1PM (+3 GMT) Last night and the early morning hours today saw yet further escalation in IOF's attacks since the start of Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge' on the Gaza Strip.
The IOF increased the attacks on houses and apartments located in high apartment buildings.
Panic spread among tens of thousands of people from these attacks, but also from random phone calls ordering hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes and residential areas; threatening of impending IOF attacks.
The IOF phone calls are usually made at late at night and as drones and war jets are flying in the skies and causing loud explosions.
IOF artillery shelling also intensified in the eastern and northern border areas along the Gaza Strip.
IOF warning include phrases that assert that any location might be attacked; meaning there are no shelters in the Gaza Strip.
As aerial attacks on houses and other civilian structure continue to happen continuously throughout the Gaza Strip, such warnings cannot be deemed effective or sufficient, as required by the relevant standards of international law.
UNRWA has opened 24 schools and offered shelter for people who have opted for evacuating their houses in North Gaza and Gaza districts.
UN sources reported that about 22,600 people have been hosted in these schools.
These shelters lack various essentials.
During 'Operation Cast Lead' in 2008/09, the IOF bombarded three UNRWA schools that were being used as shelters, killing and injuring a number of civilians.
The IOF escalated its deliberate and direct attacks on civilians.
In this context, four children from the Bakr family were killed in a direct IOF attack as they were playing on the beach in Gaza City.
This attack demonstrates IOF's flagrant disregard of civilian lives and the deliberate targeting of civilians who evidently make up the main target of IOF attacks.
Residents of the middle and south Gaza districts suffered from decreased electricity supply.
The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO)was forced to decrease the supply for the Middle Gaza and Khan Younis districts to one third of the time.
Due to damages in the electricity lines coming from Israel.
Electricity cuts worsened the daily life for civilians as it affects water supplies.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of people did not have water for days in Middle Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah districts.
According to the field investigations by Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, as of 1pm today, Thursday 17 July 2014, 233 Palestinians have been verified as killed by the IOF; including 44 children and 29 women.
According to Al Mezan's initial investigations 170 (i.
e.
73%) of the victims are civilians.
Many others were people known to be affiliated by Palestinian factions, but not taking part in any hostilities.
Al Mezan's initial investigations reveals that at least 88 people were killed inside their houses; including 29 children and 23 women.
Another two disabled women were killed inside an NGO building.
Another 20 people were killed in the vicinity of their houses; 3 of whom were allegedly combatants.
Moreover, at least 1,438 other people were injured during the same period; of whom at least 405 were children and 317 women.
At least, 2,174houses were destroyed or damaged during this period; of which 335 were destroyed completely as the IOF directly and deliberately attacked 395 of the total number of damaged houses.
IOF attacks also damaged or destroyed 33 schools, 43 mosques, an ambulance centre, 16 NGO offices, 39 fishing boats and 4 hospitals.
At approximately 11:35 am on Wednesday 16 July 2014, an Israeli drone fired two missiles at a car on the Al Awda Street in the town of Bani Suheila east of Khan Younis district.
The missiles hit the car directly.
The family who were in the car were returning home from the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis after they visited their 22-year-old son, who was to be referred to Jordan for medical treatment.
Three people; including a women and a child were killed and another ten were injured; including one person was critically injured.
The three who were killed were identified as: - Khadra Abu Daqqa, 65; - Ramadan Abu daqqa, 10; - Amr Abu Daqqa, 24.
At approximately 3:00 pm, on Wednesday 16 July 2014, an Israeli drone fired one missile at two civilians, a child and his father, as they were working in their farm in Al Zaytoon neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
The father, Abdel Rahman Al Serhi, 37, was killed instantly.
His son, Omar Al Serhi, 16, was wounded.
Al Mezan's investigation indicates that at about 3:30pm yesterday, Wednesday 16 July 2014, Israeli navy boats fired three missiles towards a group of boys as they were playing on the beach at the Gaza fishing harbor.
Four of the children were killed: - Ahed Attaf Bakr, 10; - Zakariya Ahed Sobhi Bakr, 10; - Mohammed Izzat Bakr, 11; and - Ismail Mohammed Sobhi Bakr, 10.
Five nother persons were injured; including Muntaser Bakr, 11, and Hamada Bakr, 10.
At approximately 4:00 pm, on Wednesday, 16 July 2014, Israeli fighter jets fired two missiles at Othman Bin Affan mosque, in Beit Lahiya town in the North Gaza district.
One child Hamza Thary, 5, was killed in the attack, and three people were injured inside the mosque: Mohammed Al Qanou’, 75; Osama Sa’dallah, 19; and Raed Thary, 36.
The latter is the deceased child's father.
At approximately 4:10 am on the same day, an Israeli drone fired one missile targeting a group of people who were on their way to a mosque for the dawn (Al Fajr) prayer.
They were in front of the house of the Al Hout family, which is located behind the An-Najjar Hospital in the east of Rafah town in the south of the Gaza Strip, when the attack occurred.
As a result, an elderly man, Mohammed Abdel Rahman Hassouna, 70, was killed and Mohammed Ahmed Al Hout, 35, was injured moderately.
At approximately 5:40 pm on Wednesday 16 July 2014, an Israeli drone a missiles at two brothers as they were sitting in their house's yard, killing one of them, Mohammed Abu Amer, 32, instantly and injuring the second, Kamal Abu Amer, 39, critically.
Kamal died an hour later at the hospital.
Their house is located in the Abasan town, east of Khan Younis district.
At approximately, 6:30 pm, on Wednesday, 16 July 2014, Israeli fighter jets fired one missile at three civilians near the house of one of them in the west of Gaza City.
The house had been attacked by the IOF and two of the men were friends who were visiting the family to check on them when this second attack was launched by the IOF.
As a result, Hosam Shamalakh, 30, and Mohammed Abdel Rahman, 32, were killed.
The third person Khamis Abu Hasira, 30, was critically injured.
According to Jamal Shamalakh, 65, and the father of one of the victims, his three-story house which is home to three families of 17 members, including 9 children, was targeted on Monday, 14 July 2014.
The house was completely destroyed as a result of the attack.
On 16 July 2014, two of Jamal son’s friends were visiting him at approximately 6:30 pm.
Five minutes later, they were hit by a missile which killed two of them.
At approximately 6:50 am on Wednesday 16 July 2014, an Israeli drone fired a missiles at a group of people who were sitting in the house of Kawthar Al-Astal, 58, and located in the Al Kateeba neighborhood in Khan Younis city.
One woman, the house owner; and three of her family members; including two children, were killed in the attack.
Another two people were also injured.
Al Mezan identified the names of those who were killed as: - Kawthar Al-Astal, 58; - Usama Al-Astal, 8; - Yasmin Al-Astal, 4; and - Hussein Al-Astal, 23.
At approximately 9:40 pm on Wednesday 16 July 2014, Israeli aircrafts attacked two young men while they were in Wadi As-Salqa village southeast of the Middle Gaza district.
As a result, Mohammed Mahmoud Al Qadeem, 23, was killed and the other man was injured.
At approximately 2:00 am on the same day, Israeli aircrafts attacked the house of Mu'awiya Mahmoud Basheer, 24, which is located in Al Berka neighborhood in Dier Al Balah.
As a result, the house was totally destroyed.
Mu'awiya's sister was traumatized and was admitted to the hospital.
At approximately 6:05 am on Thursday 17 July 2014, Israeli aircrafts attacked the house of Salem Fayyad, 25, which is located in the southwest of Dier Al Balah.
As a result, the owner of the house, Salem Fayyad was killed and the house was destroyed.
At approximately 11:45 am on the same day, Israeli aircrafts fired two missiles at a field owned by the Abu Sha'ban family southwest of the town of Dier Al Balah in the Middle Gaza district.
The missiles fall a few meters from houses and destroyed one house completely.
Several other houses were severely damaged.
Moreover, 12 people, including four children and four women, were injured inside their homes.
Two women are still being hospitalized.
At approximately 9:45 am, on Thursday 17 July 2017, Israeli fighter jets fired two missiles at a group of people who were on the roof of a residential building in the Al Nasser village, north east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
Three people were killed as a result of the strike: Mohammed Ghanem, 27; Abdullah Al Akhras, 29, and Basheer Abdul Aal, 19.
Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights reiterates its strong condemnation the IOF's serious violations of international law, particularly the frequent disproportionate attacks that fail to distinguish between civilian and military targets.
The murder of four children on Gaza beach exemplifies the flagrant disregard of both civilian life and international law by the IOF.
All deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian object are serious violations of international law that amount to war crimes.
The use of missiles as means of warning and not giving time for civilians to leave do not exempt the IOF of the responsibility for the high number of civilian casualties and damages to civilian structures; including police stations.
Al Mezan highlights that it has been civilians bearing the brunt of IOF's unlawful attacks.
Therefore, Al Mezan calls on international community to act to stop such attacks without any further delay.
International community must intervene to ensure that the attacks on houses, mosques, hospitals, police stations and NGO, are investigated and prosecuted as per the standards provided by international law.
Al Mezan also urges international community; especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to act swiftly and resolutely to provide effective protection for the civilian population under Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.
END