Human shields halt Israeli air strike on militants' homes

Palestinians stopped Israel on Nov. 19 from destroying the home of two militants by surrounding it with a human shield. In the first incident of its kind, hundreds of neighbors surrounded the home of Mohammed Baroud and climbed on its roof after he received a call from the Israeli army informing him he had 30 minutes to vacate his home before it was destroyed by missiles. The Israeli air force called off its strike because of the risk of killing a large number of civilians. It is the first time Palestinians have thwarted an Israeli air strike in this way. Israel has developed a strategy of telephoning its targets to ensure that nobody is inside when the homes are struck. Residents are given about half an hour to gather some clothes and escape. Neighbors are also contacted if the explosion is likely to be big enough to endanger them. Dozens of homes have been blown up on suspicion that they are the site for a smuggling tunnel or arms cache. It is likely that Israel will have to find a new way of destroying homes as the Nov. 19 protest began to be copied elsewhere. Nizar Rayan, a Hamas member who led the Jabalya protest, said Palestinians would continue to rush into every house to be threatened by bombardment. "We will pay with our lives to protect the houses of the fighters so they can resist the enemy assured that their homes are being protected," he said. The home of Baroud, a member of the Popular Resistance Committees in Beit Lahiya was the first to be saved. Mosques and Palestinian television sent out appeals and protesters gathered outside, chanting "Death to Israel. Death to America," and "We prefer martyrdom to surrender." Two hours later Israel warned Mohammed Nawajeh, a member of Hamas, that his house would be targeted and the same process occurred. Both men are accused by Israel of involvement in firing rockets at Israel. There was a sense of euphoria in Gaza that people had managed to stand up to the Israeli air force but Israel proved its military muscle later when an aircraft fired a missile at a car in Gaza City, wounding nine, including two Hamas militants. Four were children, aged five, 13, 14 and 16, who suffered shrapnel injuries, hospital officials said. Later an elderly man died of his wounds, they added. The military said the air strike target was a vehicle carrying senior members of the Hamas rocket-launching operation. Palestinians often avoid peaceful protest against Israel because they fear the army will treat them as if they were armed. However, during Israel's occupation of Beit Hanoun this month, a group of women managed to create a diversion to allow gunmen to flee a mosque, where they had been surrounded. Israel has been under added pressure to avoid killing civilians after 19 Palestinians were killed by shells in Beit Hanoun. Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian prime minister, visited Baroud's home to offer his support to the protest. "We are so proud of this national stand. It's the first step toward protecting our homes, the homes of our children," he said. "This strategy was decided by our people. [It] was decided by our leaders, who were here from all the factions... and so long as this strategy is in the interest of our people we support this strategy." A spokesperson for the Israeli army confirmed that the strike had been called off. "There was a building targeted last night but once civilians gathered on the roof we canceled the attack," he said. "We will continue operating against the terrorist infrastructure despite their use of uninvolved civilians as human shields."