A/HRC/12/48 page 216 could have been achieved only by placing explosives inside the building. The silo had not been entirely destroyed in the aerial attacks, so explosives were attached to its supporting columns. 1013. The plant was an important part of Gaza’s construction industry. It produced cement in bags, selling 200 tons per day with a profit of US$ 15 per ton. The company is valued at some US$ 12 million. As mentioned above, the owner’s house was also destroyed by rocket fire. 1014. The owner is one of fewer than 100 businessmen who are in possession of the Businessman Card issued by Israel. The Mission notes that the plant was not destroyed during the aerial phase but was systematically reduced to rubble in a concerted effort over several days at the end of the military operations. 1015. The destruction of Mr. Atta Abu Jubbah’s plant forms part of what appears to have been a very deliberate strategy of attacking the construction industry. The Palestinian Federation of Industries also provides detail on the systematic and total destruction of the Abu Eida factories for ready-mix concrete. They were established in 1993. Nineteen of the 27 concrete factories were reported to have been destroyed, representing 85 per cent of the productive capacity. 1016. The ability to produce and supply concrete in a context where external supplies are entirely controlled by Israel is a matter not only of economic importance but arguably one of human necessity to satisfy the basic need for shelter. Even if the population can get by in makeshift accommodation or by living in cramped conditions with their extended families, the capacity to repair the massive damage done to buildings without internally produced concrete is severely reduced. To the extent that concrete is allowed to enter at all, it is significantly more expensive than domestically produced concrete. 1017. There appears to have been no military reason or justification for destroying the factory. This conclusion is borne out by the long established trading history of the owners and their recognition through the Businessman Cards. 2. Destruction of the remaining food industry 1018. As already reported, more than a third of all egg factories were destroyed by the Israeli armed forces. Other testimonies, for example that of the Mayor of al-Atatra,521 who referred to the destruction of his sister’s chicken farms, indicated that a substantial part of the chicken farming industry appears to have been deliberately and systematically destroyed. 1019. The Mission also notes the destruction of the al-Wadiyah Group’s factories. The al-Wadiyah Group employed some 170 people, had been in business since 1954 and produced a variety of food and drinks. Dr. al-Wadiyah presented a detailed account of its activities and losses to the Mission.522 521 Mission interview with Muhammad Husein al-Atar, Mayor of al-Atatra, 3 June 2009. 522 Mission interview with Dr. Yasser al-Wadia, 3 June 2009.