Children and civilian bystanders in Gaza death toll

12.01.2009

Palestinian children protest against Israeli airstrikes, Gaza City

3 March 2008

Israeli military air strikes and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip during the last few days have killed over 100 Palestinians, including dozens of children and other civilian bystanders. Three Israelis – a civilian killed by a rocket fired by a Palestinian armed group on 27 February and two soldiers – were also killed.

Many of the Palestinians killed were militants involved in attacks on Israel, but others were unarmed civilians taking no part in the hostilities, including some 25 children. The precise number of civilians killed is unclear and difficult to establish.

The Israeli chief of staff is reported to have claimed that 90 percent of those killed were militants, but the UN and other sources, including those in Gaza, suggest that as many as half of the dead were civilians. More than 250 other people, including scores of unarmed civilians, have been injured.

Israeli forces also destroyed houses and property across the Gaza Strip, including at least two medical facilities, before withdrawing on 3 March.

Amnesty International said on Sunday that the Israeli military air strikes and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip were being carried out with reckless disregard for civilian life, and called on Israel to put an immediate end to such disproportionate and reckless attacks.

"Israel has a legal obligation to protect the civilian population of Gaza,” said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. “These attacks are disproportionate and go beyond lawful measures which Israeli forces may take in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups."

This latest cycle of killings and destruction comes at a time when the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza are confronting a humanitarian crisis as a result of the increasingly stringent blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza.

Hospitals and medical facilities, already facing severe difficulties in coping with shortages of electricity, fuel, equipment and spare parts due to the Israeli blockade, are struggling to cope with the new influx of casualties caused by Israeli attacks in the last few days.

With Gaza's borders sealed, many patients in dire need of medical care that is not available in Gaza cannot be transferred to hospitals abroad and risk losing their lives.

In the past two months, Israeli forces have killed more than 230 Palestinians in Gaza, including scores of unarmed civilians, and wounded and maimed many others. During the same period, Palestinian armed groups have continued to fire qassam and other rockets indiscriminately at Israel from the Gaza Strip, mostly towards the town of Sderot but also, last week, the more distant town of Ashkelon.

One Israeli civilian has been killed and several injured by such rockets fired from Gaza into Sderot and other areas by Palestinian armed groups.

Amnesty International has again called on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to ensure that Palestinian armed groups cease immediately from carrying out indiscriminate attacks against Israel, and for those responsible to be held to account.

"It is high time that the leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) took effective steps to prevent and punish attacks on civilians in Israel," said Malcolm Smart, "but their failure to do so does not make it legitimate for the Israeli authorities to launch reckless air and artillery strikes which wreak such death and destruction among Palestinian civilians.

"At the same time, the Palestinian armed groups who launch frequent rocket attacks from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns not only show a callous disregard for the lives of Israeli civilians but also expose the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip to the danger of Israeli attacks."

Malcolm Smart said that Amnesty International condemned all attacks on civilians, but that "unlawful attacks by one side cannot justify violations by the other."

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/children-and-civilian-bystanders-gaza-death-toll-20080303

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued their military operations in the Gaza Strip. Over the past 24 hours, IOF carried out several air raids against civilian targets and resistance fighters. As a result, 8 Palestinians were killed. Two of the victims were unarmed civilians, one of them a child. With yesterday’s victims the tally since Wednesday, 27 February, till time of publication soars to 108 victims killed, including 54 unarmed civilians. The civilians killed included 26 children and 5 women. In addition, dozens were injured, many of them still in serious condition.

PCHR’s investigations indicates that IOF have use excessive and disproportionate lethal force during aerial and land operations against populated areas and civilian installations. The use of force disregarded the threat to civilian lives, causing many direct civilian casualties inside homes. In addition, IOF intentionally obstructed the work of medical crews. Many of the victims died bleeding to death in front of their family members. In addition, IOF directly targeted medical crews, killing a paramedic and seriously injuring another in Jabalia. Ambulances sustained damages as well.

The Center’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 4:00 on Monday, 3 March, IOF redeployed their forces outside of the town of Jabalia and its vicinity after 4 days of military operations in the area. IOF troops withdrew outside the borders of the Gaza Strip. During the last few hours of the operation, IOF killed 4 Palestinians, 2 of them civilians (one a child). At approximately 1:45, an IOF artillery shell targeted a group of children at Zimmo intersection near the Palestinian Red Crescent Society building. Two people were killed, and a third was seriously injured. The victims killed are:

1. Mahmoud Abd El-Khaliq Abu Ateyya (18-years old)

2. Abd El-Rahman Mohammad Saleh (17-years old)

The injured child is Abd El-Hadi Ibrahim El-Debes (17).

At approximately 21:00 on Sunday, 2 March, an IOF plane fire a rocket at a group of resistance members in Sikka Street east of Jabalia refugee camp. Two of them were killed:

1. Naim Abu El-Hosna (45-years old)

2. Ra’id J’neid (22-years old) In addition, the body of a paramedic, Mahmoud Suliman Zaqout (23-years old), was found after the IOF redeployment. He was a paramedic in the Civilian Defense Corps who has been missing for 2 days. As a result, the number of victims during the operation in Jabalia reached 61 killed. These include 33 unarmed civilians, including 20 children, 2 women, and a paramedic. The civilian victims included an infant girl, two small sisters, a father and son, a brother and sister, and three children from the same family.

From 00:00 till 1:00 on 3 March IOF warplanes carried out 3 raids on metal workshops in Jabalia refugee camp, Tal El-Za’tar housing project near Jabalia, and Beit Hanoun. PCHR’s fieldworkers that extensive damage was caused to the town’s infrastructure and to tens of houses and to agricultural fields. PCHR’s fieldworkers are in the town to document these crimes and assess the damage.

At approximately 1:12, and IOF warplane dropped a bomb on the office of the pro-Hamas “Change and Reform” parliamentary bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council in Khan Yunis. The office was located in the second floor of a multi-story residential building, El-Farra Building, in Khan Yunis. Extensive damage was caused in the area.

At approximately 1:20, and IOF warplane dropped 3 bombs at a metal workshop in Abu Bakr El-Siddiq Street in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The workshop was completely destroyed; and a nearby workshop was extensively damaged. In addition, a warehouse for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a shop, and several houses suffered extensive damages.

At approximately 1:30, and IOF warplane attacked a group of resistance members east of Sheja’eya Quarter in Gaza City. Two of them were instantly killed. Two others and a woman were injured. The victims killed are:

1. Ramzi Fathi Khweiter (20-years old)

2. Abd El-Fattah Mohammad Abd El-Aal (24-years old).

At approximately 2:20, and IOF warplane attacked a Naval Police Compound west of Nuseirat refugee camp with 3 rockets. One Naval Police member was killed and another was seriously injured. The killed victims is Darwish Adel Meqdad (34-years old).

At approximately 2:40, and IOF war plane fired a rocket at a member of the resistance near Baker Building in the port area west of Gaza City. He was killed instantly. He was identified as Ibrahim Sayyed El-Masri (20-years old). In addition, IOF warplanes conducted 2 raids against a house belonging to members of Ahel clan in Beach Camp and a metal workshop in Sahaba Street east of Gaza City. Both targets were destroyed. The Ahel house was targeted two days earlier with an air raid after the house owner was killed by IOF several hours prior to that.

PCHR reiterates its condemnation of these serious crimes, and:

Affirms that these crimes are a continuation of Israeli war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in general and the Gaza Strip in particular. These crimes are indicative of IOF disregard for civilian Palestinian lives.
Reiterates the warning over the escalation crimes against civilians in light of the statements and threats by Israeli political and military leaders, which threaten to cause additional civilian casualties.
Calls upon the High Contracting Parties (HCP) of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) to fulfill their legal obligation under Article 1 of the Convention and ensure that it is respected by all parties under any circumstances. The Centre calls upon the HCP to fulfill their obligations under Article 146 of the Convention to pursue persons suspected of perpetrating grave violations of the Convention, which are defined as war crimes under Article 147 of the Convention.

http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/21-2008.html