2014 Gaza war beach bombings
| 2014 Gaza war beach bombing incidents | |
|---|---|
| Part of 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict | |
| Location | Khan Yunis and Gaza City, Gaza Strip |
| Date | 9 and 16 July 2014 |
Attack type | Airstrike, naval fire |
| Deaths | 13 |
| Victims | Palestinian youth |
| Perpetrators | Israel Defense Forces |
The 2014 Gaza war beach bombings refers to two attacks that took place during the 2014 Gaza War on 9 and 16 July. In the first bombing, Israeli missiles killed nine Palestinian children and young adults while they were following the 2014 FIFA World Cup on TV. In the second bombing, four Palestinian children were killed by Israeli naval fire while playing on a beach.
The second attack was conducted in front of hotels that sheltered foreign journalists, several of whom witnessed the Israeli shelling, and at least one of whom described the targeting of the children as intentional. Several eyewitnesses have remarked that, even at a distance, it was clear that the targets of the Israeli attack were children. An Israeli military police cleared the IDF of any wrongdoing, but the investigation was criticized by Adalah for only collecting testimony from Israeli soldiers, while ignoring the testimony of both international journalists and the Palestinian witnesses.
A United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, reviewing the evidence, found that the Israeli military had failed in its obligations to adopt feasible measures to avoid or minimize incidental harm to civilians.