Testimony from eyewitnesses, friends, neighbours and human rights experts about the incident tell the story of how a woman carrying a baby and white flag was shot in broad daylight by an Israeli soldier.
Nasser al Najar, Rawhiyya’s husband, still has the bloodstained white flag he says his wife was carrying when she was killed.
In 1949, the newly formed state of Israel, many of whose citizens had been victims of Nazi war crimes, signed the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war.
Among the conditions of the convention Article three states: “Persons taking no active part in the hostilities … shall in all circumstances be treated humanely.”
Article 32 states: “Civilian hospitals organised to give care to the wounded and sick … may in no circumstances be the object of attack.”
But during Israel’s recent war on Gaza there is evidence to suggest that these conditions were frequently ignored and that the Israeli military disregarded the laws of war.
Additional reportage on the horrific targetted killing of civilians by Israeli soldiers is at Al Jazeera.