Israel: Extrajudicial executions of 11 members of the Deeb family.

On 6 January 2009, the family home of Hussein Deeb, where many civilians had taken refuge, was hit by Israeli shells. 14 family members were hit, of which 11 died.

On 31 March 2009, Al-Karama requested that the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions intervene with the Israeli authorities to ask them for an independent investigation into the extrajudicial execution of 11 civilians, including 5 children. It also demanded that the perpetrators be prosecuted in accordance with international standards of human rights and humanitarian law.

The Deeb family and several neighbours had taken shelter in the house of Hussein Deeb, a known human rights activist, situated 100m from the UNRWA school in Fakhura, in the Jabalya camp. On 6 January 2009, at approximately 15:30, tanks fired twice without warning. The first shell fell near the wall of the house; the second was a direct hit on the room where the people were sheltering. The shrapnel and thick smoke seriously injured those who were not killed immediately.

Deeb Hussein took his niece Noor to Kamal Adwan hospital. He was then taken to Shifa Hospital. During the attack, the following were killed:

1. Shamma Deeb (67), mother of Hussein Deeb;
2. Samir Deeb (43), brother of Hussein Deeb;
3. Mohammed Deeb (24), son of Samir Deeb;
4. Fatima Deeb (22), daughter of Samir Deeb;
5. Issam Deeb (12), son of Samir Deeb;
6. Amal Deeb (37), sister-in-law Hussein Deeb;
7. Alaa Deeb (22), twenty years, daughter of Amal Deeb;
8. Mohammed Deeb (17), son of Amal Deeb;
9. Aseel Deeb (11), daughter of Amal Deeb
10. Mustafa Deeb (12), son of Amal Deeb;
11. Noor Deeb (4), daughter of Amal Deeb;

The following were wounded in the attack:

1. Hussein Deeb (26) received shrapnel in the legs and abdomen. He stayed in hospital for a week.
2. Samir Deeb (23), nephew of Saddam Hussein Deeb, was hit by shrapnel in the leg and abdomen. He was taken to Egypt where his leg was amputated.  He is still in Egypt.
3. Ahlan Deeb (19), the niece of Hussein Deeb, was hit by shrapnel. Her left foot was broken. She was transferred to Turkey for medical treatment and is still there.
4. Muannad Kodos (23), neighbor of Hussein Deeb was hit by shrapnel.

Israel ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in armed conflict.

Documenting specific cases of human rights violations and bringing them to the attention of the special procedures of the United Nations is a first step in the fight against the impunity enjoyed by Israel to date.