B'Tselem calls for criminal investigation into Gaza bombing

In an attack in the Sheja'iyeh neighborhood in Gaza on 20 May, the Israeli
air force killed eight persons. Seven of them were members of the al-Haya
family, relatives of Khalil al-Haya, a Hamas member of the Palestinian
Legislative Council. The dead included three minors, aged sixteen and
seventeen, and two men, aged fifty-six and sixty-four. Another four people
were injured in the attack, two of them severely. The other two suffered
light wounds and were discharged from the hospital. 

The Israeli military subsequently announced that the attack was directed
at members of the military wing of Hamas who were in the yard of the
house. The military contended that five of the persons killed were armed
members of Hamas, and only three were civilians. A later statement,
however, named the target of the attack as Samah Farwaneh, allegedly a
senior member of Hamas and responsible for the firing of Qassam rockets
and the gunfire attack on an employee of the Electric Company on 19 March.
Farwaneh was killed in the attack. No details were provided regarding the
other victims' involvement in the hostilities. 

The testimonies given to B'Tselem do not support the contention that most
of the dead were armed Hamas members. Two persons injured in the attack
stated that none of the dead were armed, and only two of them, Farwaneh
and ' Ala al-Haya, 21, were Hamas activists. The victims were sitting in
the tin-covered divan [a structure in which guests are hosted] of the
al-Haya family. Farwaneh, who was active in the military wing of Hamas,
passed by and was invited by the family to drink coffee. Later, when the
family heard the sound of an air force drone, they decided to leave the
structure and were then shot by the missiles. 

Taking into account the nature of the location, the planners of the attack
should have expected there was a risk that many bystanders would be
injured, and should have taken cautionary means to prevent such a result. 

The principle of proportionality, which is one of the pillars of
international humanitarian law, states that it is forbidden to carry out
an attack, even if it is aimed at a legitimate military target, knowing
that the attack will result in injury to civilians in excess of the
military advantage anticipated from the attack. 

According to the army's version as well, Samah Farwaneh was not firing
rockets at the time he was killed. Therefore, even if he could be
considered a legitimate military target, it is not at all clear that the
circumstances in which he was killed accord with the principle of
proportionality. 

Breach of the principle of proportionality is deemed a war crime, for
which the persons responsible bear personal responsibility. The
circumstances of the incident and its results raise serious concern that
the bombing was disproportionate, and might constitute a war crime.
B'Tselem has requested the judge advocate general to immediately order a
Military Police investigation into the matter

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