The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) carried out two assassination operations on Wednesday, 16 January 2008, which claimed the lives of five people.
As a result the recent aggression on Gaza, the total number of Gazans killed during the first 16 days of 2008 has come to fifty-eight.
IOF's recent escalation against the Gaza Strip comes in the midst of a media campaign in which the Israel security establishment claims that it targets only military targets in Gaza.
According to Al Mezan field investigations, at approximately 12:30pm, on 16 January 2008, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a civilian car, on An Nafaq Street in the Ad Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City.
Three civilians of the Al Yazji family, including one child were in the car.
They were identified as 27-year-old Muhammad Hashim Al-Yazji, his 5-year-old child, Amir Al-Yazji, and his brother, 39-year-old Ameer Al-Yazji.
The shelling also caused the injury of three other civilians who were riding a donkey cart near the targeted car.
The injured were identified as 45-year-old Rashid Al Mazloum, 39-year-old Marshoud Al Mazloum, and 78-year-old Shukri Salem Shukri.
At approximately 7:30pm, on 16 January 2008, an IOF drone fired two missiles at a civilian car.
The car was traveling on Salah-Ad Deen Road near the An Nuseirat refugee camp.
One of the missiles hit the car directly.
As a result, the car was completely destroyed and two were killed: 28-year-old Mohammed Ahmed As-Safadi and 30-year-old Wael Abdul Karim Ahil, both from Gaza City.
The bombing also resulted in the injury of one passer-by.
He was transferred to Shuhdaa Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Balah town for treatment from moderate wounds.
The Israeli media covered new reports developed by the Israeli security services recently.
In these reports, Yuval Diskin, the Chief of the Internal Security Services, alleged that the IOF killed 1000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during 2006 and 2007.
According to this report, those killed included "800 terrorists".
Al Mezan believes these allegations are both false and dangerous.
According to Al Mezan's investigations, 800 persons were killed by the IOF during the last two years in the Gaza Strip.
Of those, 487 were civilians; including 142 children.
Diskin claimed that the IOF killed only armed persons, or those who were affiliated with the resistance groups.
His report overlooked dozens of attacks which claimed the lives of entire families who were safe in their homes.
For example, on 9 June 2006, the IOF fired an artillery shell on Beit Lahia.
As a result, seven members of the Ghalia family were killed, including three children.
On 12 July 2006, the IOF shelled the hose of the Abu Selmia family.
Nine members of their family were killed, including seven children, who were sleeping inside the house.
Furthermore, on 8 November 2006, the IOF shelled the house of the Al Athamana family.
Seventeen members of their family were killed, including seven children, who were sleeping in their homes.
These cases alone occurred during 2006.
The attacks reported above in this press release caused the killing of a father, his son and his brother, although they are civilians and have not any connection with any military action or security either in the security Apparatuses or in the armed resistance groups.
Furthermore, Al Mezan monitored dozens of raids by Israeli warplanes on densely populated areas of civilians.
In many cases multiple attacks occurred, in which cars were targeted with a missile.
On many occasions, the IOF attacked a second time and killed many civilians who were hurried to provide first aid to those who were targeted.
Those second attacks killed of dozens of victims, despite the extraordinary capacity of the IOF to identify and verify targets prior to bombing.
For example, in the assassination attack that occurred on 20 May 2006.
The IOF bombarded a car from the air.
Four members of the Ahel family were killed, including two women and one child.
Also, two other children were injured; Maria Hamdi Ahel, who became a quadriplegic as a result of the incident.
Until now she is receiving treatment in Al Quds Hospital for more than a year-and-a-half.
Another assassination attempt occurred on 13 June 2006, when the IOF hit a car near Ad Durra Hospital.
As a result eleven were killed, including two children.
Most of the victims were killed or injured as they were trying to aid those injured in the first bombardment.
Again, on 8 July 2006, the IOF launched an artillery missile that landed on the Hajaj family house.
As a result, a mother and her two children were killed.
These cases, which represent only part of a pattern of violations that caused death, harm and destruction, indicate that the IOF has deliberately inflicted casualties among civilians.
Besides indicating that Diskin's allegations are false, the examples above provide evidence of perpetrating of conducts that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Under international law, it is incumbent upon IOF to distinguish between military and civilian targets.
These crimes cannot be justified on vague, false security grounds.
Added to this are the collective punishment measures imposed by the IOF on the Gaza Strip.
The closure of Gaza has caused deaths to dozens of children and patients owing to preventing access to hospitals outside Gaza and the severe lack of necessary medicines.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the escalation of killings committed by the IOF against the civilian population in Gaza.
It also expresses its outrage of the distorting and misleading campaign that was launched by Israeli officials; which aims to justify crimes committed by IOF against civilians, attempts to dodge international criticism, or prevents prosecutions and/or redress in the future according to international law.
Al Mezan calls on the international community to move urgently to stop Israeli serious violations of international law to provide protection for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), as part of their legal and moral duty towards the civilian population of the OPT.
It also calls on international and Israeli human rights organizations and institutions to confront the disinformation campaign by the Israeli security establishment, and to assist in bringing to trial those who ordered or committed crimes in OPT.
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