A/HRC/29/52 medical facilities, ambulances, and other critical infrastructure – are considered less thoroughly, because these patterns have been a recurring reality in this and prior conflicts. 1. Rocket, mortar and tunnel attacks against locations in Israel (a) Rocket and mortar attacks 27. Between 7 July and 26 August 2014, Palestinian armed groups fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars towards Israel, killing six civilians and injuring as many as 1,600 people, including 270 children. A mother from Israel described the situation experienced: “We have 45 seconds to run. You just have to wait and see if it’s going to fall on you.” 28. Owing to the lack of cooperation by Israel and its denial of access to its territory, the commission faced difficulties in identifying victims who had been injured in rocket attacks and was unable to examine individual cases in detail. The commission was, however, able to speak with witnesses and victims of a number of mortar attacks, the cause of the majority of Israeli civilian deaths. 29. On 22 August 2014, Daniel Tregerman, aged 4, was killed in his home at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, about 2 km from Gaza. While he was playing, a siren sounded, followed by an explosion three seconds later, when a mortar hit the family car and shrapnel struck Daniel. Given the short time, he had been unable to reach the protected room with the rest of his family. In another incident, on 26 August, Ze’ev Etzion and Shahar Melamed were killed by a mortar. Gad Yarkoni suffered injuries to his legs, which were later amputated. He informed the commission that the attack occurred as the three men were repairing electricity lines damaged by Palestinian projectiles in Kibbutz Nirim. The Al-Qassam Brigades announced that they had targeted Kibbutz Nirim and various other communities with 107 mm mortars on the day of the attack. 13 30. Palestinian armed groups released statements indicating that they intended to attack Israeli civilians and population centres in Israel. In some instances, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza reportedly attempted to warn civilians in Israel of imminent attacks. For instance, on 20 August 2014, the Al-Qassam Brigades warned communities near Gaza to avoid returning home or to remain inside shelters. 14 31. While some Palestinian armed groups made efforts to direct projectiles, especially mortars, at military objectives, in other cases they targeted villages near Gaza. The majority of projectiles fired by Palestinian armed groups were rockets without guidance systems so they could not be directed at specific military objectives. Many of the rockets were launched in the direction of major cities, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ashkelon, and one landed in the vicinity of Ben Gurion airport. (b) Tunnels 32. The Israel Defense Forces found 32 tunnels, 14 of which extended beyond the Green Line into Israel.15 The discovery of the tunnels and their use by Palestinian armed groups during the hostilities caused great anxiety among Israelis fearing that the tunnels might be used to attack civilians. One witness recalled, “When it’s quiet, we are even more afraid 13 14 15 8 https://twitter.com/qassam_arabic1/status/504191347684048898 (in Arabic). See also “Kibbutz member killed by mortar shell laid to rest”, Times of Israel, 28 August 2014, and “After Operation Protective Edge, day 1”, Haaretz, 27 August 2014. Al-Qassam, Press Release of Abu Obeida, Al-Qassam spokesperson, 20 August 2014. Israel Defense Forces, “Operation Protective Edge by the Numbers”, 5 August 2014.