Ref: 17/2008

Date: 02 March 2008

Time: 12:30 GMT   

Another Bloody Day in Gaza:

IOF Launches Fifth Day of Open War on   the Gaza Strip

Death Toll Rises to 101, with Hundreds of Injuries

PCHR condemns in the strongest possible terms the continuing IOF open war on the civilians of the Gaza Strip. Air and land bombardments have killed 101 Palestinians since 27 February, and injured hundreds of others. The Centre also denounces continuing international silence over the carnage which has effectively encouraged the IOF to commit additional war crimes against Palestinian civilians and their property. The Centre warns that deaths and injuries will undoubtedly rise if the IOF operation continues, and reiterates its demand that the international community act immediately and effectively to put an end to these crimes, and to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians

During the last 24 hours, another 39 Palestinians were killed throughout the Gaza Strip. Twenty-two of them were unarmed civilians, including 9 children. Six of the victims were from one family, including 3 women and 3 men who were killed in an air strike in Gaza City. The death toll since 27 February currently stands at 101 victims, including 49 unarmed civilians. The civilians who have been killed include 25 children and 5 women. In addition, more than 250 other people have been injured, mostly unarmed civilians.  IOF have also destroyed houses and property across the Gaza Strip.

During the last 24 hours, the majority of IOF operations took place in and around the town of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. IOF continued to use disproportionate and excessive lethal force in residential districts, with utter disregard for the lives of civilians. Jabaliya is one of the most densely populated places in the world, and since yesterday morning (1 March) 55 people have been killed by IOF in Jabaliya, including 19 children and 11 other unarmed civilians, including an infant, 2 women, two young brothers, a brother and sister, and a father and son.  (see the PCHR March 1 press release for further details).  

In other crucial developments, at approximately 17:15 on Saturday, 1 March, an IOF military plane dropped 3 bombs on the house of Abd El-Rahman Mohammad Ali Atallah (62), near El-Bokhari Mosque in Nafaq Street east of Gaza City. The aerial bombardment completely destroyed the house, killing 6 members of the same family, including 3 women. Another 6 members of the same family were injured. Four of the injured were children, one of them a 2-day old infant. The victims have been identified as:  

1.   Abd El-Rahman Mohammad Ali Atallah (62)

2.   Su’ad Rajab Atallah (his 60-year wife)

3.   Ibrahim Abd El-Rahman Atallah (38-years old, son)

4.   Khaled Abd El-Rahman Atallah (34-years old, son)

5.   Raja Abd El-Rahman Atallah (30-years old, daughter)

6.   Ibtisam Abd El-Rahman Atallah (25-years old, daughter)

At approximately 20:37, an IOF plane bombed a Palestinian police vehicle in Khan Yunis that was parked opposite the Khan Yunis Police Compound. Two policemen, Ra’fat Yassin Abd El-Aziz Hamad (38) and Hasan Ibrahim Abu Naja (24) were killed. A third policeman was seriously injured.

At approximately 22:04, IOF planes dropped 4 bombs on Bader Mosque (under construction) near the Rafah Police Compound in Abu Baker El-Siddiq Street in Rafah. The Mosque was completely destroyed. The raid targeted 6 Police officers who had evacuated the police station and gathered inside the Mosque. The raid dismembered their bodies. The victims have been identified as:

1.   Samir Hamdi Asfour (36)

2.   Khaled Ahmad Abu Eyada (31)  

3.   Emad Ibrahim El-Talla (34)  

4.   Sadiq Yusef El-Buleishi (26)  

5.   Mohammad Omar Abu Nema (21)  

6.   Sobhi Mofeed Awadallah (20)

Thirty other civilians were injured, including 6 children and 4 women, who were inside houses near the Mosque.

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 utter disregard for civilian Palestinian lives.

·        Reiterates its warning that, in light of statements and threats by Israeli political and military leaders, the death toll is likely to continue to rise. .

·        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.