Ref: 09/2009
Date: 10 January 2009
Time: 12:45 GMT
IOF War on the Gaza Strip Enters Third Week
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34 Palestinians Killed, Including 4 Children and 3 Women.
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Total Number of Victims Stands at 799.
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Victims Include 193 Children, 53 women, 6 Medical
Personnel, One Palestinian Journalist and 165 Civil Police Officers
As the Israeli offensive
against the population of the Gaza Strip enters its third week, Israeli
Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued to kill Palestinian civilians
indiscriminately, especially children. Gaza City and the northern Gaza
Strip have been subjected to intense aerial, ground and sea attacks.
Investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
indicate that IOF are continuing to bombard Palestinian houses and
civilian facilities day and night.
The Palestinian civilian
population are suffering a massive humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of
thousands of people without electricity, drinking water and adequate
food supplies. IOF have continued their war on the Gaza Strip with total
disregard for international humanitarian standards, and humanitarian law
and in violation of the resolution issued by the United Nations Security
Council on January 8, 2009, calling for an immediate ceasefire. The IOF
has stressed it would continue its offensive, and has also threatened to
escalate its operations inside the Gaza Strip.
PCHR is gravely concerned
that IOF may commit more war crimes against the Palestinian civilian
population. In addition, IOF have continued to attack and obstruct the
work of medical, civil defense crews and humanitarian relief crews. On
the night of January 8, IOF bombarded al-Jawhara building in central
Gaza city, while a number of journalists were present. One journalist
was wounded in the attack. The continuing high number of civilian
victims, and the extensive destruction to public and private property,
are both clear evidence that IOF, acting on the command of the Israeli
political and military establishments, intends to cause maximum deaths
and casualties among Palestinian civilians, and maximum destruction to
their property.
This is a summary of the
crimes committed by IOF in the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.
Northern Gaza Strip
·
On Friday morning, 9
January, Bassam Qouta (32), was killed by IOF near Hammouda fuel station
at Salah al-Din Street in Jabalya town. Qouta is a driver of a truck
belonging to Shuhaiber Company, which has a contract with the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to transport food aid for UNRWA
via Karm Abu Sale (Kerem Shalom) crossing. The truck driven by Qouta was
traveling in a convoy of trucks that were clearly displaying UNRWA
flags. IOF deliberately fired at the convoy.
·
At approximately 12:00 on 9
January, IOF warplanes bombed a 2-storey house belonging to Hussein al-Za'anin
in Khalil al-Wazeer Street in Beit Hanoun. The house was destroyed. At
the same time, IOF shelled a 2-storey house belonging to 'Emad al-Za'anin
in the same area.
·
At approximately 12:40 on
Friday, IOF fired artillery shells at Palestinian houses near the
building of the Education Department in Beit Lahia town. As a result,
Mohammed Mubarak Salah (60) and his wife, Halima Saleh (60), were both
killed. One of their sons was also wounded.
·
At approximately 13:00 on
Friday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 3-storey house belonging to Mohammed
'Abdul Karim Hamas in Beit Hanoun town. The house was destroyed and one
of Hamad's sons was wounded.
·
At approximately 14:00 on
Friday, IOF fired artillery shells at al-Hawouz area in the east of Beit
Lahia town. As a result, Ahmed Ibraim Abu Qulaiq (18), from the Bedouin
village, was killed as he passed by the area.
·
At approximately 16:30 on
Friday January 9, IOF warplanes opened fire at al-Shuhada Square, west
of Jabalya refugee camp. Tamer Jamal Mahmoud Abu Hulayel (35) was killed
by a gunshot to the chest.
·
On the evening of Friday
January 9, medical sources confirmed the deaths of Baraa' Eyad Shalha
(6), and Ussama al-'Abed Bader (20), both from Beit Lahia. They both
died from wounds sustained when an IOF warplane attacked a crowd of
Palestinian civilians on 8 January 2009. In addition, Ahmed Jaber Abu 'Atiya
(25), from Jabalya refugee camp, died of wounds he sustained when an IOF
warplane bombarded the Martyr Ibrahim al-Maqadma Mosque last week. The
number of Palestinians killed in the attack on the mosque now stands at
16.
·
At approximately 19:25 on
Friday, IOF warplanes bombarded residential areas in 'Abed Rabbu Street
in the east of Jabaliya Fire broke out in 4 houses. When civil defense
and medical crews started to extinguish fire and rescue civilians, IOF
troops position on rooftops in 'Izbat 'Abed Rabbu area shot at them.
·
At approximately 20:00 on
Friday, IOF warplanes attacked a number of Palestinian civilians near
al-Falah Mosque in Jabalya town. One civilian was wounded.
·
At approximately 21:00, IOF
warplanes bombarded a 3-storey house belonging to Mohammed Rayan in Tal
al-Za'tar area in the east of Jabalya. The house was destroyed.
·
At approximately 23:00 on
Friday, the body of Ussama Mohammed Ahmed Jom'a, 30, a resistance
activist from Jabalya, was brought to Kamal 'Edwan Hospital in Beit
Lahia. Jom'a was killed in armed clashes with IOF in al-Salatin area,
west of Beit Lahia.
·
Also at approximately 23:00
on Friday, IOF warplanes fired missiles at a number of Palestinian
civilians near al-Khulafaa' Mosque in Jabalya refugee camp. One of the
missiles hit a house belonging to 'Abdul Karim Abu Matar, damaging it.
At
approximately 09:00 on Saturday, 10 January, IOF artillery shelled al-Sikka
Street to the east of Jabalya refugee camp. Thee Palestinian civilians
were killed:
1.
Daoud Ghanem Farah 'Assaliya,
37;
2.
Ibrahim Ghanem Farah 'Assalia,
40;
3.
Ibrahim Mohammed Abu
Humaidan, 60.
·
At approximately 02:00 on
Saturday, 10 January, IOF warplanes bombarded a house under construction
house near Abu al-Khair Mosque in Jabalya town. The house was partially
destroyed.
·
At approximately 02:10 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded a house belonging to Hassan al-Kurdi
in Block 2 in the southeast of Jabalya refugee camp. The house was
destroyed and a number of neighboring houses were also damaged.
·
Also at approximately 02:10
on Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 3-storey house belonging to Zuhdi
Khamis Abu 'Amsha in Gaza Street in the center of Beit Hanoun. As a
result, 18 Palestinian civilians livening in neighboring houses were
wounded.
·
At approximately 03:30, IOF
warplanes bombarded a market in Beit Lahia. A number of shops were
destroyed and a number of houses were also heavily damaged.
·
At approximately 07:30, IOF
warplane bombarded a 6-storey house belonging to Khaled Mohammed Hammas
in Beit Lahia. The house and a neighboring house belonging to Fadel
Hassan Safi, were destroyed.
·
Also at approximately 09:00
on Saturday, civil defense crews were able to extract the body of
16-year-ol Mohammed Jaber Mohammed 'Olayan from the debris of his house
that was bombarded by IOF on Friday morning.
·
At approximately 11:00 on
Saturday, IOF tanks shelled the vicinity of al-Qerem Square in the
southeast of Jabalya. As a result, Ahmed Mohammed Ouda al-Kurd, 30, was
killed.
·
At approximately 11:30 on
Saturday, IOF troops positioned in 'Abed Rabbu Street in the east of
Jabalya shot and killed Mohammed Mustafa Hussein 'Eid, 19, with several
gunshots to the head and the chest.
·
At approximately 11:45 on
Saturday, IOF tanks shells houses opposite to Jabalya Court. A shell hit
a house belonging to Jouda 'Abed Rabu. As a result, 6 members of the
'Abed Rabbu family, including 2 children and a woman, and a member of
the Hussein family were killed:
1.
Hamed Mafouz 'Abed Rabbu,
17;
2.
Yusri Mahmoud 'Abed Rabbu,
16;
3.
Ramez Jamal 'Abed Rabbu,
38;
4.
Mustafa Rebhi Hussein, 18;
5.
Sami Mohammed Saleh 'Abed
Rabbu, 25;
6.
Randa Jamal 'Abed Rabbu,
45;
7.
Sufian 'Abdul Hai 'Abed
Rabbu, 47.
·
At approximately 12:00, IOF
fired an artillery shell at the house of 'Emad Baba near Sa'ad al-Ansari
Mosque in Beit Lahia town. As a result, An'am 'Abed Baba, 30, was killed
and another 3 civilians were wounded.
Gaza City
·
At approximately 13:0 on
Friday, 9 January, Sa'id Suleiman Sa'id al-Rawdi, 53, was killed when
IOF fired an artillery shells at the vicinity of al-Ribat Mosque in the
east of al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
·
At approximately 16:30, IOF
warplanes bombarded a 4-storey house belonging to Mohammed Yousef
Dababesh, in which 30 people live, in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the
north of Gaza City. The house was destroyed.
·
At approximately 17:00, IOF
warplanes bombarded Arafat police compound (al-Jawazat). As a
result, Sha'ban Mohammed Sha'ban Mushataha, 22, a policeman, was killed.
The compound had been repeatedly shelled during the ongoing offensive on
the Gaza Strip.
·
At approximately 19:00 on
Friday, an IOF warplane bombarded the roof of al-Jawhara building in al-Jalaa;
Street. A number of journalists of Media Group Company were on the roof.
Manar Shulail Shalloula, 25, a producer of the Saudi News Channel, was
lightly wounded by shrapnel to the head.
·
At approximately 19:30 on
Friday, an IOF warplane bombarded an uninhabited 2-storey house
belonging to the Nassar familu in al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza
City.
·
At approximately 20:20 on
Friday, 'Ammar Saleem al-Kayal, 35, was killed, when IOF shelled a house
belonging to the 'Abdul 'Aal family in al-Tuffah neighborhood.
·
At approximately 20:30 on
Friday, an IOF warplane bombarded a flat belonging to Mohammed Abu al-So'ud,
30, on the 11th floor in al-Soussi apartment building in the
center of Gaza City. Abu al-So'ud was moderately wounded.
·
At approximately 22:00 on
Friday, Ramez Mohammed Abu al-Khair, 29, was killed near his house in
al-Mentar Street in al-Shoja'eya neighborhood when IOF shelled the area.
·
Also at approximately 22:00
on Friday, 'Alaa' Hammad Murtaja, 26, a correspondent of the local al-Buraq
Radio, was killed when IOF shelled his house in the east of al-Zaytoun
neighborhood.
·
At approximately 23:00 on
Friday, Rasheed Mohammed Duhair, 22, died of wounded he had sustained on
8 January 2009 when IOF shelled his house in al-Shoja'eya neighborhood
in the east of Gaza City. Two of Duhair's brothers were also killed in
the attack.
·
At approximately 00:30 on
Saturday, 10 January, Ayman Jameel Mohammed Yassin, 18, died of wounds
he had sustained two days earlier when IOF shelled houses near Abu Bakr
Mosque in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City.
·
At approximately 01:00 on
Saturday, 10 January, IOF warplanes bombarded a store of iron and
construction raw materials belonging to 'Abdul Basset 'Abdul Fattah
'Abdul 'Aal, 40, in al-Nasser neighborhood in the north of Gaza City.
·
At approximately 06:00 on
Saturday, IOF fired an artillery shell at a 4-storey house belonging to
Sameer Sa'ad Khalida, 39, in which 5 families counting 40 people live.
No casualties were reported.
·
At approximately 07:00 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 2-storey house belonging to Sa'id
Mohammed Abu Matar, 51, in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the north of
Gaza City. As a result, Mar and his son, 26-year-old Mazen, were killed,
and another two members of the family, including a child, were wounded.
·
At the same time, the
bodies of Shams 'Omar 'Omar, 22, from al-Shati refugee camp, and Jawad
Mahmoud al-Hessi, 35, were brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The
two were killed when IOF shelled al-Sudaniya area, northwest of Gaza
City.
Central Gaza Strip
·
At approximately 11:40 on
Friday, 9 January 2009, an IOF drone fired a missile at al-Furqan Mosque
in al-Heker area in Deir al-Balah. The mosque was damaged.
·
At approximately 18:30 on
Friday, an IOF warplane bombarded a 4-storey house belonging to Ramdan
Salama al-Balbissi, 47, in which 5 families counting 30 people live, in
al-Nussairat refugee camp. As a result, 23 Palestinian civilians,
including 6 children and 4 women, were wounded and the house was
destroyed. Additionally, a number of neighboring houses and al-Furqan
Mosque were also damaged.
·
At approximately 20:30 on
Friday, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a number of resistance
activists in Abu Marahil Street in al-Nussairat refugee camp. As a
result, Ibrahim Mahmoud Wishah, 32, a resistance activist, was killed
and 2 others were wounded. Soon after, an IOF warplane bombarded a space
land belonging to the Abu Fayadh family in the area. No casualties were
reported.
·
On Friday evening, 8
Palestinian civilians, including 4 children an a woman, were admitted
into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, as they were wounded by
IOF tanks that had moved into al-Mughraqa village and Juhor al-Dik area.
·
Over night and this
morning, IOF warplanes bombarded open areas in the central Gaza Strip.
Khan Yunis:
·
At approximately 12:30 on
Friday, 9 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded the vicinity of Khuza'a
Martyrs School. As a result, 2 passing women were lightly wounded
·
Also at approximately 12:30
on Friday, IOF warplanes bombarded an open area in 'Abassan village. Two
Palestinian civilians were wounded.
·
At approximately 18:00, IOF
warplanes bombarded greenhouses near Khuza'a Martyrs School. No
casualties were reported.
·
At approximately 22:15, IOF
warplanes targeted a number of resistance activists in al-Qarara
village. Jihad Hussein al-Sumairi, 24, was killed and 3 others were
wounded.
·
At approximately 22:40, IOF
warplanes bombarded a building that used to serve as a sewing workshop
to the north of the security compound in Khan Yunis for the second time
in 24 hours. The building was extensively destroyed, but no casualties
were reported.
·
At approximately 08:30 on
Saturday, 10 January, IOF warplanes bombarded the northern fence of Gaza
European Hospital. Parts of the fence and, water supplies, the
electricity network, an electricity generator and fuel tanks were
destroyed. A staff member of the hospital was shocked and patients were
extremely terrified.
Rafah
·
At approximately 11:15 on
Friday, 9 January, IOF heavy military vehicles moved hundreds of meters
into al-Shouka village, east of Rafah. They demolished 13 houses
belonging to the Mo'ammar and Abu Sunaima families. They withdrew from
the area at approximately 16:30.
·
Also at approximately
11:15, IOF warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in Taha Hussein Street
in the northwest of Rafah. They bombarded these areas again and again at
18:05, 18:40 and 19:30.
·
At approximately 16:40, an
IOF drone bombarded a 5-storey apartment building belonging to Sa'ad al-Sha'er,
in which 8 families counting 25 people live, in al-Brazil neighborhood
in the south of Rafah.
·
At approximately 17:00, IOF
warplanes bombarded tunnels along the Egyptian border, south of Rafah.
·
At approximately 18:30, IOF
warplanes bombarded a store of feeds belonging to 'Aatef Timraz in al-salam
neighborhood in the south of Rafah.
·
At approximately 19:50, IOF
warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in al-Junaina neighborhood in the
northeast of Rafah.
·
At approximately 00:10 on
Saturday, 10 January, IOF warplanes bombarded a house belonging to the
Abu Julaidan family in al-Salam neighborhood in the south of Rafah. The
house was destroyed.
·
At approximately 08:15, an
IOF drone bombarded a 4-storey house belonging to Adham 'Abdul Rahim
Farawana, a member of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas, in
which 4 families counting 27 people live, in al-Salam neighborhood in
the south of Rafah. Ten minutes later, an IOF warplane bombarded and
destroyed the house.
In light of the crimes committed by IOF against the
Palestinian civilian population and civilian objects in the Gaza Strip,
PCHR:
-
Condemns these crimes, which are part of a series of
continuous crimes committed by IOF in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) with total disregard for the lives of Palestinian
civilians, considering them a form of collective punishment against
the Palestinian civilian population in violation of article 33 of
the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War.
-
Holds Israel responsible for the lives of Palestinian
civilians in all circumstances. Under the international law, the
existence of armed resistance does not in any case justify the use
of such excessive force disproportionately and indiscriminately.
-
Warns that the lives of Palestinian civilians are
endangered in light of threats vowed by Israeli political and
military officials to expand military operations against the
population of the Gaza Strip.
-
Calls upon the international community to immediately
intervene to stop such crimes, and calls upon the High Contracting
Parties to the Geneva Convention, Relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War, to fulfill their obligation under
article 1 of the Convention to ensure respect for the Convention in
all circumstances, as well as their obligation under article 146 to
search for and prosecute those who are responsible for perpetrating
grave breaches of the Convention, as such breaches constitute war
crimes according to article 147 of the Convention and the Protocol
Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating
to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts
(Protocol I).
