Devarim 12, Verses 29-31When the Lord, your God cuts off the nations to which you will come to drive them out from before you, and when you drive them out and dwell in their land, beware, lest you be attracted after them, after they are exterminated from before you; and lest you inquire about their gods, saying, "How did these nations serve their gods? And I will do likewise." You shall not do so to the Lord, your God; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates, they did to their gods, for also their sons and their daughters they would burn in fire to their gods.
DF: Hitting Kassam sites will not stop despite death of Palestinian kids
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 1, 2007
The IDF will not change its policy of striking at suspicious figures spotted next to Kassam launchers in the Gaza Strip despite the discovery over the weekend that three children killed in an IDF strike last week were not involved in terror activity, officers said Saturday.
The probe conducted by the Southern Command revealed that the three young cousins - Mahmoud Ghazal, 10, Sara Ghazal, 10, and Yehiya Ghazal, 12 - were playing near rocket launchers in northern Gaza targeted by the IDF and were not connected with terrorists. They were killed when troops spotted them as suspicious figures moving near the rocket launchers.
Despite the unfortunate outcome, officers said Saturday that the IDF did not plan to change its policy of striking at Kassam launchers and nearby suspicious figures.
The officers said that the IDF used stringent rules of engagement before opening fire to ensure that innocent bystanders were not hurt.
"We already do all we can to prevent harming innocent people," an officer said. "Palestinians need to know that it is dangerous to be near or play near Kassam rocket launchers."
The IDF expressed sorrow at the children's death, but said Palestinian extremists bore responsibility because they put rocket launchers in civilian areas.
The army said it has warned residents of Gaza to keep children away from the launchers.
The use of children in terror activity is not a new phenomenon in Gaza. Last week, a 15-year-old boy was caught on his way to perpetrate a suicide attack next to troops stationed there.
Two other Gaza children, aged 10 and 12, were killed two weeks ago after they were, according to the IDF, handling Kassam launchers.
Meanwhile Human Rights Watch on Saturday released a statement calling on the IDF and Palestinian terror groups to stop endangering children in the Gaza Strip.
"Rocket launchers constitute legitimate military objectives, and Palestinian armed groups endanger civilians when they place them near residential areas," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "But Israeli forces must take all feasible precautions when conducting attacks to avoid unnecessary loss of civilian life, especially of children."
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