PALESTINE

Wed 31 May 2023 8:29 pm - Jerusalem Time

The New York Times: "Israel's Precision Strikes Hit Palestinian Civilians in Gaza"

The New York Times published a report, under the headline “Israel Calls It ‘Precisely Targeted Strikes, But Civilian Homes Were Bombed’,” in which it stated, “While the Khaswan family was sleeping, the Israeli army dropped three GBU-39 bombs on their apartment on the sixth floor, One of the bombs exploded outside the parents' bedroom, killing three members of the family, but they were not the declared target of the attack earlier this month. The Israeli army dropped bombs on their home to assassinate a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander who lived in The apartment below their apartment.


And the newspaper adds: “Jamal Khaswan, a dentist, Mervat Khaswan, a pharmacist, and their son, a 19-year-old dental student, were killed in the raid, as well as the leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement who lives in the basement, Tariq Ezz El-Din and two of his sons. An 11-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy.


"Leaders have been targeted before, but targeting the leader and those around him, frankly, is something we did not expect," Menna Khaswan, 16, said this month at a memorial service for her father in the hospital where he was the chairman of the board of directors.


Israel claims it carries out “precision-targeted strikes,” aimed at eliminating armed group leaders or locations of operations and not targeting civilians, “but the air strikes often take place in densely populated areas, and many Palestinians in Gaza say they amount to collective punishment aimed at It can make them fear those who live next to them, just as Israel destroys entire apartment buildings or towers if it thinks an armed group has an office or apartment there, even though it usually issues advance warning to evacuate.


Menna's parents and brother were among at least 12 civilians killed in Israeli strikes during five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad this month, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Israel says nine civilians were killed in the strikes.


The report shows that "Israel killed six senior leaders of the armed group, whom Israel said were responsible for launching rocket attacks on Israel, before a cease-fire was reached on May 13."


The Israeli army said: "The Islamic Jihad fired approximately 1,500 rockets indiscriminately towards Israel over the course of several days, and two people were killed in Israel - an Israeli woman and a Palestinian worker from Gaza."


The report attributes to members of the Khaswan family saying, "They knew that one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad lived in an apartment below them, and they feared that he would be the target of an Israeli strike."


The newspaper concludes its report by saying: "Israel had designated Islamic Jihad as a terrorist organization - as did other countries, including the United States and Japan - and regularly targeted its leaders and fighters. However, the Khaswan family never thought that their apartment would be bombed while they were inside, according to Menna. Describing the shock of waking up to the explosions that destroyed her home.


The Israeli army said: "It twice postponed the assassination of the three Islamic Jihad leaders, to ensure favorable conditions for the operation and to reduce civilian casualties, but the army did not answer questions about why it targeted the three Islamic Jihad leaders on May 9 while they were at home or why it fired the bombs." The three that targeted the leader of the Islamic Jihad through the house of the Khaswan family.


"The Israeli army did not decide to kill the dentist," said Nir Dinar, a spokesman for the Israeli army, declining to give further details.

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The New York Times: "Israel's Precision Strikes Hit Palestinian Civilians in Gaza"

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