JENIN - As the massacres and ongoing "death sentences" in the field against Palestinian civilians by the Israeli occupation army continue, drones are being used as another "killing tool" to carry out these operations remotely without exposing their soldiers to any risks.
The Israeli military has increased its utilisation of drones to kill and injure Palestinian civilians since the start of their invasion of the Gaza Strip in October of last year, despite only using them for surveillance purposes beforehand, according to the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA).
"Israeli soldiers seem to be in an electronic game rather than dealing with human lives," said Umm Majdi Ararawi to WAFA.
Recounting the moment, she said that early Wednesday morning, an Israeli drone bombed a group of youths in the Al-Samran neighbourhood in the Jenin refugee camp, West Bank, in a military operation that lasted about six hours.
"The Israeli drone bombed them while they were gathered. I heard a loud explosion in front of the house. I quickly went out and found a group of young men lying on the ground with severe injuries.
"They were my neighbours across the street. All of them were young men, and this is Hamza who was martyred," said the woman standing next to the body of her son Hamza Ararawi (27) at Jenin Government Hospital, who died from severe injuries to the abdomen and chest.
Three youths, aged 19 to 27, including Hamza, were killed at the scene. Another person died while being rushed to Al-Shuhada Hospital, and 13 others were injured in the incident.
"The sight of blood flowing on the streets was horrifying. I screamed, asking people to call the ambulance. We transported the injured as much as we could by private cars, and some others were taken by emergency crews," Umm Majdi Ararawi said when describing the details of the incident..
Director of Al-Haq Foundation, Shawan Jabarin, described the deliberate Israeli bombings on civilians using drones as clear war crimes that go beyond international law, especially when the targeted individuals are known by the occupying army and their information is recorded in the state's list.
Shawan Jabarin, Director of Al-Haq Foundation, condemned the deliberate bombings carried out by Israel using drones as flagrant war crimes that surpass the boundaries of international law, especially when the occupying army is fully aware of the identities of the targeted individuals and their information is recorded in the state's list.
"The occupying army does not make any effort to capture them if it is proven that they (the victims) are wanted," he explained.
He added: "This is extrajudicial killing and the perpetrators of this crime are the Israeli occupiers, starting from lower-ranking soldiers to intelligence units; and of course, not excluding the Israeli Prime Minister, because this is not the work of a single soldier but the entire military system and he (PM) approves it."
He said what Israel is doing by killing through drones is deliberate - not only killing the alleged wanted persons but also a large group of others nearby.
According to WAFA, since the beginning of Israel's invasion of Gaza, the occupying force has intensified its incursions into Palestinian cities and camps, causing severe destruction to infrastructure, homes, and shop buildings - besides arbitrarily arresting and purposefully killing Palestinian youths.
Israel has reactivated the method of killing similar to that implemented during the Second Palestinian Intifada, which at the time witnessed the use of Apache warplanes. It was reactivated in July 2023 when such aircraft bombed a house in the middle of the Jenin camp, killing its occupants.
Since the beginning of Ramadan, Israel has killed seven Palestinian civilians in two separate attacks, the latest being the incident in the Al-Samran neighbourhood last Wednesday.
On the 10th of Ramadan, the occupying force's drones killed three youths in a private car, half an hour before Iftar, near the Al-Hadaf area in the city of Jenin.
Last February, the occupying force's drones were reported to have bombed a private car in the middle of the Jenin camp, killing one.
The total casualties in the city of Jenin since the beginning of Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip have reached approximately 107 people, in at least 10 operations involving drones. - BERNAMA-WAFA