In a serious escalation in crimes they commit in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), on Wednesday morning, 8 November 2006, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shelled a residential area in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, killing 18 Palestinian civilians, including 17 members of the al-‘Athamna family, and wounding 55 others. Most of the victims were sleeping in their homes when the attack took place. IOF fired at least 10 artillery shells at the area. This crime has come only one day after the IOF redeployment from the town, following a 7-day incursion, during which IOF committed a series of crimes. Read more about Occupying army kills 18 civilians in the shelling of Beit Hanoun
In a new Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) crime reflecting disregard for the lives of innocent civilians, a Palestinian child was killed and 6 others were injured, one seriously, in an Israeli air strike on the town of Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip. A teacher was seriously injured in the same strike. The victims were on their way to school when IOF fired a surface-to-surface towards the Jabalia Youth Club during the morning traffic of school children. The IOF rocket was fired after Palestinians fired rockets at Israel from the area in the pre-dawn hours. This crime is a continuation of the IOF aggression on the Gaza Strip, especially the northern part. Read more about IOF Kill Child and Injure Seven Others in Extrajudicial Execution Attempt
IOF have escalated attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in the OPT. Israeli political and military officials have threatened to launch a wide scale military campaign on the Gaza Strip, unconcerned about the lives and property of Palestinian civilians. During the reported period, IOF killed 27 Palestinians, 11 of whom are civilians including two children and a woman, are civilians. Twenty three of the victims were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip. In addition, 104 Palestinians, including 29 children and 4 women, were wounded. This increase in the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip has followed orders by the Israeli Defense Minister Amir Perets to his army to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip allegedly to stop the armament of Palestinian organizations. Read more about Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations
On Saturday, 4 November 2006, five Palestinians were killed, including one woman, and seven others were injured, including a woman and a child, in renewed clashes between El-Masri and Abu Taha clans in Khan Yunis. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 9:40 on Saturday, armed clashes erupted between El-Masri and Abu Taha clans in Jamal Abdel Naser Street at the intersections with Jala’ and Bahar Streets in the city of Khan Yunis. The clashes erupted after Adnan Yousef Hosni Abu Taha (49) was beaten with a sharp object on the head by members of El-Masri clan. The clashes between both clans resulted in the death of 5 people. Read more about Five Killed and Seven Injured in Armed Clan Clashes in Khan Yunis
For the fourth consecutive day, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue their land incursion on the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip. This attack comes as part of an IOF operation codenamed “Autumn Clouds.” The number of victims has increased to 34 killed, including 21 civilians that include seven children, two women, and two paramedics. The injured number 150, most of them unarmed civilians, including approximately 40 women, 40 children, one paramedic, and one journalist. Read more about Death toll hits 34 in Beit Hanoun; 5 killed in assassinations elsewhere in Gaza
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued killings and destruction in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. IOF moved into the town on Wednesday morning, 1 November 2006, and completely seized control over it. They sealed off the town from the rest of the Gaza Strip. IOF have so far killed 12 Palestinians, including four civilians, and have wounded at least 50 others, mostly civilians, including 15 children and three women. Investigations conducted by PCHR indicate that IOF have used excessive force against Palestinian civilians, and have not respected the principles of proportionality and discrimination in pursuing members of the Palestinian resistance. Read more about Beit Hanoun death toll reaches 12 in second day of offensive
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 23:10 on
Thursday, 12 October 2006, dozens of gunmen, including a number of masked ones, broke into the headquarters of the Union of Palestinian Workers Radio in al-Saftawi neighborhood to the west of Jabalya town. The gunmen held the guard of the offices, 70-year-old ‘Abdul Karim al-Hindi, in the car park. A number of the gunmen entered the 4-stotey building, and the other ones deployed in it yard. According to Rezeq al-Bayari, Director of Palestine Workers Radio, which is based on the fourth floor of the building, he and the other staff members of the radio closed the door of the office when they saw the attack on the building through windows. Read more about PCHR Condemns Attack on Palestine Workers Radio
This week, 28 Palestinians, 17 of whom, including two children and a woman, are civilians, were killed by IOF. Each of the two children was killed together with the father of each. Six of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF in three separate attacks. Forty-five Palestinians, including 14 children, IOF have continued to launch air strikes on houses and civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip; five houses were destroyed and a number of others were severely damaged. IOF conducted 30 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and six others into the Gaza Strip. IOF arrested 48 Palestinian civilians, including seven children, in the West Bank, and eight others in the Gaza Strip. Read more about Twenty-eight Palestinians killed this week in OPT
In the midst of increasing assertions by Israeli government officials over the smuggling of arms in the Gaza Strip and impending military operations inside it, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) escalated its attacks on Gaza and killed four Palestinians during new incursions last night and today. According to field reports, at approximately 6pm yesterday, 17 October 2006, about 15 IOF tanks and armored vehicles entered the Ezbet Abedrabu neighborhood in the east of Jabalia, some 2km from the borderline. They leveled land and streets in the area under heavy firing. Read more about Israeli forces kill four in Gaza; major expansion of operations is feared
At approximately 10:45 on Tuesday, 17 October 2006, armed clashes were resumed between the families of al-Masri and Abu Taha near the desalination plant in Khan Yunis. As a result, a child and a woman passing by the area were wounded. At approximately 13:30 on Sunday, 15 October 2006, members of the al-Masri family burnt to a house and four shops belonging to the Abu Taha family during the funeral procession of Eyad Maher al-Masri, 13, who died from a wound he had sustained on 8 October 2006 during clashes between the two families. Soon after, armed clashes erupted between the two families in Jourat al-Lout area. Read more about Child dies and seven injured as a result of family clashes in Gaza