May 16, 2021: Yazan Rami Abu Al-Auf, 13, was killed by Israeli missiles that struck a residential tower in the al-Wihda Street in Gaza city.
He was killed along with seven members of his family who were huddled together in their home during the sixth straight night of Israeli airstrikes pounding down on residential areas in Gaza. They were all civilians, ranging in age from 4 to 82. All were women and children, apart from hi greats uncle Tawfiq, age 82, who was killed along with his 80 year old wife.
On Sunday, 16 May 2021, medical and Civil Defense crews pulled out thirteen dead bodies, including three women and seven children, from under the rubble of their houses on al-Wehda Street, raising the number of deaths to forty-three, most of them children and women.
The slain Palestinians have been identified as Subhiya Ismael Hussain Abu al-Ouf (73), Ameen Mohammed Hamad al-Qolaq (90), Tawfiq Ismael Hussain Abu al-Ouf (80) and his wife, Majdiya Khalil Hussain Abu al-Ouf (82), Raja’ Subhi Isma’el al-Ifranji “Abu al-Ouf and 3 of her children, Mira Rami Riyad al-Ifranji (12), Yazan (13), Ameer (9), and Hala Mohammed Mo’een al-Qolaq (13), and her sister, Yara (10), Rola (6) and Lana (4), Riyad Hasan Shkontana, and Mohammed Ahmed Musbah Ikki (40).
On that day, Israeli missiles and shells killed 23 Palestinians, including three women and seven children, in addition to wounding fifty-three, including eighteen children and eight women.
Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes on various targets across the city.
As a result, a Palestinian was killed and twelve others were wounded, including three women and five children.
The airstrikes targeted five residential multi-story buildings, main roads and vital streets, security sites belonging to the Ministry of Interior, sites belonging to the Palestinian Resistance, public facilities, shops and a civilian. On the other hand, the civil Defense crews retrieved thirteen dead bodies, including 3 women and 7 children, from under the rubble of their houses on al-Wehda Street.
The Palestinian Center For Human Rights said the death toll reached 204 Palestinians on day eight of the Israeli offensive; among the death are fifty-nine children and thirty-four women, while the number of injuries reached 836, including 251 children and 184 women.
The Israeli army declared the beginning of the of the third phase of military offensive on the Gaza Strip, adding that fifty-four warplanes fired 110 missiles against thirty-five targets within 20 minutes, including fifteen kilometer-tunnels; according to army’s claims, while the facts on the ground indicate that the airstrikes targeted more houses, facilities, and streets.
The power outage crisis in the Gaza Strip aggravated as the electricity supply dropped to three to four hours a day that is inadequate for the vital facilities to provide services to the people of the Gaza Strip.
The Electricity Company stated that the components of the electricity distribution network sustained massive destruction as five main electric power transmission lines, which supply sixty megawatts, broke down since the beginning of the offensive while the rest lines break down from time to time and become out of service due to the airstrikes and destruction of many places.
The power plant warned that it would be forced to shut down this evening due to insufficient fuel supply. The Power Generating Company announced that “J4” electric power transmission line, which supplies Gaza City and passes through Street 8 and Street 10, sustained severe damage due to the intense airstrikes on the area. As a result, the electricity went off on vacant areas in the city.
The forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents from their houses in eastern Gaza Strip continued due to the violent artillery shelling as shelters were opened to receive them without so far providing adequate circumstances. Also, all aspects of daily life have been disrupted due to the non-stop airstrikes.
A day earlier, Israeli warplanes carried out hundreds of airstrikes while the Israeli gunboats and artillery shelled various and indiscriminate targets across the Gaza Strip.
As a result, 23 Palestinians, including three women and seven children were killed, while fifty-three others, including 8 women and eighteen children, were injured. Additionally, the airstrikes targeted twenty-one houses, several facilities, governmental headquarters, and infrastructure on a wide scale. Thus, the number of targeted houses has risen to 115, including multi-story buildings and several towers.
The large numbers of injuries increased the burden on medical crews and the already exhausted healthcare system due to the Israeli-imposed closure and the outbreak of coronavirus in addition to the negative impact of power outage on the operation of laboratories, blood banks and surgeries, especially considering the growing number of injuries. Also, during these days, Gaza hospitals rely on generators due to long hours of power outage, rendering hospitals in urgent need of constant supply of fuel.
During the 11-day Israeli assault on Gaza between May 10th and 21st, 2021, 247 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and 39 women; 1417 wounded, including 277 women and 412 children. 9 Israelis, including 2 children, were killed during the same time period. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which documented these attacks, has called upon the international Criminal Court to open an investigation into the occupation’s crimes during this military aggression, and reiterates its call upon the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war criames under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions regarding the guarantee of Palestinian civilians’ right to protection in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights).
Yazan was from Gaza City. Source: The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR)