Ref: 18/2009
Date: 18 January 2009
Time: 12:15 GMT
23rd Day of Continuous IOF Offensive on the Gaza Strip
IOF Partially Redeployed in the Gaza Strip
Gaza City and the Northern Gaza Strip Are Cut off from Other Areas in the Gaza Strip.
Medical Crews Pick up Decayed Corpses from Areas that Had Been Invaded by IOF; at Least 62 Corpses Have Been Found
The Total Number of Victims Mounts to 1,251 Including 904 Civilians and 168 civil police officers
This Number Includes 292 Children and 97 Women
The Number Included Also 7 Medical Personnel and 3 Journalists
In the early morning of Sunday, 18 January 2009, Israel declared a ceasefire, while decided to keep its military presence in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have redeployed outside Palestinian communities, but they have continued to control the road that extends from al-Mentar (Karni) crossing in the east to the beach in the west, south of Gaza City, cutting off Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip from other areas to the south. PCHR field workers who visited several areas throughout the Gaza Strip, especially Gaza City, the north and the Egyptian border reported as these areas looked as they were struck by a heavy earthquake. Since the morning, medical and civil defense crews have continued to pick up decayed corpses from areas that had been invaded by IOF. IOF warplanes have continued to fly over the Gaza Strip, while IOF military vehicles that had redeployed outside residential areas have continued to fire at Palestinian civilians, especially those who live in border areas. PCHR warns of the intensive IOF presence in the Gaza Strip which may expand and endanger Palestinian civilians and property.
This is a summary of the crimes committed by IOF in the Gaza Strip during the last 24 hours.
Northern Gaza Strip
· At approximately 02:00 on Saturday, 17 January 2009, medical crews found the body of a man and his wife under the debris of their house in ‘Izbat ‘Abed Rabbu area. IOF had bombarded the house on 11 January 2009, while the couple were inside it. The two victims were identified as: Fat’hi Mohammed ‘Abdullah ‘Obaid, 63; and Fatima Mahmoud ‘Abdullah ‘Obaid, 54.
· At approximately 15:40, the IOF artillery shelled houses near al-Juron Square in Jabalya. Two houses belonging to Ahmed Mohammed Saleh and Marwan Mohammed Shihada were hit by shells. As a result, 3 children living in the two houses were killed:
1. Fawzia Fawaz Saleh, 2;
2. Ahmed Fawaz Saleh, 10; and
3. Anwar Mohammed Shihada, 15.
A number of civilians were also wounded and a number of houses in the area were damaged.
· At approximately 16:00, an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of Palestinian civilians in al-Zarqaa’ area, south of Jabalya. As a result, a man and his son were killed: Na’im Mohammed Shihada, 50; and his son Mohammed, 30.
· At approximately 19:30, the body of a resistance activist was brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. He was killed near al-Karama apartment buildings, southwest of Jabalya. He was identified as Rami Nahidh Abu ‘Obaid, 24, from Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.
· At approximately 23:00, medical crews found the bodies of two resistance activists in ‘Aamer housing project in the northern Gaza Strip. They were identified as:
1. Nour al-Din Mohammed Jameel Hamda, 22; and
2. Khaled Hafez al-Turk, 22.
· In the early morning of Sunday, 18 January 2009, IOF redeployed outside the areas in which they had moved during the ground offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. They moved back to areas located neat the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
· In the morning, medical crews found the bodies of 24 Palestinians, including 3 women, who had been killed by IOF during the offensive on ‘Izbat ‘Abed Rabbu and al-‘Atatra areas. The bodies were found in the streets and under the debris of destroyed buildings. The bodies belong to:
1. Eyad ‘Abdul Hai al-Najjar, 25;
2. Fatima ‘Awadh Ghaben, 60;
3. Mahmoud Hussein Matar, 23;
4. Mohammed Nahidh ‘Abed Rabbu, 21;
5. Isma’il ‘Abdul Rahman Suleiman, 21;
6. Yousef Anwar Dakka, 21;
7. Eyad Hassan ‘Obaid, 21;
8. Mohammed ‘Abdullah ‘Obaid, 30;
9. Rezeq Saleem Abu al-Kas, 60;
10. Nazira Abu al-Kas, 50;
11. ‘Abdullah Malek al-Haj ‘Ali, 21;
12. Mohammed Basheer Khader, 24;
13. Jebril ‘Atiya Mansour, 19;
14. Mohammed Fareed ‘Abdullah, 31;
15. Mohammed Mohammed Ma’rouf, 60;
16. Ibrahim Ahmed ‘Olwan, 28;
17. ‘Eissa Ahmed al-‘At’out, 25, a resistance activist;
18. Eyad Khamis al-Banna, 21, a resistance activist;
19. Fayez Ahmed Abu Warda, 29, a resistance activist;
20. Ibrahim Saber Junaid, 21, a resistance activist;
21. Hussein Sa’id ‘Abdullah al-Nuthor, 20;
22. Mohammed ‘Abdul Hadi Mohammed Taher, 23;
23. Mohammed Ahmed al-Da’our, 30; and
24. Jameela ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al-Da’our.
· Medical crews found also the bodies of a man, his three children and his daughter-in-law under the debris of their house in the east of Jabalya. The victims were identified as:
1. Ibrahim Mohammed al-‘Err, 11;
2. Rakan Mohammed al-‘Err, 4;
3. Fidaa’ Mohammed al-‘Err, 17;
4. Iman Nember al-‘Err, 27; and
5. Mohammed Mousa al-‘Err, 48.
· At noon, medical crews found the bodies of:
1. Akram Khader Ma’rouf, 44;
2. Mo’in ‘Ata Hussein, 39;
3. Miriam ‘Abdul Rahman Abu Zaher, 85;
4. Safia Salem Haidar, 35;
5. Halima Mohammed Hassan Badwan, 60;
6. Sabreen Mohammed Abu Samaha, 18;
7. Sabah Ayoub Ayoub, 61; and
8. Ghanima Abu Halima, 65.
· PCHR field worker who visited al-Salatin and al-‘Atatra areas reported that they saw extensive destruction to these areas. Dozens of houses and three public schools were destroyed. IOF had also destroyed large areas of agricultural land and the civilian infrastructure in these areas.
· At approximately 08:30, an IOF drone fired two missiles at a number of Palestinian civilians in al-Amal quarter in the east of Beit Hanoun. As a result, a woman and a child were seriously wounded. The child, 11-year-old Angham Ra’fat al-Masri, died of her wound later. The woman’s leg was amputated.
· At approximately 10:00, IOF gunboats bombarded the headquarters of the Palestinian General Intelligence (the Ship).
Gaza City
· On Sunday morning, 18 January 2009, after IOF had redeployed outside al-Zaytoun and al-Sha’af neighborhood and al-Dahadih area in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City, medical crews found several decayed bodies of Palestinians who had been killed by IOF. Medical crews are still searching for more bodies in these areas. The bodies that have been found belong to:
1. Mohammed Saleh Abu Dayah, 50;
2. Mo’men Mousa al-Khuzondar, 22; a resistance activist;
3. ‘Abed Jom’a ‘Ayad, 80;
4. ‘Atiya Helmi al-Sammouni, 45;
5. Hamdi Maher al-Smmouni, 23;
6. Hamdi Mahmoud al-Sammouni, 70;
7. Ahmed Yousef al-Batash, 18;
8. Bassam ‘Azmi al-Hattab, 22;
9. Mohammed Ameen Jaji, 36;
10. Mo’tassem Mohammed al-Sammouni, 6 months;
11. Mohammed Helmi al-Sammouni, 5 months;
12. Ahmed ‘Atiya al-Sammouni, 4;
13. Mabrouka As’ad al-Sammouni, 30;
14. ‘Eid Harb Sukkar, 30;
15. Mohammed Mo’in al-Reefi, 20;
16. Hassan Salem al-Hawari, 80; and
17. Isma’il Ahmed Salem, 30, a police officer.
It is worth noting that the number of members of the al-Sammouni clan who were killed by IOF in al-Zaytoun neighborhood has mounted to 36, including a number of women and children. Medical crews are still searching for more bodies in these areas, which were subjected to extensive destruction that affected houses, civilian facilities, mosques, agricultural land and mosques.
· On Saturday, 17 January 2009, medical sources reported that Muneer Sami Shuhaiber, 14, died of wounds he had sustained on 5 January 2009 in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City.
Central Gaza Strip
· On Saturday evening, 17 January 2009, 17 Palestinians, including 4 children and two women, who were wounded by IOF in al-Mughraqa village and al-Nussairat and al-Boreij refugee camps, were admitted into the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
· On Sunday morning, 18 January 2009, IOF redeployed outside al-Mughraqa village and al-Zahraa’ town, leaving extensive destruction to houses and agricultural land.
· In the morning, IOF troops opened fire at Wadi al-Salqa village, southeast of Deir al-Balah. Palestinian civilians who had fled their homes during the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip have not been able to come back to their houses in the village.
Khan Yunis
· At approximately 11:55 on Saturday, 17 January 2009, IOF warplanes bombarded a security site in the west of Khan Yunis. No casualties were reported.
· At approximately 15:10, IOF warplanes bombarded open areas in the southwest of Khan Yunis. No casualties were reported.
· At approximately 00:05 on Sunday, 18 January 2009, IOF helicopter gunships bombarded open areas in the west of Khan Yunis.
· At approximately 01:30, IOF warplanes fired two missiles at the vicinity of Science and Technology College in the south of Khan Yunis. No casualties were reported.
· In the early morning, IOF withdrew from al-Fukhari area after they had demolished at least 30 houses and razed large areas of agricultural land.
· At approximately 10:40, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were checking their homes and agricultural land following the declaration of the ceasefire. As a result, Maher ‘Abdul ‘Azim Abu Rjaila, 23, was killed by a gunshot to the chest and shrapnel to the limbs.
Rafah
· At approximately 14:00 on Saturday, 17 January 2009, IOF warplanes dropped dozens of bombs on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, south of Rafah. The bombardment continued until 22:00. No casualties were reported, but houses in the area sustained more damage.
· At approximately 17:30, an IOF drone fired two missiles at Kherbat al-‘Adas area in Rafah. One of the missile hit and damaged a house belonging to ‘Omar Mohammed al-Nahhal, whereas the other one hit a house belonging to Mohammed al-Muraidi, but did not explode.
· At approximately 22:10, an IOF drone fired a missile at a tract of agricultural land near Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in al-Junaina neighborhood. No casualties were reported.
· At approximately 02:00 on Sunday, 19 January 2009, IOF redeployed outside al-Shouka village, east of Rafah. According to information available to PCHR, during their incursion into the areas, IOF demolished a number of houses, damaged others, razed areas of agricultural land and destroyed the civilian infrastructure.
In light of the crimes committed by IOF against the Palestinian civilian population and civilian objects in the Gaza Strip, PCHR:
1.Calls for immediately stopping the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.
2.Calls for stopping all collective punishment measures imposed on the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, especially lifting the total siege and ensuring free and safe movement of persons and goods.
3.Reiterates that crimes committed by IOF are clear evidence not only for the excessive and disproportionate use of force, but also for acts of retaliation against Palestinian civilians.
4.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.
5.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.
6.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).
7.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.
8.Calls for establishing inquiry commissions to investigate crimes committed by IOF against Palestinian civilians, including IOF’s use of internationally prohibited weapons.
9.Calls for prosecuting all political and military officials who are found responsible for committing war crimes against Palestinian civilians.
