Israel has concluded a military investigation and has cleared itself in the killing of four boys who were playing soccer on a Gaza beach in 2014.
The boys were:
Ahed Atef Bakr (10)
Zakaria Ahed Bakr (10)
Mohammed Ramez Bakr (11)
Ismael Mohammed Bakr (9)
The incident, which took place during Israel's 2014 summer attack on Gaza, drew wide condemnation at the time, as the event was witnessed by many western journalists who were staying at the nearby hotel. Here is one account by eyewitness Peter Beaumont, of The Guardian:
The first projectile hit the sea wall of Gaza City's little harbour just after four o'clock. As the smoke from the explosion thinned, four figures could be seen running, ragged silhouettes, legs pumping furiously along the wall. Even from a distance of 200 metres, it was obvious that three of them were children.
Jumping off the harbour wall, they turned on to the beach, attempting to cross the short distance to the safety of the Al-Deira hotel, base for many of the journalists covering the Gaza conflict. They waved and shouted at the watching journalists as they passed a little collection of brightly coloured beach tents, used by bathers in peacetime.
It was there that the second shell hit the beach, those firing apparently adjusting their fire to target the fleeing survivors. As it exploded, journalists standing by the terrace wall shouted: "They are only children."
In the space of 40 seconds, four boys who had been playing hide and seek among fishermen's shacks on the wall were dead.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
Following the news today, the father of one of the dead boys said he was outraged that the investigation had not ended with indictments, and that he hoped the boys' killings would be part of the war crimes case presented to the International Criminal Court.
http://hosted.ap.org/...
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