May 28, 2008

Overnight, the IDF sends troops back into Shuka (see 5/27) to bulldoze 200 d. of agricultural land, demolish 4Palestinian homes, and arrest 12 Palestinians; IDF aircraft supporting the ground troops fire missiles at 2 groups of armed Palestinians who approach the area, killing 2 Palestinian gunmen, wounding 1 civilian. During the day, IDF troops stationed at Gaza’s Nahal Oz crossing fire on Palestinian children collecting scrap metal nearby, wounding 3. Israeli naval vessels fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya, Gaza City, and Rafah coasts, forcing them to return to shore. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb along the Gaza border e. of Dayr al-Balah as an IDF jeep patrolling inside Israel passes, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF sends bulldozers, troops into Bayt Hanun in n. Gaza, conducting house searches, bulldozing 50 d. of agricultural land, detaining several Palestinians for questioning, releasing them, and withdrawing around midnight. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Bethlehem to arrest a wanted Palestinian teenager; conducts evening arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus; conducts similar late-night operations in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah. A Palestinian civilian injured in an IDF air strike in al-Fukhari on 5/27 dies. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside a store previously criticized for “immoral behavior,” causing no injuries. (PCHR 5/29; OCHA 6/4; PCHR 6/5)