2004 Israeli operation in Rafah

In response to a repeated shelling of Israeli communities with Qassam rockets and mortar shells from Gaza, the IDF operated mainly in Rafah – to search and destroy smuggling tunnels used by militants to obtain weapons, ammunition, fugitives, cigarettes, car parts, electrical goods, foreign currency, gold, drugs, and cloth from Egypt. The IDF launched a series of armored raids on the Gaza Strip (mainly Rafah and refugee camps around Gaza). On 22 March 2004, an Israeli helicopter gunship killed Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and on 17 April, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi was killed by IDF helicopter gunship strike. Buffer zone Since 2001, the IDF has routinely demolished Palestinian houses in Rafah, to create a buffer zone. Persons entering or approaching the buffer zone, including humanitarian workers, foreign dignitaries and UN observers came under fire. Until 2000, the IDF used a 20–40 meter wide buffer zone along the Gaza/Egypt border with a 2.5 to 3 meters high concrete wall topped with barbed wire. In 2002, the IDF destroyed hundreds of houses in Rafah, needed for expansion of the buffer zone and the building of an eight meter high and 1.6 kilometers long metal wall along the border. The wall also extends two meters underground. The wall is built some eighty to ninety meters from the border, which doubled the width of the patrol corridor. After the metal wall was completed in early 2003, the demolitions continued and were even increased dramatically. According to Human Rights Watch, the wall was built far inside the demolished area to create a new starting point for justifying further demolitions. Between 1 April 2003 and 30 April 2004, 487 more houses were demolished in Rafah. In May 2004, the Israeli government approved a plan to further expand the buffer zone. The Israeli military recommended demolishing all homes within three hundred meters of its positions, or about four hundred meters from the border. Human rights group PCHR recorded 290 destroyed houses in Rafah in May 2004. According to HRW, the IDF's justifications for the destruction were doubtful and rather consistent with the goal of having a wide and empty border area to facilitate long-term control over the Gaza Strip. == Aims of the operation ==

Initially, the operation just started as a response on the death of five soldiers in the Philadelphi corridor on 12 May 2004; on 13 May, the Israeli government reportedly approved a plan to widen the Philadelphi Route by destroying "dozens or perhaps hundreds" of homes. On 17 May, the IDF launched "Operation Rainbow" with the objectives: finding and destroying smuggling tunnels, targeting "terrorists", and securing the Philadelphi Route. On 18 May, rumours were spread about arms shipments in the Sinai from Iran, waiting to be smuggled through the tunnels into Gaza. Israeli media mentioned anti-aircraft missiles and long-range rockets waiting to get in, possibly via tunnels underneath the Suez canal. Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said on 20 May that the Rafah operation was necessary to protect Israeli civilian airliners from anti-aircraft missiles that smugglers were attempting to bring into Rafah. No captures of such weapons are known, and a high-ranking Egyptian official interviewed by Human Rights Watch denied the existence of the shipment. Many saw the assault on Rafah as excessive, and mainly motivated by an IDF desire to appear strong in the event of disengagement. ==The operation==

Preceding military actions On May 11 and May 12, two M-113 armoured personnel carriers, one of Givati's Dolev combat engineering company and of the Combat Engineering Corps "Tunnels' Team", were destroyed by Palestinian militants. The two separate attacks, in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood and the Philadelphi Route near Rafah and the Egyptian border, claimed the lives of 11 IDF soldiers. Soon, Israeli troops entered the buffer zone to recover body parts of the dead soldiers. In the evening, the IDF attacked Rafah with tanks and helicopter gunships, firing shells and missiles as residents fled. Several rows of houses were demolished. Around midnight the same day, the Israeli High Court of Justice issued an interim order temporarily barring the IDF from demolishing homes in the refugee camp, if the action was not part of "a regular military operation". Nevertheless, the IDF continued the destruction of homes until 15 May 5:00 am because of "immediate military necessity, a risk to soldiers, or a hindrance to a military operation", The ruling caused panic among the residents and hundreds of Palestinians fled from their homes. Israeli helicopters fired missiles on the office of the weekly newspaper al-Resala in Gaza City, destroying its offices. The next day, Israel started "Operation Rainbow". Operation Rainbow In the morning of 17 May 2004, the Israel army launched "Operation Rainbow". At 1 pm, the IDF closed the only road between Rafah and Khan Yunis and initiated a total siege. Armoured vehicles, main battle tanks and armoured bulldozers entered Rafah from the east through the Sofa Crossing, effectively cutting off Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip. The next day before dawn, the army surrounded Tel al-Sultan. Armoured vehicles, tanks and bulldozers supported by helicopter gunships entered the Tel al-Sultan quarter of Rafah simultaneously from several directions; the troops established a cordon around the area and separated the area from the rest of Rafah. A number of armoured vehicles entered through UNRWA schools in the southeastern part, causing extensive damage to the school grounds. Ambulances were prevented from evacuating the casualties out of fear that they would be hijacked by terrorists. Palestinians were prevented from accessing UNRWA's health clinic in the area. Israeli IDF Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers erected sand-barriers around Rafah to isolate it. Later, the D9s entered into the Rafah in order to open routes and demolish houses, allegedly used by militants. Extensive damage was caused to roads, water and sewage pipes and agricultural areas with greenhouses. Under pressure of sharp international criticism, the Israel government declared on 18 May that the plan to widen a buffer zone along the Egyptian border was cancelled, while the same day, the army massively invaded Rafah and continued its large-scale destruction. IDF snipers used abandoned houses as firing positions. Many houses were damaged or destroyed. Some 60 homes were demolished and 35 others partially destroyed. also greenhouses and equipment were destroyed. The IDF withdrew their main forces from the center of Tel al-Sultan and the curfew was lifted. On 22 and 23 May, a new incursion into the Brazil district took place. The IDF ordered all males in Abu Halaweh aged 16 years and above to gather and carried out house-to-house searches and demolitions. The IDF deliberately demolished two houses with the family who refused to leave inside. A soldier entered a house with a Palestinian as human shield. In Tel al-Sultan, the IDF destroyed with bulldozers and tanks two large agricultural areas full of greenhouses. During the early hours of 24 May, Israeli forces withdrew completely from Tel al-Sultan, but remained present in the Brazil area until the end of the month. About 40 homes were destroyed from early in the morning until 6 pm. On 1 June the operation officially ended. Surprisingly, the IDF choose to invade areas where armed resistance was limited, apparently to minimize confrontation with armed groups. == Destruction of the Rafah zoo ==

On 21 May the Israeli army completely destroyed the Rafah zoo, nearly 800 meters from the Egypt–Gaza border. The IDF said they had destroyed the zoo while en route to another objective and because an alternate route had been booby-trapped. According to Human Rights Watch, the deliberate and time-consuming nature of the destruction, the seizure of the four-story Juma’ house, and the stationing of several tanks there for over a day means that it was not an action en route, but rather part of enforcing a cordon. The Guardian alleged that the IDF evolved the explanation of its actions. Mohammed Juma also accused Israeli soldiers of stealing valuable African parrots. == Accusations of human rights violations ==

Al Mezan reported grave human rights violations. Many Palestinian civilians were killed. Many homes were destroyed or damaged. Medical services were obstructed, ambulances attacked, dead bodies could not be collected. Humanitarian assistance was denied. Large-scale wilful destruction of properties was reported; properties were stolen, soldiers urinated on mattresses and furniture. Civilians were systematically used as human shields. According to Al Mezan, the use as human shield was common use in such Israeli operations. ==Results==

Casualties From 12 to 15 May the IDF reportedly killed nine Palestinian civilians and six fighters. Eleven IDF soldiers died on 12–13 May, later during the military operation two Israeli soldiers were killed and two more wounded. As of 23 May 2004 one smuggling tunnel had been found, which according to the Israeli army was 25 feet deep and contained explosives. According to UN relief agency UNRWA, the IDF destroyed 45 buildings during the operation and 155 buildings in Rafah over the past month. Human rights groups estimated that the army had demolished some 170–180 buildings in Rafah, including some 300 homes. About 2,000 people became homeless in Operation Rainbow. According to Human Rights Watch, during 12–24 May, 254 houses were destroyed, leaving nearly 3,800 people homeless, and 44 another houses in the Rafah area during the same month in other operations. ==Aftermath==

On 29 June 2004, Israel started an invasion of Beit Hanoun. On 29 September, after a Qassam rocket hit the Israeli town of Sderot and killed two Israeli children, the IDF launched an invasion of the north of the Gaza Strip. The operation's stated aim was to remove the threat of Qassam rockets from Sderot. The operation ended on 16 October, leaving widespread destruction and some 130 Palestinians dead. ==See also==