A/HRC/23/21 damage to civilians far outweighs the direct damage inflicted on legally acceptable targets. The Special Rapporteur was informed by several Gazans that rockets were neither stored nor fired from residential districts, but were stored underground and launched from open spaces. The Special Rapporteur was briefed by United Nations officials and civil society representatives who had observed and investigated compliance with human rights law and international humanitarian law during Operation “Pillar of Defense”. The concerns noted above were affirmed, and the Special Rapporteur’s attention was drawn to other important issues. Israel’s intentional targeting of journalists covering the military operation was highlighted as a concern that had to be addressed by the international community. The view was repeatedly expressed that Israel’s attacks constituted a part of its continuous collective punishment of Palestinians. In this respect, complaints regarding Israeli impunity for such actions, including the lack of will of the international community to address Israeli impunity firmly, were frequent. One representative insisted that “justice required the accountability of Israelis and upholding the rights of Palestinians.” The Special Rapporteur was informed that Israeli attacks had shifted from being restricted to specific targets in the first four days of Operation “Pillar of Defense”, which appeared to avoid serious civilian casualties and damage, to later attacks on civilian and agricultural targets and a reliance on less accurate forms of weaponry, particularly shelling by naval and land artillery. It was also noted that the attacks had led to the internal displacement of more than 60,000 people, who had no refuge after leaving their place of residence. There was widespread agreement that the possibility of peace depended on an end to the blockade and the shifting of commerce from the tunnels to the crossings. Israel was blamed for its lack of clarity in relation to the definition and breadth of access restricted areas. The Special Rapporteur was left with the strong impression that the ceasefire agreement, even if were to be fully implemented, was merely a stop-gap measure, and that more fundamental changes had to be taken to allow Gaza to focus its energies on long-term viability. 14. The Special Rapporteur met with several representatives of fishermen in Gaza, including Nizar Ayaash, Head of the Fishermen’s Association, and Mohammed El Asi, Head of the Tawfeq Association. Approximately 3,700 fishermen supply food for some 50,000 Gazans. The fishing industry has been hit hard by Israeli restrictions and interference with fishing operations. Fishing had been restricted to three nautical miles, which limits productive activity severely, as most edible fish are found between 12 and 20 nautical miles from shore. The attacks made during Operation “Pillar of Defense” appeared to target buildings on shore belonging to the Fishermen’s Association, and did extensive damage to the structures and destroyed or damaged 85 fishing vessels. The Special Rapporteur was informed that there were high hopes that restrictions would be eased after the ceasefire, and to some extent they were. There was a green light to fish the coastal zone up to six nautical miles, although Israeli gunboats were accused of often harassing fishing activities, firing at the boats, arresting fishermen, excluding their boats from the enlarged zone and even shelling boats for no reason. It is difficult for most Gazan fishermen to earn enough to sustain a minimum standard of living for his family. Many have given up fishing. The Special Rapporteur was also informed that the buildings attacked were never used to store weapons, and that this had been confirmed by both ICRC and the international media. It is evident that, under conditions of blockade, the difficulties of providing the population with ample, healthy food have been compounded by budgetary constraints that limit the capability of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to overcome the shortfall. Allowing Gazans to take full advantage of their fishing resources would seem to be a primary obligation of the occupying Power. 15. The mission also met with Palestinian women who had either been prisoners themselves or had close relatives in prison. One was the internationally known Palestinian, Hana Shalabi, who had been released from an Israeli prison in the Shalit exchange in October 2011, then re-arrested in an abusive manner at her family home. Ms. Shalabi was 8