Mother and Four Children Killed by Israel Bombardment of their Home in Beit Hanoun

PCHR strongly condemns the heinous crime committed by
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) this morning in Beit Hanoun
in the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of a mother
and four of her children, aged 1-5, and the moderate injury
of another two of the woman's children.

The Center's preliminary investigation indicates that at
approximately 6:00 on Monday, 28 April 2008, IOF
supported by more than 20 heavily armored military
vehicles moved approximately 1200 meters inside the
Gaza Strip in the town of Beit Hanoun. The raiding forces
took positions on the Water Reservoir Hill, apposite
El-Nada Housing Project, in Izbit Abed Rabbo, and in
Sultan Abd El-Hamid Street west of the town. IOF fired
heavily as the moved and took up positions.

At approximately 8:15, an IOF plane fired a rocket at a
group of resistance members near Abdallah Azzam
Mosque, southwest of Izbit Abd Rabbou, approximately
1000 meters away from the main area of the incursion.
The rocket fell 10 meters away from the house of Ahmad
Eid Hassan Abu Me'tiq, seriously injuring a resistance
member. Less than a minute later two rockets were fired
at the same area and landed at the door of the same house,
killing another resistance member: Ibrahim Salem Suliman
Hajouj (20). Shrapnel from the rockets destroyed the house
door and spread inside the house. Meyasar Metliq Abu Me'tiq
(40) and her 6 children were eating breakfast only 2 meters
away from the door. The shrapnel killed four of the children
immediately. The mother was seriously injured; and the other
two children were moderately injured. The mother later died
of her wounds. In addition, 10 bystanders were injured, some
of them sustaining moderate to serious injuries.

The children killed are:

- Mes'id Ahmad Eid Abu Me'tiq (1 year).

- Hana Ahmad Eid Abu Me'tiq (3 year).

- Rudeina Ahmad Eid Abu Me'tiq (4 year).

- Saleh Ahmad Eid Abu Me'tiq (5 year).


The IOF incursion continued at the time of publication.
And IOF forces were bombarding El-Nada Housing Project
and conducting raids and arrests in Sultan Abd El-Hamid
Street and El-Ghazalat area near Erez Crossing north
of Beit Hanoun.

These victims bring to 312 the total number of Palestinian
victims who have been killed in the Gaza Strip in 2008.
They include 197 unarmed civilians (63%) who were killed.
Among the civilians killed are 44 children and 14 women.
As a result, the year 2008 is the worst with regards to the
number of victims killed compared with the 3 previous years.

PCHR is extremely concerned by this new IOF
escalation; and:

1. Reiterates condemnation of these war crimes, which are a
continuation of a continuous series of Israeli war crimes in the
OPT, reflecting IOF disregard for civilian lives. The Centre
views these crimes as reprisals and a form of collective
punishment for Palestinians in violation of Article 33 of
the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection
of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949).

2. Holds Israel fully responsible for the safety of
Palestinian civilians under all circumstances. According to
International Law, the presence of armed resistance in any
form does not justify disproportionate and excessive force.
In addition, International Law stipulates differentiating
between civilian and military targets.

3. Calls upon the international community to act immediately
to stop these crimes; and renews the call to the High Contracting
Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligation
under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure that it is respected
at all times, and their responsibilities under Article 146 to pursue
perpetrators of serious violations of the Convention, which are
determined in Article 147 that lists violations of the
Convention amounting to war crimes.