NewsOmar al-MasharawiMatthias Behnkejihad al masharawi

Omar Al-Misharawi, Son Of BBC Arabic Worker Jihad 'Killed By Palestinian, Not Israeli Rocket' UN Report Suggests

UN Report Suggests Baby Son Of BBC Arabic Worker May Have Been Killed By Off-Course Palestinian Rocket
Sara C Nelson
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A UN report has suggested an 11-month-old baby believed to have been killed in an Israeli air strike actually died when his home was hit by an off-course Palestinian rocket.

The image of BBC Arabic picture editor Jihad Al-Misharawi cradling son Omar’s shrouded body shortly after the strike in November last year became widely interpreted as a symbol of Israeli aggression towards Palestinians.

Al-Misharawi's sister-in-law was also killed and his brother was seriously injured in the incident in Gaza.

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Jihad Misharawi weeps as he holds the body of his 11-month-old son Omar following an air strike

The strikes came just days after after Hamas's top military commander Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari was killed in Gaza.

A number of BBC staff tweeted condolences after hearing of the death of their colleague's son, which at the time was widely believed to have occurred during an Israeli air strike.

Yet a report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has since claimed the little boy was “killed by what appeared to be a Palestinian rocket that fell short of Israel.”

The 17-page report, which can be read in full here, does not named the Al-Masharawi family and refers to the incident in only a single sentence.

The Associated Press quotes Matthias Behnke, head of OHCHR office for the Palestinian territories, as confirming the report related to the incident and cautioning that he could not “unequivocally conclude” the death was caused by an errant Palestinian rocket, but that information gathered from eyewitnesses led them to report “it appeared to be attributable to a Palestinian rocket.”

As yet there has been no comment from the BBC or Hamas, and Al-Masharawi has said he cannot discuss the issue.

An Israeli military spokesman would not confirm or deny whether they hit Al-Masharawi’s house, although the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it still held Israel responsible for Omar’s death.

The report criticises both Israeli and Palestinian armed groups for failing “in many instances to respect international law.”

Captions by Reuters

Timeline: Israel And Hamas In Conflict
March 22, 2004(01 of19)
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After a wave of Hamas suicide bombings in Israeli cities, an Israeli missile kills Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of the Hamas movement.Caption: In this March 22, 2004, file photo, Palestinians gather around a pool of blood and the remains of the wheelchair of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, following an Israeli air strike that killed him, near his house in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File) (credit:AP)
April 17, 2004(02 of19)
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Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, the co-founder of Hamas and Yassin's successor, is killed by Israeli missile.Caption: Picture taken 09 May 2002 shows Hamas political leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi talking to the press in Gaza City. (MOHAMMED SABER/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Sept. 1, 2005(03 of19)
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Israeli forces complete a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, captured from Egypt in the 1967 Middle East war, abandoning settlements and leaving the densely populated coastal area under the control of the Palestinian Authority.Caption: Israeli troops guard an unfinished section of the border installation Israel is building November 23, 2005 along its boundary with the northern Gaza Strip. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Jan. 25, 2006(04 of19)
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Hamas wins majority of seats in Palestinian legislative election. Israel and United States cut off aid to Palestinians because Hamas refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel.Caption: A Palestinian man reads the newspaper with pictures showing the winners of the Palestinian elections outside his shop in Jerusalem's Old City, 27 January 2006. (GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
June 25, 2006(05 of19)
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Hamas militants launch raid into Israel from Gaza, killing two soldiers and capturing conscript Gilad Shalit.Caption: Recently-freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit attends a meeting with French ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot (not seen) at the French embassy in Tel Aviv on January 11, 2012. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)
June 28, 2006(06 of19)
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Israeli troops invade the Gaza Strip, but fail to find Shalit.Caption: Palestinians inspect the damaged houses around the building of the Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry office after an Israeli air strike, June 30, 2006 in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nov. 26, 2006(07 of19)
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Ceasefire in Gaza announced, ends five months of Israeli air strikes and incursions that fail to free Shalit.Caption: An Israeli soldier rests next to a tank at a military staging area near Kibbutz Mefalsim, in southern Israel on the border with the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Oded Blilty) (credit:AP)
June 14, 2007(08 of19)
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Hamas takes over Gaza in brief civil war with Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Rockets regularly fired into southern Israel.Caption: Palestinian Fatah movement supporters chant anti-Hamas slogans during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 13 November 2007. (ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
April 24, 2008(09 of19)
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Hamas leader offers Israel six-month truce in Gaza but says fate of Shalit separate issue. Talks fail to make progress but ceasefire eventually agreed. However, many rocket attacks on southern Israel recorded during truce period.Caption: Hamas political leader, Khaled Mashaal talks to reporters at a press conference in Damascus,Syria, on Monday April 21, 2008. (AP photo / Bassem Tellawi). (credit:AP )
Dec. 19, 2008(10 of19)
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Fragile six-month ceasefire expires as they fail to agree on terms to extend truce.Caption: Israeli soldiers escort blindfolded Palestinian women to the Kissufim Israeli army base,after they were detained during a military operation in the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Yehuda Lahiani) (credit:AP)
Dec. 27, 2008(11 of19)
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Israel launches 22-day military offensive in the Gaza Strip after Palestinians fire rockets at southern Israeli town of Sderot. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are killed.Caption: In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, smoke rises following explosions caused by Israeli military operations in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File) (credit:AP)
Jan. 18, 2009(12 of19)
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Israel and Hamas cease fire in Gaza.Caption: Palestinian security men stand guard on a street during the third day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on January 20, 2009 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
April 9, 2011(13 of19)
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The Israeli military kills top Hamas militant Tayser Abu Snima in a raid, saying he was "directly and physically involved" in Shalit's capture.Caption: Palestinians pray over the body of the commander of the Islamic Hamas militant Tayser Abu Snima, 29, at the treatment room of Al Najar hospital following an Israeli air strikes on Hamas militants group in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, April 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba) (credit:AP)
Oct. 11, 2011(14 of19)
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Israeli and Hamas officials say a deal has been reached to swap Shalit for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Swap takes place on October 18Captions: A supporter of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit waits for Shalit's parents at their home in Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (credit:AP)
March 12, 2012(15 of19)
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Four days of violence between Israel and Gazan militants leaves at least 25 Palestinians dead and 80 wounded. Eight people in Israel wounded. The exchanges began after two chiefs of a smaller faction were killed in an Israeli strike.Caption: Palestinian girl cries during the funeral of a 12 year old Ayoub Assalya in Jabaliya Refugee Camp, in Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) (credit:AP)
June 23, 2012(16 of19)
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Israel says Hamas and other groups fire more than 150 rockets at it in a week. Retaliatory airstrikes kill at least 2 Palestinians.Caption: A Palestinian security police officer inspects the damage following an Israeli air strike on the building in Gaza City, early Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (credit:AP)
Oct. 8, 2012(17 of19)
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Hamas and other groups fire more than 55 rockets and mortars at southern Israel. At least one militant killed in Israeli airstrike.Caption: Israeli citizens are seen through a car's windshield which was shattered when a rocket fired last night from the Gaza strip landed in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/ Tsafrir Abayov) (credit:AP)
Nov. 13, 2012(18 of19)
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Three Palestinian militants and at least four civilians die in new round of violence. More than 115 rockets fired into southern Israel. Israeli army says more than 760 rockets have hit Israel since the start of the year.Caption: A view of a destroyed house after a long-range Grad rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza Strip hit in the southern Israeli town of Netivot, Sunday Sept. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (credit:AP)
Nov. 14, 2012(19 of19)
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Israel kills Hamas's military chief of staff; launch widespread air offensive. Warn of possible ground attack.Caption: Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Edi Israel) (credit:AP)
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