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OPT: IOF Kills and Injures 19 Persons, including 11 Children - Al Mezan Condemns and Calls on the International Community to Intervene

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated their aggression on the Gaza Strip by launching new attacks on various targets in Gaza. As a result, 15 civilians were killed and injured, 11 of whom were children, and four Palestinian resistance fighters were killed. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli escalations and the deliberate and systematic killing of Palestinians. Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to end Israeli aggression and to provide protection for the population of the Gaza Strip.

According to Al Mezan's field investigations, at approximately 3:30pm on Tuesday 22 March 2011, IOF fired three artillery shells east of Al Shija'ia neighborhood, east of Gaza city. The shells fell on residential houses and on a group of Palestinian children and young men who were playing football and watching and encouraging a football match near the Al Wadiya Dairy. The factory is located in the Nazaz Street in the Al Shija'iya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. As a result, two adults and two children were killed.

Al Mezan identified the names of the killed persons as follows:

=B7 Yaser Hamed Al Helou, 52;

=B7 Yaser 'Ahed Al Helou, 16;

=B7 Mahmoud Talal Al Helou, 15; and

=B7 Mohammed Saber Harara, 19.

Al Mezan identified the names of the injured persons as follows:

=B7 Mohammed Alaa Al Helou, 13;

=B7 Ahmed Talal Al Helou, 12;

=B7 Yaser Amer Al Helou, 3;

=B7 Naser 'Ahed Al Helou, 12;

=B7 Tareq Ziyad Al Helou, 14;

=B7 Jamal Mahmoud Al Helou, 53;

=B7 Abdullah Ziyad Al Helou, 12;

=B7 Mu'ammer Amer Al Mbaied, 15;

=B7 Mu'ammer Atef Al Mbaied, 18;

=B7 Alaa Rami Abu Sakran, 5, and

=B7 Abdel Kareem Nabil Abu Sirria, 11.

The first three children sustained critical injuries

In a separate incident, at approximately 7:40pm on the same day, Israeli reconnaissance drones fired two missiles at a car carrying four members of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement. The car was travelling near the Tunis School, east of Az-Zaitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City. As a result, the four were killed. Their dead bodies were dismembered and were admitted to Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Al Mezan identified the names of the killed persons as follows:

=B7 Mohammed Akram Abed, 30, who were from Al Shate' refugee camp;

=B7 Adham Fayiz Al Harazeen, 29, from the Al Shija'ia neighborhood,

=B7 Mohammed Attiya Al Harazeen, 27, from the Al Shija'ia neighborhood, and

=B7 Sa'adi Mahmoud Helles, 22, from the Al Shija'ia neighborhood.

Al Mezan Center for Human rights strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli deliberate killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip. Al Mezan expresses its concern of these Israeli acts and conducts in disregard to its legal obligations under the international humanitarian law (IHL). Attacking residential areas with artillery shells is not justified. This brings to mind the Israeli crimes that had been committed in 2008 during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip (Operation Cast Lead).

Therefore, Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to provide protection for civilians and to end the escalated IOF aggression on the Gaza Strip which blatantly violate the IHL and tantamount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights

5/102-1 Al Mena, Omar El-Mukhtar Street,

Western Rimal, Gaza City, The Gaza Strip,

P.O. Box. 5270,

Telefax: 2820447, 2820442