A/HRC/10/22 page 4 Israelis, including 3 civilians and 6 soldiers killed by Hamas, and 4 soldiers killed in friendly fire incidents.1 This operation also resulted in a dramatic deterioration of the living conditions of the civilian population. At the onset of the recent military operation, the population of the Gaza Strip was already rendered vulnerable following a 20-month-long blockade, which severely restricted the movement of people and goods and the delivery of humanitarian and development assistance. In addition, the discriminatory legislation and policies of the occupying Power in, inter alia, access to housing, health care, food and water systems, have governed for decades the institutional set-up in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, thus aggravating the situation of its residents. An estimated 80 per cent of the population in Gaza, particularly women and children, was already dependent on humanitarian assistance before the recent military operation. 7. Targeted and indiscriminate attacks on public facilities, including medical facilities, water and sanitation networks, Government and municipal buildings, electricity, gas, transportation, agriculture, fisheries and industries further eroded people’s access to basic services and goods. Combined with the decreasing ability of the authorities to manage basic public services and the collapse of the local economy, the recent military operation exacerbated the situation of the 1.5 million Gaza residents whose rights, including the rights to education, food, health and housing and to be free from violence, could not be protected. The conflict further exacerbated the desperate situation of those living in poverty in Gaza and pushed even more people into a life of poverty. 8. Even after the ceasefire was declared on 18 January 2009, restrictions on movement of people and goods as well as humanitarian assistance continued, thus hampering efforts for recovery and return to normalcy. II. LEGAL FRAMEWORK A. International humanitarian law 9. The most relevant conventional international humanitarian law standards binding Israel are set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949. In addition, Israel is bound by the customary rules of international humanitarian law, which are applicable in the present context. The State’s responsibilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as the occupying Power are set out in the Convention as well as in the Hague Regulations, which have become part of customary international humanitarian law.2 The 1 In addition to the 1,440, killed, the Palestinian Ministry of Health lists 5,380 Palestinians injured, including 1,872 children and 800 women. In addition to the 13 killed, the Magen David Adom lists 518 Israelis injured, including 182 civilians and 336 soldiers. For additional data on children, see annex. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, The Humanitarian Monitor, Occupied Palestinian Territory, No. 33, January 2009. 2 In its advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of 2004, the International Court of Justice recalled that, while Israel was not a party to the Hague Convention of 18 October 1907 concerning the Laws and Customs of War and Land (Convention IV), to which the Hague Regulations are annexed, the provisions of the Hague Regulations had become part of customary international law.