Ref: 125/2014
Date: 13 August 2014
Time: 12:00 GMT

This morning, 5 persons, including 2 journalists, one of whom is Italian, were killed, and 7 others, including a journalist, were wounded by the explosion of a missile left from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, while members of the Palestinian Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD) were attempting to deactivate it.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 11:30 on Wednesday, 13 August 2014, members of the EOD of the Palestinian Interior Ministry headed to the yard of the building of North Gaza Governorate, which was destroyed by the Israeli forces during the offensive on the Gaza Strip in November 2012 (“Operation Pillar of Defense”), in the northeast of Beit Lahia. A missile that did not explode had been already taken to the yard. While the sappers were attempting to deactivate the missile, it exploded and killed 3 of them instantly: Lieutenant Colonel Hazem Mohammed Abu Murad, Deputy Chief of the EOD of the Interior Ministry, 39; Major Tayseer ‘Ali al-Houm, 44; and Sergeant Major Bilal Mohammed al-Sultan, 27. A fourth one was critically injured. The blast killed also 2 journalists: Simone Camilli, 38, an Italian journalist who was working for Associated Press; and ‘Ali Shihda Abu ‘Afash, 37, a translator for Associated Press and a reporter of Doha Media Center. Additionally, a third journalist, Hatem Mahmoud Mousa, 40, was seriously wounded. Five civilian bystanders were also wounded.

PCHR field workers reported that dozens of shells and missiles fired by Israeli forces during the offensive on the Gaza Strip have not exploded, which may lead to similar incidents and take the lives of more people.

PCHR reiterates condemnation for crimes committed by Israeli forces, and:

1. Calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their contractual obligations not only to respect the Convention, but also ensure respect for the Convention, and to immediately intervene to stop war crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians, and calls upon the Swiss Government, the depository of the Geneva Conventions, to call for a new conference of the High Contracting Parties as soon as possible; and
2. Calls upon the international community and organizations to provide bomb disposal experts as soon as possible to help Palestinian teams dispose many missiles and shells that have not exploded in order to avoid casualties among Palestinian civilians.