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Al Mezan condemns Israel’s military attacks on Gaza and calls for urgent international intervention to protect civilians and their properties

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Al Mezan
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Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in the early hours of Saturday, 26 December 2020, targeting multiple areas in the Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians, including a six-year-old girl, were injured, and several public and private properties were damaged in the attacks.

Al Mezan’s field data shows that at around 12:40 am on Saturday, Israeli warplanes fired five missiles at a vacant land in the vicinity of al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Imad Khamis al-Hadad, 32, Hani Mahdi Hajaj, 55, and six-year-old Yasmin Mohamed al-Ashqar sustained injuries due to the attack. The airstrike also caused damages to the power grid and public building in the area, including, al-Durrah Children’s Hospital, a rehabilitation facility for people with disabilities run by the Ministry of Social Development, a primary school, and the Ministry of Education’s Pedagogical Training Center, as well as a number of private enterprises (Al-Yazji Company for Beverages, Al-Ramlawi Plastic Fabrication Company, and Al-Sawafiri Carpentry).

Shortly thereafter, the Israeli forces stationed at the perimeter fence fired arterially shells at a Palestinian security outpost in the Middle Gaza district before targeting it again with a drone missile. In addition, Israeli warplanes fired six missiles into an empty land to the east of Bureij refugee camp. No casualties were reported in either attack.

Al Mezan strongly condemns Israel’s military attacks and warns against resumption of hostilities especially amid the continued inaction of the international community and unprecedented deterioration of socioeconomic conditions in Gaza due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Accordingly, Al Mezan calls on the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to take prompt action in order to prevent any further military escalation and to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian objects. The international community must also exert pressure on Israel to lift the closure and blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, and ensure accountability of perpetrators of serious human rights violations in Gaza.