A/HRC/9/26 page 6 13. In terms of international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has responsibilities under, inter alia, the Hague Regulations (accepted as customary international law) and the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. 14. The mission’s mandate also encompasses the humanitarian law obligations of other parties to the conflict, the most relevant being militants launching rockets from Gaza into Israel (Council resolution S-3/1, para. 6). Under accepted customary international humanitarian law obligations, armed groups are bound by the obligations of common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. They must respect and ensure respect of the principles of distinction, proportionality and the obligation to take the necessary precautions to avoid or minimize incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. Aiming rockets at civilian targets is a violation of this obligation, as would be endangering Palestinian civilians by launching rockets from or near civilians (for example in residential areas). III. THE SHELLING OF BEIT HANOUN ON 8 NOVEMBER 2006 AND ITS CONTEXT A. Context 15. Beit Hanoun is situated near the north-eastern border of the Gaza Strip, with more than 35,000 inhabitants, of which 70 per cent are registered refugees. As in the case of other Gazan towns and cities, the population density in the town is very high, with houses and apartment buildings of three to five stories predominating and a high number of inhabitants in each building. During its visit to the town, the mission was able to appreciate its dense urban nature, the surrounding fields, olive groves and greenhouses, as well as its proximity to the armistice line with Israel, which surrounds the town to the north, south and east at a distance of around 1,000 metres. The mission witnessed the widespread destruction of houses and property and the devastation of agricultural land in the border area as a result of Israeli incursions. 16. An accurate assessment of the shelling of Beit Hanoun on 8 November 2006 and its aftermath was impossible without considering the series of events which preceded it. These events to a large extent explain the fragile state in which the town and its residents found themselves on the morning of 8 November, as well as the adequacy of the response to those injured in the attack. 17. Following the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council at the beginning of 2006, political, economic and social conditions deteriorated sharply across the occupied Palestinian territories, but particularly in Gaza. This situation has been described elsewhere in detail, particularly in the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (see A/HRC/4/17). Suffice it to say here that ordinary Palestinians are the main victims of this crisis. According to the World Bank, poverty (based on household income) has risen to almost 67 per cent of the population, with about 80 per cent relying on some form of United Nations humanitarian assistance.4 4 World Bank, West Bank and Gaza: Economic Developments and Prospects, March 2008.