Human Rights Watch has stated that a strike by Israel on a Gaza apartment building in October resulted in the deaths of 106 civilians, including 54 children.
The rights group, based in New York, found no evidence that the attack targeted any militant activity within the building, which suggests that it may be a war crime. According to international law, attacks on military targets that are likely to cause disproportionate harm to civilians are prohibited.
The attack on Oct. 31 was one of the deadliest since the start of the war almost six months ago.
Human Rights Watch reports that four separate strikes caused the collapse of the Engineer’s Building in central Gaza, which was home to about 350 people, with around a third of them having fled their homes elsewhere in the territory.
Among the casualties were children who were playing soccer outside and residents charging phones in the ground-floor grocery store, the group said.
The group states that 34 women, 18 men, and 54 children were killed in the attack. Human Rights Watch confirmed its list of the deceased with Airwars, a London-based conflict monitor. The victims came from 22 families. One extended family, the Abu Said family, lost 23 relatives in the strike.
The Associated Press reported on four siblings who were killed in the October strike, including 18-month-old twin boys.
A day after the building was destroyed, their uncle, Sami Abu Sultan, said, “They had no time here. It was God’s will.”
While compiling the report, Human Rights Watch interviewed 16 individuals, including relatives of the deceased, and examined satellite imagery, 35 photographs, and 45 videos of the aftermath. Owing to heavy restrictions on Gaza, the group was unable to visit the site.
Witnesses informed the rights group that there was no advance warning of the attack. According to Human Rights Watch, Israeli authorities have not disclosed any information about the alleged target and did not respond to requests for information.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment when approached by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Israel maintains that it seeks to avoid causing harm to civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas, citing the militants' presence in densely populated residential areas. However, the military rarely discusses individual strikes that result in the deaths of dozens of people, including women and children, each day.
Following the killing of seven aid workers by its strikes earlier this week, Israel has faced increasing international criticism for its conduct during the war. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's intense bombardment of the strip has resulted in the deaths of over 33,000 Palestinians, since the 1,200 people killed and around 250 taken hostage by Hamas in an attack on Oct. 7. This campaign is described as one of the most intense aerial campaigns of the 21st century.
