A/HRC/2/5 page 11 24. There has been heavy fighting between Palestinian militants and IDF. IDF has used tanks and bulldozers, supported by helicopters that have fired flares and machine guns to provide cover for ground forces. F. Shelling and sonic booms 25. Israel has maintained unrelenting shelling of the Gaza Strip since 25 June. Several thousand shells have been fired, an estimated 200-250 each day. IAF had conducted at least 220 aerial bombings as of 3 August and fighter jets have fired air-to-surface missiles. This has been accompanied by F-16s flying low and breaking the sound barrier over Gaza, causing sonic booms that are as loud as the actual bombardments. These sonic booms have caused widespread terror among the population, particularly children. If terrorism has any meaning, then it is surely this. A doctor from Gaza has written about the effects of sonic booms and artillery shelling on her 13-year-old daughter in the following words: “My daughter is restless, panicked and afraid to go out, yet frustrated because she cannot see her friends. When Israeli fighter planes fly by day and night, the sound is terrifying. My daughter usually jumps into bed with me, shivering with fear. Then both of us end up crouching on the floor. My heart races, yet I try to pacify my daughter, to make her feel safe. But when the bombs sound, I flinch and scream. My daughter feels my fear and knows that we need to pacify each other. I am a doctor, and mature, middle-aged woman, but with sonic booming, I become hysterical” (Dr. Mona El-Farra, The Boston Globe, 10 July 2006). 26. Palestinians are not blameless when it comes to shelling. Militants continue to fire Qassam home-made rockets indiscriminately into Israel, injuring Israeli civilians, damaging civilian infrastructure and causing fear among the civilian population living near the Gaza border. It is estimated that eight to nine rockets are fired each day. G. Targeted assassinations 27. Targeted assassinations have continued, with the inevitable “collateral damage” to civilians. H. Terrorism by telephone 28. The Israeli military has now resorted to a new method of psychological terror. Palestinians in Gaza are telephoned by Israeli military intelligence agents and warned that their houses will be blown up in less than one hour. This threat is sometimes carried out and sometimes not. This tactic has inevitably caused psychological distress and panic amongst Palestinians. Palestinians forced to leave their homes in this way have become internally displaced persons forced to live in UNRWA school premises. I. Hospitals and health 29. Israeli forces demolished the outside wall of the new emergency hospital in Beit Hanoun. Nevertheless, the hospital continues to function but is seriously impaired. Generators are being used to operate X-ray departments and operation theatres. Referrals abroad of patients from the