Beit Hanoun, in the northeast of the Gaza Strip, is used by Hamas as a base for its rocket attacks on Israeli cities. In order to stop these rockets, the city is the frequent target of the Hebrew state.
On November 1, 2006, the Israelis launched their “Autumn Clouds” operation in retaliation, which lasted several days. At dawn on November 8, Israeli artillery shells fell on five houses in Beit Hanoun, killing eight children, five women and five men, and wounding 58. Among the dead were eleven members of the same family, including two children. This operation, the most deadly since June 2006, resulted in a total of 65 dead and many injured in one week.