2PM Gaza Time Al Mezan Center for Human Rights conducted several field visits to areas along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip; including Khuza'a, Az Zanna areas east to Khan Younis district and Al Shejai'ya and Al Sha'af east of Gaza City.
The visits revealed greater destruction in these areas.
The visits started once the humanitarian ceasefire, which was announced last night by the UN Secretary General and the US Secretary of State; under which Israel and Palestinian armed resistance groups confirmed that fire would be held starting at 8 am today.
Al Mezan's field worker in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, who was in a field visit to document the case of a house that had been bombarded by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), reported that he heard IOF artillery shelling on the eastern parts of Rafah, where he was, at around 8:05 am.
Later, at 9:30 am, the IOF started intensive bombardment by artillery and aircraft, focusing on the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah.
Initial reports indicate that dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured; including people who had just returned to their homes after the ceasefire entered into effect.
Al Mezan was not able to verify the final number of casualties as the bombardment was continuous for hours.
News reports confirmed that the truce was over, and that an Israeli soldier had been captured by Palestinian combatants.
The IOF has ordered the entire population of Rafah to stay at home or face the risk of being targeted.
The indiscriminate, carpet bombing of Rafah seems to be a reaction to the capturing of the soldier.
The rapid deterioration of the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip continued during the reporting period (2pm Thursday 31 July – 2 pm Friday 1 August 2014).
The Coastal Water Utility, the sole provider of water in the Gaza Strip, announced yesterday that it is faced with a full failure to provide water or sanitation services; unless an immediate response to the immediate needs.
The exhaustion of fuel reserve and full blackout, in addition to the frequent attacks on personnel as they tended to water facilities, were behind announcing the halt of the Utility's services.
This halt of these basic services puts the entire population at a serious risk.
Moreover, almost all primary health services have stopped in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of water, garbage collection and environment health services.
UNRWA had also warned about the risk of imminent spreading of disease owing to the halt of water and sanitation services.
As of 2 pm today, Friday 1 August 2014, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights was able to verify that at least 1,497 Palestinians have been killed by the IOF.
This number does not include dozens of casualties who were killed in IOF attacks on Rafah today.
Of the 1,497, 358 are children and 196 women.
According to Al Mezan's initial investigations 1,224 (i.
e.
81.
8%) of the victims are civilians.
Many others were people known to be affiliated by Palestinian factions, but not taking part in any hostilities.
At least 780 (52.
1%; 258 children and 162 women) were killed inside their houses; and two other disabled women were killed in an attack on a rehabilitation NGO's office.
Another 180 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 6,208 other people were injured during the same period; of whom at least 1,752 were children and 1,215 women.
At least, 5,041 houses were destroyed or damaged during this period; of which 649 were destroyed completely as the IOF directly and deliberately attacked 729 of the total number of damaged houses.
Dozens of other civilian facilities; including hospitals, NGO offices.
Schools, mosques and Gaza's only power plant were also destroyed or damaged.
IOF attacks also destroyed or damaged 66 schools, 110 mosques, 8 hospitals, one ambulance center, 25 NGO offices, and 46 fishing boats.
During the evening hours of yesterday, Thursday 31 July 2014, the IOF bombarded the houses of the families of Kutkut and Al Mabhouh, the Abu Hamra Dairies factory, and a store for construction materials; all of which are located in Jabalia.
At approximately 11:15 am today, Friday 1 August 2014, IOF invaded the northern parts of the town of Beit Hanoun.
IOF opened fire as hundreds of people were returning to their homes, which they had evacuated.
People were trying to use the ceasefire to access their houses and carry essentials they need at UN shelters and other places where they took shelter.
At approximately 9 am, rescue teams were able to recover the dead body of a man from the north of the town of Beit Hanoun.
His name was not yet identified when this press release was published.
At around 2 pm on Thursday 31 July 2014 medical sources identified the dead body of a 20-year-old man who was killed in the IOF attack on the open market in the Al Shejai'ya neighborhood on the previous day.
He was identified as Ra'fat Kamal Totah, 20.
This raises the total number of Palestinians killed in this incident to 30.
At approximately 2:30 pm on Thursday 31 July 2014, IOF aircraft fired a missile at a car that was driving on the Al Sanafour Street, east of Gaza City, killing Ibrahim Sa'd Al Haddad, 21, and Hamza Fayiq Al Haddad, 21.
At approximately 3 pm on Thursday 31 July 2014, IOF aircraft fired three missiles at the house of Basheer Ismail al Ramlawi, 58, which is located in the Al Jalaa' Street in central Gaza City.
As a result, the house was destroyed completely.
Four families of 20 individuals were displaced.
The IOF had warned the residents to evacuate the house before bombing it.
At approximately 5:30 pm on Thursday 31 July 2014, IOF aircraft fired a missile at a car as it drove on Palestine Square, at the heart of Gaza City's center, killing Ra'fat Mohammed Na'eem, 16, and his brother Mohammed Ra'fat Na'eem, 21.
At approximately 3:15 pm on Thursday 31 July 2014, IOF aircraft fired a missile at an empty field in the Al Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City.
An old man, Mousa Hussein Hashim, 80, died from a heart attack.
He lives next to the targeted location.
His family informed Al Mezan he was affected by the explosion.
At approximately 9 am on Friday 1 August 2014, Palestinian rescue teams recover two dead bodies from under the rubble of their houses, which had been bombarded by the IOF on 20 July 2014 in the Al Shejai'ya neighborhood.
They were identified as Ismail Zuheer Mhammadeen, 29, and Mu'ammar Fael Shamali, 35.
In the Middle Gaza district, the IOF launched dozens of attacks during the reporting period, killing 24 people; including seven children and seven women.
Three houses were destroyed completely in these attacks.
At approximately 3 pm on Thursday 31 July 2014, an IOF drone fired a missile at the house of Hatem Abdel Kareem Al Louh, 40, which is located south to the town of Deir Al Balah.
Four of the family members, who were inside the house when the bombing occurred, were injured; including his mother.
About an hour later, it was confirmed that one of the injured; Hatem's brother, Kamal, 32, died from his wounds.
Al Mezan's investigation indicates that the family were sitting in their house's garden when they were targeted.
The survivors from the family went to the hospital to bring the dead body of Kamal for burial; however, as they were driving back, an IOF missile hit a car that was about 40 meters from them.
Two men were inside the targeted car; also from the extended family of Al Louh.
They were all killed in the attack and were identified as: Ibrahim Abdel Kareem Al Louh, 39; Khalid Nasser Al Loud, 45; Amal Abdel Kareem Al Louh-Al Masri, 50; Ilham Yehia Al Louh, 26.
At approximately 8:40 pm, also on Thursday, IOF aircraft fired a missile at the house of the Al Bayoumi family, which is located in Block 5 in the Al Nusierat refugee camp.
The family; 18 persons, were in the house when it was targeted.
The house was destroyed completely.
Rescue teams were able to recover the dead bodies of 12 women and children from the family members and the next door house, which was also severely damaged.
The victims were identified as: Hadeel Amer Al Bayoumi, 14; Abeer Amer Al Bayoumi, 27; (Hadeel's sister) Aseel Amer Al Bayoumi, 16; (Hadeel's sister) Laila Darweesh Abu Shouqa, 43; Mohammed Abdel Majeed Al Bayoumi, 14 Labiba Ibrahim Abu Shouqa, 24; Elham Ibrahim Abu Shouqa, 18; (Labiba's sister) Malak Shakir Abu Shouqa, 2; Hasan Nasser Zaqout, 21; Abeer Nahidh Al Assar, 27; (nine months pregnant) Rinad Ashraf Al Assar, 1.
5.
Lana Ra'fat Al Assar, 7; At approximately 5:30 pm, also on Thursday 31 July 2014, an IOF drone fired a missile at a group of people who were sitting in a resort café near their houses in the Shalat neighborhood in the same Al Nuseirat refugee camp.
A child, Mohammed Ammar Shalat, 10, was killed.
His uncle, Ali Shalat, 27, and his uncles daughter Aysha Ali Shalat were also injured.
In Khan Younis district, IOF aircraft and artillery bombarded several houses around the district during the reporting period.
Thirteen houses were attacked and 21 people were killed; including six children and two women.
A man's dead body was also recovered from under the rubble during the reporting period in this district.
Under the ongoing developments and blackouts, Al Mezan was unable to verify the impacts of the IOF's assault in Rafah, which killed dozens.
Our field workers, who continue to carry out their duties, faced difficulties in securing verified materials to the office in time; especially in Rafah, about which this press release does not provide details, and khan Younis, which is mentioned without details about description of individual incidents.
Al Mezan is highly alarmed by the situation in the town and refugee camp of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
This morning saw an intensive assault by the IOF which resulted with dozens of casualties among civilians.
Al Mezan warns about the inadequate response on the part of international community and calls for a strong response that stresses the urgent need for full compliance of international humanitarian law and preventing any attacks on the civilian population.
Al Mezan strongly condemns IOF's serious violations of international law.
The IOF targeting of civilians and civilian objects; such as houses, which are frequently hit with their residents inside them, markets, schools, UN IDPs shelters and other major civilian structures, represent grave breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) that amounts to war crimes.
Al Mezan expresses serious concern by the reports from the UN about the rapidly deteriorating conditions in IDP shelters, in which the number of IDPs keeps increasing every day.
Al Mezan deplores the continued failure of international community to provide the due protection for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, and its failure to clearly condemn IOF's flagrant violations of international law.
This failure has encouraged serious violations of international law, which is reflected in human lives, to continue.
Al Mezan therefore calls on the international community to: Condemn with the strongest terms Israel's grave breaches of IHL in the context of Operation Protective Edge; Take immediate, effective action to provide the due protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip from military attacks and persecution; Express unequivocal support and play a positive role in ensuring that credible, independent investigations into the suspected violations of human rights and IHL in the context of the operation Protective Edge to ensure accountability for those who committed them, and redress for their victims; and Press for an immediate end of Israel's unlawful closure and blockade of the Gaza Strip.
END