During the reporting period, Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has continued, as it began at dawn on Tuesday, 09 May 2023, and ended after a cease-fire was agreed on 13 May 2023. This week, the Israeli airstrikes killed 8 members of Palestinian armed groups and injured 29 others, including 7 women and 5 children.
Thus, the death toll since the beginning of the Israeli aggression has risen to 33 Palestinians, including 15 civilians, amongst them 6 children and 4 women. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the number of injuries has risen to 190, including 64 children, 38 women and 13 elderlies.
Moreover, 29 residential houses and apartments were directly targeted; most of them were completely destroyed, while tens of nearby housing units sustained complete and partial destruction, displacing tens of families, and causing damage to civilian facilities. PCHR’s fieldworkers are still documenting the damage inflicted to other civilian facilities.
These attacks on civilian areas reflect Israel’s blatant disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians with complying with the principle of distinction and proportionality binding on the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) under international law.
The following are the most significant developments
On 11 May 2023, Ahmad Mahmoud Abu Daqqa (43), a commander in Al-Quds Brigades, was killed, and 4 others, including a woman and a child, were wounded in an airstrike that destroyed a house in Bani Suhaila village, east of Khan Yunis.
Also, Husain Yousef Dallol (23) and Mohammed Suliman Dared (32) were killed, and 2 members of Palestinian armed groups were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted them in eastern Shuja’iyya neighborhood in Gaza City
Abdul Haleem Jawdat al-Najjar (21) was killed, and another was injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting them in Jabalia refugee camp, north of the Gaza Strip. Both of them were members of Palestinian armed groups. The next day at dawn, the injured succumbed to his injury and was identified as ‘Elian ‘Atah ‘Elian Abu Wadi (36).
Additionally, ‘Odai Riyad al-Louh (25), a Palestinian armed group member, was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted him in northern Nuseirat refugee camp.
On the same day, IOF warplanes bombed and completely destroyed 3 houses belonging to Zakaria ‘Abed Rabbu in Beit Hanoun, Bashir family house in Dir al-Balah, and Zuhair Abu Khater in Beit Lahia. In each of these incidents, IOF called one of the residents to evacuate the houses before being bombed.
More details are available at PCHR’s press release.
On 12 May 2023, Eyad al-‘Abed al-Hasani (51), a commander of Al-Quds Brigades, and his Deputy, Mohammed Waleed ‘Abed al-‘Aal (33), were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment on the 5th floor of a building in al-Nasser neighborhood in western Gaza City. As a result, the apartment was destroyed and 5 Palestinians, including 2 children, were injured.
Also, a Palestinian sustained injuries when IOF warplanes launched a missile at his family house of 4 floors in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City. The house also sustained partial damage.
Two Palestinians, including an elderly man, were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a plot of land near ‘Eleen Mosque in Zaytun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
On 12 May 2023, IOF warplanes bombed and completely destroyed 6 houses belonging to Sameer Taha in Jabalia camp, Ahmed al-Hashash in Rafah, Kamal Abu Tir in eastern Khan Yunis, Hussain Ma’rouf in Beit Lahia, Mohammed Yaseen in Zaytun neighborhood in Gaza City, and Yehia Abu ‘Obaid in Dir al-Balah. It is worth noting that a person was injured when Ahmed al-Hashash’s house was bombed while in the airstrike on Abu ‘Obaid’s house, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and MOH’s Ambulance and Emergency building sustained partial damage, and 10 Palestinians, including 2 children and 4 women, were injured, among them 3 were injured inside the hospital, including an ill child.
Moreover, due to recurrent airstrikes on a nearby land, MOH’s Muscat Primary HealthCare Center in Qizan al-Najjar area in southern Khan Yunis sustained partial damage. The Centre houses other departments, including South Central Ambulance Department serving the Rafah and Khan Yunis area. MOH has also announced the evacuation of the ambulance station and referring all its services to Nasser Medical Complex, following the damage inflicted to the Center and breakdown of the communications network.
More details are available at PCHR’s press release.
On 13 May 2023, 13 residential houses were destroyed and belonged to: Saleem Abu al-‘Atta in eastern Gaza City, causing extensive destruction to two floors and injuring one person; Hazem Muhana in Gaza City; Faraj Bannat in Beit Lahia, wounding 2 women; al-Za’aneen family house in Beit Hanoun; al-Shenbari family house in Beit Hanoun, causing complete destruction to nearby houses belonging to the same family; Mohammed al-Haw in Jabalia refugee camp; Khaled Nabhan in Jabalia that housed 6 persons with disabilities; Salah al-Louh in western al-Nusirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, destroying 2 houses belonging to his father and brothers in the area; ‘Azmi Tafesh and Ziyad Selmi in Gaza City.
Also, a person was wounded after a drone targeted a motorcycle in eastern Rafah. Also, another person was injured in an Israeli airstrike on al-Zannah area in eastern Khan Yunus.
In the West Bank, IOF killed 6 Palestinians and wounded 29 others, including 10 children and a woman. Meanwhile, dozens of others sustained bruises and suffocated in IOF’s attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
Details are as follows:
On 11 May 2023, Ghazi Yousuf Shehab (66), from Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm, was killed 10 hours after he was referred to An-Najah Hospital due to being seriously injured in the back. An eyewitness said to PCHR’s fieldworker that his neighbor, Ghazi, was shot with a live bullet in the back by IOF from a distance of 25 meters while he was with other workers in front of Abu Qasidu café in Nur Shams refugee camp before heading to work in Israel. Before their withdrawal, IOF arrested 4 Palestinians and destroyed many vehicles.
On the same day, the medical staff at Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin announced the death of Aws Jamal Hamamdeh (30), from Qabatiya village, south of Jenin, after he succumbed to a bullet injury in the chest. IOF opened fire at Hamamdeh on 10 May 2023 following their incursion into Qabatiya and killing two members of the Palestinian armed groups and wounding two Palestinians in clashes.
On 13 May 2023, Saed Jehad Shaker Mashah (32) and Waseem ‘Adnan Yousef al-A’raj (18), were killed, and 3 others were wounded, including a woman and a child, during IOF’s incursion into Balata refugee camp in Nablus. (Details available at PCHR’s press release)
On the same day, Ahmad Mohammad ‘Atatra (33), from Jenin, was shot dead by IOF stationed at Toura-Shaked Checkpoint (300), southwest of Jenin, after the Israeli forces allegedly declared that he was trying to stab a soldier.
On 15 May 2023, Saleh Mohammad Sabra (22), was killed with 3 live bullets in the chest and right hand fired by IOF from a distance of 20 meters, and another child was wounded during clashes in the old ‘Askar refugee camp in Nablus.
Meanwhile, those injured were victims of IOF’s excessive use of force during their incursions into cities and villages or suppression of peaceful protests organized by Palestinian civilians. 26 Palestinians, including 10 children and a woman, were injured during stone-throwing clashes with IOF in the latter’s incursion into several villages and refugee camps nearly all over the West Bank. In addition, 3 Palestinians were wounded in Kafr Qaddum weakly peaceful protest in eastern Qalqilya.
So far in 2023, IOF attacks killed 150 Palestinians, including 75 civilians; 24 were children and 6 were women, and the rest were members of the Palestinian armed groups, including 2 children, 7 killed by settlers, and two died in Israeli prisons. Meanwhile, 274 Palestinians, including 85 children, 21 women and 12 journalists, were injured.
Land razing, demolitions, and notices
IOF displaced 7 families of 53, including 31 children and 11 women, after destroying 7 residential apartments, a water well, 3 agricultural rooms, and uprooting olive and almond trees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Details are as follows:
On 15 May 2023, IOF razed 5 dunums planted with olive and almond trees and covered a 90-cbm water well in Yatta, south of Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
On the same day, IOF uprooted and confiscated 100 olive trees, and removed a fence surrounding a 10-dunum plot of land, eastern Yatta, south of Hebron, under the pretext of using a state land.
On 16 May 2023, IOF demolished three 65-sqm agricultural rooms built of steel and wood, west of Kharas village, south of Hebron, under the pretext of unlicensed construction in Area (C).
On 17 May 2023, IOF demolished seven 300-sqm apartments belonging to Nassar (Al-Hussini) family in Wadi Qaddum neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, displacing 7 families of 53, including 31 children and 11 women.
Since the beginning of 2023, IOF made 76 families homeless, a total of 492 persons, including 97 women and 223 children. This was the outcome of IOF demolition of 83 houses; 18 were forcibly self-demolished by their owners and 8 were demolished on grounds of collective punishment. IOF also demolished 74 other civilian objects, razed other property, and delivered dozens of notices of demolition and cease-construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Settler-attacks
Settlers carried out 4 attacks on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, injuring a Palestinian with a live bullet and uprooting dozens of trees in the West Bank.
Details are as follows:
On 12 May 2023, a Palestinian was injured with a live bullet in the abdomen by a settler during their raid to the entrance to Silwad town, east of Ramallah.
On the same day, settlers cut branches of 10 olive trees, burned a vehicle, and broke the windows of another vehicle in Al-Sahel area between the town of Turmusaya and the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah. Later on, IOF arrived and secured the settlers’ withdrawal.
On 13 May 2023, settlers cut down 25 olive and almond trees, and demolished stone chains and a fence around a land plot, in Husan village, west of Bethlehem.
On 16 May 2023, settlers burned a vehicle and wrote racist slogans against Palestinians in the village of Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem.
Since the beginning of the year, settlers have conducted at least 197 attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property. As a result, 7 Palestinians were killed, and dozens of others were injured; most of them were subject to beating and stone-throwing. Also, dozens of houses, vehicles and civilian facilities were set ablaze.
IOF incursions and arrests of Palestinian civilians
IOF carried out 185 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Those incursions included raids and searches of civilian houses and facilities and establishment of checkpoints. During those incursions, 70 Palestinians were arrested, including 4 children, and gold jewellery worth 3,000 Jordanian dinars was confiscated as well as 4,000 shekels from the house of Palestinian they arrested in Bethlehem.
So far in 2023, IOF conducted 3888 incursions into the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during which 2285 Palestinians were arrested, including 25 women and 269 children. Also, IOF arrested 34 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including 12 fishermen, 19 infiltrators into Israel, and 3 travelers at Erez Crossing. IOF also conducted 12 incursions.
Israeli closure and restrictions on freedom of movement
Israeli occupation maintains its illegal and inhuman 16-year closure on the Gaza Strip.
Details available in PCHR’s monthly-update in the Gaza crossings.
In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, IOF continue to impose restrictions on the freedom of movement. On top of its 110 permanent checkpoints, IOF established 110 temporary military checkpoints in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and arrested 4 Palestinians at those checkpoints.
Closure of Gaza crossings continued until they were reopened according to the defined criteria starting on 14 May 2023.
This week, IOF repeatedly closed checkpoints in Bethlehem and Nablus and blocked traffic.
So far in 2023, IOF established 2314 temporary military checkpoints and arrested 120 Palestinians at those checkpoints.
