A/HRC/27/76 attacks.8 Furthermore a two-year-old Palestinian girl was killed, and one adult and four children were injured by rockets that apparently fell short and landed in Gaza. 9 21. Late on 7 July 2014, Israel launched a military operation in Gaza, code-named “Protective Edge”.10 The operation can be broken into three phases: a period of air, land and naval strikes, between 7 and 17 July; a ground operation by Israeli forces entering the Gaza Strip, from 18 July to 5 August, accompanied by continuing airstrikes; a period of alternating ceasefire and military strikes, until an indefinite ceasefire came into effect on 26 August. Between 8 July and 26 August, 5,830 missiles in 4,028 air raids, 16,507 artillery and tank projectiles and 3,494 naval shells were fired at targets in the Gaza Strip. During the same period, Palestinian armed groups fired 4,844 rockets and 1,734 mortars towards Israel, of which, at least 243 were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system.11 At least 31 more fell short and landed in Gaza. 22. According to preliminary data as of 9 September 2014,12 2,142 Palestinians were killed, between 7 July and 26 August, or died from injuries sustained during that period. Of those, 1,474 are believed to have been civilians, including 501 children and 257 women. Another 381 could either not be identified or their status has yet to be determined, while 287 members of armed groups are believed to have been killed. 13 According to Israeli media reports, as of 4 September 2014, at least four Israeli civilians, including one child, one foreign civilian in Israel, 66 Israeli soldiers and one person, whose status is not yet known, were killed during the reporting period.14 Dozens more Israelis, including at least six children, were directly injured by rockets, mortars or shrapnel.15 More than 180 Israeli soldiers were reportedly injured. 23. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 11,100 Palestinians, including 2,088 women and 3,374 children, were injured between 7 July and 26 August 2014. Furthermore, during the same period, 18,080 housing units were totally destroyed or had become uninhabitable, leaving approximately 108,500 people homeless.16 As of 26 August 2014, approximately 479,000 Palestinians—more than a quarter of the entire population of 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 See www.jpost.com/Defense/Two-more-Gaza-rockets-fired-at-southern-Israel-after-hit-on-Sderotfactory-360872. Source: OHCHR. See https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/486274187636396035; also www.idfblog.com/blog/ 2014/08/05/operation-protective-edge-numbers/. Source: United Nations Department of Security and Safety. Throughout the hostilities, OHCHR, in its capacity as leader of the Protection Cluster in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, compiled figures on fatalities . The methodology involved the compilation of initial reports of fatalities in the media and from other sources, which were then cross-checked and verified in collaboration with a number of international, Palestinian and Israeli partner organizations. Where possible, each individual’s name, age, sex, place of death as well as status (civilian or combatant) was determined and recorded. Multiple sources were cross-referenced, not only from media and various human rights organizations, but also information released by the Israeli Defense Forces and by the armed groups regarding the identity of combatants. Information from the Ministry of Health in Gaza was one, but not exclusive, source of information. Verification of the preliminary information was continuing through interviews, as the security situation eased, and preliminary data was being revised and updated. OHCHR updates the information daily and overall figures have been published on the OCHA website on behalf of the Protection Cluster. This fatality toll does not include the approximately 25 Palestinians reported killed by armed groups in Gaza since 21 August 2014 , for allegedly collaborating with Israel. See www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_sitrep_04_09_2014.pdf; and www.jpost.com/OperationProtective-Edge/In-Memoriam-The-27-IDF-soldiers-who-gave-their-lives-to-protect-Israel-368493. See www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_sitrep_27_08_2014.pdf. See OCHA documents in footnotes 16 and 17 above. 7