The report of the Palestinian Center for human rights

PCHRPalestinian Centre for Human Rights LTD (non profit)
Press Release
Date: 4 January 2009

On the 9th Day of the Offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israel Practices State Terrorism;
The Number of Palestinians Killed Rises to 424, Mostly Civilians, Including 88 Children and 19 Women

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued their war on the Gaza Strip for the 9th consecutive day, causing more deaths and casualties among Palestinian civilians. IOF warplanes have launched more strikes against several civilian facilities in the context of their war on the Gaza Strip. On Saturday evening, 3 January 2009, IOF heavy military vehicles started to move into the Gaza Strip from several directions. Since the beginning of the ground operation, IOF have intensively shelled Palestinian residential area from the land, the sea and the air. They have partitioned the Gaza Strip into a number of sections isolated from one another. The northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City have been a scene of the most violent attacks. IOF military vehicles have continued to move from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel towards Palestinian communities under cover of unprecedented artillery shelling, which endanger the lives of Palestinian civilians. Facts on the ground indicate that complete families have been killed or wounded by IOF.

In one of the horrible crimes committed by IOF in the past 24 hours, IOF warplanes bombarded a mosque in Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip, while Palestinian civilians were praying inside it. As a result, 15 civilians, including 4 children, were killed and 27 others were wounded. According to field information available to PCHR, ambulances and medical crews are facing extreme difficulties in attending the wounded, as they have been subjected to IOF shelling and gunfire, so there may a number of Palestinian who have been killed or wounded, but have not been evacuated to hospitals. Additionally, there are a number of Palestinians who have been killed or wounded at the time of this writing, but their numbers are not available at the moment.