The girl just left the house to buy something from a nearby shop, her uncle said

RAFAH, May 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies ) – Israeli occupation forces killed a four-year-old Palestinian girl in Rafah Saturday, May 22, as a U.N. official said the Israeli offensive on the city this week left "very moving" scenes of human losses and destruction.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said in a statement, a copy of which was sent to IslamOnline.net, that Israel should carry out an "independent" investigation into killing 22 peaceful protesters by the army during the devastating incursion.

Rawan Abu-Zeid's uncle Khader said the girl had just left the house to buy something from a nearby shop.

"She took half a shekel from her father and left the house. As she left we heard heavy shooting and when we went out we found her on the ground, two bullets in her neck and head," Abu-Zeid was quoted by Reuters as saying.

He noted that Israeli snipers were positioned near the home. The occupation forces gave no comment on the shooting.

The girl's death brought to 42 the number of Palestinian deaths in the camp since Tuesday, May 17, including killing at least 22 people who were protesting against the devastating raid on Rafah.

Israel redeployed tanks and troops around the refugee camp Friday, under international pressure to the end fighting, but said the offensive in the area was not over.

Army snipers could be seen on rooftops on the outskirts of the neighborhood of Tal el-Sultan, which saw some of the week's most deadly fighting. Journalists were ordered not to enter the area by one tank crew, according to Reuters.

Also Saturday, medics reported the death of a 17-year-old who died from wounds sustained in the invasion of Gaza City last week.

The fatalities bring the overall toll since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation to 4,064, including 3,088 Palestinians and 918 Israelis, according to the count of Agence France-Presse (AFP).

'Very Moving'

In the meantime, Peter Hansen, the chief of the United Nations agency for refugees UNRWA, toured the devastated Brazil area of Rafah, and was greeted by angry residents whose homes were razed by Israeli bulldozers.

He talked with Palestinians amid the rubble of their homes, destroyed by the deadly Israeli offensive, and also visited a U.N.-run school where homeless refugees were being housed.

"As always when you see so many civilians losing their homes and finding themselves destitute, it's very, very moving," Hansen told AFP.

"People were pleading with us to provide them replacement housing and the simple basic necessities, but I cannot give them much reassurance because the rate of destruction is outpacing the rebuilding we can do".

Residents harangued the U.N. agency chief for the international community's failure to pressure Israel into stopping its "Operation Rainbow" campaign.

"We don't want compensation for our land. We want to be able to build our houses on our land. We don't want to leave again," said Rafah refugee camp resident Nabil al-Tahrawi.

As Hansen was touring the Brazil neighborhood, gunfire was heard in the streets and an Israeli tank rolled into position at the end of the road.

"It seems to be approaching Jenin," Hansen said, referring to Israel's the biggest offensive launched in the Palestinian territories since the 1967 war.

According to a U.N. report, 52 Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank during the 10-day offensive in 2002.

UNRWA stressed in May that the "total number of Palestinians made homeless by Israeli’s military demolition campaign climbed above 12,000 this month.

'Thorough' Investigation

In conformity with the international outcry, Amnesty International urged the Israeli authorities to promptly carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the killing of several people, including four children, during the Rafah peaceful demonstration.

Amnesty International delegates were in the vicinity of the demonstration at the time of the incident, the London-based group said in its statement.

They saw Israeli army helicopters hovering over the area where the demonstration was taking place, dropping what appeared to be flares; shortly after they heard several rounds of heavy shelling.

Amnesty refuted Israeli claims that the warplanes were shelling an empty building to deter the protestors, or that the angry demonstrators were led by gunmen.

"In light of a pattern of inadequate investigations or lack of investigations into unlawful killings and excessive use of force by the Israeli security forces resulting in death or injury to Palestinians, it is imperative that a thorough and independent investigation be promptly carried out by the Israeli judicial authorities," it said.

Amnesty described the Rafah offensive as a part of a "war crimes", while French daily Le Monde called it a "dirty war" launched by occupation forces against the Palestinians.

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution on May 19, condemning Israel for killing civilians and demolishing houses in Rafah.