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Press Release
Six killed in new war crime committed by the Israeli Army against civilians in Rafah
Ref: 123/2002
Date: 19 October 2002
Thursday afternoon, 17 October 2002, Israeli occupying forces in flagrant disregard for civilian lives and property fired artillery shells and live bullets of various calibers at a heavily populated area, killing six Palestinian civilians and wounding approximately 40 others. Among the victims were a 9-year-old girl who was hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell while she was at home, a 15-year-old boy and a two woman, one of whom was 70-year-old. In addition, the access of ambulances and medical personnel to the area was obstructed because of continuing Israeli gunfire and shelling.
According to PCHR’s investigation, based on direct field observation, testimonies of eyewitnesses, including some of the wounded and medical sources, the incidents which occurred in Rafah on 17 October 2002, can be described as follows:
1. At approximately 14:00, Block O in Rafah refugee camp, a heavily populated area located near the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip which is under Israeli security control, was subjected to sporadic shelling by Israeli tanks positioned at the border. There was no apparent reason for the shelling; rather it appeared that the shelling aimed at providing a cover for the establishment of an iron wall at Salah al-Din Gate on the border. The wall, whose establishment began on Wednesday afternoon, 16 October 2002, is apparently a prelude for establishing a fortified site inside the border at Salah al-Din Gate, near a military location of Israeli occupying forces known in Hebrew as “Tarmid.”
2. When the Israeli shelling started, armed clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, which continued until 14:30. An Israeli tank moved approximately 70m into Block O near al-Bouji Street. Soon, a heavy explosion was heard and a number of residents of Block O were seen escaping from their houses in search for more secure places. Some of them said that the explosion most likely occurred as a result of a projectile fired by Palestinian fighters at an Israeli tank.
3. While Israeli gunfire was heard and an Israeli scouting aircraft was seen flying over the area, Israeli tanks indiscriminately fired five artillery shells at Block O. Four shells exploded and hit Palestinian civilians in streets, shops and houses. An eyewitness who was present in the area said:
“I saw a number of people being hit by shrapnel. I saw 9-year-old Mohammed Refa’at Abu al-Naja, falling to the ground after having been hit in the head. I ran towards him and took him to a civilian car that transported him to hospital. I was out of my mind when I saw parts of the bodies of people dispersed in the area. I discovered that these people were 45-year-old Sa’id ‘Abdul ‘Aati ‘Obeid, who was in his shop, and 30-year-old Ayman Mohammed al-Ghoul, who was with him, when the artillery shell exploded tearing their bodies apart. The scene was horrible, so I could not get close to the bodies. Ambulances arrived at the area and evacuated many of the wounded to hospital; most of them are of my neighbors.”
Another eyewitness, Kamal Yousef Salah Abu Shammala, 38, father of 9-year-old Shaimaa’ Abu Shammala, who was killed by shrapnel in the head, lives in a 60-square-meter, asbestos-roofed house, approximately 200m north of the border. The house like other houses in the area does not provide protection for the family from Israeli shelling and shooting. In his testimony to PCHR, Abu Shammala said:
“I was lying on the bed and my daughter Rima, 3, was with me. My child Mohammed, who is 6 months, was in the bed in my bedroom. I heard sporadic Israeli shelling similar to that which took place on Wednesday. At 14:30, I heard a heavy explosion, so I got up and carried my children towards my bother’s house, a more secure house adjacent to mine. In the meantime, my wife was in another room with the rest of our children: Shaimaa’, 9, Rashad, 7, and Raji, 5. They were about to leave the house to follow me to my brother’s house. While we were on our way, I heard sounds of four successive explosions. I felt severe pain in the chest and saw smoke and dust rising from my house. Although I was wounded, I went back to my house, where I found my daughter Shaimaa’ on the ground. When I carried her, I noticed that her head was distorted and bleeding. I took her through the alleys until I reached an ambulance that took us to hospital…”
4. According to medical sources, the wounded were evacuated to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Most of them were later moved to the European Hospital and Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Six Palestinian civilians, including two women and two children, were killed, and 39 others, including nine children, were wounded. Those killed were:
1) Shaimaa’ Kamal Abu Shammala, 9, hit by shrapnel in the head;
2) Mohammed Sami Abu Hilal, 15, hit by shrapnel throughout the body;
3) Fatema Ahmed Abu Jazar, 70, hit by shrapnel throughout the body;
4) Samira Mohammed Abu Jazar, 30, hit by shrapnel throughout the body;
5) Sa’id ‘Abdul ‘Aati ‘Obeid, 45, hit by shrapnel throughout the body and his body was torn into parts; and
6) Ayman Mohammed al-Ghoul, 30, hit by shrapnel throughout the body and his body was torn into parts.
5. Due to the Israeli indiscriminate shelling and shooting, medical personnel were not able to reach many of the victims instantly. An ambulance of Palestine Red Crescent Society was hit by live bullets while on duty.
PCHR reassert that the indiscriminate shooting and excessive use of force, carried out by the Israeli military against Palestinian civilians, that occurred in Rafah constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law. With regard to the Israeli defense minister’s statements in the media that he has ordered an investigation into the incident, PCHR reiterates that it does not trust Israeli investigations; especially as they are carried out by the army, which committed the war crime. PCHR believes that an impartial, professional investigation can only be carried out by an entitled international agency in order to investigate not only the incidents of Rafah, but all the killings of Palestinian civilians committed by the Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
There is no justification for killing innocent civilians protected under the international humanitarian law. While it is dismayed by the international silence and the failure of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to take concrete steps to stop Israel’s flagrant violations of the Convention and international humanitarian law, PCHR believes that the silence encourages Israel and its occupying forces to commit more war crimes and cause more suffering for Palestinian civilians, without any punishment or prosecution.
