• 39 Palestinians killed.  
• 41 structures demolished, including 28 homes and 13 private structures. 

Killings

In November 2019, 39 Palestinians were killed, including 34 during the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. The killed Palestinians included three women and eight children. 

The killed Palestinians were as follows: 

Ahmed Mohammed al-Shahri (27): At 1:35 am on Saturday, 12 November 2019, an Israeli drone fired a missile on a one-dunum plot of agricultural land. Located in the Al-Mawasi area southeast of the Khan Yunis city, a rural house (summer resort) belonging to a Palestinian was constructed on the targeted land. The missile landed in close proximity to the house. About five minutes later, an Israeli military aircraft fired another missile, completely destroying the house and killing Al-Shahri. His body was pulled from the rubble of the house. Khamis Ayman Abdeen, who was also inside the house at the time it was hit, sustained wounds and contusions in various parts of his body. Both were transported to the Nasser Hospital west of Khan Yunis. Al-Shahri was transferred to the Gaza European Hospital due to the critical wounds. At about 3:55 am, he was pronounced dead. Al-Shahri and his friend Abdeen were sleeping in the house, which consisted of a room, a living room, and a bathroom. Al-Shahri was hired to work as a farmer on an hourly basis. He was employed by the Abdeen family to tend the land and rural house when the owner was away. As they had to work on the land on the next day, Al-Shahri and Abdeen decided to spend the night in the house. The bombardment also caused various damages to adjacent agricultural land and two greenhouses, belonging to Ayman Khamis Abdeen, father of Khamis, who was injured in the attack. 

Omar Haytham al-Badawi (22): At noon on 11 November 2019, Al-Badawi was killed during a raid of the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) into the Al-Arrub refugee camp. Al-Badawi left his home to help extinguish a fire that erupted next to the fence surrounding his family’s house and a tree. The fire was accidentally caused by Molotov cocktails; which young men had thrown at the IOF during earlier clashes. Meantime, a group of IOF were positioned in a lower area and almost 15 metres away from Al-Badawi. A soldier fired a live bullet, which hit Al-Badawi below the right side of the chest and exited from his back. At the moment he was shot, Al-Badawi was standing on the side of a staircase near the entrance to the western alley of the refugee camp. He fell and rolled over down the stairs. Nearby journalists and Palestinians transported Al-Badawi to a hospital. However, he soon died from sustained critical injuries. The Israeli occupying authorities announced that Al-Badawi had not posed a threat to the lives of Israeli soldiers, when he was shot.[1]

The IOF launched a military offensive on the Gaza Strip after the IOF had extra-judicially killed Baha’ Saleem Abu al-Ata (42), a commander of the Al-Quds Battalions, and his wife Asma’ Mohammed Abu al-Ata (38). At about 4:00 am on 12 November 2019, the Israeli air force fired a missile on a house belonging to Baha’ Abu al-Ata, a senior commander of the Al-Quds Battalions, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Movement, and the leader of the Northern Region of the Gaza Strip. The missile targeted Abu al-Ata’s bedroom on the upper floor of his house, southeast the Al-Shuja’iya neighbourhood. Abu al-Ata’s wife was also killed during the air strike. Later, her body was found on the playground of the UNRWA Al-Shuja’iya Elementary Mixed School, which is located opposite to the house. In the same attack, Abu al-Ata’s children Saleem (19), Mohammed (17), Fatima al-Zahra (13), and Layan (11) were injured by shrapnel in different parts of their bodies. Next door neighbours, including two girls and a young man, also sustained shrapnel wounds and contusions. The attack caused damage to a number of adjacent homes belonging to the Hilles family as well as to Al-Shuja’iya Elementary Mixed School. The IOF admitted that it had approved the assassination and claimed responsibility for extra-judicially killing Abu al-Ata inside his home.[2]

Ibrahim Ahmed al-Dhabous (25): At about 10:50 am on 12 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile on two members of the Al-Quds Battalions, while they were on a motorcycle in the Al-Salatin neighbourhood in the Beit Lahia town, in the northern Gaza Strip. Both activists were hit by shrapnel in various parts of their bodies. Most shrapnel wounds were sustained in the lower extremities, as well as in the heads and chests. The activists were transported to the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, where their health condition was diagnosed as critical. One of them was Al-Dhabous, a young man from the Al-Salatin neighbourhood in Beit Lahia. At about 4:35 pm, medical sources announced that he had succumbed to his wounds. The Al-Quds Battalions released a statement claiming Al-Dhabous as “one of the Mujahedeen of the Al-Quds Battalions in the Northern District”. 

Zaki Adnan Ghannameh (26): At about 1:30 pm on 12 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile on a group of members of the Al-Quds Battalions north of the Umm al-Nassr village (Bedouin village) in the Beit Lahia town, in the northern Gaza Strip. The bombing resulted in the killing of Ghannameh, a resident of Beit Lahia, who sustained shrapnel wounds in various parts of his body. Another three members of the group were also injured during the attack. The Al-Quds Battalions issued a statement, mourning the loss of Ghannameh, who was “one of the Mujahedeen of the Al-Quds Battalions in the Northern District”. 

Abdullah Awadh al-Balbisi (26) and Abdul Salam Ramadan Ahmed (28): At about 6:50 pm on 12 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile on a group of members of the Al-Quds Battalions in the Izbat Beit Hanun area, in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, Al-Balbisi and Ahmed died of numerous shrapnel wounds they had sustained. Both arrived dead at the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia. In a military statement, Al-Balbisi and Ahmed were claimed by the Al-Quds Battalions as “Mujahedeen of the Al-Quds Battalions in the Northern District”.

Wael Abdul Aziz Abdul Nabi (43), Jihad Ayman Abu Khater (23), and Rani Fayez Abu Nassr (43): At about 9:15 pm on 12 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile on a group of members of the Nidhal al-Amoudi Battalion of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, while they were on a “combat mission” northwest of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. All three members of the group died of multiple shrapnel wounds in various parts of their bodies. In an official statement, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades mourned the loss of the members of the Nidhal al-Amoudi Battalion. 

Khaled Mu’awwadh Farraj (38): At about 6:00 am on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft (drone) targeted and immediately killed Farraj, while he was present on a plot of land in the Al-Mughraqa village, in the central Gaza Strip. Later, the Al-Quds Battalions mourned the loss of Farraj in an official statement, claiming him as a field commander in the Central Gaza District. 

Ala’ Jabr Shteiwi (30): At about 8:20 am on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile on a group of members of the Al-Quds Battalions, while they were on agricultural land east of the Al-Zaytun neighbourhood, east of Gaza city. As a result, Shteiwi died of multiple shrapnel wounds he sustained. His death was mourned by the Al-Quds Battalions as a combatant in the Gaza District.

Yousef Rizq Abu Kmeil (35): At about 4:45 pm on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile which immediately killed Abu Kmeil, while he was on agricultural land in the Al-Zarqa area in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza city. Having sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, Kmeil arrived dead at the Al-Shifa’ Hospital in Gaza. He was claimed by the Al-Quds Battalions as a field commander in the Gaza District. 

Ra’fat Mohammed Ayyad (54), and his sons Islam (24) and Amir (7): At about 9:30 am on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile that hit Ra’fat Ayyad and two of his sons while they were riding a motorcycle. Ayyad was a father of seven sons. Of these, Islam was a university graduate with a degree in engineering and an imam at the Ali Ibn Abu Taleb Mosque. Amir was a second grade student. While Ra’fat was killed on the spot, his sons Islam and Amir died half an hour after the attack. They all sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, particularly in the upper parts of their bodies. According to field investigations and eyewitness accounts, the targeted persons were civilians, as there was no armed activity at the time they were hit. Rather, they were targeted by Israeli reconnaissance aircraft while they were going to visit an injured family member. 

Mu’min Mohammed Qaddoum (26): At about 11:15 am on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile at two young men, including Qaddoum, while they were riding a motorcycle along the Al-Mansura Street in the vicinity of the Al-Harazin Maternity Hospital. As a result, Qaddoum was immediately killed. The other young man sustained multiple critical shrapnel wounds. The Al-Quds Battalions mourned the death of Qaddoum as one of its combatants in the Gaza District. 

Mohammed Abdullah Sharab (28) and Haytham Hafeth Bakri (22): At about 1:55 pm on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile at three members of the Al-Quds Battalions while they were on agricultural land in the Al-Manarah neighbourhood southeast of Khan Yunis. While Sharab and Bakri were killed, the third member suffered moderate wounds. Al-Quds Battalions released a statement on their official website confirming the death of two of their members. 

Ahmed Hasan al-Kurdi (27) and Mohammed Hasan Abu Mu’ammar (24): At about 8:30 pm on 13 November 2019, an Israeli military aircraft fired a missile at a group of members of the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Battalions while they were on agricultural land in the Al-Nassr town north of the Rafah city, in the southern Gaza Strip. Al-Kurdi and Abu Mu’ammar, both residents of Rafah, were killed during the attack. They arrived dead at the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Later, the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Battalions released a statement, claiming Al-Kurdi and Abu Mu’ammar as members of the group. 

Isma’il Ayman Abdul Aal (16), Mahmoud Daham Hathat (19), Suheil Khadher Quneitah (23), Ahmed Ayman Abdul Aal (23), and Ibrahim Ayman Abdul Aal (17): At about 9:10 am on 13 November 2019, an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired two missiles on a carpentry workshop belonging to Ayman Fat’hi Abdul Aal (50). The workshop was located along the Eastern Line opposite to the Abu Jibbah petrol station, east of the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza city. The bombing resulted in the killing of all five young men. Of these, three were sons of the owner of the carpentry workshop and two members of armed groups. 

Nine deaths from the Al-Sawarkah family: At about 12:25 am on 14 November 2019, an Israeli military aircraft fired four missiles, without prior warning, at two shanty houses. The two houses belonged to two brothers from the Al-Sawarkah family. The houses were located in the Al-Birkah area south of Deir al-Balah city, in the central Gaza Strip. The bombing resulted in the complete destruction of both houses, while the residents were asleep. Immediately after the attack, eight persons were killed, including two women and five children: Rasmi Salem al-Sawarkah (45), his wife Maryam Salem al-Sawarkah (33), their children Muhannad (12), Salem (3), and Firas (2); and Yusra Mohammed al-Sawarkah (39), the wife of the second brother Mohammed Salem al-Sawarkah, and their children Wasim (13) and Mu’ath (7). Further, another 13 residents of the targeted houses sustained moderate to serious wounds during the air strike. These included 1 woman and 11 children. On 22 November 2019, medical sources at the Ministry of Health announced that Mohammed Salem al-Sawarkah (40) succumbed to his critical wounds. 

Fares Bassam Abu Nab (24): On 17 November 2019, Abu Nab was killed when he was passing by an Israeli checkpoint in the Damascus Gate area in the city of Jerusalem. The IOF shot Abu Nab in the head and chest. Al-Haq continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of Abu Nab. 

Fahd Mohammed al-Astal (16): At about 3:00 pm on 29 November 2019, the IOF deployed behind the fence fired live ammunition, rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters towards protestors. Al-Astal sustained a bullet wound in the abdomen while he was almost 50 metres away from the fence. He was transported by an ambulance to the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis, where he arrived in a critical condition. Doctors’ efforts to revive him failed, as he was pronounced dead at about 3:30 pm, almost 20 minutes after he had been admitted to the hospital. Another seven Palestinians, including five children, were moderately wounded by live ammunition and rubber coated steel bullets fired by the IOF. 

Badawi Khaled Masalmeh (18): At about 6:20 pm on 30 November 2019, Masalmeh and two boys arrived at the Khallet Is’aydeh area, southwest of Beit Awwa village, in the Hebron governorate. On a street west of the village, an Israeli checkpoint is set up, allowing access to only Israeli yellow-plated vehicles to areas inside the Green Line. Masalmeh and the two boys were almost 500 metres east from the checkpoint, south of Beit Awwa. When they approached an area north of the bypass road, the IOF fired as many as 15 bullets, injuring Masalmeh. The boys were arrested. At about 8:00 pm on the same day, an Israeli officer telephoned the boys’ parents and reported that they had been in detention, but did not give any further details. The IOF announced that a young man had been killed while he was attempting to throw Molotov cocktails near Beit Awwa. Later, about 9:00 pm on the same day, the Palestinian District Coordination and Liaison (DCL) Office announced the name of the deceased after it had revealed by the Israeli occupying authorities. The IOF continue to withhold the body of Masalmeh. Further, the Palestinian DCL was informed that the body would not be handed over based on instructions of Naftali Bennett, the newly appointed Israeli Minister of Defence. 

Demolitions

In November 2019, the IOF demolished 41 structures, including 28 homes and 13 other privately owned structures. 

Homes: The IOF demolished 28 houses, including four on punitive grounds and 24 allegedly due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. Of these houses, seven were constructed in Bedouin communities. According to the Oslo designation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), targeted houses were as follow: 5 located in the city of Jerusalem, 4 in Area B, and 19 in Area C. While the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem demolished five houses, the IOF carried out the punitive demolition of four houses. The remaining houses were destroyed by the Israeli Civil Administration and Israeli private companies. 15 house owners were not allowed an opportunity to gather their belongings from their houses before the demolitions were carried out. Three families had their houses demolished at least for the second time. Twenty-one houses were pulled down after midnight or early in the morning. Fifteen houses were located in close proximity to Israeli settlements, settler bypass roads, planned settlement areas, or the Annexation Wall.

Other private structures: The Israeli occupying authorities demolished 13 Palestinian private structures, including two agricultural holdings, three domestic animal farms, four sheep pens, two water wells, and two commercial premises. Of all those demolished, two structures were located in Area C, and two within the municipal borders of Jerusalem. Nine of the demolished structures constituted the main source of livelihood to the affected families. Seven demolished structures were located in close proximity to Israeli settlements, settler bypass roads, planned settlement areas, land under the threat of confiscation, or the Annexation Wall.

Other Israeli violations 

Compared to October 2019, Al-Haq has documented a significant increase in human rights abuses and violations. In November 2019, Al-Haq documented 112 violations, including 77 by the IOF and 35 by Israeli settlers. A major portion of the Israeli violations took place in the village of Burin and cities of Deir al-Balah, Gaza and Nablus. 

Most notable of documented Israeli violations in November 2019 was the death of Sami Abu Diyak. Abu Diyak is a Palestinian prisoner who died in an Israeli prison on 26 November 2019. Although he had suffered from cancer, the Israeli occupying authorities insisted to continue to incarcerate Abu Diyyak until his last breath. 

Also of note, Mu’ath Amarneh, a Palestinian journalist, lost his left eye by a live bullet on 15 November 2019, while covering clashes between Palestinians and IOF in Sourif town in Hebron Governorate. On 26 November 2019, Abdul Majid Olwan, another Palestinian journalist, sustained a bullet wound while he was covering clashes between Palestinians and IOF in Toulkarem city. In comparison to previous months, this month’s incidents reflect an escalating trend of gun-pointing and directly shooting journalists.

Further, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property were also on an upward trajectory. Cuttingdown trees was the most prominent violation committed by Israeli settlers in November 2019. According to Al-Haq documentation, Israeli settlers cut down trees in the Al-Sawiya village (61), Burin town (42), and south of Bethlehem city (144). 

Violations by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and de facto government in the Gaza Strip 

During November 2019, Al-Haq documented 16 violations committed by Palestinian official authorities. Reported violations mainly included incidents of arbitrary detention, violations of the right to freedom of expression, summons to report to security agencies, and ban on an assembly to commemorate the anniversary of the death of late President Yasser Arafat in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Police and Internal Security agencies accounted for the vast majority of reported violations.