Thousands of soldiers entered the settlement at dawn, beginning the second day of forcible removal of Gaza's settlers, and quickly encircled the heavily fortified synagogue and two nearby buildings. After failed attempts to negotiate a peaceful surrender, troops began moving into homes.
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"Why did you become a soldier? To be in this crazy situation?" screamed a young mother, cradling a baby, as soldiers entered her home.
In another house, a husband and wife lay on the floor, shrieking and clutching their small children.
A soldier participating in the evacuation of a religious school suddenly disobeyed orders and was quickly carried away by troops.
Elsewhere, troops burst in on a family celebrating a birthday party of a child and entered a nursery school crowded with protesters. People sang and danced as the troops entered, and about two dozen young children were playing with toys.
On the first day of forced evacuation on Wednesday, there had been relatively little violence. In all, 11 out of 21 Gaza settlements stood empty on Thursday.
