PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Press Release
Ref: 89/2006
Date: 16 August 2006
Time: 09:30 GMT
Elderly Palestinian and His Son Killed when IOF Bombard their House
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed an elderly Palestinian and his son in
Khan Yunis in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 16 August 2006, when an
IOF plane leveled their house with a bomb. IOF did not give them sufficient
time to evacuate the house; and they were killed during the evacuation. In
addition, a second son and two neighbors were moderately injured by
shrapnel.
PCHR's preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 01:00 on
Wednesday, an Israeli security officer called Abdel Hadi Hasan Radwan
Sha'ath (31), who is an activist in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, on his mobile
telephone. The Israeli officer told him to evacuate his house as it will be
bombarded in a few minutes. Sha'ath was not in the house at the time of the
call; and he called his family to inform them of the warning.
The house consisted of 3 stories and was built on an area of 180 square
meters. It was located in the densely-populated Sheikh Naser area in the
eastern part of Khan Yunis. The household started to evacuate the house at
night and in the dark as electricity was cut off the area at the time.
During the evacuation, Israeli security called Mustafa Sha'ath (36), a
brother of Abdel Hadi, who is also an activist in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
They informed him that the house will be bombarded in a few minutes.
Fifteen minutes after the first call and as the household were evacuating,
an IOF plane dropped a bomb on the house, destroying it completely. Hasan
Radwan Shahin Sha'ath, the 69-year old owner of the house, and his son
Ibrahim (45) were killed. Their bodies were found 10 meters away from the
house. They were killed by cement blocks shattered by the bombardment. In
addition, three civilians were injured. One of the injured is a second son
of the dead house owner. The injured were taken to Naser Hospital in Khan
Yunis, where their injuries were listed as light to moderate. The injured
are: Abdel Rahman Hasan Sha'ath (35), Abdallah Nizar Abu Taha (29), and
Mohammad Suliman Mustafa Sha'ath (35). In addition, five nearby houses
sheltering 10 families of 75 members sustained damage by the bombardment.
PCHR strongly condemns the IOF killing of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza
Strip, and the destruction of their property. IOF disproportionate use of
force places the lives of civilians at additional risk during these
operations, which are a form of reprisal and collective punishment against
Palestinians, a violation of article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The
Centre
confirms that indiscriminate aggression will inflict additional damages on
civilians and civilian property. The prior knowledge that these attacks will
cause civilian casualties and destruction of their property is a violation
of the convention, and a war crime in the first protocol additional to the
convention. The Centre reminds the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth
Geneva Convention of:
- Their obligations under article 1 of the convention to ensure
respect of the convention under all circumstances;
- Their obligations in article 146 of the convention to pursue
suspects of committing serious violations of the convention, noting that
these violations are war crimes according to article 147, as specified in
the first protocol additional to the convention
-End-
Public Document
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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8
2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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