Ref: 127/2012
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli Occupation Forces in
the course of the offensive on the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing for the
fourth consecutive day has increased to 37, including 17 civilians. The
civilian deaths include 6 children and 2 women. Additionally, 394 Palestinians,
including 381 civilians, have been wounded – this number includes 107 children
and 64 women. Dozens of civilian and governmental facilities have been also
destroyed. Israeli airstrikes over the past 24 hours have been intense and
severe, and have targeted civilian and governmental facilities located in
densely-populated areas, causing civilian causalities, contrary to Israeli forces’
claims that they do not target civilians and civilian property. Israeli
missiles have also hit populated houses.
The latest developments since the press release issued by PCHR
yesterday noon, 16 November 2012, have been as follows:
The Northern Gaza Strip:
Since Friday evening, 16 November 2012, Israeli forces have
launched 47 airstrikes, targeting agricultural plots, open areas, a house, and
a garden. As a result of these attacks, 2 Palestinian civilians, including 1
woman, have been killed, and 64 civilians, including 27 children and 12 women
and a member of a Palestinian armed group, have been wounded. The 2 civilians were
killed on Friday noon, when an Israeli warplane attacked a number of civilians
who were in the garden of a house belonging to Ghazi Abed Salman on Beit Lahia
main road. They were identified as: Tahreer Ziad Salman, 22, and Mohammed Talal
Saad Salman, 27. Another 3 civilians were wounded in the attack. In a serious
development, this morning, Israeli warplanes fired 3 missiles at a house
belonging to Suleiman Abdul Hamid Salah near al-Khulafa Mosque in Jabalya town.
The house was destroyed with its residents inside, and 31 civilians, including
12 children and 7 women, were wounded. The wounded include 12 residents of the
house. Additionally, dozens of nearby houses were heavily damaged.
Gaza City:
Israeli forces have launched dozens of airstrikes on Gaza City,
targeting governmental and civilian facilities and other objects mostly located
in densely-populated areas. The targets have included the building of the
Council of Ministers in the west of the City, which was completely destroyed
and a number of nearby houses damaged; the building of the police command in
the center of the City, which was completely destroyed and a number of nearby
houses damaged; the building of the Civil Department of the Ministry of
Interior in the south of the City, which was attacked for the second time,
causing damage to al-Quds Hospital and a
number of public and UNRWA school; and Palestine Stadium in al-Remal
neighborhood in the center of the City, which was extensively damaged. As a
result of an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening, Younis Kamel Tafesh, 55, was
killed while he was riding his bicycle in al-Zaytoun neighborhood when Israeli
warplanes bombarded a farmland in the area. Additionally, a member of a
Palestinian armed group died this morning of wounds he had sustained on Friday
evening when Israeli forces bombarded al-Shujaiya neighborhood in the east of
Gaza City. In other attacks, 16 Palestinian civilians, including 3 women and 7
children, and a member of a Palestinian armed group were wounded.
The Central Gaza Strip:
Israeli forces have launched 26 air strikes and some marine attacks
on the central Gaza Strip, targeting farmlands, space areas, two houses, a
motorcycle and a mosque. The mosque was completely destroyed, and a number of
nearby houses and two UNRWA schools were damaged. As a result of these attacks,
8 Palestinians, including 3 civilians, were killed, and 18 civilians, including
5 women and 4 children, and a member of a Palestinian armed group have been
wounded. The 3 civilians were killed together with Ahmed Mohammed Jaddou Abu
Jalal, 34, a leader of the Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas);
they were sitting near Abu Jalal’s house in al-Maghazi refugee camp, when an
Israeli warplane fired a missile at them. The civilian victims were identified
as: Amjad Mohammed Jaddou Abu Jalal, 33 (Ahmed’s brother); Ziad Farhan Suleiman
Abu Jalal, 23; and Hassan Salem Abu Hmaile, 28.
Khan Yunis:
Israeli forces have launched 16 airstrikes, targeting agricultural
areas. On Friday morning, a member of a Palestinian armed group was killed, and
another wounded, when Israeli warplanes bombarded a farmland area in al-Satar
al-Gharbi area in the north of Khan Yunis. Four members of Palestinian armed
groups and 1 child were also wounded as a result of 2 separate airstrikes in
the west and east of Khan Yunis. Additionally, an Israeli airstrike targeted
the yard of the campus of the Islamic University in Maan village, east of Khan
Yunis.
Rafah:
Israeli forces have launched 45 airstrikes on Rafah, including 20
that targeted the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, where the tunnels
are located. Other airstrikes targeted 3 houses belonging to members of Palestinian
armed groups, farmlands, open areas, and members of Palestinian armed groups. As
a result of these attacks, 4 members of Palestinian armed groups and 1 civilian
have been killed, and 24 civilians, including 2 women and 6 children, have been
wounded. 7 of the wounded civilians, including 1 child, were hit by shrapnel
while they were inside their houses when Israeli forces bombarded a house
belonging to Mohammed Abu Shammala, a leader of the Izziddin al-Qassam
Brigades. 7 civilians, including 1 woman and 2 children, were wounded when an
Israeli missile targeting a motorcycle near al-Farouq Mosque in al-Shaboura
refugee camp did not hit its target.
On Saturday morning, 17 November 2012, a Palestinian civilian,
Awadh Hamed al-Nahhal, 29, was killed when Israeli forces targeted and killed 3
members of Palestinian armed groups in al-Zohour neighborhood in the north of
Rafah. Earlier, another member of a Palestinian armed group, Mukhles Mahmoud
Edwan, 30, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Bader area in the west of
Rafah.
As a result of the Israeli attacks, dozens of houses and civilian
facilities have been damaged.
PCHR reiterates condemnation, expresses utmost
concern for these crimes, and:
1- Warns of deterioration of the humanitarian
situation in the Gaza Strip in light of this continuous Israeli military
escalation, threats to expand military operations, and the continued tightened
closure of the Gaza Strip; and
2- Calls upon the international community to
act immediately to stop these crimes, and renews the call to the High
Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligation
under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure that it is respected at all times,
and their responsibilities under Article 146 to pursue perpetrators of serious
violations of the Convention, which are determined in Article 147, which lists
violations of the Convention amounting to war crimes.
---------------
Related
Press:
-
IOF Continue the Offensive on the Gaza Strip: Civilian Deaths Rise to 10,
Including 6 Children, and 253 Others, Including 62 Children, Wounded. 16
November 2012
- New
Israeli Military Escalation against the Gaza Strip; Leader of Hamas’ Armed Wing
and His Bodyguard Extra-Judicially Executed and Death Toll in Rises to 13,
Including Two Children and a Woman, While 115 Civilian, Including 26 Children
and 25 Women, Woun. 15 November 2012
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