Ref: 10/2009
Date: 11 January 2009
Time: 12:45 GMT
Israel Uses Internationally Prohibited Weapons
16th Day of Continuous IOF Attacks cross the Gaza Strip:
39 Palestinians Killed, Including 10 Children and 6
Women;
The Total Number of Victims Mounts to 852, Including
203 Children, 58 Women and 165 Civil Police Officers
As the Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) continue their indiscriminate attacks in the Gaza Strip for
the 16th consecutive day, the number of Palestinian civilian
deaths continues to rise amidst massive destruction of buildings and
property. IOF have employed their full-fledged arsenal to bombard
Palestinian residential areas. In the past 24 hours, IOF have expanded
their ground operation. They have moved forwards towards Palestinian
towns, villages and residential areas, causing more civilian deaths and
property destruction. IOF have used incinerating bombs in the areas into
which they moved. According to residents of these areas, they have never
been subjected to shelling by such kind of shells, which are like
inflaming objects that explode and disperse shrapnel. They release white
smoke that causes suffocation and fainting.
According to investigations
conducted by PCHR, since the beginning of their ground operations in the
Gaza Strip, IOF have seized a number of houses detaining their residents
under inhuman conditions. Palestinian civilians in these houses have
been denied access to food and water, and they have been even used by
IOF as human shields during armed clashes with Palestinian resistance
groups. PCHR is deeply concerned over the deteriorating situation in the
Gaza Strip, and reiterates its call for the international community to
immediately act to stop the bloodshed of the Palestinian civilian
population.
This is a summary of the
crimes committed by IOF in the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.
Northern Gaza Strip
·
At approximately 14:05 on
Saturday, 10 January 2009, as a result of the indiscriminate gunfire by
IOF troops that had moved into al-Salatin area, west of Beit Lahia town
Wissam Ibrahim Nabhan, 65, was killed by a gunshot to the chest when he
was inside his house.
·
Also at approximately 14:05
on Saturday, medical sources declared that Nriman Ahmed 'Abdul Karim Abu
'Ouda, 18, died of wounds she had sustained two days earlier. She was
wounded by a gunshot toe the chest when she was inside her houses in al-Amal
neighborhood in Beir Hanoun town.
·
At approximately 16:20, an
IOF drone fired a missile at houses near al-Barrawi fuel station in Beit
Lahia. Two Palestinian women were seriously wounded and one of each was
cut: Wafaa; al-Masri, 40, who is pregnant in the 9th month;
and Ghada al-Masri, 24.
·
At approximately 16:45 on
Saturday, an IOF drone fired a missile at al-Sultan apartment building
in Martyr Saleh Dardouna Street in Jabalya town. When residents of the
building attempted to get out of it, the IOD drone fired another missile
that landed near the gate of the building. As a result, 3 Palestinian
civilians, including 2 children, were killed:
1.
Shadi Fat'hi Junaid, 27;
2.
'Ali Kamal al-Nudor, 12;
and
3.
'Aamel Kamal al-Nudor, 15.
·
At approximately 18:00 on
Saturday, an IOF drone fired a missile that landed in front of a house
belonging to Nafez Mohammed al-Hilu, killing 2 of his children: Amina,
18; and Mohammed, 22. Another 3 members of the family were also wounded.
·
IOF fired artillery shells
at 2 resistance activists in al-Salatin area, west of Beit Lahia. The
two activists were killed: 'Omar Jom'a, 19; and Ahmed Ibrahim Jom'a, 24.
Additionally, 'Abdul Hakim Khader al-Sultan, 51, was killed while he was
inside his house in the area.
·
At approximately 18:45, IOF
warplanes bombarded a park near Sheikh Zayed Square in the center of
Beit Lahia. The park and neighboring houses were heavily damaged.
·
At approximately 19:20, an
IOF drone fired a missile at a number of Palestinian civilians who were
sitting near their houses in al-Khirab area in Beit Lahia town. Three
civilians were killed:
1.
'Abdul Mo'ti Rateb Salman,
20;
2.
Rami Jamal Salman, 24; and
3.
Sami 'Omar Salman, 25.
·
At approximately 22:00, IOF
warplanes bombarded a house belonging to Waheed Ahmed, in which 2
families counting 14 people, in the center of Jabalya refugee camp. The
house was destroyed.
·
At approximately 02:00 on
Sunday, 11 January 2009, an IOF drone fired a missile at al-Karama
apartment buildings. The missile landed near houses in the area. When
Palestinian civilians got out of their houses, the IOD drone fired
another missile at the area. As a result, 4 Palestinian civilians,
including a man, his wife and their son, were killed:
1.
'Alaa' Fat'hi Bashir, 40;
2.
Lamia Hassan Bashir, 40;
3.
Suhaib 'Alaa' Bashir, 18;
and
4.
Jameela Hassan Ziada, 75.
·
As a result of
indiscriminate IOF aerial bombardment, Ibrahim 'Aayesh Suleiman, 25, was
killed when he was near al-Karama apartment buildings.
·
At approximately 03:00 on
Sunday, IOF artillery shelled the house of Mohammed Khalaf in the west
of Jabalya town. Two Palestinian civilians were killed: Ibrahim Mohammed
Khalaf, 35; and Bilal Yahia Khalaf, 19. Soon after the family had
evacuated the house, IOF bulldozers demolished it.
·
At approximately 04:20 on
Sunday, IOF warplanes bombarded a site of the Security and Protection
Service in Beit Lahia. The site was destroyed. A missile landed on a
nearby police station, but did not explode. It damaged the building of
the Municipality of Beit Lahia and a number of neighboring houses.
·
At approximately 04:30 on
Sunday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 4-storey house belonging to Mohammed
Abu Saqer, in which 4 families counting 26 people live, near al-Qassam
Mosque in Beit Lahia. The house was destroyed and a number of
neighboring houses were damaged.
·
At approximately 09:30, IOF
warplanes attacked a number of Palestinian civilians who were near their
houses in al-Ghoboun area in Beit Lahia. As a result, 5 children,
including 2 sisters, were killed:
1.
Haitham Yasser Ma'rouf, 12;
2.
Fatima Mohammed Rushdi
Ma'rouf, 16;
3.
Khawla Ahmed Ramadan Ghaben,
16;
4.
Sahar Ahmed Ramadan Ghaben,
14; and
5.
Jihane Yasser Ma'rouf, 16.
·
At approximately 11:50 on
Sunday, an IOF artillery shell hit a house belonging to Bahaa' Khaled 'Aabed,
25. He was killed ad his sister, 20-year-old Shahida, was wounded.
Gaza City
·
At approximately 15:00 on
Saturday, 10 January 2009, an IOF drone fired a missile at a uninhabited
flat on the 9th floor in al-Mukhabarat apartment building #2
in al-Sudaniya area, northwest of Gaza City.
·
At approximately 17:15 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes attacked 2 activists of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam
Brigades of Hamas near Sheikh Radwan Bridge in the north of Gaza City.
The two activists were killed: Ahmed Subhi Ahel, 21; and Younis Mohammed
Hamad, 19.
·
At approximately 18:00 on
Saturday, Du'aa Hisham al-'Ashi, 22, was killed while inside her house
in Sheikh Radwan neighborhoos when IOF warplanes bombarded the area.
·
In the evening, medical
sources at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City declared that Nader Ibrahim
Qaddoura, 15, died of wounds he had sustained in the context of the
ongoing IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.
·
At approximately 22:30 on
Saturday, Sami Basheer Sa'ad, 25, ad 'Aahed Kamel Bannar, 25, were
killed while they were near their houses in al-Shoja'eya neighborhood in
the east of Gaza City, when an IOF warplane bombarded the area.
·
At approximately 23:00 on
Saturday, an IOF warplane bombarded Palestine Academy for Security
Education in al-Nasser neighborhood in he north of Gaza City. The
building was destroyed.
·
At approximately 23:30 on
Saturday, an IOF warplane fired a missile at Rami Mohammed Sa'id Abu
al-'Ata, 27, a resistance activist, when he was in al-Shoja'eya
neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. Tariq Ibrahim Abu Tabeekh rushed
to rescue him. Immediately, the warplane fired another missile at both
of them killing them.
·
At approximately 00:15 on
Sunday, 11 January 2009, IOF artillery shelled the house of Tal'at
Hammouda in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. Two of
Hammouda's children were killed: Fares, 1.5; and Mohammed, 22.
·
At approximately 01:40 on
Sunday, an IOF drone fired a missile at a shop of mobile phones
belonging to Khamis Zakaria al-Dan in al-Nasser neighborhood in the
north of Gaza City. The shop was destroyed.
·
At approximately 02:00
Sunday, fierce fighting erupted between Palestinian resistance activists
and IOF in Sheikh 'Ejlin neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. The
fighting continued for a few hours, during which time 11 Palestinians
were killed:
o
Mohammed Mansour Sa'da, 21;
o
'Abdul Rahman Tawfiq al-Kashef,
21;
o
Ibrahim Yousef Hamdan, 18;
o
'Abdullah 'Arafat
Shamallakh, 37;
o
'Ali Isaac Shamallakh, 23;
o
'Essam Isaac Shamallakh,
22;
o
Mahmoud Ahmed Shamallakh,
21;
o
Muhannad Mazen al-Naji, 21;
o
Mohammed Khalil al-Tatar,
28;
o
Ramzi Rafe' Abu Ghanima,
23; and
o
'Ata al-Dahdouh, 19.
·
At approximately 05:15 on
Sunday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 4-storey house belonging to Mohammed
Mahmoud 'Awadallah, in which 50 people live, in Sheikh Radwan
neighborhood. The house was destroyed.
·
At approximately 06:00 on
Sunday, IOF fired an artillery shell at a house belonging to the al-Jalab
family in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. As a
result, Mahmoud Taher al-Jalab, 70, was killed.
Central Gaza Strip
·
At approximately 12:30 on
Saturday, 10 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded al-Safa Mosque in al-Boreij
refugee camp. The mosque was partially destroyed. Shrapnel hit a
neighboring house belonging to Mohammed al-'Askari and wounded his wife,
Hiba, 28, and his children, 6-year-old Ayman and 8-year-old Mos'ab.
·
Also at approximately 12:30
on Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded a tract of agricultural land
belonging to the al-Musaddar family to the south of al-Maghazi refugee
camp. As a result, a well wad destroyed.
·
At approximately 12:45 on
Sunday, an IOF drone fired a missile at a 3-storey house belonging to
Ibrahim Mohammed Hamad, in which 2 families counting 8 people live, in
al-Boreij refugee camp. The house was damaged and 3 Palestinian
civilians, including a child, were wounded.
·
At approximately 12:50 on
Saturday, IOF fired 3 artillery shells at al-Nawi apartment building in
al-Nussairat refugee camp. As a result, 'Izziddin 'Ali al-Bursh, 16, was
killed, and his brother Mujahed, 12, was wounded, when they were inside
their flat. The building was heavily damaged.
·
At approximately 14:00 on
Saturday, an IOF warplane fired a missile at Hassan Mohammed Harb, 24, a
resistance activist, in al-Sikka Street in al-Boreij refugee camp. He
was instantly killed.
·
Also at approximately 14:00
on Saturday, an IOF drone fired a missile at a house belonging to Muneer
Yousef Dwaik. The house was damaged and 2 civilians, including a woman,
were wounded.
·
At approximately 21:30, an
IOF warplane bombarded al-Mufti land in the west of al-Nussairat refugee
camp. As a result, Fatima Mohammed Ahmed Tubail, 85, was killed while
she was inside her house and another 2 civilians, including a woman,
were wounded.
·
At approximately 23:30 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 2-storey house belonging to 'Abdul
Rahim Shaker al-Khatib, 55, in which 5 people live, in al-Nussairat
refugee camp. As a result, 10 Palestinian civilians, including 3
children and 4 women, were wounded. The house and 3 neighboring ones
were destroyed and a number of others were damaged.
·
At approximately 00:00 on
Sunday, 11 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded a 3-storey house
belonging to the heirs of Farhoud Younis Abu Khubbaiza in al-Nussairat
refugee camp. The house and 2 neighboring ones were destroyed and a
number of others were damaged.
·
At approximately 14:40, IOF
warplanes bombarded a 2-storey house belonging to Mohammed Hussein
Shaheen in al-Maghazi refugee camp. The house was destroyed and 2
neighboring ones were damaged. Three Palestinian civilians were also
wounded.
Khan Yunis:
·
At approximately 13:00 on
Saturday, 10 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded an open area in al-Satar
al-Gharbi area in the north of Khan Yunis. They bombarded the same area
again at approximately 16:00. No casualties were reported.
·
At approximately 22:00 on
Saturday, an IOF drone fired a missile at a 3-storey house belonging to
Ibrahim Baraka in Bani Suhaila village, east of Khan Yunis. Ten minutes
later, an IOF warplane bombarded and destroyed the house. A number of
neighboring houses were damaged. It is worth noting that IOF warplanes
had bombarded a workshop belonging to Baraka on 27 December 2008.
·
Also at approximately 22:00
on Sunday, an IOF drone fired a missile at a house belonging to Mahdi
Kaware' in the east of Khan Yunis. Ten minutes later, an IOF warplane
bombarded and destroyed the house. A number of neighboring houses were
damaged.
·
Also at approximately 22:00
on Saturday, IOF trooped positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip
and Israel fired artillery shells at houses in the east of Khuza'a
village, east of Khan Yunis. According to residents of the area, they
have never been subjected to shelling by such kind of shells, which are
like inflaming objects that explode and disperse shrapnel. They release
white smoke that causes suffocation and fainting. One of these shells
hit a house belonging to Ahmed Qudaih. As a result, his niece,
41-year-old Hanan Fat'hi Qudaih al-Najjar, was killed and 3 of her
children and another 10 members of the family were wounded. The woman
and her children resorted to her uncle's house thinking that it was
safer that her house, which is located in al-Najjar quarter near the
border. Several shells hit houses in the area causing suffocation,
spasms and burns to at least 100 civilians. Fire also broke out in at
least 15 houses. A number of members of medical and civil defense crews
suffered from suffocation.
·
At approximately 05:00 on
Sunday, 11 January 2009, IOF moved into al-Najjar and Abu Tu'aima
quarters in the east of Khuza'a village under cover of artillery
shelling. They also fired shells that release inflaming shrapnel.
·
At approximately 06:00 on
Sunday, an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of Palestinian
resistance activists in Khuza'a village. An activist, Nour Mohammed 'Ameesh,
24, was killed, and 4 others were wounded.
·
At approximately 09:00 on
Sunday, 10 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, were
admitted into hospitals in Khan Yunis. They suffered from difficulties
in breathing and pains in the eyes, and they had a smell of burnt
phosphor. According to a number of civilians whose houses were hit by
such bombs, smoke with disgusting smell is released from them causing
suffocation. A number of people also fainted. The shells also burnt a
number of houses. Ameen Isma'il Subeh, 40, sustained burns to his right
hand when one of such shells hit his house.
·
At 10:17 on Sunday, an IOF
warplane bombarded an open area near al-Ameen Mosque in al-Satar al-Gharbi
area in Khan Yunis. No casualties were reported.
Rafah
·
At approximately 13:00 on
Saturday, 10 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded a site of the 'Izziddin
al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas in 'Oraiba area in the northwest of Rafah.
IOF warplanes bombarded the site again at approximately 16:00.
·
At approximately 15:00 on
Saturday, an IOF drone fired a missile at Taha Hussein Street in Kherbat
al-'Adas area in the northeast of Rafah. As a result, Ahmed Jom'a al-Sha'er,
23, a member of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas, was killed
when he was walking in the street.
·
At approximately 16:50 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded the border strip between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt, south of Rafah.
·
At approximately 17:00, IOF
warplanes bombarded the road leading to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in
al-Junaina neighborhood in Rafah. The bombardment made a crater into the
road and damaged the hospital and neighboring houses.
·
At approximately 19:50 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in al-Salam
neighborhood in the south of Rafah.
·
At approximately 20:20 on
Saturday, IOF helicopter gunships fired 2 missiles at agricultural area
near Salah al-Din Street, east of Rafah.
·
At approximately 20:50 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded a house belonging to Sami Mohammed
Shallouf, a member of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas, in
al-Salam neighborhood in the south of Rafah. The house was destroyed and
a number of neighboring ones were damaged. Two Palestinian civilians
were also wounded.
·
At approximately 20:55 on
Saturday, IOF warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in Kherbat al-'Adas
area in the northeast of Rafah.
·
At approximately 21:00 on
Saturday, IOG warplanes bombarded a house belonging to Ahmed Mohammed
al-Sha'er, in which 4 families counting 12 people live, in al-Salam
neighborhood in the south of Rafah. The house was destroyed.
·
At approximately 00:30 on
Sunday, 11 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in
Taha Hussein Street in the northwest of Rafah. They bombarded the same
areas again less than half an hour later.
·
At approximately 03:00 on
Sunday, IOF warplanes bombarded the building of Dar al-Fadila
Association for Orphans, which included a school, a college, a computer
center and a mosque, in Taha Hussein Street in Kherbat al-'Adas area in
the northeast of Rafah. The building was destroyed.
·
At approximately 03:20 on
Sunday, IOF warplanes bombarded a 3-storey house belonging to Mahmoud
Hamas Qishta, in which 4 families live, near Salah al-Din Gate on the
Egyptian border south of Rafah. The house and a neighboring one were
destroyed, and a number of others were damaged.
·
At approximately 07:00 on
Sunday, IOF warplanes bombarded agricultural areas in Taha Hussein
Street in Kherbat al-'Adas area in the northeast of Rafah.
In light of the crimes
committed by IOF against the Palestinian civilian population and
civilian objects in the Gaza Strip, PCHR:
1.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.
2.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.
3.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.
4.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).
5.Calls upon
international and Israeli human rights organizations to activate their
role and raise their voices against war crimes committed by IOF against
the unarmed Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
6.Calls upon the
United Nations and the Human Rights Council to establish inquiry
commissions to investigate crimes committed by IOF against Palestinian
civilians.
7.Calls
particularly for investigating the use of internationally prohibited
weapons by IOF against the Palestinian civilian population.
