A/HRC/12/48 page 70 commander in the West Bank on 15 December 2008.138 One of the rockets launched from the Gaza Strip on 17 December 2008 struck the car park of a shopping centre in Sderot, injuring three people and causing significant damage to property.139 260. On 2 December 2008, the Israeli air force killed two Palestinian children and seriously injured two others when one of its aircraft fired a missile at a group of Palestinian children who were sitting in a street near Rafah. An Israeli military spokesman admitted responsibility for the attack and claimed that it was targeting members of Palestinian armed groups. Eyewitnesses informed the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) that the victims were civilians.140 261. On 5 December 2008, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at members of what PCHR described as “activists of the Palestinian resistance” in Jabaliyah refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, seriously wounding one person.141 On 18 December, an Israeli air strike killed a man in Beit Lahia.142 The same day, Israeli aircraft attacked a car maintenance workshop in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The workshop was destroyed and a number of nearby houses were damaged.143 262. On 18 December 2008, the Gaza authorities declared that the truce was at an end and would not be renewed on the grounds that Israel had not abided by its obligations to end the blockade on Gaza.144 263. On 21 December 2008, a rocket hit a house in Sderot and a foreign worker was injured as a result of a rocket striking Ashkelon.145 Israel responded with air strikes into Gaza City, wounding a Palestinian infant in her home.146 Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister stated that Israel would no longer practise restraint following the rocket attacks.147 JTA, “Kassams hit Israel after terrorist killed”, 16 December 2008, available at: http://jta.org/news/articleprint/2008/12/16/1001575/kassams-hit-israel-after-terrorist-killed?TB_iframe=true&width=750&height=500. 138 139 “Three injured…”. PCHR, “Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, No. 48/2008 (24 November – 3 December 2008), available at: http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2008/04-122008.htm. 140 PCHR, “Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, No. 49/2008 (4-17 December), available at: http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2008/18-12-2008.htm. The Mission notes the lack of clarity as to whether these were armed members of the Palestinian armed groups or civilians. 141 Al-Jazeera, “Israeli missile kills Gaza man”, 18 December 2008, available at: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/ middleeast/2008/12/2008121721428340460.html. 142 PCHR, “Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, No. 50/2008 (18–23 December 2008), available at: http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/W_report/English/2008/24-12-2008.htm. 143 Reuters, “Hamas declares end to ceasefire with Israel in Gaza”, 18 December 2008, available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSLI75623220081218. 144 145 “Kassam rocket…”. 146 “Weekly report…”, No. 50/2008. 147 “Kassam rocket…”.