GENEVA, (PIC)
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has accused the Israeli occupation army of escalating its premeditated murders, extrajudicial executions and judicial killings against Palestinian civilians through direct targeting with snipers and drones in different areas of the Gaza Strip, as part of its genocidal war, which has been ongoing since last October.
According to Euro-Med Monitor, “Israel is killing Palestinians on a large scale through artillery and aerial strikes and by speeding up the execution of extrajudicial killings. These actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute Basic Law of the International Criminal Court.”
Euro-Med said it had documented numerous Israeli sniper operations, killings, and executions that primarily targeted civilians in shelter centers, hospitals, streets, and populated areas.
One of these incidents occurred on February 4 when an Israeli “quadcopter” drone shot and killed 49-year-old Palestinian citizen Jihad Muhammad al-Dardasawi from al-Turkman neighborhood in ash-Shuja’iya area east of Gaza City.
“The preliminary analysis of al-Dardasawi’s body revealed that he had been the target of direct fire, sustaining multiple puncture wounds, including at least four in the back and one in the thigh,” Euro-Med explained.
Akram al-Dardasawi informed the Euro-Med team that his brother Jihad was killed by Israeli gunfire while riding his bicycle from his home to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to deliver food to their injured brother. He added that Jihad was subsequently buried in the yard of one of the shelter schools east of Gaza City.
At least eight Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israeli sniper and shooting operations in various parts of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis during the early hours of Friday, February 10, according to reports received by Euro-Med.
Reports also reached Euro-Med on Thursday afternoon about the evacuation of bodies of six individuals to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, after they were shot dead by Israeli army snipers while attempting to obtain drinking water near the hospital.
On the same day, Euro-Med received reports about the killing of two Palestinians and the grave injury of a third after an Israeli quadcopter drone opened fire at a refugee school near al-Awda School, east of Khan Yunis.
On Wednesday morning, a Euro-Med team documented the death of a 14-year-old girl, Ru’a Atef Qadeeh, who was shot by Israeli army snipers in front of the Nasser Hospital’s gate in Khan Yunis. The teen was attempting to fetch water from a nearby location.
Euro-Med also reported that on Tuesday, February 6, just before noon, Muhammad Diyab Abdel Qader Barhoum, was shot and killed by a Quadcopter drone as he was heading to al-Nasr town, north of Rafah City, to feed his sheep.
On February 2, four Palestinians, including the director of the Youth and Volunteers Department, Hadaya Hamad, were killed by Israeli army snipers positioned around the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) headquarters in Khan Yunis.
On January 31, the security guard at the PRCS-run Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis was shot dead by Israeli army snipers while standing near the back door of the hospital.
“Since the beginning of the Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip, along with the ground incursions that started at the end of last October, hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed or wounded by Israeli snipers and quadcopter drones,” Euro-Med said.
“The Israeli army has started to use quadcopter drones in a systematic and widespread manner, according to testimonies gathered by Euro-Med Monitor, to carry out extrajudicial executions and premeditated killings of Palestinian civilians. These drones are used in particular against civilians who attempt to return and inspect their homes after the Israeli army retreats from the area where incursions and raids have occurred.”
“According to the Palestinian health ministry, health workers noticed that the bodies of most victims of executions and field killings showed evidence of unusual gunshots, differing from ordinary gunshots in that they leave a different shape on the victim’s body when they penetrate it, as they are not bullets fired from rifle-type weapons but from quadcopter drones.”
“The Israeli army converted this drone — which was originally designed for photography — into an air weapon for intelligence gathering and subsequently utilized it for the deliberate and direct execution of unlawful targets,” Euro-Med affirmed.
“Developed by Israeli military industries, the quadcopter drones are one-meter-diameter drones with various characteristics and tactical features. They are easy to program and operate electronically remotely, with a design akin to that of helicopters.”
“These drones have very precise eavesdropping instruments and high-quality cameras. They can carry out additional military duties like shooting and carrying bombs, and can be modified to become suicide drones.”
In a primary report submitted to UN special rapporteurs and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said it had documented, last December, dozens of cases of field executions carried out by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. It requested an immediate investigation into these crimes, calling for the perpetrators to be held accountable, and for justice for all victims.
Euro-Med called on the aforementioned parties to take a position against Israel’s widespread killing operations that target Palestinian civilians, especially the field executions and physical liquidations in the Gaza Strip.
In addition, Euro-Med also called for forming an international legal committee and securing its entry into the Gaza Strip in order to start an inquiry into these crimes and other instances of Palestinian civilians being killed by Israeli forces.
Euro-Med reiterated that the UN special rapporteurs and the ICC Prosecutor must delegate international human rights committees to visit the Strip and document the magnitude of Israel’s crimes against Palestinian civilians.
Euro-Med stressed that “these Israeli executions violate international standards and the right to life stipulated in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, plus Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that ‘every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.’”
