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| By: Israel Insider staff |
| Published: September 2, 2007 |
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According to a probe by the Southern Command, the three young cousins - Mahmoud Ghazal, 10, Sara Ghazal, 10, and Yehiya Ghazal, 12 - who were playing near rocket launchers in northern Gaza targeted by the IDF were not connected with terrorists, according to the Jerusalem Post. They were killed when the IDF targeted them as suspicious figures moving near the rocket launchers.
Despite the ill-fated outcome, officers said Saturday that the IDF does not intend to change its policy of striking at Qassam launchers and nearby suspicious figures.
The officers said that the IDF, as a matter of policy, goes to great lengths before opening fire to ensure that innocent bystanders are not hurt.
"We already do all we can to prevent harming innocent people," an officer said. "Palestinians need to know that it is dangerous to be near or play near Kassam rocket launchers."
Human Rights Watch on Saturday released a statement faulting both sides and urging the IDF and Palestinian terror groups to stop endangering children in the Gaza Strip.
"Rocket launchers constitute legitimate military objectives, and Palestinian armed groups endanger civilians when they place them near residential areas," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "But Israeli forces must take all feasible precautions when conducting attacks to avoid unnecessary loss of civilian life, especially of children."
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