2004 Beit Hanoun raid

Between 29 June and 5 August 2004, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a raid on Beit Hanoun, a Palestinian town in the northern Gaza Strip. The stated goal of The 37-day-long invasion and siege, called Operation Forward Shield by Israel, was to prevent future rocket attacks from Gaza following the deaths of two residents of the Israeli town of Sderot on 28 June.

Nineteen or twenty Palestinians were killed in the raid, including six children, and about 70 houses were destroyed.

Background
On 28 June 2004, two residents of the Israeli town of Sderot were killed in a rocket attack by Palestinian militants firing from inside the occupied Gaza Strip. Following these deaths, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a raid, which they called "Operation Forward Shield", on Beit Hanoun, a Palestinian town in the north-eastern Gaza Strip. The stated goal of the raid was to prevent future rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The operation, which occurred ahead of the planned unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, was preceded by Operation Rainbow and followed by Operation Days of Penitence.

Raid
The raid started around midnight of 28/29 June 2004 with a direct attack on the offices of local and international media. Four missiles were launched from an attack helicopter at the offices of inter alia BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, the German broadcast ARD and Al-Jeel. It was the third Israeli attack against media in Gaza in less than two months. The IDF said it targeted "a structure which was used by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza City", that the building was "a communications center which maintained constant contact with terrorists", and that it had distributed "incitement material" from Hamas. Human Rights Watch and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said it was a clear attempt to silence local Palestinian media. The Committee to Protect Journalists wrote a letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, expressing its concerns.

At about 5 am on 29 June 2004, the IDF deployed its forces around Beit Hanoun, attacking it and neighbouring areas with tanks and helicopters. On 3 August, the IDF expanded the operation further west with tanks and other armoured vehicles. During the entire period of 37 days, civilian movement into, out of and within the town was banned. The IDF began its redeployment on 5 August at 1 am.

Casualties
During the raid, 19 or 20 Palestinians were killed, including 6 children.

Damage
The operation caused large-scale damage and destruction to property and infrastructure through the use of tanks and bulldozers. According to PCHR, 70 houses were destroyed. The Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported 33 completely destroyed homes. The IDF damaged and destroyed schools, health and other public facilities, kindergartens, mosques, factories, workshops, sewerage pumps and security posts. There was large-scale damage to infrastructure, including to the water supply, electricity, sewerage networks and roads. Sixteen water-wells were destroyed.

One of the main components of Operation Forward Shield involved the levelling of agricultural land by IDF bulldozers and tanks. Orchards were almost completely destroyed. In addition, six livestock farms were destroyed. Some 2,600–4,000 dunams of agricultural land were razed and destroyed.

Violation of international law
According to PCHR, the IDF was responsible for large-scale damage and destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure. They also accused it of systematically obstructing medical assistance, stating that a number of Palestinians died as a result. They also claimed that ambulances, clinics, medical centres and medical crews were systematically fired at, and personnel were threatened.

Al Mezan reported that the IDF occupied 36 homes. In one case, soldiers systematically detained the inhabitants inside one room of the house, held them hostage and used them as human shields.

Al Mezan claimed that the siege constituted collective punishment of the entire population, calling it a breach of international humanitarian law, especially the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. Attacks on the press are considered a breach of international humanitarian law.