Gaza Watch #12: Elderly Palestinian and His Son Killed when IOF Bombard their House

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
16 August 2006

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed an elderly Palestinian and
his son in Khan Yunis in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 16
August 2006, when an IOF plane leveled their house with a bomb. IOF
did not give them sufficient time to evacuate the house; and they
were killed during the evacuation. In addition, a second son and two
neighbors were moderately injured by shrapnel.

PCHR's preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately
01:00 on Wednesday, an Israeli security officer called Abdel Hadi
Hasan Radwan Sha'ath (31), who is an activist in Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, on his mobile telephone. The Israeli officer told him to
evacuate his house as it will be bombarded in a few minutes. Sha'ath
was not in the house at the time of the call; and he called his
family to inform them of the warning.

The house consisted of 3 stories and was built on an area of 180
square meters. It was located in the densely-populated Sheikh Naser
area in the eastern part of Khan Yunis. The household started to
evacuate the house at night and in the dark as electricity was cut
off the area at the time.

During the evacuation, Israeli security called Mustafa Sha'ath (36),
a brother of Abdel Hadi, who is also an activist in Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades. They informed him that the house will be bombarded in a
few minutes.

Fifteen minutes after the first call and as the household were
evacuating, an IOF plane dropped a bomb on the house, destroying it
completely. Hasan Radwan Shahin Sha'ath, the 69-year old owner of
the house, and his son Ibrahim (45) were killed. Their bodies were
found 10 meters away from the house. They were killed by cement
blocks shattered by the bombardment. In addition, three civilians
were injured. One of the injured is a second son of the dead house
owner. The injured were taken to Naser Hospital in Khan Yunis, where
their injuries were listed as light to moderate. The injured are:
Abdel Rahman Hasan Sha'ath (35), Abdallah Nizar Abu Taha (29), and
Mohammad Suliman Mustafa Sha'ath (35). In addition, five nearby
houses sheltering 10 families of 75 members sustained damage by the
bombardment.

PCHR strongly condemns the IOF killing of Palestinian civilians in
the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of their property. IOF
disproportionate use of force places the lives of civilians at
additional risk during these operations, which are a form of
reprisal and collective punishment against Palestinians, a violation
of article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Centre

confirms that indiscriminate aggression will inflict additional
damages on civilians and civilian property. The prior knowledge that
these attacks will cause civilian casualties and destruction of
their property is a violation of the convention, and a war crime in
the first protocol additional to the convention. The Centre reminds
the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention of: -
  Their obligations under article 1 of the convention to ensure
respect of the convention under all circumstances;

-       Their obligations in article 146 of the convention to pursue
suspects of committing serious violations of the convention, noting
that these violations are war crimes according to article 147, as
specified in the first protocol additional to the convention