Global Information2006 Gaza beach explosion information
| Date | June 9, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Time | Between 4:31 and 4:50 p.m. |
| Location | Beach near Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip |
| Cause | Disputed (initially attributed to Israeli artillery; later suggested by the IDF to be a land mine or unexploded artillery shell) |
| Casualties | |
| 8 Palestinians killed | |
| At least 30 others injured | |
| Inquiries | Israeli Defence Forces investigation, Human Rights Watch report |
| Footage of the aftermath made Huda Ghaliya a symbol of Palestinian suffering | |
On June 9, 2006, an explosion on the beach near the Gaza Strip municipality of Beit Lahia killed eight Palestinians. At least thirty others were injured.[1][2] The aftermath of the incident was captured on video and showed a distressed eleven-year-old girl, Huda Ghaliya, reacting to the loss of family members, most of whom were killed in the incident. The footage of Ghaliya, which received considerable media attention, was broadcast on news networks around the world, making her a symbol of Palestinian suffering.[3] The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung questioned the reliability of the video footage.[4][5]
On 9 June 2006, between 4:31 and 4:50 p.m., Israeli artillery and a navy gunboat fired 8 artillery shells at the beach, with two shells landing 200 meters away from the family.[6] The Israeli army and Israeli officials initially took responsibility.[2] A subsequent investigation by the Israeli Defence Forces concluded that the explosion was not caused by the shelling of the beach and blamed it on a Palestinian land mine.[7][8][9] This investigation was criticized by Human Rights Watch[10] and The Guardian.[11] The IDF acknowledged a flaw in the report in that it omitted mention of two 76mm naval shells, the IDF maintains had landed too far away to have caused the explosion. At this point, the IDF acknowledged that the cause of the blast may have been an unexploded 155mm artillery shell from an earlier shelling, but suggested it might have been used as an improvised explosive device (IED) by Palestinians.[2] The Human Rights Watch final report published in July 2007 provided a detailed analysis as to why the revised IDF conclusion involving an IED was the least likely of three scenarios. HRW concluded "The availability of significant evidence that the IDF has not examined or taken into account casts serious doubt on its conclusions and underscores the need for an independent investigation of the incident." The Palestinian authorities supported this proposal. The Israeli government declined to take part.[2]
The head of an IDF investigative committee into the beach deaths, Major General Meir Kalifi, reported that the security establishment had received information that Ilham Ghalia said that “Daddy touched something and then there was an explosion”. The IDF viewed her alleged statement as supporting its contention that an IDF shell was not the cause of the deaths.[12][13] The next day Haaretz reported that the information was of unclear reliability and unsubstantiated.[14] The IDF shelved the claim.[13]
- ^ 'Palestinians killed on Gaza beach', BBC Online, June 9, 2006 "Seven people, including three children, have been killed by Israeli shells which hit a beach in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say."
- ^ a b c d Human Rights Watch, Indiscriminate Fire, June 19, 2006
- ^ 'Different views of Gaza deaths', BBC, June 19, 2006
- ^ "German paper doubts Gaza beach reports". ynet. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ^ PM: No int'l inquiry into Gaza blast
- ^ * Human Rights Watch [1], June 19, 2006
- "Maj. Gen. Meir Kalifi, head of the IDF's investigative team, reported that the IDF fired six artillery shells plus two naval shells at a beach in northern Gaza between 4:31 and 4:50 p.m. According to hospital logbooks, the first patient arrived at Kamal `Udwan Hospital at 5:05 p.m. Given that it takes about twenty minutes to drive from the hospital to the beach and back, the blast likely occurred within the timeframe of the Israeli shelling. [...] Kalifi said these last two shells landed 200 meters away from the fatal blast."- 'Eyewitness: Gaza beach shelling', BBC Online, June 9, 2006
- "Gaza journalist Sami Yousef was at the beach in the north of the territory on Friday, when a series of artillery shells hit the sands, killing seven people and injuring dozens."
- 'Eyewitness: Gaza beach shelling', BBC Online, June 9, 2006
- ^ Israel set to deny role in Gaza beach killings", Reuters, 13 June 2006 (mirror)
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Times20060617was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The army, Klifi said, has also accounted for five of the six shells that were fired in the area Friday evening before the beach explosion. None of them exploded nearby, he said, adding that the one shell that was not accounted for was fired before the five others and more than 10 minutes before the blast." [2]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
HRW20060620was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Guardian20060617was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Israeli Press Review of 22/6/06". European Jewish Congress. 2006.
- ^ a b Amir Oren (2009). "Not really a war". Haaretz.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Harelwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).