Earlier this week, a devastating explosion rocked Gaza, destroying homes and wounding 36 people, including many children.
The explosion was caused by the accidental detonation of weapons stored in a home in a civilian neighborhood in Gaza.
Israel's military Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on Twitter. “ Homes have been turned into warehouses for weapons... and missiles for terrorist organizations, and those who pay the price in the end are innocent civilians”
This was not the first time weapons earmarked for Israeli civilians have killed their creators.
In 2005, a Palestinian pickup truck carrying rockets exploded during a Hamas military parade through the densely populated Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian officials at least 19 Palestinians were killed, and over 80 were injured. The casualties included 5 children. The initial explosion triggered secondary blasts in nearby vehicles that were also carrying rockets and ammunition.
Hamas and other extremist factions within Gaza have seldom showed any hesitation using their civilians as shields for their weapons, while targetting Israeli civilians. Its a double war crime that rarely makes the papers.
In a rare moment of candor, even Amnesty International has admitted that Palestinian rocket fire during the 2014 war in Gaza had killed more civilians in the Gaza Strip than in Israel. Rockets aimed at Israel had fallen short of their target, and killed at least 13 civilians, 11 of them children, in Gaza.
