A/HRC/7/76 page 11 condemned by the Palestinian Authority, a number of Palestinian factions hailed the attack and responsibility for the bombing was claimed by various Palestinian military groups.16 34. At the time of writing, reliable statistics had not been published for the period from 24 January to 24 February 2008. It is however estimated that Palestinian militants fired hundreds of mortar shells and around 210 rockets, the majority of which of the Qassam type, into the western Negev, including the cities of Sderot and Ashkelon. Though most of the rocket and mortar attacks carried out by Palestinian militants were indiscriminate, some of the short-distance mortar shells reportedly targeted Israeli military installations or personnel located just across the border. Some 10 Israelis sustained injuries as a result of rockets and mortar shells fired by Palestinian militants and many Israeli residents of Sderot and the western Negev, including children, suffered from shock. On 8 and 9 February, more than 40 rockets were fired at the western Negev. One of the rockets landed in central Sderot, seriously injuring two brothers, one of whom, an eight-year old boy, lost a limb in the attack. 35. The firing of rockets and mortars by Palestinian militants against Israeli civilian targets is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Israeli military operations during the period from 24 January to 24 February 2008 36. During the reporting period, Israeli security forces conducted at least 9 military incursions into Gaza and 106 into various locations of the West Bank. 37. Some 41 Palestinians, including two children, were reportedly killed due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a decrease when compared to the first three weeks of 2008. 38. The number of wounded also decreased; approximately 88 Palestinians, including 12 children and 11 women, were injured as result of operations by Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 39. Palestinian human rights organizations documented several cases of Israeli military operations that resulted in the death of civilians. On 7 February, an Israeli ground-to-ground missile landed in the courtyard of an agricultural school in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. The missile hit the structure when teachers and students were entering the school; one teacher was killed and two students were injured. An Israeli human rights organization called for an investigation into the death on 7 February of a mentally disabled Palestinian man who had been wounded by the Israeli Defence Forces during an arrest operation in the West Bank town of Qabatiya. According to Palestinian health sources, on 17 February, a civilian was killed and several others were injured during clashes between Palestinian militants and undercover troops of the Israeli Defence Forces backed by aircraft and tanks in the southern Gaza Strip. On 18 February, a 10-year old boy was shot and killed during armed clashes between Palestinian militants and the Israeli Defence Forces near Deir el-Balah, inside the Gaza Strip. 16 The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for a Palestinian suicide bombing. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also claimed responsibility for the attack. Haaretz, 4 February 2008.