In Gaza, two days in the conflict were particularly deadly - May 13th where up to 36 civilians were killed and May 16th where up to 50 civilians were reported killed, all but one in a single incident.18 On both May 12th and May 13th, when most Palestinians in Gaza were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the ending of the month of Ramadan, Airwars researchers identified the highest numbers of reported civili. [...] Gaza has a young population - with latest estimates that 40% of the population is below the age of 14.20 In the last major conflict between Israeli forces and militants in Gaza, in 2014, over a third of civilians killed were also children - 556 children out of 1,545 civilians killed according to Al Mezan, and 526 out of 1,391 civilians according to B’Tselem, in less than two months of fighting.21. [...] The higher the level of the neighbourhood on the map, the greater the number of fatalities reported. [...] Responding by email on November 9th 2021 to Airwars questions regarding targeting strategies and reported civilian harm in Gaza, an IDF spokesperson provided the following statement: “Throughout the operation, the IDF operated in order to protect the security of the State of Israel and its citizens, and to thwart the attempts by Hamas and other terror organi- zations to kill civilians and target c. [...] Another 15 civilians were reportedly wounded73 Al-Araby reported that on the day of the strikes, women in the Rantissi family had gathered at eight o’clock in the evening to celebrate the first day of Eid al-Fitr, bringing food and sweets as part of the celebration.
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