Al Mezan Center For Human Rights 5 October 2006
Palestinians inspect a car destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 5 October 2006. (MaanImages/Hatem Omar)
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to target Palestinians and their property in the Gaza Strip. In the past three days IOF’s attacks resulted in the killing of three, injury of five and destruction of one home, four cars and one textile factory around the Strip.
At approximately 8am today, Thursday 5 October 2006, the body of 20-year-old Yousif Qabalan was admitted to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. He died from the wounds he sustained from Israeli fire in Abassan village, east of Khan Younis.
At 11:30pm, Wednesday 4 October 2006, an IOF drone bombarded a civilian car in the Wafaya neighborhood of Khan Younis. This resulted in the killing of 33-year-old Omar Az Zaqzouq and 34-year-old Yasser Al Bana. The car was completely destroyed.
Twenty minutes before midnight on Tuesday 3 October 2006, an Israeli fighter jet bombarded the house of Ibrahim Abu Anzeh. IOF had called the house owner and told him of the upcoming bombardment some twenty minutes earlier.
Moreover, also on Tuesday, at approximately 1.30am, IOF helicopter gunships fired two missiles at a metal shop in Khan Younis. The shop is owned by Farouq Ismail Al Babri. An adjacent house was hit in the strike and three children living in it were injured when they were sleeping. One of the two brothers sustained serious wounds and died in hospital at 4:15am. He was identified as 15-year-old Naji Al Bardaweel.
Earlier at 10:30pm Tuesday, IOF bombarded a car at the Salah Ad Din Street near the entrance of the town of Beit Hanoun. Three men were seen escaping from it after they sustained light wounds and burns. Two passing cars were damaged, one of which burned completely at the scene.
It should also be mentioned that IOF regularly shell the northern parts of the Gaza Strip with artillery on a daily basis causing damage to homes and other property. In one incident, a textile factory was hit by artillery and a fire started in it causing serious damage.
Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights condemns this aggression, which hurts and endangers civilians’ life and property. Such acts represent grave breaches to international humanitarian law as it targets and hurts civilian objects without necessity, proportionality or discrimination.
Al Mezan views that the international silence towards these violations, and many other violations of human rights in OPT, has encouraged Israel to continue and escalate them. Thus, the Centre calls on the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Convention, to act with the view to bring to an immediate end the IOF’s breaches and provide effective protection to Palestinian civilians in OPT.
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