UPDATE: War in Jenin

April 06, 2002 1800: Yesterday at Al Razi hospital in Jenin, doctors and medics watched on helplessly as 28-year-old Nidal Al Haj bled to death inside the hospital yard. Dr. Ali Jabareen from the hospital explained how;the medics waited for a long time, but they could get to him because of the shelling;. Hospitals report a shortage of oxygen and other medical supplies. Our sources in Jenin report the a dreadful humanitarian situation. The Israeli army has attacked continuously throughout the night, the refugee camp and the city. Apache helicopters have attacked and seriously damaged around 50 houses in the western side of the camp, 20 people are reported injured, bleeding in the street. Reports from the inhabitants are that there are 15 dead bodies in different locations, but again ambulances came under attack when trying to gain access to these bodies; this time with ammunition from the helicopters.

The latest news from Jenin is that the Israel army is systematically bulldozing houses in the refugee camp, which is home to some 15,000 Palestinians in an area of one kilometre squared. This is happening at the same time they are dropping tear gas from helicopters on the camp.
For two days the camp has resisted the Israeli invasion so now the nature of the invasion has changed. In an unprecedented breach of human rights, Israeli occupation soldiers announced in the afternoon that they would cease their fire in order to allow the women and elderly to get water only to arrest them and use them as human shields later on.
Since the residents have had no water for days, a number of women and elderly men came out of their homes. However, as they reached the camp's entrance, where Israeli tanks and personnel carriers are, they were all detained. Shortly after that, residents reported hearing the Israeli forces calling out on the microphone to the resistance fighters and security officers to surrender in order to save the lives of the detained civilians.
The detainees were seen strapped to the tanks and personnel carriers, which resumed their bombardment campaign shortly after that call for surrender.. Strikingly, the Israeli officer previously heading the Jenin reoccupation offensive was reprimanded and removed from his duty after having failed to take over the camp in the past four days. Currently, Shaul Mofaz, Israel's Chief of Staff, heads the brutal operation personally. Palestinian officials have thus held him directly responsible for the atrocities taking place in the Jenin refugee camp.