelis, 2 seriously, and starting brush fires. (JAZ, NBC Nightly News, Slate, Wall Street Journal 7/24; NYT, WP, WT 7/25; WP 7/26)

The IDF conducts air strikes on the home of a Hamas mbr. in Gaza City, causing severe damage; the IDF phoned the target’s cell phone and local PA police before the strike to warn them to evacuate the house. The IDF also sends troops, bulldozers into the Erez industrial zone, firing on residential areas inside Gaza, wounding at least 1 Palestinian civilian. Palestinians fire around 12 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; also fire on an IDF post at Erez crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin. Just after dawn, 3 armed Jewish settlers break into a Palestinian home in Haris nr. Salfit, threaten residents; the IDF intervenes, stating that the Palestinians had “threatened the security of settlers.” The PA makes payments of $330 to each of 165,000 civil servants who have not received salaries since 3/06. (NYT, WP, WT 7/24; OCHA, PCHR 7/27)

The IDF continues air strikes across Lebanon, hitting Hizballah leadership posts in Beirut, targets in Sidon and the eastern Biqa‘ Valley, road traffic in s. Lebanon (including convoys of civilians heading north); ground troops in Maroun al-Ras move 2 mi deeper into Lebanon, engaging Hizballah mbrs. in Bint Jubayl. At least 8 Lebanese (including a press photographer) are killed and 45 wounded during the day. Hizballah fires nearly 100 rockets on n. Israel, hitting Haifa (killing 1 Israeli, 1 Israeli Palestinian; wounding 18). Israel says it has fired more than 20,000 artillery shells into Lebanon since 7/12. (NYT 7/23; NYT, WP, WT 7/24)

The IDF continues to shell n. Gaza, wounding at least 1 Palestinian civilian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian militant wounded during the 7/19–20 IDF raid on al-Maghazi r.c. dies of his injuries. (PCHR 7/27)

The IDF continues its troop build-up on the n. Israel border, artillery strikes and heavy air raids across Lebanon, incursions by small special forces units into the south. In its 1st major ground operation, the IDF sends some 2,000 soldiers, a tank brigade, armor into Maroun al-Ras (a Hizballah stronghold, reportedly largely depopulated since fighting began) on the central s. Lebanese border, stating later that after heavy, close combat, it has taken control of the town and several surrounding villages; at least 3 Hizballah mbrs., as many as 7 IDF soldiers may have been killed, several tanks disabled. Meanwhile, the IDF continues to warn s. Lebanon residents to move northward; Sidon reports some 35,000 displaced Lebanese arriving in the city today; Tyre, the largest s. Lebanese town, reports that only around 5,000 of its 175,000 residents remain. Among the targets hit in IDF air strikes are TV and cell phone transmission towers n. of Beirut (killing at least 1 Lebanese); 2 ICRC ambulances nr. Qana, killing 1 patient and injuring 6 medics, 2 patients; Hizballah targets in Baalbek, s. Beirut, Hermel, Sidon, Tyre. At least 8 Lebanese are killed during the day. Hizballah fires some 130 rockets into n. Israel, wounding 10–20 Israelis (3 seriously); targets include Carmiel, Haifa, Kiryat Shimona, Nahariya, Safad. Israel allows some ships bearing humanitarian aid to enter Lebanese ports. (AFP 7/22; NYT, WP, WT 7/23; NYT 7/24; WP 7/25)