Ref: 62/2014
Date: 12 June 2014
Time: 08:35 GMT

On Wednesday evening, 11 June 2014, 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child whose condition was described as very serious, were wounded when Israeli forces targeted a member of an armed group with two missiles launched by a drone and killed him in the northern Gaza Strip. Following the crime, Israeli forces admitted committing the crime as their spokesperson claimed that in cooperation with the “Shin Bet” security services, they targeted the aforementioned person who was involved in launching dozens of rockets at the Israeli towns recently.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 22:20 on the Wednesday, Israeli drones launched two missiles at a motorbike travelling near the Palestinian Naval Service headquarters on the coastal road, southwest of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. The bike was ridden by Mohammed Ahmed ‘Abdel Latif al-‘Aawour (33), a member of an armed group from Beit Lahia Housing Project, who was instantly killed after his upper part of his body turned into pieces. His nephew, ‘Ali Abdel Latif Ahmed al-‘Awour (10), was also wounded by shrapnel throughout his body causing him a haemorrhage in the brain and he entered into a coma.

Hamadah Hussein Mohammed Naser (32), from Jabalia, was wounded as well by shrapnel in parts of his body as he was driving his Black Mercedes car near the targeted place. Moreover, Monther Hasan al-Masar’ie, from al-Shati’ refugee camp in the west of Gaza City, was wounded by shrapnel in different parts of his body as he was passing as well by the targeted area. The body of the armed member and the three wounded persons were taken to Kamal ‘Edwan Hoospital in Beit Lahia. The injuries of the child and Naser were described as serious, and they were both transferred to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Meanwhile, the injury of al-Masar’ie was described as moderate. The missiles caused two big holes of around 50 centimetres deep in the road.

According to field investigations and examination of the targeted place, large numbers of Palestinian civilians, especially children and women, were on the beach of Beit Lahia and Jablia. As a result, they were terrified.

It should be mentioned that when the activist was targeted, he was in al-Basmah Cafeteria owned by his brother ‘Abdulatif on the coastal road and took his nephew when he left the place.

PCHR condemns this crime, which further proves Israeli forces’ disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfil their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.