Ref: 53/2023

Date: 12 May 2023

Time: 13:00

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue their widescale aggression on the Gaza Strip, which began at dawn on Tuesday, 09 May 2023. After the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued its press release, IOF warplanes conducted more airstrikes on residential houses, agricultural lands, sites of the Palestinian armed groups, and others. As a result, 6 Palestinians, who were all members of the Palestinian armed groups, were killed, and others were wounded. Thus, the death toll since the Israeli aggression started has risen to 31, including 15 civilians: 6 children and 4 women. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s data, the number of injuries has risen to 106, including 32 children and 17 women.

The following are the most significant developments:

On 11 May 2023:

At 16:00, Ahmad Mahmoud Abu Daqqa (43), a commander in Al-Quds Brigades, was killed, and 4 others, including a woman and a child, were wounded in an airstrike that destroyed a house in Bani Suhaila village, east of Khan Yunis. IOF published a footage of their jets tracking Abu Daqqa until he entered the house before bombing and destroying it. This proves that the occupation intends to inflict harm and destruction, and not to only assassinate the targets, as it claims. The Israeli forces announced that in a joint targeted operation between the Israeli Forces and Shin Bet, the deputy commander of the rocket force in the Al-Quds Brigades was targeted.¹

At 17:00, Husain Yousef Dallol (23) and Mohammed Suliman Dared (32) were killed, and 2 members of Palestinian armed groups were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted them in eastern Shuja’iyya neighborhood in Gaza City.

At 18:40, IOF warplanes launched 6 missiles at Bashir family house in Dir al-Balah. As a result, the 2-storey house of 4 residential apartments was completely destroyed, displacing 4 families of 13, including 4 children and 6 women.

At 19:30, IOF warplanes launched a missile at Zuhair Abu Khater’s house in Beit Lahia, completely destroying the 2-storey house and rendering 2 families of 10, including 3 women and 2 children, homeless. It should be noted that Israeli drones fired 4 missiles at Abu Khater’s house 20 minutes before being targeted by IOF warplanes.

At 23:00, ‘Odai Riyad al-Louh (25), a Palestinian armed group member, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted him in northern Nuseirat refugee camp.

On 12 May 2023:

It is worth noting that IOF announced that since the beginning of the military operation until 05:00 today, they have hit 215 targets in the Gaza Strip.

PCHR strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip and warns of any further losses of civilian life and damage to civilian property, urging the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take serious action into the situation of Palestine.

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1. https://twitter.com/AvichayAdraee/status/1656656759287873537 ↩︎