2006 Bonnie Docherty/Human Rights Watch, The IDF responded to this incident in typically broad terms: On March 14th 2006, 8 Qassam rockets were launched towards Israel from the Gaza strip, at least 4 of them from the northern part. The M795 projectile is ballistically similar to the M483A1 family of cargo projectiles and may be used as a registration round for the M483A1 family. OpenSubtitles2018.v3 222 Human Rights Watch interview with Brig. Let us start with the easy part. Children are taking sleeping pills.167, A boy in the Gabin family sits in the rubble of his partly destroyed home in Beit Lahiya on June 10, 2006. Even more troubling are the safety ranges from the houses. Specifications. The plug is removed and replaced with a fuze for firing. 152 mm and 155 mm artillery guns form a staple in nearly all state armed forces of moderate size or larger. Israeli Artillery Shelling Since the IDF Withdrawal, Asked about this incident, the IDF responded: On April 4. but Human Rights Watch could not corroborate his statement. 152 mm and 155 mm calibre guns are often considered to be 'heavy artillery'. Some shells do not explode on impact and become potentially explosive duds.141. 52(2) as an authoritative definition of a military objective. Human Rights Watchs investigations of attacks found that they may have been indiscriminate or disproportionate in violation of international humanitarian law. High explosive projectile lethal radius is an important terminal-ballistics parameter. 163 Facsimile from the IDF Spokesmans office to Human Rights Watch, October 12, 2006. Third, the failure of the IDF to investigate adequately almost all shelling incidents in which there was a loss of civilian life indicates a failure to take all feasible steps to minimize civilian casualties. The IDF artillery shelling of northern Gaza also contributed to the trauma and pervasive fear that many residents, especially children, experience. An Israeli artillery strike on April 29, 2006, directly hit the home and injured at least two children. Al-Qafarnas house is located near the edge of Beit Hanoun but surrounded by other homes. 136 UNOCHA data prepared for Human Rights Watch, October 2006; UNOCHA Situation Reports Gaza, October 2006 to May 2007. Agriculturetomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, corn, and watermelon are grown in the areawere particularly hard hit. As the IDF states in its October 2006 letter: [A] site which is used for rocket launches, even if it is not being used to launch rockets at the time of attack, may because of its location, be again used to launch rockets. 192 Human Rights Watch interview with Zayid Sulaiman al-Qafarna, 59, Beit Hanoun, June 12, 2006. Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, Military Advocate General, IDF, Tel Aviv, June 18, 2006. 153 See APV Rogers, Law on the Battlefield (Manchester: Manchester Univ. Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, Military Advocate General, IDF, Tel Aviv, June 18, 2006; Human Rights Watch interview with Maj. Gen. Meir Kalifi, deputy commander of Ground Forces Headquarters and head of the investigative committee for the beach incident, IDF, Tel Aviv, June 19, 2006. Moreover, the IDF does not attack legitimate military targets when such an attack is likely to cause disproportionate incidental damage to civilians.224. Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, the IDFs military advocate general. - M549A1 (HE-RAP) projo only, unit cost is about US$1000 (2019). Thus forcing launch sites away from the border, and especially away from heavily populated border areas in Israel, such as Sderot, is the only real means of reducing their ability to strike their general target. 160 Amos Harel, IDF: Shelling Will Continue Despite Harm to Civilians, Haaretz, April 11, 2006 (translation by Human Rights Watch). While IHL does not require that certain weapons systems be used in attacks, parties to a conflict must take all feasible steps in the choice of means and methods of warfare to avoid civilian loss.158 As one scholar notes: If it is planned to attack a small military objective surrounded by densely populated civilian areas, the only legitimate modus operandi may be to resort to a surgical raid with precision-guided munitions. 215 Facsimile from the IDF Spokesmans office to Human Rights Watch, October 12, 2006. Mahmud Abu Shamas told Human Rights Watch he had not seen any Palestinian rockets in the area at the time of the attack, although Human Rights Watch was unable to corroborate his statement. According to an analysis of art. Nor does the firing of rockets by armed groups from areas close to densely populated areas relieve Israel of its obligations not to launch indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. The IDF retaliated with artillery fire to the point of the launch, and not towards populated areas, in order to disrupt, frustrate and prevent the entry of Qassam launching units to the launching zones.191. 156 Human Rights Watch interview with Brig. IDF lawyers distinguished area denial from deterrence. Deterrence is not our policy, said Brig. Israeli military lawyers, however, did not vet individual artillery strikes before they were launched. See Isabel Kershner and Taghreed El Khodary, 8 Killed as Israel Hits a Hamas Politicians Gaza Home, New York Times, May 21, 2007. These cases further illustrate the civilian cost of Israels use of artillery in northern Gaza. UN-2 235 ICRC, Customary International Humanitarian Law, p. 65. The shell injured 13-year-old `Abd al-Rahim in his hand and leg and Abu `Odas 5-year-old nephew Muhammad in the neck. There can be shelling for preemptive reasonsthat Qassams attacks are to be launched from the area. As discussed below, some IDF officials claimed that artillery fire successfully suppressed rocket launches or made the attacks less accurate. 206 Facsimile from the IDF Spokesmans office to Human Rights Watch, October 12, 2006. As noted, the IDF did not respond when Human Rights Watch asked, in its letter dated October 26, 2006, if any of the Palestinians killed or injured by artillery shelling were militants or persons engaged in hostile activities against Israel or the IDF. He also showed Human Rights Watch photographs of the fragment where it landed and the shattered glass behind. Beyond killing and injuring civilians and destroying property, Israeli artillery shelling badly disrupted the livelihoods of many inhabitants of northern Gaza. 51(4)(a). We might have no choice but to go close. The phone call saved my life, he said.194 He showed Human Rights Watch an approximately 10 centimeter round shell fragment, which appeared to be from the base of the shell. 154 Yorem Dinstein, The Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of International Armed Conflict, p. 92. The attack killed or mortally wounded 23 civilians and injured at least 40 more while the victims were sleeping or running outside to escape. The dead were: Fatima Ahmad Athamna, 80; Mas`ud `Abdullah Athamna, 55; Na`ima Ahmad Athamna, 55; Sabah Muhammad Athamna, 45; Sakir Muhammad `Adwan, 45; Minal Muhammad Athamna, 35; Sana`a Ahmad Athamna, 35; Nihad Muhammad Athamna, 33; Muhammad Ramadan Athamna, 28; Samir Mas`ud Athamna, 23; `Arafat Sa`ad Athamna, 16; Fatima Mas`ud Athamna, 16; Muhammad Sa`ad Athamna, 14; Mahdi Sa`ad Athamna, 13; Mahmud Ahmad Athamna, 13; Sa`ad Majdi Athamna, 8; Maisa Ramzi Athamna, 4; Malik Samir Athamna, 4; and Sa`adi Abu Amsha.182 Four more civilians subsequently died of their wounds.183, Haaretz reported the next day that the IDF artillery barrage was prompted by intelligence that Hamas operatives from the Jabalya refugee camp were supposed to arrive in Beit Hanoun, set up rocket launchers, and fire Qassam rockets towards Ashkelon early in the morning in order to target Israeli children on their way to school.184, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly called the strike a mistake. He said, Im very uncomfortable with this event. To shell Gaza between September 2005 and November 2006, the IDF used an Israeli-modified version of the US M109A3 howitzer called the Doher. This is not to endorse claims, made by some commentators, that (i) there is a duty to use precision-guided munitions in urban settings; or that (ii) countries with arsenals of smart bombs are compelled to use them everywhere. Human Rights Watch could not confirm, however, whether those individual strikes represented a pattern of overly broad area denial and thus violated international humanitarian law. 224 Facsimile from the IDF Spokesmans office to Human Rights Watch, October 12, 2006. 146 Human Rights Watch interview with lawyer (name withheld), JAG Corps, IDF, Tel Aviv, June 18, 2006. Although the current M795 offers extended range over the old M107 (22.5km vs. 17.5km), it falls short of the Army's other extended-range projectiles (2830km range). Third, he said, the message we are trying to convey, you can call it deterrence, but its, Ladies and gentlemen, there is an equivalence here: So long as you shoot Qassams at us, well shoot artillery at you.147 Others in the IDF, including the division commander for the Gaza front, Brig. The corps' artillery procedure demanded that before firing at a designated target, the unit had to reset range and bearing that morning, because changes in the weather and humidity could affect the shell's trajectory. These projectiles can be fired off both the M777A2 Lightweight Towed 155mm Howitzer and the M109A7 Paladin SelfPropelled . As discussed above, the targeting of land areas for the purposes of area denial can be a valid military objective. Dont you got your earplugs almost 24/7 when you go to fight? In the Gaza Strip, these range from 200 to 300 meters. An IDF policy change reportedly instituted in April 2006 that permitted shelling targets closer to residential areas placed civilians at risk still further. being less lethal, had a smaller peacetime safety area, an important consideration given the small European training areas. Modified M107 rounds with base bleed and new aerodynamics can extend this range to around 32km. The strike killed Gabin's eight-year-old daughter, Hadi, and wounded her and eight other family members. However, attacks for the purpose of area denial must abide by the prohibitions against indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. The IDF did not fire towards populated areas, and is unfamiliar with any injury or any allegation of injury to Palestinian civilians.172 The IDF did not report on the distance between the rocket launch sites and the residential areas hit by the IDF shelling, nor did it suggest any shells were errant or there was otherwise any mistake in targeting. The Excalibur is a 155mm GPS-guided precision artillery shell. A bursting round with fragmentation and blast effects, the M107 is being superseded in the US military by the M795. In a different attack in Beit Hanoun in February 2006, shrapnel penetrated Zayed Sulaiman al-Qafarnas kitchen at sunset, injuring his wife in the knee so that she could not stand and knocking her unconscious.192 Al-Qafarna could not recall the exact date of the incident but showed Human Rights Watch a bucket of 155mm shrapnel he had collected from the attack on his home as well as holes in his house walls consistent with shrapnel. For example, those produced to UK requirements are designated L21, not M107; German examples were designated DM21. Thousands of shells were fired into Gaza and not many civilians were hurt from those shells. The IDF has not to Human Rights Watchs knowledge published its figures for 155mm artillery shells, but press reports give the numbers listed in the text. The original US-built M109 was produced in 1963; Israel introduced its model in 1993. He found his greenhouse destroyed by Israeli shelling.208, A Palestinian farmer points to the crater from an Israeli artillery shell inside his greenhouse in Beit Lahiya on June 14, 2006. 2006 Marc Garlasco/Human Rights Watch. The M795 155mm projectile is the US Army and US Marine Corps' standard 155mm High Explosive (HE) projectile for howitzers. For example, shell fragments from a 6 a.m. explosion 50 meters away hit the apartment building where Yousef Nain, a 34-year-old police lieutenant, lives. Israel Military Industries, a state-owned arms producer and exporter, produces the M107 shell, although Israel has also imported 155mm shells from the United States. Yeah the music is awful, muted straight away. Most of the Israeli artillery strikes in the period under investigation landed in open areas rather than residential areas and the great majority did not result in civilian casualties. The retaliatory fire was towards open spaces, and no deviation was observed at the time.176, Shahdi Muhammad Abu `Oda stands in front of the collapsed roof of his home in Beit Hanoun on June 12, 2006. It doesnt mean the attacks are indiscriminate or disproportionate.227 Another IDF official in comments to the media seemed to deny any IDF responsibility for civilian losses: Unfortunately, when they [civilians] are being hit, they have to ask themselves why terrorists are exploiting them.228, Placing a military objective, such as a rocket launcher, near civilians is itself a violation of international humanitarian lawat least a breach of the duty to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties, and if requisite intent is demonstrated, shielding. According to residents of the apartments, the armed groups generally did not fire rockets from close to the apartments, but in the week or so prior to the Israeli shelling of the apartments they did fire rockets from near a large but unused water storage tank in the open area, about 100 meters and across the road from the nearest residential buildings, and in response, Israeli shelling also crept closer to the apartments. In some of the incidents that Human Rights Watch investigated, IDF artillery shells directly hit civilian residences. When the projectile has a larger lethal radius, fewer artillery projectiles are necessary to eliminate the targets. While IHL does not prohibit all attacks near populated areas, the pattern of civilian injuries and deaths documented here, especially during the period after the IDF increased its shelling and decreased the safety margin and before it imposed a moratorium on artillery, suggests the IDF may not have taken all feasible precautions in assessing whether a particular planned artillery attack would be unlawful under IHL as an indiscriminate or disproportionate attack. The M107 differs from the M102 mainly in having a wider rotating or driving band. 142 IDF officials have said . There were about 35 people inside at the time because his sister was visiting with her children. Range is the key element: the closer the Qassam-type rockets can be to their general target, such as a town, the more likely they will be able to hit it. 165 Human Rights Watch interview with Lt. Col. Noam Neuman, head of the Security and Foreign Relations Branch, JAG Corps, IDF, Tel Aviv, June 18, 2006. Military Advocate General Brigadier General Mandelblit said, It is the right of Israel to self-defense.210 In an October 2006 letter responding to Human Rights Watch questions, the IDF explained, The purpose of this [artillery] fire is to disrupt, frustrate and prevent the entry of Qassam launching units to these areas The response added that artillery fire began for the most part in November 2005 and that thousands of artillery shells have since been fired in retaliation to the Qassam launches.211. Farmers have not returned to rebuild because they fear further attacks. I can hear [the shelling] in Gaza City. The number of rockets fired by the Palestinians did not appreciably change after the reduction in the safety zone. I cant say more than this. 207 Human Rights Watch interview with `Atiya Abu Halimi, 20, farmer, Beit Lahiya, June 14, 2006. The M107 is a development of the M102 155mm shell that was developed in the 1930s from the French Schneider 155mm projectile for the Model 1917 Howitzer. In the fifth case, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly acknowledged and expressed distress at the civilian casualties, saying that the artillery strike had missed its intended target due to a technical failure, but did not address the IDFs reported failure to adopt standard precautionary measures that might have prevented the technical failure. The 155 mm artillery shells fired on Beit Hanoun have an expected lethal radius of 50 to 150 metres and a casualty radius of up to 300 metres. Another four shells fell. When an artillery shell goes off, it's easy to imagine that the shrapnel explodes in 360 degrees, creating a sphere of destruction. WikiMatrix Brigadier General Mandelblit said, Because artillery is less accurate, we have rules of engagement especially for artillery that are different from other weapons. Why? Then I lost consciousness [for three days].174 The shell killed 8-year-old Hadi and wounded nine other family members: Sofia, who was eight months pregnant, received shrapnel in her hand, side, and back, and suffered hearing loss; Tahrir, 19, sustained injuries to his back and left shoulder; Iman, 16, sustained injuries to her eye, face, arms, and legs; Bassam, 15, sustained injuries to his head and hand; Ghassan, 12, sustained injuries to his back; Munir, 10, sustained injuries to his eyes and legs; Anna, 9, sustained injuries to her head and one leg; Rana, 3, sustained injuries to her legs and face and stopped speaking; Roanne, 13 months, sustained injuries to her head; and Jacqueline Ma`ruf, 8, a friend of Hadi, suffered trauma.175, In its response to Human Rights Watchs request for information about this incident, the IDF wrote, On April 10th 2006, prior to the stated time, 2 Qassam rockets were launched towards Israel from the northern Gaza strip. -NSFW- The Taliban spot US Special Forces and move into Russian tank hit with ATGM while crew is bailing out UKR soldier from 1st Air Mobile runs out behind RF tank Ukraine UAV directly hits Russian soldier hiding in a hole. When firing 155mm howitzers close to civilian residences, the IDF must take into account the inherent imprecision in the weapon and its wide shrapnel dispersal. The M107 can be fired more than 13 miles and on detonation it produces approximately 1,950 fragments. The dud rate for 155mm high explosive ammunition in the US stockpile is 2.25 percent. Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, Military Advocate General, IDF, Tel Aviv, June 18, 2006. When it was calm he [al-Madjub] came to get Mamduh and took him to the hospital.202 Mamduhs brother Ismail, 23, said, Shrapnel penetrated his chest and spine. 220 See Protocol I, art. Speaking to reporters the next day, an IDF spokesperson attributed the strikes to shells that misfired.180 However, in its responses to Human Rights Watch dated August 6 and October 12, the IDF did not suggest that there had been an error in the shelling.
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