Study: 57 unarmed Palestinian minors killed by IDF since June; 63% of Palestinians killed were civil
In response, the IDF said that the report was based on incorrect and
inaccurate data. According to the army, during the past four months, some 35 "uninvolved" Palestinians were killed.
According to the report, there is also a steep rise in the number of minors involved in the fighting in the territories. In 2005, 45 Palestinian minors were killed in fighting, as compared with the first 10 months of 2006, during which 98 lost their lives - an increase of more than 100 percent.
Among the Palestinian minors killed this year, 65 were under the age of 15. According to the data for 2006, 83 of the minors were killed in the Gaza Strip.Physicians for Human Rights report that in recent months there has been a drastic increase in the number of parents turning to the organization for assistance in dealing with psychological traumas suffered by their children as a result of the fighting.
The report describes in detail some of the more serious incidents in recent years in the Gaza Strip, involving injuries to children caused by IDF attacks, and also testimony of a doctor at a mental health facility in Gaza.
For its part, the IDF claims that during the six days of fighting in Beit
Hanun, during operation "Autumn Rains," only eight "uninvolved" Palestinians were killed, out of a total death toll of 57.
However, a review by Haaretz shows that during the operation, 55 Palestinians lost their lives, most of them armed. Sixteen of those killed (29 percent) were civilians who were not involved in the fighting, a figure double that acknowledged by the IDF.