The IDF revealed Monday the identities of two civilians who allowed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement to launch rockets from their private property which fell within the Gaza Strip during Operation Breaking Dawn.
On August 7, a rocket was fired from a plot of land that belongs to the Gaza City municipality, headed by Yahya Saraj, and fell next to a clinic in Jabalia, killing two Palestinians.
"He chose to care more for the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization than the residents of the city that he heads, and took advantage of the civil arena that belongs to the residents of the city in order to carry out terrorism - thus harming his citizens directly," said the IDF.
Another rocket which fell within the Gaza Strip was fired from property belonging to Bakr Hamadan Imran Shamalh, whose brother is a trainer in Islamic Jihad's naval force. The rocket fired from the property hit a civilian building in Gaza City and was seen on a live broadcast from the Al-Mayadeen channel.
PIJ Rocket Misfires, Lands in Gaza Neighborhood During Live Mayadeen TV Broadcast – Reporter Claims It Was Launched Towards the Sea, Asks Cameraman to Turn Camera Away pic.twitter.com/S9GwFmSs6L
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 8, 2022
"The terrorist organizations in Gaza cynically exploit the citizens of the Gaza Strip and launch rockets from the civilian space, this is further proof of this."
IDF Spokespersons Unit
"The family of Hamadan Imran Shamalh took an active part in the operation of terrorism while allowing the shooting from their home and thus harming Gaza's civilian space as well," added the IDF. "The terrorist organizations in Gaza cynically exploit the citizens of the Gaza Strip and launch rockets from the civilian space, this is further proof of this."
More Palestinian civilians killed by Islamic Jihad rockets than by Israeli strikes
The IDF stated shortly after Operation Breaking Dawn that more civilians were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets than by Israeli strikes, as a large number of the rockets fell within the Strip.
תיעוד הירי הרקטי הכושל של גא״פ בג׳אבליה: pic.twitter.com/wfiOsQ3l3c
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 7, 2022
Shortly after civilian casualties were reported in an explosion in Jabalia on the second day of the operation, the IDF published video it said showed the failed rocket launch which led to the civilian casualties. Palestinian media claimed that the explosion was caused by an Israeli strike.
In mid-August, Haaretz reported that an IDF inquiry had found that a second incident of civilian casualties which happened a day afterwards in Jabalia was caused by an Israeli strike, despite earlier statements claiming that these deaths were also caused by a failed rocket launch.
Last year, after Operation Guardian of the Walls, Human Rights Watch reported that munitions that misfired and fell short killed and injured an “undetermined number” of Palestinians in Gaza.
“Palestinian armed groups during the May fighting flagrantly violated the laws-of-war prohibition on indiscriminate attacks by launching thousands of unguided rockets toward Israeli cities,” said Eric Goldstein, acting Middle East and North Africa director at HRW.
There were 4,360 unguided rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian terror groups toward Israel during the operation last year, killing 12 civilians and injuring several hundred people. HRW stated that Hamas authorities should stop unlawful rocket attacks toward Israeli population centers.
The HRW report added that Palestinian terror groups have fired unguided rockets in past rounds of fighting as well.
HRW recommended that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) include unlawful Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel, as well as unlawful Israeli attacks in Gaza, in its war crimes probe against Israel and Hamas.