1:30PM Gaza Time   The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Following the same patterns of armed attacks, the IOF launched air raids on inhabited houses.
The IOF attacks started at approximately 3:55 pm yesterday, Tuesday 19 August 2014 and have continued today.
Israel has announced that rockets had been fired from Gaza; however, sirens were not heard.
Palestinian armed resistance groups denied the allegation.
Nevertheless, the IOF launched dozens of attacks on the Gaza Strip; some of which targeted houses.
In two attacks on the Al Dalu and the Al Louh houses, attacks occurred while people were inside their houses causing multiple casualties and injuries.
The IOF announced that the attack on the Al Dalu family house in Gaza city targeted a high commander in Hamas military wing.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights continued its monitoring and documentation of the impacts of the IOF attacks on the civilian population in the Gaza Strip daily.
Al Mezan's field workers reported that the IOF had opened fire at Palestinian fishermen and residents of areas near the border with Israel during the past days.
No Palestinian response was spotted.
The accelerated IOF attacks sparked a wave of evacuation by Palestinian civilians, especially those who live close to the border area.
Tens of thousands returned to schools turned shelters, which were already crowded with displaced people, after leaving them in the past days.
The humanitarian conditions for the general population, and especially for displaced people, are still difficult in Gaza under the prolonged blackouts and shortages in water supplies.
As of 1:30 pm today, Wednesday 20 August 2014, Al Mezan's monitoring indicates that 2,060 Palestinians have been killed by the IOF since 7 July 2014.
Of them 485 are children and 284 women.
Al Mezan also knows about seven casualties who were buried without being identified in Rafah.
Those are not included in these figures pending further verification.
According to Al Mezan's investigations, which increased during the past nine days of ceasefire, 1,583 (i.
e.
76.
9%) of the victims are civilians.
More deaths of combatants were confirmed and more combatants were recovered from under the rubble during these days.
At least 952 people; including 307 children and 202 women, were killed inside their houses; and two other disabled women were killed in an attack on a rehabilitation NGO's office.
Another 222 people were killed in the vicinity of their houses; including in situations where they were trying to flee from their homes as a result of IOF attacks.
Moreover, at least 10,281 people were injured during the same period according to the Ministry of Health; including 1,990 were children and 3,117 women.
At least, 9,988 houses were destroyed or damaged during this period; of which 2,638 were destroyed completely.
The IOF directly and deliberately attacked 955 of the total number of damaged houses.
As of today, IOF attacks have destroyed or damaged 92 schools, 149 mosques, 8 hospitals; 6 of which are out of service, 38 NGO offices, 50 fishing boats, and 223 vehicles.
North Gaza district: Since 4:25 pm yesterday, the IOF launched several air raids on the North Gaza district, mainly targeting open areas and fields.
These attacks injured at least 22 people; including 12 children and six women.
Moreover, air raids also targeted five houses directly in this district.
The house of Ahmed Al 'At'out, which is located on the Al Awda Street in Jabalia, was bombarded and destroyed completely.
IOF also bombarded the house of Omar Abdallah Al Hindi in Block 11 on Jabalia refugee camp, destroyed the five-story house completely and damaging five neighboring houses.
Another airstrike targeted the house of Awadallah Sobhi Al Awadiya in Beit Halhiya town, destroying it completely and damaging another three houses.
IOF also attacked the house of Sami Lotfi Abu Sultan, which is located in Tel Al Za'tar neighborhood in Jabalia, destroying it and damaging another three houses in the neighborhood.
In another attack at approximately 4:20 am today, Wednesday 20 August 2014, an IOF drone fired a missile at the house of Naseem Mohammed Al Radee', which is located in the town of Beit Lahiya.
About 20 minutes later, an OF warplane bombarded the house with a heavy missile and destroyed it.
A man and a women were injured: Ra'fat Atta Al Radee', 37; and Fatima Nafiz Jawadat Al Radee', 30.
The house was completely destroyed and three neighboring houses were damaged in this attack.
Gaza City: At approximately 9 pm, on Tuesday 19 August 2014, IOF war jets fired six missiles at the house of Rabah Al Dalu, 51, which is located in the Al Sheikh Radwan neighborhood north of Gaza City.
The three-story house is inhabited by Al Dalu family's eight members and two apartments in it are leased out to another two families.
Five persons were recovered from under the rubble of this house by the time this press release was published; including two children and two women.
There are reports that other people were still under the rubble and Palestinian rescue teams are working to recover them.
Two of the victims were Wedad Mustafa Daif-Afour, 28, who is the wife of the commander of the Al Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Daif, and his 7-month son, Ali Mohammed Daif.
A man's dead body was also recovered and identified as Ahmed Rabah Al Dalu, 20.
Around noon today, rescue teams were able to recover another two dead persons, who were identified as Wafaa' Hussein Al Dalu-'Aabed, 47, and her son Mustafa Rabah Al Dalu, 14.
Another 15 people were injured in this attack; of whom two were children and two women.
There are reports about several more people buried under the rubble of the house.
Al Mezan was able to verify that four houses near the Al Dalu family house were severely damaged while 20 houses were damaged partially and dozens of other houses were lightly damaged.
Moreover, 36 buses and one jeep that belong to the Abu Olba transportation company, which is located opposite to the targeted house, were damaged.
At approximately 11 am, on Wednesday 20 August 2014, IOF war jets fired one missile at a group of people who were near the Al Maqousi apartment block in the Al Nasser neighborhood in the northwest of Gaza city, killing Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Al Bora'I, 23.
At approximately 11:45 am, on Wednesday 20 August 2014, IOF war jets fired a missile at a group of people who were in the vicinity of the Hasan Al Banna mosque in the Al Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, killing Sami Hasan Ayyad, 33, Nour Mahmoud Abu Haseera, 2, and Zaki Suleiman Al Ra'i, 60.
Middle Gaza district: At approximately 4:50 pm on Tuesday 19 August 2014, the IOF launched several air raids on open areas and agricultural fields in various areas in the Middle Gaza district.
IOF artillery also fired several shells on the eastern outskirts of the Wadi Al Salqa village and the Deir Al Balah town.
These attacks injured three persons, including a child.
At approximately 6:40 pm on Tuesday 19 August 2014, IOF war jets bombarded a field in the Wadi Gaza (Juhr Ad-Deek) village, a Palestinian ambulance operated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society was passing by the field and was damaged.
The ambulance driver is being hospitalized from shock.
At approximately 4:45 am, on Wednesday 20 August 2014, IOF war jets bombarded the house of Mustafa Mahmoud Al Louh, 62, which is located in the Al Hikr neighborhood, south of Deir Al Balah.
The house, which is made of one floor roofed with asbestos and was home to a family of five members, was totally destroyed.
The adjacent house which belongs to Mustafa's son, Ra'fat, 32, was also totally destroyed.
As a result, seven people were killed; including three children and one woman: Ra'fat Mustafa Al Louh, 32; Nabeela Eed Al Louh – Abu Rkab, 28 (Ra'fat's 9-month-pregnant wife); Mustafa Ra'fat Al Louh, 10 (Ra'fat and Nabeela's son); Maysara Ra'fat Al Louh, 7 (Ra'fat and Nabeela's son); Farah Ra'fat Al Louh, 6 (Ra'fat and Nabeela's son); and Ahmed Mustafa Al Louh, 22 (Ra'fat's brother); Mohammed Mustafa Al Louh, 22 (Ra'fat's brother); Another 12 people were injured in this attack; including three children and five women: Mustafa Mahmoud Al Louh, 62 Botahina Mohammed Al Louh, 56 (Mustafa's wife) Mu'min Mustafa Al Louh, 19 (their son) Wafaa' Mustafa Al Louh, 19 (their daughter) Iman Younis Al Louh, 19 (neighbor) Qasim Mahmoud Al Louh, 73 (neighbor) Ibrahim Ahmed Al Louh, 50 (neighbor) Aseel Sa'd Abu Khamash, 10 (neighbor) Rasmiya Mohammed Abu Khamash, 46 (neighbor) Abdel Karim Mohammed Abu Khamash, 6 (neighbor) Manfiyya Abu Rkab, 70 (neighbor) Mohammed Haitham Abu Khmash, 2.
5 (neighbor) Eight neighboring houses, a dairy factory and two vehicles were also damaged in this attack.
At approximately 3 am, on Wednesday 20 August 2014, IOF war jets bombarded the house of Inshirah Fayiz Al Hasanat-Sayyah, 61, which is located in Deir Al Balah town.
The two-story house was totally destroyed, displacing its 13 residents.
The IOF had called the family and informed them of the impending bombardment of the house, then a drone fired a missile at the house before bombarding it with a heavy missile.
Several houses were also damaged.
At approximately 8 am, on Wednesday 20 August 2014, IOF war jets bombarded the house of Husein Ibrahim Al Jamal, 60, which is located in the Al Nuseirat refugee camp and destroyed it completely.
An IOF drone had fired four missile at the four-story house before war jets bombarded and destroyed it.
The house was inhabited by five families with 29 members.
Khan Younis district: IOF launched 22 air raids on various areas in Khan Younis, mostly on fields and a poultry farm.
One person was injured from these attacks.
Another man died from injuries he had sustained ten days ago in Khan Younis.
At approximately 8pm on Tuesday 19 August 2014, medical sources announced the death of Omar Mohammed Jarghoun, 27, from wounds he had sustained in an IOF airstrike on 10 August 2014, which targeted a motorcycle and killed its driver and a passerby.
At approximately 1:15 am on Wednesday 20 August 2014, IOF war jets bombarded an empty land on the Salah Ad-Din Street in Khan Younis, causing damages to several houses and injuring one person.
Rafah district: At approximately 6 pm, on Tuesday 19 August 2014, IOF war jets fired two missiles at the house of Mohammed Nazeer Madi, which is located in the north of Rafah.
IOF aircraft launched a second attack on the house and destroyed it completely together with three neighboring houses.
Several other houses were damaged.
At least 18 people were injured in the attack, including seven children, from the Madi family and their neighbors.
In another attack, IOF war jets also attacked the house of Fawzi lafi Abdeen, which is located in the Al Nasser village north to Rafah, destroyed it completely and demaged several other houses near it.
Al Mezan condemns IOF's attacks on civilians and civilian targets in the Gaza Strip since the start of the on-going military operation.
Attacks on protected civilians and civilian objects that fail to comply with the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) represent grave breaches of IHL, which amount to war crimes.
These violations must be credibly and promptly investigated and prosecuted.
Al Mezan also condemns Israel's insistence on maintaining the eight-year-old unlawful closure and blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and outside of the Gaza Strip must be removed immediately.
Al Mezan deplores the failure of international community to take any effective, timely action to ensure protection for the civilian population and the civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, which have been devastated due to thousands of IOF unlawful military attacks that did not respect the basic principles of IHL.
International community must back credible investigations overseen by the UN Human Rights Council into the suspected war crimes and must ensure Israel's cooperation with these investigations.
More urgently, and as IOF attacks have resumed since yesterday, international community must make it firmly clear that such actions and violations must not be repeated.
Al Mezan further calls on international community to urgently provide the civilian population in the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and ensure free and timely passage of materials and personnel needed to re-establish the basic needs for human life; including power, water, sanitation and the health sector.
Care must be provided urgently for the displaced population and support to the vulnerable groups without any delay.
END