Jerusalem - “Jerusalem” dot com - The human rights organization “Human Rights Watch” said, on Monday, that the Israeli air strikes that destroyed four high-rise towers in Gaza City during the fighting in May 2021 appear to have violated the laws of war and may amount to war crimes.
The organization indicated in a lengthy report that these attacks damaged nearby buildings, displaced dozens of families, and closed dozens of businesses that provided livelihoods for many people.
According to the report, between May 11 and May 15, Israeli forces attacked Hanadi, Al-Jawhara, Al-Shorouq, and Al-Jalaa towers in the densely populated Al-Remal neighborhood. The Fur was flattened, while the fourth building, Al Jawhara, was severely damaged and is slated for demolition.
According to the report, the Israeli authorities argue that the Palestinian armed factions used the towers for military purposes, but they have not provided any evidence to support these allegations.
Richard Weir, Crisis and Conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, “Apparently unlawful Israeli raids on four tower blocks in Gaza City have caused severe and lasting damage to countless Palestinians who have lived, worked, shopped, and benefited from existing businesses. There, the IDF must publicly present the evidence it says it relied on to carry out these attacks.”
The Israeli army said that during the fighting with the Palestinian armed factions in Gaza from 10 to 21 May, its forces attacked about 1,500 targets with air and ground munitions, while the “United Nations” reported that the Israeli attacks killed 260 people in Gaza, at least 129 of whom were civilians. , including 66 children, while the local authorities in Gaza said that 2,400 housing units have become uninhabitable, while more than 50,000 units have been damaged and more than 2,000 industrial, commercial, and service facilities have been destroyed or partially damaged.
According to the report, the Palestinian armed factions fired more than 4,360 rockets towards Israel, killing 12 civilians in Israel, including two children and a soldier, according to the Israeli authorities.
Human Rights Watch indicated that it had prepared a separate report on Israeli air strikes that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians and another on rocket attacks launched by Palestinian armed factions in violation of the laws of war. According to the organization.
Between May and August, Human Rights Watch interviewed by telephone 18 Palestinians who were witnesses and victims of the attacks on the towers, including residents, business owners, and employees, as well as those in damaged nearby buildings. Human Rights Watch also reviewed video and photographs taken after the attacks. and statements by Israeli and Palestinian officials and Palestinian groups.
The towers housed dozens of companies, offices of news agencies, and many homes. Jawad Mahdi (68 years old), owner of Al-Jalaa Tower, who lived there with dozens of his family members, said: “All these years of hard work, it was a place for living, safety, and children. And the grandchildren, all our history and our lives are destroyed in front of us … as if someone rips your heart out and throws it away.”
Human Rights Watch said the long-term effects of the attacks go beyond the current destruction of buildings, with many jobs lost, businesses closed, and many families displaced.
Muhammad Qadada, 31, who is the head of a digital marketing company located in Hanadi Tower, said that the 30 affected employees include people who “support their families, others who are newly married, others who support their elderly families, and they have relatives who have diseases and need financial support.” They will not find another job because the equipment they owned and enabled them to work, design and produce was completely destroyed, so how can they work?”
According to Israel, those high towers housed offices for the armed Palestinian factions, including headquarters for some units and military intelligence, and in one of the towers offices housed “the most valuable technological equipment for Hamas” to use against Israel, but no information was announced to support these allegations. As the human rights organization says.
Human Rights Watch found no evidence that members of Palestinian factions not involved in military operations had a current or previous presence in any of the towers at the time of the attack. Even if such a presence did materialize, it appears that the attacks caused disproportionate damage to civilian property. . According to the organization's report.
Under international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, warring parties may only target military objectives. In doing so, they must take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians, and unless circumstances permit, they must issue effective advance warnings of attacks. Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, including retaliation against civilians, are prohibited. The laws of war prohibit indiscriminate attacks, including those that do not target a specific military objective or that do not distinguish between civilians and military objectives. Attacks that cause harm to civilians and civilian property are foreseeable. disproportionate to the expected military gain.
The organization indicated that, on May 30, it requested permits for senior researchers to enter Gaza to conduct further investigations into the hostilities, but the Israeli authorities refused the request on July 26, noting that since 2008, the Israeli authorities have refused to allow its international staff to enter Gaza, except for one visit. in 2016.
On July 13, the IDF spokesperson responded to a June 4 Human Rights Watch letter asking detailed questions about the attacks, saying that the IDF “exclusively strikes military targets after assessing that the potential collateral damage resulting from the attack is not significant compared to the expected military gains.” ".
The army added that it is conducting investigations and investigating “various incidents” in order to “know if the mandatory rules were violated, and draw conclusions.”
Attacks on towers
The strikes on the four towers that Human Rights Watch investigated were just a small part of Israeli military attacks on Gaza during the fighting in May.
In each case, the IDF warned residents of the imminent attack by calling the building manager, security guard, or one of the building's occupants, waited for personnel to evacuate, and then fired submunitions that were either non-explosive or had a small explosive effect - which they call The Israeli army “knocked on the roof” - then carried out air strikes, three of the four buildings were immediately flattened. Although there were no reports of killed or injured combatants or civilians, the attacks destroyed civilian property worth millions of US dollars.
Human Rights Watch's research into the attacks on the four towers found no evidence that members of Palestinian factions were present during military operations in the buildings or had been there for a long time.
A businessman said that Hamas had offices in Hanadi Tower, but he could not establish who the occupants were, what they were doing, or if they had any connections to the movement's military wing. According to the report.
Under the laws of war, civilian officials not participating in military operations should not be attacked. Media offices are civilian objects unless they are directly participating in hostilities through the transmission of military information. According to the text of the organization's report.
Hanadi Tower
Following the attack, the IDF released several statements and photos, as well as a video of the attack. The statements acknowledged the attack and said that Hamas used the building for “military research and development” and that it housed “Hamas military intelligence offices.” A statement posted on the IDF website stated The building housed “multiple military units used by Hamas” and included a “headquarters” for research and development, military intelligence and “more than that,” but he did not elaborate further.
The media reported that the building housed offices of the political leadership of Hamas. A journalist who knows the tower, who requested anonymity, said: “There are political meeting offices for members of Hamas parliament and Hamas spokesmen in the tower,” while one of the business owners in the tower said that there are offices For Hamas in the tower, he was unaware of its purpose. According to what was quoted by the international organization.
Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, says, "Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, is an organization that includes a political party and an armed wing. Mere membership or affiliation with Hamas is not a sufficient basis for designating an individual as a legitimate military target. The laws of war allow targeting of military commanders in the context of conflict." Armed forces, provided such attacks comply with laws that protect civilians, and political leaders who do not participate in military operations, as well as civilians, are not legitimate targets for attack.”
The buildings in the immediate vicinity of Hanadi Tower, especially to the north, sustained severe damage. Satellite imagery taken on May 14 shows damage to the south and west facades of the Handouqa apartments and the “Gaza International Hotel,” both a few meters north of the Hanadi Tower.
The Jewel Tower
On the evening of May 11, the Israeli military called residents living next to the tower to inform the tenants of the 11-story Al-Jawhara tower that the building, which is primarily commercial, would be targeted and that it had to be evacuated. At around 10 p.m., Israeli aircraft fired Submunitions hit the roof of the tower and the ground near it, and at around 2 a.m. on May 12, larger munitions dropped from the air hit the building and severely damaged it.
The building also housed “SMT Solutions,” an information technology company that provides internet to areas throughout Gaza. A post on the company’s Facebook page on May 13 said that fiber optic networks, the data center, and the company’s headquarters were destroyed in the attack and would take time to repair. six months.
The tower also housed the “Little Journalist Club,” the only radio broadcasting station for children in Gaza. Ghassan Radwan (51 years old), the owner of the radio club, said that eight people were working at the radio station and more than 20 children were managing programs and carrying out broadcasts. Everything in their headquarters was destroyed, and rebuilding the network will cost about $70,000, but it will require overcoming restrictions on access to communications equipment due to the Israeli closure and Egyptian restrictions.
Al Shorouk Tower
In the afternoon of May 12, the Israeli military called the guard of the 14-story Al-Shorouk tower, who informed the building's occupants that the building might be attacked and that they had to get out, and after about 30 minutes of telephone warning, Israeli aircraft fired low-yield explosive munitions at the building After a few minutes, the Israeli planes bombed the tower with several large missiles from the air, which severely damaged the building, causing two parts of the building to collapse and leaving its middle part - the highest part of it - standing, and after about ten minutes, the Israeli planes attacked the remaining part of the building with two ammunition units two large ones, which caused the collapse of the last part on the neighboring shops and houses.
No one was killed or injured as a result, but tower owners and businesses in the building and in nearby buildings described destruction and damage to dozens of businesses and at least six homes.
After the attack, the Israeli army released a graphic of the building and a statement stating that “the building houses Hamas military intelligence offices and infrastructure used by terrorist organizations to transmit military-tactical information.” According to the text of his statement as reported by the organization.
Ahmed Masoud Al-Mughni (60 years), the chairman of the building’s board of directors, said that the building contained 50 offices, a café, “doctors’, lawyers’ and journalists’ offices,” and empty apartments. Al-Mughni estimated that the cost of rebuilding the tower ranged between 2 and 3 pounds. 5 million dollars and it will take several years.
The attack destroyed the offices of a number of media outlets in the building, namely: “Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel” and “Al-Aqsa Radio”; the Palestine Media Production Company; Al-Quds TV today, and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida newspaper, which is affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestine Media Production Company was renting five apartments on the 5th, 9th, and 13th floors. Ismail Abdel-Ghani Ismail Jaber (27 years old), whose father owns the company, said that the company had been working in the building since 1994, and it employed 17 people when the attack occurred.
The Galaa Tower
In the afternoon of May 15, a man who identified himself as “Danny” from the Israeli army spoke in Arabic on the phone to the nephew of Jawad Mahdi (68), the owner of the 14-story Al-Jalaa Tower, and Danny’s voice was recorded on a mobile phone as he threatened With a retaliatory attack: “Because they are the Palestinian armed groups, they bombed Israel and they bombed Tel Aviv, we will hit the entire tower.” The phone was handed over to Mahdi/ “Danny” told Mahdi to inform the occupants that the building would be targeted and that they had to vacate all floors.
Human Rights Watch sent questions to the Israeli military inquiring about the authenticity of the recording and whether the statements in it reflected Israeli military policy, but as of the date of publication, it had not received any response.
At around 3 pm, Israeli planes fired submunitions at the building, within minutes, Israeli planes attacked the tower using at least two munitions that dropped them near the base of the building from both sides and it immediately collapsed.
No one was killed or injured because everyone left, but residents and tenants said that in addition to destroying the building, they lost everything in their homes and businesses, including equipment and records/ as the building housed the offices of Al Jazeera English and the Associated Press.
Following the attack, the Israeli army published a photo and a video, and issued several statements that sought to justify the attack. The threats posed by the alleged military presence are increasing.
On the day of the attack, the IDF stated that the building “contained military equipment belonging to the intelligence offices of the Hamas terrorist organization.” Later that day, it said the building “housed the Hamas research and development unit, responsible, among other things, for terrorist activities Against the State of Israel.” The same statement added that this unit includes “material experts, who constitute a unique asset to the Hamas terrorist organization, and these experts operate Hamas’s most valuable technological equipment against Israel,” while the army spokesman at the time, Brigadier General Jonathan Conricus, told Reuters. “Later that day, the offices that were occupied by the armed Palestinian factions were located on several floors.” As stated by the organization in its report.
On May 16, the official account of the Israeli army on Twitter stated that the tower was “an important base of operations for Hamas military intelligence,” and that, in addition to gathering intelligence, “weapons and equipment were manufactured to impede the operations of the Israeli army,” in a second tweet, minutes later. He said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad removed the equipment after the military warned the building’s occupants and residents, though he did not specify what the equipment was.
On May 17, then-Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on the US television network CBS that the building housed “an intelligence office for the Palestinian terrorist organization located in the building, which plans and organizes attacks against Israeli citizens,” an Israeli military official said. An unnamed senior told the New York Times in a May 21 article that the building contained electronic jamming equipment, but Israel has provided no evidence to support any of these claims.
The tenants, the residents, and the owner of the building rejected the Israeli allegations of the presence of armed groups in the building.
Associated Press President and CEO Gary Pruitt said, "We have no indication that Hamas was in or active in the building.
Mahdi, who is also a resident of the building, said that the value of the building was about $5 million, and the value of the furniture and appliances that were destroyed was about $2 million.
For his part, Fares Al-Ghoul (30 years old), who works for Al-Mayadeen Media Group, which had offices in Al-Jalaa Tower, said that he was in his office on the third floor with five of his colleagues when the building official ordered them to evacuate.
I did not know what to do, imagine the situation, the building official comes to you crying, saying: “Hurry up! quickly! Get out! They are going to bomb the building.” So, the other five and I took what we could and left $200,000 worth of equipment behind, because we didn't have time.
The equipment destroyed included a satellite transmitter, which he said cost about $120,000 and is very difficult to replace due to Israel's closure of Gaza.
The attack also damaged civilian buildings around the building, long-term effects that “have repercussions,” and the closure of Gaza
Human Rights Watch says, in addition to the damage and destruction of the towers, their offices and residences, the attacks are expected to have different “repercussions”, such as harm to civilians and civilian objects due to indirect or immediate attack, and these effects include displacement, a decrease in the standard of living, and impeded access to shelter, health care and basic services such as electricity, all of which affect basic human rights.
She added, “In Gaza, these effects are exacerbated by the comprehensive closure imposed by Israel on the Strip since 2007, which Egypt barely eases on the Gaza border from the south, as it maintains its restrictions, as the Israeli closure and restrictions on the Egyptian border led to the destruction of The Gaza economy, and 80% of the Gaza population depends on humanitarian aid, and more than half of them live below the poverty line, and in 2020, the unemployment rate exceeded 40%.Israeli authorities justify the closure of Gaza on security grounds, but the ban on movement of more than two million people, with narrow exceptions, on the basis of generalized threats, and blanket restrictions on the entry and exit of goods, violates Israel's obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. , which requires ensuring that the needs of the population are met.”
The Israeli authorities, for example, continued to severely restrict the entry of so-called dual-use items, which could be used for military purposes, such as building tunnels or fortifications, but the dual-use list includes very broad categories and vital items to meet the needs of the Gaza population, including “Communication equipment,” “steel construction items or products,” “well drilling equipment,” and some medical equipment.
The organization indicated that these restrictions have greatly limited the population's access to construction materials and other vital goods for rebuilding Gaza and its infrastructure.
The Israeli army says that armed groups in Gaza use cement to build tunnels, and it is estimated that building one kilometer of tunnels requires several hundred tons of cement, but people in Gaza need more than one million tons of cement annually to build and maintain homes, schools, and clinics Sanitary, water system, and other critical infrastructure.
The recent destruction and damage to tens of thousands of residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure due to Israeli strikes increases the need for building materials to repair and rebuild these buildings. As the organization says.
The human rights organization called on the Israeli authorities not to place restrictions on goods that are mostly civilian, and are very necessary for reconstruction, under the pretext that armed groups may use a small part of them to build tunnels or for other military purposes.
"The general lack of access to building materials means that any reconstruction efforts will take a long time to complete," she says.
In interviews with investors and owners in three of the four towers, all said that because of Israel's closure, it would take years to rebuild the buildings, with many business owners who rely on specialized, entry-restricted equipment such as broadcast equipment expressing concern Rebuilding will be complex and slow.
On August 13, the Israeli army announced that, in light of the currently stable security situation, it would expand the list of goods allowed into Gaza, including allowing entry of “goods and equipment for humanitarian projects.”
The Palestinian authorities said on August 17 that, according to information they had received from the Israeli authorities, “construction materials for the private sector and related to humanitarian projects only” would be among the materials allowed to enter Gaza.
According to reports, the Israeli authorities allowed some items to enter on August 19, but it remains unclear to what extent this represents a change in policy and for how long these measures will remain in place.
The Israeli government should allow cement and other materials needed to rebuild civilian infrastructure into Gaza, subject, at most, to narrow restrictions based on specific security assessments,” Human Rights Watch said.
"Unless the lockdown is lifted or significantly eased, the long-term, and potentially repercussive, effects of the destruction of tower blocks and other civilian infrastructure will be exacerbated," she added.
The organization called on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to monitor the situation in Gaza, and to include in its investigation on Palestine the apparently illegal Israeli attacks in Gaza, as well as the Palestinian rocket attacks that hit population centers in Israel.
Judicial authorities in other countries should investigate and prosecute, in accordance with national laws, those implicated reliably in serious crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel under the principle of universal jurisdiction,” she said.
Warring parties should refrain from using explosive weapons with wide effects in populated areas because of the indiscriminate harm to civilians that can be expected, and states should also support a strong political declaration that addresses the harm caused by explosive weapons to civilians and commits to avoiding the use of weapons with wide effects range in populated areas”.
It is possible to attack personnel or equipment used in military operations, but the justification for destroying an entire large building in which they may be present depends on the fact that the attack did not cause disproportionate harm to civilians or civilian property, and the proportionality of the attack is more subject to doubts because the Israeli forces have previously demonstrated Their ability to strike floors or certain parts of buildings, however, these attacks completely flattened three buildings by attacking their structural integrity obviously.”
The deployment of armed Palestinian factions in the towers, if true, contradicts the requirements of taking all possible precautions to minimize harm to civilians under its control and to avoid placing military targets in densely populated areas, as Israel has repeatedly accused the armed Palestinian factions of spreading among civilians, as well. I accused it, without providing evidence, of using them as “human shields” — the war crime of deliberately placing military forces alongside civilians to deter targeting of those forces.
She pointed out that the Israeli closure of Gaza 14 years ago, along with the restrictions imposed on the Egyptian border, led to the destruction of the economy in Gaza.
The organization called on the Commission of Inquiry to Address Violations and Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, to scrutinize the unlawful attacks committed by Israeli forces and Palestinian armed factions during the May fighting, as well as to analyze the broader context, including the Israeli government's discriminatory treatment of Palestinians .
During the May hostilities, unlawful Israeli strikes not only killed many civilians, but also destroyed tower blocks, destroyed dozens of businesses and homes, and upended the lives of thousands of Palestinians... Donor funding alone will not rebuild Gaza, The crushing closure of the Gaza Strip and the impunity that fuels ongoing gross violations must end.”