Gaza white flag deaths probe call

13 August 2009

Israel must investigate the "unlawful" killing of 11 civilians carrying white flags during its Gaza operation earlier in 2009, Human Rights Watch has said.
Five women and four children were among those killed in seven incidents detailed by the US-based rights group.
Researchers said the soldiers at best failed to protect civilians, and at worst deliberately shot at them.
Israel has launched investigations into five "white flag" incidents, but says Hamas exploited civilians with flags.
In one incident, east of Jabalya, HRW said Israeli soldiers fired at two women and three children, three of whom were holding pieces of white cloth.
Two girls, aged two and seven were killed, and another, now aged four, was left paralysed below the waist.
The five were standing outside their home after an Israeli soldier had ordered them to leave it, HRW said.
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"We spent seven to nine minutes waving the flags, and our faces were looking at them [the soldiers]," HRW quoted the girls' grandmother as saying.
"And suddenly they opened fire and the girls fell to the ground."
Two of the incidents in question have also been investigated by the BBC.
In five of the seven incidents, Israeli soldiers shot at civilians who were walking down the street with white flags, trying to leave the areas of fighting, HRW said.
"All available evidence indicates that Israeli forces were in control of the areas in question, no fighting was taking place there at the time, and no Palestinian forces were hiding among the civilians or using them as human shields," the report said.
The Israeli foreign ministry has opened investigations into at least five cases involving Palestinians who were waving white flags. source: bbc.com

Posted by News Point at 4:44 AM  
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