Early Wednesday morning, Israeli tanks and armored vehicles invaded the Tufah urban neighborhood in Gaza randomly firing at residents and destroying homes and workshops in the neighborhood. At least 20 people were injured by Israeli fire and eleven killed by the troops. Two Palestinian homes and two workshops were also blown up by the invaders which left three dead men, including two brothers under the rubble of the Israeli armies’ destruction.

Israeli troops prevented ambulances and medics from attending to the wounded by firing their machineguns towards them. No one was allowed medical attention until the invasion carried out by the Israeli troops was over at 4 o’clock am Wednesday.

Israeli troops also killed a mentally ill Palestinian man this morning in Nablus, 32-year-old Nasser Abu Seif. As Israeli troops escalate their attacks on Palestinian residential areas, the number of Palestinians killed since mid Sunday has reached 27 in less than 60 hours.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of a Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) urges the international committee to condemn these attacks, and to take immediate steps to protect the Palestinians from the horrors of escalating Israeli militaristic measures. While all eyes are focused on Iraq, Israel’s Mofaz has escalated attacks against Palestinian civilians and residential areas. Palestinians are bracing themselves and getting ready for total reoccupation and escalation of destruction and death on the hands of Israeli troops, as expected during the war on Iraq.

MIFTAH calls for international monitors to provide protection and act as witnesses to the atrocities committed by the occupation troops in the Gaza and the West Bank including east Jerusalem. We urge all institutes of civil society, human rights groups and governments of the international community to break the silence and take real steps to end Israel’s aggression against an occupied population.

Names of the latest victims in Gaza: Ala’ El-Hilo, Said El-Hilo, Monzer Al-Safadi, Tamer El-Kita’, AbdelKareem Bkron, Amer El-daya, AbdelRahman El-Kasas, Ali Abu El-Khair, Iyad Abed, AbedElRaheem Abu El-Naj and Mohammad El-Sahloot.