A/HRC/28/78 II. Situation of human rights in the Gaza Strip A. Overview 10. As many Palestinians in Gaza reminded the Special Rapporteur, the seven-year blockade by Israel, coupled with the access-restricted areas along its border often imposed with excessive use of force by the Israel Defense Forces, forces the Palestinian people living in Gaza to live in a perpetual state of humanitarian crisis. 6 At the most basic level, this has restricted Palestinian agriculture and fishing, and all too frequently impinged upon the right to life of Palestinian farmers and fishermen. According to information provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the severe restrictions on imports and exports have also denied Palestinians in Gaza the right to meaningful economic development and indeed dragged Gaza back towards a state of de-development, leaving 80 per cent of the population chronically dependent on aid. Frequent power shortages and periodic winter flooding have further exacerbated living conditions for Palestinians in Gaza. Moreover, before the escalation of hostilities during the summer of 2014, Palestinians in Gaza had lived through two previous conflicts with Israel, in 2008 and 2009, and again in 2012, which led to destruction and devastation. Israel may have withdrawn its soldiers from Gaza in the context of its unilateral disengagement in 2005; in terms of the control over the territory it exercises, however, it remains the occupying Power. 11. According to the OHCHR, in the latest round of violence between Israel on the one hand, and Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on the other, from 7 July to 26 August 2014 (operation “Protective Edge”) 2,256 Palestinian fatalities were recorded, of whom 1,563 were civilians, including 538 children.7 This surpassed the combined number of casualties of the two previous conflicts in Gaza. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and five civilians were reportedly killed. The Special Rapporteur is aware that thousands of indiscriminate rockets were reportedly fired by Palestinian armed groups from Gaza. The stark disparity in casualty figures on the two sides, however, reflects the skewered balance of power and the disproportionate cost borne by Palestinian civilians, raising questions as to whether Israel adhered to the international law principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions. The 51-day conflict, tempered only by fleeting humanitarian pauses, adversely affected just about every human right, including the rights to adequate housing, health, water, education, work and, last but not least, life. B. Destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure 12. The most striking aspect of the military operations conducted by Israel was its apparent deliberate targeting of civilian homes and multi-storey apartment blocks, which resulted in entire families being buried under the rubble of their homes. 8 In what many witnesses cited as the most egregious example of disproportionality, a multi-storey apartment block known as the “Gaza Twin Towers” was razed to the ground towards the 6 7 8 The Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have consistently noted that the Israeli blockade of Gaza contravenes international law; see A/69/347, paras. 30 – 34, and A/HRC/25/40, paras. 24 – 30. See Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, Gaza Strip, Humanitarian Dashboard, November 2014. “Families under the rubble: Israeli attacks on inhabited homes”, Amnesty International, 5 November 2014. 5