IDF fires outlawed Flachette shells in Gaza
Mon, Feb 3 Palestinian sources report that Israel Defense Forces tanks stationed close to the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip fired a number of outlawed Flachette shells Friday evening at a soccer field in the eastern section of the camp. Children and adults were playing there at the time, continued the sources, and nine Palestinians were injured.
The sources said the IDF tanks fired two volleys at the area, with a number of shells hitting the playing field while others fell in adjacent fruit groves. The nine injured, they said, included three individuals who were moderately hurt - Asalam Sabah, 10, Ismail Hamed, 12, and Balal Alarizi, 25. The three were initially treated at a clinic in the Jabalya camp and later transferred to Shifa Hospital in the Strip.
Six other people were lightly injured in the shelling, the Palestinian sources reported.
The sources added that the injuries were caused by shrapnel and metal spurs contained in the shells and intended to disperse the effect of the blast over a wide area.
In addition to the injuries and damage caused in the area of the soccer field, the sources said, hundreds of metal spurs from the shells had struck nearby residences.
The IDF made widespread use of Flachette shells during its occupation of southern Lebanon. Such shells have also been used in the current intifada in open areas of the West Bank and during military operations in the Gaza Strip. The most well-known incident with such shells took place in June 2001, when three Palestinian women were killed by the shells on the outskirts of Rafah.
In another incident, last October, eight Palestinians were killed and 50 others were injured when the IDF used both Flachette shells in the Sheikh Ajalin neighborhood of Gaza City.
The IDF Spokesman's Office confirmed the use of the Flachette shells on Friday, noting that the shells had been fired into an open area and not at a residential district. The spokesman's office added that "IDF forces spotted a cell of three terrorists who were planning to launch Kassam rockets at Israeli territory."
Amos Harel adds: Military sources said that the IDF sometimes makes use of Flachette shells in the Strip, adding that the Palestinian claims regarding injuries sustained by children as a result of the shelling were as yet unfounded.
The Palestinians argue that the Flachette shells are outlawed by the Geneva Convention, but the IDF says it is in possession of a legal interpretation that allows for the use of Flachette shells under certain circumstances.
Israel razes 22 Palestinian structures in Hebron |
