Thousands flee homes as Gaza death toll reaches 166, including 30 children

The exodus from Beit Lahia and Attatra in the northern Gaza strip came after Israel dropped leaflets and sent text messages warning civilians to evacuate by midday in advance of a large-scale bombing campaign. The area, which Israel says are rocket-launching sites, is home to at least 100,000 people.

A senior Israeli military officer said Israel would strike the Beit Lahia area from late yesterday evening. “The enemy has built rocket infrastructure in between the houses,” he said. “He wants to trap me into an attack and into hurting civilians.”

The leaflet warned: “Those who fail to comply with the instructions will endanger their lives and the lives of their families. Beware.”

As the ultimatum drew near, large numbers raced by in pickup trucks or on donkey carts, waving white flags, with many heading to UN-run schools that were taking in refugees. “They are sending warning messages,” said one resident, Mohammad Abu Halemah. “Once we received the message, we felt scared to stay in our homes. We want to leave.”

In Beit Lahia after the deadline had expired, it was clear most residents had opted to stay in their homes. Some shops were open, and hospitals called for volunteers from medical schools to help treat an expected influx of casualties.

The warning was issued hours after Israeli naval commandos launched an early morning raid on a beach in the Sudaniya neighbourhood in the north of Gaza City, targeting another rocket-launching site. On Saturday the coastal enclave suffered the bloodiest day of the six-day Israeli assault, with 54 Palestinians reported killed.

A ground offensive into Gaza is likely to sharply increase civilian casualties. So far 166 people have been killed, including 30 children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. There have been several Israeli injuries but no fatalities.

17 killed in house

In the worst single incident of the conflict so far, at least 17 people were killed and 45 injured when two large Israeli bombs hit a house in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City where the city’s chief of police, Tayseer al-Batsh, was sheltering. Five other people were missing, presumed dead.

Israel has been massing tanks and soldiers at Gaza's borders, which some fear could signal a wider ground offensive that would cause heavy casualties. "We don't know when the operation will end," Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting yesterday. "It might take a long time."

The beach raid by several dozen commandos at 2am yesterday was the first time Israeli forces have set foot in Gaza in the current campaign.

Four commandos were reportedly lightly injured after apparently being spotted by waiting Palestinian fighters.

Saad al-Dawla, the night watchman of the Mathaf hotel, said he was sleeping when the commandos came to the beach. “I was sleeping in the lobby with a friend. At the beginning we heard shooting from the Palestinian side. I got up and looked out the window and saw that there were people shooting from the water. Almost immediately an [Israeli] helicopter came and started shooting at the water as well,” he said. “Later I heard shelling from the sea and the sound of a warship’s siren. The whole thing lasted about two hours.”

Asked whether Hamas or other groups had watchers near the beach, Dawla said he did not know. Ladders at a mosque overlooking the beachfront and leading to its tower strongly suggested a sentry had been posted there.

Earlier in the evening two bombs demolished a house belonging to Majid Batsh, a cousin of the Hamas chief of police Tayseer. All that remained of the substantial building yesterday morning were a few concrete stumps of the pillars that had supported it. A girl aged three was among those killed in the bombing.

“They were my cousins,” said Mohammad al-Batsh (20), a civil engineering student. “I was coming home from mosque when I heard a huge explosion. At first I didn’t know where the sound was coming from. The air was full of dust and smoke. It felt like an earthquake.

‘Destruction everywhere’

“When I got here, I saw destruction everywhere. The bodies were so badly burned I could not recognise anyone. Thirteen of the dead came from my cousin Majid’s family. He was just a driver. There are five still missing, including a pregnant woman.”

Palestinians with foreign passports began leaving Gaza through the Erez border crossing yesterday.

Israel has launched more than 1,300 air strikes since the offensive began, the military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said. Palestinian militants have launched more than 800 rockets at Israel, including 130 in the last 24 hours, the Israeli military.

Israel has said it is acting in self-defence against rockets that have disrupted life across much of the country. It also accuses Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields.

Critics say Israel’s heavy bombardment of one of the most densely populated territories in the world is the main factor putting civilians at risk.

– (Guardian service)