A little over a month ago, I posted how a 14-month-old palestinian toddler and her pregnant mother likely died as a result of a palestinian rocket that misfired within Gazan territory. I based this on a number of things, and my suspicions were strengthened when I saw the Palestinian Center of Human Rights (PCHR) did not even blame Israel.
Now Human Rights Watch (HRW) have released a report that pretty much confirms it.
In addition, a Palestinian rocket that landed inside of Gaza was most likely responsible for the deaths of a pregnant Palestinian mother of nine and a 14-month-old toddler.
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On May 4, a munition struck the al-Zaytoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza, killing Falastin Abu Arar, a 38-year-old mother of nine, and her 14-month-old niece, Siba Abu Arar. The Gaza Health Ministry included both on a list of people killed by Israeli airstrikes, but the Israeli military said that it did not conduct the lethal strike.
Human Rights Watch was unable to investigate the strike for security reasons and Israel’s repeated denial of permits to Gaza for foreign researchers. A field worker with a Palestinian organization who visited the site said that unlike at other sites, Palestinian authorities quickly removed remnants of munitions and described damage that make it more likely that the strike came from an errant Palestinian rocket.
But don’t get too excited – HRW are still their usual selves. From the same report:
Four Israeli airstrikes struck targets that appeared to contain no military objective or may have caused disproportionate civilian loss in violation of the laws of war. Civilians killed included a pregnant Palestinian woman, an infant, and a 11-year-old boy. Unguided rockets launched by Palestinian armed groups toward Israeli population centers were unlawfully indiscriminate.
I was not aware that HRW were involved in Israeli military discussions, in order to accurately assess our military objectives. As for the description of rockets fired by palestinian terrorists (described euphemistically as ‘armed groups’) as ‘unguided’ and ‘indiscriminate’, that’s just plain dishonest, given they were deliberately aimed at Israeli population centers.
