Press Releases
9 August 2018 |Reference 67/2018
Time: 1pm (local time)
On Wednesday and Thursday, 8-9 August 2018, the Israeli air forces launched about 110 missiles in 45 raids on security sites, populated areas, empty fields, and public property in the Gaza Strip. Israeli artillery also directed attacks at most of the neighborhoods in eastern Gaza. Three Palestinians, of them a pregnant woman and her daughter, were killed, and 18 others, including six children and two women, were injured in the attacks.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights monitored the escalation in hostilities on Wednesday and Thursday and documented the attacks as follows:
Al Mezan continues to collect, verify, and document information on the escalated attacks.
Al Mezan condemns the military’s targeting of civilians and civilian property, and the unnecessary harm and trauma caused to the population in Gaza. The shocking recent restrictions on the movement of goods and reduction in the permitted fishing zone indicate an increasingly harsh policy by the Israeli authorities vis-à-vis the population in Gaza that already endures a human-made, protracted humanitarian crisis. Al Mezan warns against any further escalation in hostilities, as it could lead to another full-scale military bombardment—the past of which have deviated drastically from international law principles and taken a devastating human toll on the population.
Al Mezan urges the international community, led by Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to take prompt and effective steps to seek a de-escalation in the situation in Gaza. The protection of civilians is a prime legal obligation and is, now, a test to the authenticity of the commitment of the international community to their legal obligations, moral standards and humanitarian objectives in Gaza.
Al Mezan stresses that impunity serves as encouragement for the commission of further international law violations, and calls for accountability and justice mechanisms to be activated as found to be relevant to the attacks in Gaza.
On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists: in the absence of justice and accountability, Israel continues to target journalists with impunity
Israel resumed the deliberate use of excessive and lethal force against Palestinian protesters in Gaza, killing one and injuring eight
Israel increases collective punishment measures by suspending goods exports from Gaza for the third consecutive day
Al Mezan condemns Israel's latest racist measure against Palestinian prisoners
Adalah, Al Mezan and ACRI Petition Israeli Supreme Court Against the Law that Denies Administrative Release to 'Security Prisoners'