Al Mezan stresses that IOF's conducts represent a grave breach of the international humanitarian law

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has escalated its aggression against the Gaza Strip. IOF, which has full control and clear sight over the borders, killed three children and arrested 13 civilians yesterday. This comes as Israel's prolonged closure of Gaza Strip continues with grave implications on Gazans' human rights, especially economic, social, and cultural rights.

Al Mezan Center strongly condemns IOF's military escalation against civilians in Gaza. The Center is gravely concerned by the killing of Palestinian children who live near the northern border of Gaza while playing near their homes. Two other children were killed last week under similar circumstances. This despite that IOF has full control over the border and clear sight of and highly effective surveillance over it. These conducts necessitate initiating a prompt and serious international investigation and ensuring the taking effective measures to prevent them in the future.

Al Mezan stresses that IOF's conducts represent a grave breach of the international humanitarian law (IHL) which obliges IOF to observe the principle of discrimination between civilian and military targets and to take measures to protect civilians. They also represent violations of Israel's obligations under international human rights law (IHRL); especially given the scope and frequency of their occurrence.

Regrettably, the Israeli attacks have continued under full silence from the part of the international community, which has failed to observe its legal and moral obligations towards the civilians in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Al Mezan therefore renews its calls upon the international community to intervene immediately in order to cease the human rights violations committed by IOF, and to provide effective protection for the civilian population of the OPT.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has escalated its aggression against the Gaza Strip. IOF, which has full control and clear sight over the borders, killed three children and arrested 13 civilians yesterday. This comes as Israel's prolonged closure of Gaza Strip continues with grave implications on Gazans' human rights, especially economic, social, and cultural rights.

According to field investigations by Al Mezan, at approximately 5.10pm on Wednesday 29 August 2007, the IOF fired one missile that landed among three children as they were playing near their homes near the Industrial Zone, which is only 2km from the borderline to the south of north Gaza's town of Beit Hanoun. Two of the children, identified as 12-year-old Yhiya Ramadan Abu Ghazal, and 10-year-old Mahmoud Mosa Abu Ghazal, were immediately killed. The third, 10-year-old girl Sarah Sulaiman Abu Ghazal, passed at hospital of serious wounds at 8.30 on the same day.

Moreover, at 5pm on Tuesday, 28 August 2007, the IOF entered the same Industrial Zone area and took positions inside factories under heavy firing. No casualties have been reported. Al Mezan's field workers indicated that IOF withdrew from the area at 3am on the next day, but only after detaining 13 workers and farmers. Eleven of those were released shortly later. The other two are still under detention. They were identified as 41-year-old Na'im Omar Al Bilbisi and his 16-year-old son, Mansour. Al Mezan has a list of the names and ages of the 11 who were released.