The IOF continue in their escalating offensive against Palestinian civilians and their property in the OPT, in the wake of ongoing silence from the international community and taking advantage of world preoccupation with the conflict in Lebanon.
Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, 89 Palestinians have been killed by the IOF.
The total number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Israeli military operation code-named "Summer Rains" has reached 162, including 33 children under the age of 18.
According to Al Mezan's field investigations, on 1 August at approximately 1:40pm, the IOF fired a missile that landed at an entrance of Al Nada tower, northwest Beit Hanoun town, killing 14-year old Aaref Abu Qaida, and Mirfat Abu Sharekh, 24, and injuring 2 other civilians.
Further, 13-year old Somaya Okal died yesterday as a result of her injuries of June 26, after a missile landed inside their house, in Al Qerem area of Jabalia town, killing her mother, and two of her brothers.
Furthermore new incidents have occuprred in the context of the systematic IOF targeting of residential buildings where Palestinians are being informed by telephone to evacuate their homes to forcibly allow the IOF to destroy their houses.
On 1:20am on 1 August an IOF fighter jet fired a rocket at the house of Isa Abd Al Hadi Al Batran, in Al Bureij Refugee Camp of Gaza's middle district.
The house was totally destroyed, two adjacent houses were badly damaged, and two civilians wounded.
It is notable that 25 minutes prior to the attack, the IOF informed the Al Batran family to evacuate their house, which is rented and owned by Marwan Suleiman Hamam.
Al Mezan strongly condemns the ongoing IOF crimes against Palestinian civilians in the OPT and their property, and emphasizes that the targeting of Palestinian civilians and civilian premises are war crimes and constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
Al Mezan maintains that these violations show Israel's flagrant disregard for its obligations under international humanitarian law.
It also affirms that the continuing silence of the international community and the noncompliance of the high contracting parties of the 4th Geneva Convention with their legal and moral obligations, encourage Israel to continue to commit further crimes.
Al Mezan calls upon the international community, most notably the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to immediately intervene, halt Israeli war crimes and provide protection to Palestinian civilians in the OPT.
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