In the early morning of Thursday, 25 August 2011, two Palestinian civilians were killed and 25 others, including 11 children and 7 women, were wounded as Israeli warplanes bombarded a sports club in a densely-populated area in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. The attack resulted extensive damages to dozens of neighboring houses and facilities. On Wednesday, 24 August 2011, an elderly farmer and a worker were killed and four civilians were wounded, while three other persons are missing inside a tunnel at the Egyptian border due to an Israeli air strike against the tunnels. These crimes are part of the Israeli military escalation against the Gaza Strip, which started on Thursday 08 August 2011. As a result of such escalation, 17 Palestinians were killed, including two children, and 14 others were wounded by shrapnel and dozens were injured to glass fragments because of attacks. Besides, civilian properties were damaged as a result. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) is gravely concerned over increasing casualties resulting from the Israeli excessive use of force and targeting civilian facilities that are located in densely-populated areas, which reflects disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians and property.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 00:05 on Thursday, 25 August 2011, Israeli warplanes launched a missile on al-Salama Sports Club near Beit Lahia project's market in the northern Gaza Strip. The attack resulted in the full destruction of the 3-storey building; the first floor includes a gym, the second floor includes the administration offices and a multi-use hall, while the third one includes a football and volleyball field established on a 1,000-square-meter area. Additionally, two Palestinian civilians were killed due to the attack, as they were in the garden of an adjacent house belonging to Abdul Rahman Mohammed al-Masri in the northwestern side of the club. The victims are: Salama Abdul Rahman al-Masri, 18, the son of the house's owner, who died immediately; and Alaa 'Adnan Mohammed al-Jakhbeer, 22, from Jabalya, who was accompanying al-Masri. Al-Jakhbeer suffered from a hemorrhage in the pelvis because of shrapnel and was transferred to the hospital, but he died two hours later. Additionally, 25 Palestinian civilians, including 11 children and seven women, sustained wounds and bruises due to the falling of smashed glass and stones at them. Moreover, extensive damages were caused to al-Huda Children Complex in Beit Lahia to the north of the club. The Complex established on an area of 1600 square meters consists of a kindergarten and a primary school. Dozens of houses surrounding the Club, three stores and three vehicles were damaged.
On Wednesday, 24 August, IOF killed an elderly famer, Isma'il Nemr Ammoum, 62, from al-Buriej refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. His body was torn apart and had not been found until the evening. Ammoum's body was transported to al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where he was identified. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, Ammoum was working in a farm belonging to al-Khaldi family in the northeast of al-Buriej refugee camp when he was targeted by a missile from an Israeli warplane.
In another crime, at approximately 23:30, the Israeli warplanes launched a missile on al-Brazil neighborhood in the south of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, targeting a tunnel in the area. As a result, a worker, Hisham 'Adnan Abdul Razeq Abu Harb, 20, from al-Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, was killed. Besides, another four persons were wounded, three of whom are workers and the fourth is a member of the National Security Forces. The wounded were transported to Martyr Mohammed Yusef al-Najjar Hospital in the town, where their wounds were described as moderate. The Palestinian Civil Defense declared that three workers were missing in the atragted tunnel.
PCHR condemns IOF's crimes against the Palestinian civilians, and:
1- Stresses that targeting houses, densely-populated areas and civilian targets reflects IOF's disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, and warns of more escalation of crimes against Palestinian civilians and their property in light of statements and threats launched by Israeli political and military leaders, which will bring about more victims in the Gaza Strip;
2- Points out that crimes committed by IOF constitute acts of reprisal and collective punishment in violation of Article 33 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War; and
3- Believes that the failure of the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to effectively act to stop crimes committed by IOF serves to encourage Israel and IOF to commit more crimes against Palestinian civilians and their property. The legal protection provided by the United States to Israel, and deliberate obstruction of the application of international humanitarian law, in addition to the conspiracy of silence practiced by European States towards crimes committed against Palestinian civilians do not only place Israel above the international humanitarian law, but also encourage it to unrestrictedly commit more crimes against Palestinian civilians. pchrgaza.org
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