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{{Infobox civilian attack
| title       = 2014 Gaza war beach bombing incidents
| partof      = [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]]
| image       = 
| image_size  = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| map = {{Location map many | Israel gaza#Palestinian territories
| width = 250
| float = right
| label1 = Khan Yunis
| marksize = 8
| position1     = left
| coordinates1  = {{coord|31|20|40|N|34|18|11|E}}
| label2 = Gaza City
| mark2size = 8
| position2     = right
| coordinates2  = {{coord|31|31|N|34|27|E}}
}}
| map_size    = 
| map_alt     = 
| map_caption = 
| location    = [[Khan Yunis]] and [[Gaza City]], [[Gaza Strip]]
| target      = 
| coordinates  = 
| date        =  9 and 16 July 2014
| time        = 
| timezone    = 
| type        = Airstrike, naval fire
| fatalities  = 13
| injuries    = 
| victims     = Palestinian youth
| perpetrators   = {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Israel Defense Forces]]
| susperps    = 
| weapons     = 
| numparts    = 
| dfens       = 
| motive      = 
| website     = 
}}
The '''2014 Gaza war beach bombing incidents''' refers to two incidents that took place during the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict|2014 Gaza War]] on 9 and 16 July. In the first incident, Israeli missiles killed 9 youths while they were following the [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014 World Cup series]] on TV; in the second, 4 boys were killed by Israeli naval fire while playing on a beach. According to an Israeli investigation, the second was a 'tragic mistake'.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://theintercept.com/2018/08/11/israel-palestine-drone-strike-operation-protective-edge/
|title=Secret Israeli Report Reveals Armed Drone Killed Four Boys Playing on Gaza Beach in 2014
|first=Robert
|last=Mackey
|date=August 11, 2018
|publisher=The Intercept}}</ref> The latter attack was conducted in front of hotels that sheltered western journalists, several of whom witnessed the Israeli shelling, and at least one of whom described the targeting of the children as intentional.<ref name="Beaumont" /> Several eyewitnesses have remarked that, even at a distance, it was clear that the targets of the Israeli attack were children.<ref name="Beaumont" /><ref name=mason /> The [[United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]], reviewing the evidence, found that the IDF had failed in its obligations to adopt feasible measures to avoid or minimize incidental harm to civilians.<ref name="Commission2015" >[http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIGaza/A_HRC_CRP_4.doc ''Report of the detailed findings of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict,'']
United Nations A/HRC/29/CRP.4 22 June 2015.</ref>

== 9 July ==
On 9 July, a semi final match between [[2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#Netherlands vs Argentina|Argentina and the Netherlands]] was broadcast as part of the [[2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage]]. In the 48 hours since the outbreak of hostilities, Israel had launched an aerial blitz that struck over 750 locations in the [[Gaza Strip]]. On a beach in the al-'Izbeh area of [[Khan Younis]], roughly 30 metres from the shoreline and 200 metres from housing, around a dozen Palestinians had gathered at the Fun Time Beach café (''Waqt al-Marah'') to watch a broadcast of the game. The café, owned by the al-Sawalli family,<ref name="B'tselem" >[http://www.btselem.org/testimonies/20140710_gaza_bombing_al_astal 'Bilal al-Astal recounts bombing that killed 9 in Gazan café, where he and others were watching a World Cup match,'], [[B'tselem]].</ref> and, according to a local [[Palestine National Authority|PNA-employed]] policeman, Wael Soboh, not a military area,<ref name="B'tselem" /><ref name="MEE" /> was a makeshift arrangement covered by cloth, umbrellas and palm leaves, furnished with plastic chairs and a converted container which served as the kitchen. The portable television was powered by a generator.<ref name="Tait" />
<ref name="Fares">Fares Akram, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/world/middleeast/missile-at-beachside-gaza-cafe-finds-patrons-poised-for-world-cup.html?_r=0 ''In Rubble of Gaza Seaside Cafe, Hunt for Victims Who Had Come for Soccer''], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 10 July 2014.</ref>
All of the victims were avid soccer fans.<ref name="Davison" /> It was customary for the two Sawalli brothers, who would be killed in the strike, to break the Ramadan fast at the café, which was also considered a safe place. The other victims also used the café's services for the [[Iftar|Iftar meal]], to break their [[Ramadan]] fast,<ref name="MEE" /><ref>[http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=711864 'World Cup fans killed as Israel raid hits Gaza café'], [[Ma'an News Agency]] 10 July 2014.</ref> though a survivor said that youths had also come to the Café because it had a generator for its television, and there had been an electrical outage earlier in [[Khan Yunis]].<ref name="Tait">Robert Tait, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/10960608/Half-of-Gazas-dead-are-women-and-children.html 'Half of Gaza's dead 'are women and children'], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' 10 July 2014.</ref><ref name="Davison" /><ref name="Blumenthal" >[[Max Blumenthal]],[https://books.google.com/books?id=mhppCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 'The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza'], Nations Books, 2015 p.27.</ref> Palestinians like many in the Arab world, it was reported, could follow the games by courtesy of the Israeli broadcast service.<ref>Associated Press, [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4540375,00.html 'Arabs watch World Cup courtesy of Israel'], [[Ynet]] 9 July 2014.</ref> The youths were aware that the [[Gaza Strip]] was being bombed, but heard no aircraft in their vicinity, and were relaxed.<ref name="B'tselem" /> Half an hour into the match, at 11.30 p.m., an Israeli missile blasted the flimsy roof of the improvised cafe<ref name="Tait" /> cratering the site and killing 3 sets of brothers and a cousin,<ref name="Tait" /> Two 15-year-olds were killed, and 3 wounded, including a 13-year-old boy.<ref name="HRW" /> The missile's impact was such that it left a hole so deep seawater seeped in from underground to fill it.<ref name="Davison">John Davison, [https://sports.yahoo.com/news/world-cup-fans-killed-israel-raid-hits-gaza-144552117--sow.html 'World Cup fans killed as Israel raid hits Gaza café'], [[Yahoo News]] 10 July 2014.</ref> The body of Salim Sawalli could not be found immediately, but later the following day bulldozers managed to find his remains, bringing the tally to 9. Gaza's emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra commented: "Israel won 9-0". A bystander Ahmed al-Aqad made a similar quip: "And the result from this match here? The Jews won 9-0,".<ref name="Davison" /> Another 15 people were wounded.<ref name="MEE">[http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/world-cup-fans-killed-gaza-bomb-hits-cafe-1394390500 'World Cup fans killed in Gaza as bomb hits café'], [[Middle East Eye]] 10 July 2015.</ref>

Those killed were: Ahmed Astal (18), Suleiman Astal (16), Musa (16, a cousin of the Astals), Mohammed Ganan (24), Ibrahim Ganan (25), Hamdi Sawalli (20), Ibrahim Sawalli (28), Salim Sawalli (23, body not recovered) and Mohammed Fawana (18).

===IDF investigation===
The [[Israeli Defence Forces|IDF]] said it was investigating this incident and another bombing with substantial civilian casualties on the same night roughly three hours later in Khan Younis Refugee Camp which killed 8 members of the Al Haj family.<ref>Kashmira Gander,
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelgaza-crisis-eight-killed-in-gaza-strip-cafe-while-watching-world-cup-semifinal-9598542.html 'Israel-Gaza crisis: Eight killed in Gaza Strip cafe while watching World Cup semi-final'], [[The Independent]] 10 July 2014</ref><ref>Aron Heller and Najin Jobain, [https://news.yahoo.com/israel-escalates-aerial-offensive-gaza-070859028.html Israel escalates aerial offensive on Gaza.'], [[Yahoo News]] 10 July 2014.</ref><ref>Aron Heller, [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/airstrikes-leave-80-dead-in-gaza 'Airstrikes Leave 80 Dead In Gaza; Still No Israeli Fatalities'], TMP News July 10, 2014,</ref><ref>[http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10465:israeli-offensive-on-gaza-continues-69-palestinians-killed-of-whom-60-are-civilians-including-22-children-and-13-women-and-469-others-wounded-mostly-civilians-including-166-children-and-85-women-driver-of-press-vehicle-killed-70-houses-destroyed&catid=36:pchrpressreleases&Itemid=194 "Israeli Offensive on Gaza Continues: 69 Palestinians Killed, of Whom 60 Are Civilians, Including 22 Children and 13 Women, and 469 Others Wounded, Mostly Civilians, Including 166 Children and 85 Women; Driver of Press Vehicle Killed; 70 Houses Destroyed"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621232236/http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10465:israeli-offensive-on-gaza-continues-69-palestinians-killed-of-whom-60-are-civilians-including-22-children-and-13-women-and-469-others-wounded-mostly-civilians-including-166-children-and-85-women-driver-of-press-vehicle-killed-70-houses-destroyed&catid=36:pchrpressreleases&Itemid=194 |date=2015-06-21 }}, [[Palestinian Centre for Human Rights]], 10 July 2014.</ref> Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman [[Yigal Palmor]] stated that Hamas was exposing Palestinians to Israeli attacks by operating "within houses and streets and neighborhoods which are populated with civilians,... exposing these civilians to retaliation and to backfire."<ref>Kia Makarechi, [http://www.vanityfair.com/news/daily-news/2014/07/israel-gaza-attacks-abc-news 'Israel's Attacks on Gaza Intensify, ABC News Admits Mistake'], [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] 10 July 2014.</ref>

Israel said the incident was designed as a precision strike with the missile aimed at a single terrorist, and Peter Lerner, the [[IDF Spokesperson's Unit|IDF spokesman]], said that in such operations, no warning is given. No information was forthcoming as to the identity of the putative terrorist in their midst.<ref name="Fares" />

===Responses to Israel's preliminary investigation===
[[Human Rights Watch]], after an investigation, cited the case as an apparent example of Israel targeting civilian structures and people in violation of the [[Law of war|laws of war]]. No evidence had been provided that civilians watching a soccer match had been engaged in terrorist activities.<ref name="HRW">[https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/15/israelpalestine-unlawful-israeli-airstrikes-kill-civilians Israel/Palestine: Unlawful Israeli Airstrikes Kill Civilians'], [[Human Rights Watch]], 16 July 2014.</ref>

== 16 July ==
Just after 4 p.m. an offshore Israeli naval vessel fired two rounds into a beachfront area in Gaza City's harbour. The port was closed that day, after Israel had prohibited fisherman from venturing out to sea.<ref name = "Martin" /> The four close-knit friends had gone to the beach to play in a cooler area; they met some journalists there, one of whom played some football with them. One journalist also told them the area was dangerous.<ref name="NZeveloff" /> The first shell hit a fishermen's jetty. Several boys were playing in the area at the time. On the explosion at the jetty, they all fled but were unable to outrun the second shell, which landed in their midst and 4 boys aged between 9 and 11 and, all cousins in a family group forming part of the extensive Bakr clan, were killed,<ref name="CNNJMNW">Jethro Mullen and Ben Wedeman, [http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/17/world/meast/mideast-conflict-children/ 'They went to the beach to play': Deaths of 4 children add to growing toll in Gaza conflict'], [[CNN News]] 17 July 2014.</ref> bringing the Palestinian death toll through a week of hostilities to 213, among whom 43 were children, according to Hamas; 1,600 had been wounded. Israel in the same period suffered one fatality, Dror Hanin, killed by a mortar shell near the [[Erez Crossing]].<ref>[[Ayman Mohyeldin]], Paul Ziad Nassar,
[http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/middle-east-unrest/innocent-gone-israeli-strike-gaza-kills-four-children-n157301 'Innocent and Gone: Israeli Strike on Gaza Kills Four Children'], [[NBC News]] 17 July 2015.</ref> According to one survivor Hamad Bakr, the boys were playing hide-and-seek at the time.<ref name="Beaumont" /> [[NBC]] News Foreign Correspondent [[Ayman Mohyeldin]] testified on his [[Twitter]] account that just a few minutes before the shelling, he came across the boys while returning to his hotel from the office, playing in a sidestreet and kicked a football with the children, who then went down to the beach to continue playing.<ref name ="Hayes" /><ref name ="Greenwald" >[[Glenn Greenwald]], [https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/07/17/nbc-removes-ayman-mohyeldin-gaza-coverage-witnesses-israeli-beach-killing-four-boys/ 'NBC News Pulls Veteran Reporter from Gaza After Witnessing Israeli Attack on Children'], [[First Look Media]] 17 July 2014.</ref>

The killed were
* Ismail Mohammed Bakr (9)
* Zakaria Ahed Bakr (10)
* Ahed Atef Bakr (10)
* Mohamed Ramez Bakr (11).<ref name="CNNJMNW" /><ref name="Greenwald" />
The injured were
* Hamad Bakr (13) with shrapnel wounds in his chest. His father's fishing boat was located at the site.
* Muntasir<ref name="Cohen" /> (Motasem) Bakr (11) wounded in the head and legs
* Mohammad Abu Watfah (21) hit in the stomach by shrapnel.<ref name="Beaumont" />
* A fourth person, a man in his 30s, was also hit in the stomach.<ref name="Beaumont" />

Several journalists were present during the incident, and some directly observed it at approximately 200 metres distance from the [[Al-Deira hotel]]. After the jetty explosion, the four, 3 of whom were visibly children at that distance, jumped from the harbour wall and ran frantically across the open space towards the safety of the hotel, waving and shouting as they raced past beach tents, in the direction of the journalists in the hotel. Within 40 seconds, according to [[Peter Beaumont (journalist)|Peter Beaumont]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'', a second shell, lobbed after the aim was apparently adjusted to target the fleeing survivors, exploded in their midst.<ref name="Beaumont">[[Peter Beaumont (journalist)|Peter Beaumont]], [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/16/witness-gaza-shelling-first-hand-account 'Witness to a shelling: first-hand account of deadly strike on Gaza port'], ''[[The Guardian]]'' 16 July 2014.</ref>

[[Mark Regev]], spokesman for Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], commented: "The story with these four boys is a tragedy (...). Let's be clear, the Israeli military does not target civilians".<ref name = "Hayes">[http://www.msnbc.com/all-in-with-chris-hayes/watch/four-boys-killed-on-gaza-beach-306364483898 'Four boys killed on Gaza Beach'], [[All In with Chris Hayes|All In]] with [[Chris Hayes (journalist)|Chris Hayes]] 17 July 2014. 2:52&nbsp;minutes in</ref>

At the funeral soon afterwards, Abdel Kareem Bakr, an uncle of the victims, said: "It's a cold-blooded massacre. It's a shame they didn't identify them as kids with all of the advanced technology they claim they're using." An IDF comment stated that while it was investigating the incident, a preliminary analysis indicated that Hamas terrorist operatives had been targeted, and that the civilians were victims of "a tragic accident."<ref name="Beaumont" /> NBC almost immediately ordered its reporter Ayman Mohyeldin to leave Gaza, citing security concerns given the imminence of an Israel ground invasion. He was replaced by another NBC foreign correspondent, [[Richard Engel]].<ref name="Greenwald" />

The Bakr clan descends from Gazans who are not refugees, but trace their descent to Arabian fisherman immigrants who settled in the area centuries ago.<ref name="NZeveloff" >Naomi Zeveloff, [http://forward.com/news/311710/one-year-later-the-bakrs-continue-to-mourn/ 'A Year Later, Palestinian Family Mourns 4 Boys Killed on Gaza Beach,'] [[The Forward]] 14 July 14, 2015</ref>

===Israeli internal investigation and the UN Commission response===
The Israeli internal investigation into the incident was concluded 11 months later in June 2015. After a thorough review, involving extensive interviews with IDF soldiers and officers who planned and executed the operation, analysis of many documents, video footage, and attempts to interview Gazans allegedly witnesses to the incident (who refused to be interviewed but three supplied [[affidavit]]s)<ref name ="BBC">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33106578 "Gaza beach attack: Israel 'struck boys in error'"], [[BBC News]] 12 June 2015.</ref> the official IDF result cleared itself of culpability. According to Peter Lerner, the firing targeted a Hamas Naval Police and Naval Force "compound", used exclusively by militants, and closed off from the rest of the area by a fence. It added that it had attacked a weapon-storage 'container' inside the compound a day earlier. From aerial observation operational staff had concluded Hamas figures were entering the area to conduct a military action, and authorization was given to fire a missile after one of the identified figures entered the container and after 'a civilian presence in the area' had been ruled out. The missile struck the target, and a second was fired at the fleeing figures. It concluded that, 'It should be stressed that the figures were not identified at any point during the incident, as children'<ref name="Beaumont2">Peter Beaumont, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/11/israel-clears-military-gaza-beach-children 'Israel exonerates itself over Gaza beach killings of four children last year'], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 11 June 2015</ref> The credibility of its own internal investigations, Israel maintains, renders any [[International Criminal Court]] review, as the [[Palestinian Authority]] is seeking, unnecessary.<ref name ="Martin" /> The reason why children were there was, it stated, 'unclear'.<ref name ="BBC" />

The United Nations Commission into the 2014 conflict examined the evidence, from the IDF's own documents and independent analysis of field reports, and concluded that the IDF had failed to take the appropriate precautions stipulated by the rules of protecting civilians in a conflict. The stature of the boys was small compared to adults; no IDF soldiers, potentially exposed to danger, were in the area as the ground invasion had not yet got underway; no other persons were in imminent danger, and therefore there was no urgency in launching a strike. The IDF, it concluded, could therefore have taken more exhaustive measures to verify whether or not the targeted people were militants. Lastly, the compound was located in the centre of a city with a half a million residents, between a public beach and a fisherman's area, close to international hotels lodging journalists, facts that would not rule out the possibility civilians might in the area. The assumption was made that the targets were militants based on their presence in a particular area, a premise that 'reversed the presumption of civilian status'. The internal IDF investigation did not appear to have questioned many people who were direct witnesses to the incident.<ref name="Commission2015" />

===Response by western journalists present in Gaza during the war===
Journalists said what had been struck by the shelling was a small dilapidated fisherman's hut. Peter Beaumont, who was present, said the investigators made no attempt to take a statement from him personally, that no one had observed militants in the area at the time. Further, the breakwater was readily accessible through a side lane, is located on one of the busiest sectors of a public beach, and used regularly by both fishermen and sunbathers. The container did not appear to have military supplies. What is not clear, Beaumont said, is why the IDF failed to identify the figures as children playing on a beach.<ref name="Beaumont2" /> Writing for ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', Patrick Martin, who was also present that day, said the report's description did not tally with the fact that the "compound" described as spanning "the length of the breakwater of the Gaza City seashore" was mainly used by fishermen: fishing boats, not Hamas naval vessels, are tethered all along it, as satellite images reveal. People in the area would have most likely been fishermen, or children, not militants, he concluded.<ref name ="Martin">[[Patrick Martin (journalist)|Patrick Martin]], [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/globe-reporter-recalls-air-force-strike-on-gaza-beach-that-killed-four-boys/article24939034/ 'Globe reporter recalls air force strike on Gaza beach that killed four boys'], [[The Globe and Mail]] 12 June 2015.</ref> [[Paul Mason (journalist)|Paul Mason]], who was present in the area some days later, asked why with overhead drone footage and high-resolution optical devices from ships off-shore, the IDF was unable to distinguish 10-year-olds from physically fit scuba-diving commandos preparing an attack.  Why should such an attack take place in broad daylight?<ref name=mason>[[Paul Mason (journalist)|Paul Mason]], [http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/israeli-beach/3832 'Gaza child deaths – the view from the shoreline'], [[Channel 4 News|Channel 4]], 12 June 2015.</ref>

===Aftermath===
Photojournalist Dan Cohen paid a follow-up visit in June 2015 to the Bakr clan, descendants from Gazans who are not refugees, but trace their descent to Arabian fisherman immigrants who settled in the area centuries ago.<ref name="NZeveloff"/>

They now live on the edges of the [[Al-Shati (camp)|Shati Refugee Camp]], The surviving son, Muntasir, regarded by his family as a "[[Shahid|living martyr]]", bears shrapnel in his head, suffers severe trauma, as yet untreated, requiring treatment not available in Gaza, and is prone to violence, having attempted suicide and attacked his siblings. The family cannot afford the medicines Muntasir's disturbed mental conditions require. The clan is affiliated politically with Fatah, and the family says Hamas has done nothing to help them out since the incident.<ref name="NZeveloff" /> According to the boy's account:
<blockquote>"We barely started playing when the first missile exploded right next to my cousin Ismael," he said. "We started running away and then I told them 'lets go back and get Ismael then we'll run away again.' When we did that another missile exploded right next to us. My brother and my nephew died because they let go of my hand. Two missiles exploded around me. It was foggy when we were running, I turned around and saw my nephew and brother lying on the ground."<ref name="Cohen" >Dan Cohen, [http://mondoweiss.net/2015/06/living-martyr-family 'The living martyr, a visit to the Bakr family in Gaza Israel/Palestine'], [[Mondoweiss]] June 19, 2015</ref></blockquote>

Before the war, he intended following his father's footsteps, to become a fisherman, but now wishes to become a fighter.<ref name="Cohen" /> Eight other members of the family died six months later, in an attempt to escape from the Gaza Strip and reach Europe. A cousin, Mowfaq, decided after the boys' funeral to lead his family out, since though unscathed by the conflict so far, he considered that the future held no guarantees for their safety. He and 8 of his family, mostly children, escaped via Egypt, took a boat from Dalmietta and, close to [[Malta]], drowned along with 500 others, when the vessel was rammed by another [[Human trafficking|smuggler's]] launch.<ref>Kim Sengupta, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-tragic-story-of-a-gaza-family-drowned-on-a-smugglers-boat-as-they-tried-to-escape-the-death-and-destruction-that-claimed-the-lives-of-four-young-relatives-9963657.html 'Tragic story of Gaza family drowned on a smugglers' boat trying to escape death and destruction that claimed four of their relatives'], [[The Independent]] 7 January 2015.</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Israeli strikes and Palestinian casualties in the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]]
* [[Gaza beach explosion (2006)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{2014 Israel–Gaza conflict}}

{{#seo:
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[[Category:Palestinian war casualties]]
[[Category:2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]]
[[Category:July 2014 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Airstrikes conducted by Israel]]