Friday, December 31, 2010

PCHR weekly report 23/12 - 29/12/2010: 2 civilians killed, 4 injured

exracts from PCHR weekly report 23/12 - 29/12/2010:

IOF killed two Palestinians shepherd in the Gaza Strip. 

IOF continued to fire at Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip.  
4 Palestinian civilians were wounded. 


Thursday, 23 December 2010 

At approximately 06:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Mohammed 'Aayesh al-Hossoumi, 19, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left thigh, when he was nearly 300 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

At approximately 09:00, Israeli soldiers stationed at the northeastern border of the Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian farmers who were cropping vegetables near the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinani." As a result, Hatem Isma'il Shalha, 17, was wounded by shrapnel of bullets to the head, when he was nearly 200 meters away from the border.

At approximately 10:55, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the north of the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian shepherds who were grazing animals in the north of village. As a result, Salama Hazzaa' Musleh Abu Hashish, 19, was seriously wounded by a bullet to the abdomen.  They was transported on an animal cart to the main road, and was then evacuated in an ambulance to Kamal 'Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. He underwent an emergency surgery, but he was pronounced dead at approximately 17:30. 

At approximately 13:20, Israeli soldiers stationed at the northeastern border of the Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinani" used to stand. As a result, Mahmoud Saleh Karim, 17, from al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza, was wounded by a bullet to the left hand, when he was nearly 500 meters away from the border.

Saturday, 25 December 2010


At approximately 15:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers on the northwestern border of the Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishermen who were fishing near Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, Ahmed Mohammed Zayed, 25, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the right foot. 

Tuesday, 28 December 2010


In the afternoon, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Khan Yunis. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 15:45, Hassan Mohammed Qudaih, 19, and 4 of his relatives went to the border area in the east of Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis, where two members of the Palestinian were killed during armed clashes with IOF on Sunday, about 300 meters away from the border. Israeli soldiers positioned at the border fired at these civilians, so they fled towards Khuza'a village. The other four civilians were able to flee, while Qudaih was wounded by a bullet and fell onto ground. He crept towards the west and phoned his relatives and friends asking for help. However, Israeli soldiers continued to fire at the area, and no one was able to attend him. About half an hour later, Israeli soldiers fired a shell at the area where Hassan was lying. As a result, he was instantly killed. Medical crews were able to evacuate his body at approximately 17:15.


     
 Wednesday, 22 December 2010 


At approximately 10:45, Israeli soldiers positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya opened fire at Palestinian farmers in the area. The farmers were forced to flee from the area. No casualties were reported.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Gazan scrap collector faces death during Israeli incursion

28 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Mahmoud Mousa Mohammed Al Sirsik, age 19

This morning Mahmoud Mousa Mohammed Al Sirsik, aged 19, was going about his daily business, collecting stones with his horse cart in the border area, east of Gaza City, when Israeli army jeeps entered the area. Seeing the danger approaching, Mahmoud tried to run away, but found himself immobilized as the army trapped him in a rain of bullets to his left and right. One bullet hit a nearby object; a piece of shrapnel bounced back and pierced the young man’s nostril. The injured Mahmoud managed to hide for half-an-hour while the shooting from the jeeps continued and were even reinforced by a tank crossing into Gaza.
“I was sure they were going to arrest me. The tank kept moving in on me– it came as close as 20 meters. At that point I felt I had nothing to lose anymore, so I ran away as fast as I could. Bullets were still passing me by at both sides; it’s impossible to say how many they fired in total,” states an overwhelmed Mahmoud.
One of his relatives interrupts him sternly: “I heard it! It must have been close to a hundred! They wanted to kill him.”
The Al Sarsik family of 16 is dependent on Mahmoud and his brother to provide income by collecting rubble. Terrorized by today’s events, Mahmoud claims he will not take up work as a scrap collector ever again. He hopes to find another job, but it is Gaza’s scarce job opportunities that drive people into despair and force them to take up this kind of hazardous work.
Today’s attack exemplifies yet again Israel’s escalating assault on workers in the border area: since the beginning of November, approximately 40 people have been injured in the buffer zone: the no-go zone as declared by Israeli military that runs along the Gazan side of the border in a swathe 300 to 500 meters wide. However, according to the United Nations, this “high risk” zone stretches up to 1000-1500 meters. The total area amounts to 35% of Gaza’s arable land. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, more than 84 workers have been injured and ten have been killed by the Israeli military since January 2010.

Updated on December 30, 2010

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Israeli army opens fire at Gaza worker


GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot a Palestinian worker on Tuesday east of Gaza City, local medics said.
The 19-year-old was collecting cement aggregates near the border area when he was shot, and was transferred to hospital with moderate injuries, a medical official said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said forces opened fire at two men in the area, which, she reiterated, Israel considers a combat zone. She noted that soldiers "did not identify a hit."

Israel's military has shot over 100 Palestinians working close to the coastal enclave's border with Israel since March, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

Workers head to the border area and collect rubble to make cement, which is in short supply in the Strip under Israel's blockade.

Palestinian worker hit with IOF bullets
 
[ 28/12/2010 - 12:23 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian worker was injured while collecting gravel east of Gaza city at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) who routinely target those workers near the Strip border areas.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the medical services, said that the 19-year-old youth was injured with bullet shrapnel in his nose and ear on Tuesday morning.
He said that the young man was hospitalized, adding that the number of wounded workers as a result of IOF shooting thus rose to 109.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Israeli Military Kills Shepherd in Beit Lahya

24 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Yesterday morning Salama Abu Hashish, 20 years, was herding his sheep and goats in Beit Lahya, in northern Gaza, when the Israeli Occupation Forces shot him without any warning. The bullet hit his back and went straight through one of his kidneys. He had surgery and was in the intensive care unit at Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he died at 5.30 pm. The IOF has not only taken a life away from the Abu Hashish family; it widowed a young woman and orphaned a baby that was only born the previous evening. Salama Abu Hashish had just become a father, but has not even been able to name his first born. Three more workers were injured in northern Gaza by Israeli bullets yesterday.
Yesterday’s attacks come amidst an escalating Israeli assault on workers in the border area: in the past five weeks alone, 40 people have been injured in the buffer zone, an Israeli military-declared no-go zone that runs along the Gazan side of the border in a swathe 300 to 500 meters wide. However, according to the United Nations, the “high risk” zone stretches up to 1000-1500 meters. The total area amounts to 35% of Gaza’s arable land. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 84 workers have been injured and nine have been killed by the Israeli military since January 2010. Salama Abu Hashish is the tenth victim of Israel’s war on the border area in this year alone.
Riad Abu Hashish, the victim’s uncle, says that Salama regularly took his sheep and goats to the northern border area to graze. Yesterday, he was approximately 150 to 200 meters from the border when he was hit by an IOF sniper. As ambulances cannot reach the buffer zone without Israeli coordination, nearby scrap collectors carried Salama away on their donkey cart.
“This is all because of the occupation and the poverty it has brought to Gaza! He only risked going to the dangerous buffer zone, because there are no other possibilities for feeding his animals”, said Riad Abu Hashish in shock.
ISM Gaza calls for an immediate end of the shooting of innocent civilians, driven to such work by the illegal blockade and urges the international community to pressure Israel to end these attacks.

Updated on December 24, 2010

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Farmer injured in northern Gaza

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- A Palestinian farmer was shot and wounded Friday in the legs by Israeli army fire in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said.

The Israeli army confirmed opening fire, saying that its soldiers had targeted "several suspects" near the border with the Gaza Strip after warning shots.

Friday, December 24, 2010

IOF fire kills shepherd wound farmer in Gaza

[ 24/12/2010 - 07:50 PM ]
Funeral of Salama Abu Hashish


GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian farmer was wounded Friday morning by IOF fire in the northern Gaza Strip while a shepherd wounded by IOF fire on Thursday succumbed to his wounds at hospital, according to Palestinian medical sources.
At the same time the Israeli occupation navy boats fired at Palestinian fishermen opposite Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and Israeli occupation artillery fired at open areas east of Gaza city.
Spokesman for medical services in Gaza, Adham Abu Selmeyya, said that IOF troops opened fire on Friday morning towards a group of Palestinians to the north of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia wounding a farmer in his foot.
The victim was taken to Kamal Odwan hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Salama Abu Hashish, a shepherd who was wounded on Thursday morning by IOF fire, succumbed to his wounds on Thursday afternoon.
IOF troops fired on Thursday morning at a group of Palestinian shepherds in the near Beit Lahia wounding three of them.
Since the start of the month of December the IOF have killed 13 Palestinians and wounded 30 others.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Medics: 1 dead after shooting on Gaza border

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian shepherd died Thursday hours after Israeli troops shot him and three others along the border with Israel inside northern Gaza, medics said.

Salamah Abu Hashish, 22, sustained wounds to the back in the shooting, which occurred north of Beit Lahiya, Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya told Ma'an.

Abu Hashish was the 13th Palestinian to be killed and the 34th to be injured since November near the border, which Israel considers a combat zone but residents call home.

Two Palestinians were critically injured in Thursday's shooting, Abu Salmiya said. One of them, a 14-year-old boy, sustained wounds to the head while collecting stones, he added.

--------


Shepherd killed; 3 injured in Northern Gaza

Thursday December 23, 2010 18:22 by Alessandra Bajec - IMEMC & Agencies
The Israeli army fired at four Palestinian farmers and shepherds in the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing one and wounding three, local sources reported.
(photo from Press TV)
(photo from Press TV)

Troops opened fire on a number of Palestinians, leaving four of them wounded. After being brought to the hospital, 22-year old Salamah Abu Hashish succumbed to his wounds. He had been shot in the back by Israeli troops stationed at the border.

Another of the victims was a 14-year old boy who was critically injured when he was shot in the head while collecting rubble near where Abu Hashish was tending his sheep.

Abu Hashish is the 13th Palestinian to be killed in the border area since November, according to local medics.

Many Palestinians, including women and children, search through the debris at the sites of the former Israeli settlements in Gaza. The scavengers sell the materials they find, as a meager source of income in the midst of the Israel-imposed siege on the coastal enclave.

In the border area, declared by Israel to be a "restricted" zone, troops often shoot at the rubble collectors.

The all-out land, air and sea blockade has been depriving the Gazan population of food, fuel and other necessities since mid-June 2007.
A third person, aged 19, was moderately injured in his hand, medics said, and an 18-year-old was hurt near the Erez crossing in a separate shooting incident, Abu Salmiya said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that forces shot two Palestinians.

She added that the army fired warning shots before firing at the workers' lower bodies. The forces opened fire because the Palestinians refused to turn back, she said.

"This area is considered a combat zone used by terrorist organizations to execute attacks," the spokeswoman added. "For this reason, the IDF will not allow anyone to be present in it."

PCHR weekly report 16/12 - 22/12/2010: 2 workers, including 1 child, and 1 sheperd injured, airstrikes

extracts from PCHR weekly report 16/12 - 22/12/2010:

IOF continued to fire at Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip.
- Two Palestinian workers, including a child, and one shepherd were wounded.

Sunday, 19 December 2010


At approximately 09:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northern of the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip fired at a number of Palestinian shepherds in the north of the village. As a result, Ejmai'an Fareed Abu Hwaishel, 19, was wounded by a bullet to the right foot.

Monday, 20 December 2010



At approximately 09:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Rafeeq 'Aayesh al-Sous, 30, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 600 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

 Tuesday, 21 December 2010


At approximately 00:15, Israeli warplanes bombarded an empty tract of land belonging to Khaled Ibrahim Salman in Hamdoush area in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. As a result, a nearby bird farm belonging to Salah 'Abdul Hadi Taha was damaged and at least 1,800 chickens were killed.

Also at approximately 00:15, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a house belonging to Samar Marzouq Abu Mo'ammar in al-Shouka village, northeast of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. As a result, the 110-square-meter house, which was uninhabited, was completely destroyed. Additionally, a grocery was destroyed and two houses were damaged:

  1. A 24-square-meter grocery belonging to Hatezm Marzouq Abu Mo'ammar was destroyed;
  2. A 110-square-meter house belonging to Tawfiq Shihada Abu Mo'ammar, in which 10 individuals live, was damaged; and
  3. A 100-square-meter house belonging to Tawfiq Shihada Abu Mo'ammar, in which 11 individuals live, was damaged.
 Αt approximately 00:30, Israeli warplanes bombarded a space area in the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya, located nearly 600 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. No casualties were reported. 

At approximately 07:15, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Rami Hassan Sous, 17, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg, when he was nearly 400 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Wednesday, 22 December 2010


 
At approximately 12:25, Israeli soldiers positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian farmers who were working on their agricultural land, but no casualties were reported. 


Monday, December 20, 2010

Palestinian worker injured in IOF shooting

[ 20/12/2010 - 11:33 AM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian worker was injured with Israeli occupation forces' gunfire on Monday morning while collecting gravel in northern Gaza Strip, medical sources reported.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the coordinator of medical services in the Strip, said that the IOF troops opened machinegun fire at a number of Palestinian workers north of Beit Hanun town, wounding one of them.
He added that the 30-year-old laborer was hit in his foot, describing his condition as moderate.
The IOF soldiers killed two of those workers and injured dozens over the past couple of years.

Worker injured in north Gaza
 
Published today (updated) 20/12/2010 17:27
 
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – A Palestinian man was injured Monday after Israeli forces opened fire while he was collecting stones in the northern Gaza Strip, local medics said.

A medical official said the victim, in his 30s, was shot in his left foot. He was evacuated to the Kamal Udwan Hospital, medics said.

The soldiers were stationed north of Beit Hanoun, a city in Gaza's north and adjacent to the Israeli border.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told Ma'an that forces fired at the worker's lower body when he and a number of Palestinians approached a nearby barrier, which which Israel considers to be in a combat zone. Forces first fired warning shots in the air, she said, but the Palestinians failed to turn back.

The shooting brings the total to 103 in this area since March 2010, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

On Sunday, Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian shepherd in the same area.

Ijmei’an Abu Ihweishel, 19, was herding sheep when soldiers shot him in the leg, locals said. The young man was transferred to the Kamal Adwan Hospital for treatment. His wounds were described as moderate.

An Israeli military spokesman said the army was not aware of that incident.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Palestinian shepherd wounded in IOF shooting

[ 19/12/2010 - 06:41 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian man was injured by a gunshot fired by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stationed to the north of the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, medical sources reported.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman of medical services in Gaza, said that the IOF troops fired at a shepherd who was rearing his sheep at the outskirts of Beit Lahia town in northern Gaza.
He added that the shepherd was wounded in his foot and carried to hospital where his condition was described as moderate.

--------------

Palestinian teen reported injured in north Gaza
 
Published yesterday (updated) 19/12/2010 19:38
 
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian shepherd Sunday on the northern Gaza border, locals said.

Ijmei’an Abu Ihweishel, 19, was herding sheep when soldiers shot him in the leg, they said.

The young man was transferred to the Kamal Adwan Hospital for treatment, they added. His wounds were described as moderate.

An Israeli military spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Israel enforces a ban on entering the northern border area, which it considers a combat zone.

Friday, December 17, 2010

PCHR weekly report 9/12 - 15/12/2010: 2 children killed by IOF UXO, 12 workers 1 farmer injured by IOF fire

extracts from PCHR weekly report 9/12 - 15/12/2010:

Two Palestinian children were killed by the explosion of an object left by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

 IOF continued to fire at Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip.
- 12 Palestinian workers and one farmer were wounded.
  
Israeli warplanes attacked a number of civilian targets in the Gaza Strip. 
- A house and a water well were damaged in al-Mughraqa village in the central Gaza Strip.
- A paramilitary site was destroyed and two schools were heavily damaged in Gaza City.

Thursday, 09 December 2010

At approximately 02:50, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at Tunisia site of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) in al-Dabba area in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. The site was destroyed and a number of nearby schools were heavily damaged. No casualties were reported.

  At approximately 07:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, two workers were wounded:
  1. Sultan Sa'd Izma'il, 29, wounded by a bullet to the right leg; and
  2. Ahmed Sa'd Ghaben, 20, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh.
 Friday, 10 December 2010

 At approximately 07:55, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of the Bedouin village in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from Erez industrial zone. As a result, Hussam Tawfiq Abu Hashish, 19, was wounded by a bullet to the right thigh, when he was nearly 200 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. 

At approximately 08:20, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Rasmi Ibrahim Ghaben, 16, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. 

 At approximately 09:00, Israeli soldiers stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the southern Gaza Strip of Khan Yunis opened fire at Palestinian agricultural areas in Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis. As a result, Nidal Hassan al-Najjar, 16, was wounded by a bullet to the right foot, when he was nearly 800 meters away from the border. 

At approximately 09:00, Mo'men Nahidh Hilles, 16, and Muntasser 'Omar al-Batniji, 16, from al-Shuja'iya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, were killed. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, the two children were on a tract of land belonging to 'Omar Hamed al-Batniji, nearly 2,000 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Ayman al-Batniji, spokesman of the Palestinian police, stated to PCHR that the two children were killed when they played with a projectile of the remainders of IOF, which was covered by sand. The projectile exploded and killed the two children. 

At approximately 11:55, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting woods and scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Suhaib Sami Ma'rouf, 16, was wounded by a bullet to the leg, when he was nearly 200 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. 

Saturday, 11 December 2010


     
At approximately 07:15, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. No casualties were reported.  

At approximately 10:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting woods and scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Mohammed Sa'id al-Debes, 26, from Jabalya town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 250 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. 

At approximately 11:20, Israeli soldiers positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun opened fire at Palestinian farmers who were on their lands. The framers fled from the area and no casualties were reported.

Sunday, 12 December 2010


  

At approximately 08:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting woods and scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, 'Aziz 'Aayesh al-Sous, 34, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left thigh, when he was nearly 200 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Tuesday, 14 December 2010 



At approximately 08:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting woods and scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Mohammed Motei' Shkhaidem, 23, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the feet and shrapnel to the left hand, when he was nearly 90 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

 At approximately 10:50, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting woods and scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Nasser Jom'a Abu Warda, 29, from Jabalya town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly150 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Two hours later, Israeli soldiers fired at workers in the same area again. As a result, Fadi Fareed Abu Hwaished, 18, from the Bedouin Village, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 100 meters away from the border. 

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 


At approximately 09:50, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers to the north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting woods and scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Waleed Nasser Ma'rouf, 21, from Beit Lahia town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly150 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. 



Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Two Palestinians, including child, wounded in IOF shooting

[ 15/12/2010 - 05:12 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian civilians were wounded in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire at them while collecting gravel from destroyed buildings.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman of the higher committee for ambulance and emergency, told the PIC that a 16-year-old child and a young man were wounded in their feet.
The IOF gunfire injured 102 workers since March 2010 in clear violation of the simplest human rights.
In the meantime, IOF warplanes launched mock raids on Gaza city this afternoon during which they broke the sound barrier.
Citizens feared real raids as the warplanes flew over all areas of the Strip.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

2 shot near Gaza border


GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Medics in the Gaza Strip said crews transported two workers injured by Israeli firing north of Beit Lahiya to hospital on Tuesday, both with bullet wounds in their lower legs.

The report said the men were injured while collecting cement particles from buildings in the area destroyed during Operation Cast Lead, Israel's last war on Gaza. UN estimates said some 6,000 homes were destroyed during the onslaught.

Both men were moderately injured, medics said, and were transferred to the Kamal Udwan Hospital for treatment.

An Israeli military spokesman said that the men were shot in two separate incidents just north and south of the border area around Beit Lahiya, one approximately an hour and a half after the other.

In both cases, the spokesman said, men were identified approaching the border area, were told to leave, troops fired shots into the air and when the men "failed to leave the area" shorts were fired at the lower parts of their bodies. He said a hit was identified in both cases.

Two Palestinian workers wounded in IOF shooting
[ 14/12/2010 - 05:13 PM ]


BEIT LAHIA, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian citizens were wounded in northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened machinegun fire at them.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman of medical services in the Strip, told the PIC that the IOF soldiers' fire moderately wounded the two civilians, who were collecting gravel north of Beit Lahia town.

Medics: 2 injured in Israeli shelling north of Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Two Palestinians were injured Monday by Israeli shelling west of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said.

Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the injured were transferred to the Kamal Odwan Hospital with moderate injuries.

An Israeli military spokesman said he would look into the report.

Two Palestinians wounded in IOF artillery shelling


[ 13/12/2010 - 05:32 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian citizens were wounded west of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza Strip, on Monday afternoon after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired tank shells at the area, medical sources said.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the media coordinator of the medical services in the Strip, said that the two citizens were hit with shrapnel of those shells, describing their condition as "moderate".
He said in another statement that the bodies of two Palestinians, who were killed in a clash with the IOF troops on Saturday, were finally recovered from central Gaza Strip on Monday.
Abu Salmiya noted that the IOF refused to allow medical crews to evacuate the bodies since Saturday night.

------------

NOTE: Accoding to the PCHR weekly report, the 2 injured Palestinians are fighters. 


At approximately 13:50, IOF positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia fired a flechette shell at a number of activists of the 'Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas), who were in a mission near al-Wahah tourist resort to the northwest of Beit Lahia town. As a result, two activists were wounded by shrapnel. The flechette shell is an illegal anti-personnel weapon that is generally fired from a tank. The shell explodes in the air and releases thousands of metal darts 37.5 mm in length, which disperse in a conical arch three hundred meters long and about ninety meters wide. Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, IOF has used flechettes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. A number of Palestinians were killed by such shells. 

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Palestinian worker injured in IOF gunfire

[ 12/12/2010 - 06:39 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian worker was shot and wounded by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, medical sources reported.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the coordinator of medical services, said that the IOF troops fired at a group of workers collecting gravel west of Beit Lahia town, north of Gaza, wounding one of them.
He said that the 34-year-old worker was hit with a bullet in his left thigh and that he was hospitalized in moderate condition.
IOF solders systematically target those workers and killed two of them over the past two years and wounded tens others.

Israel’s crackdown on the border area injures four more


11 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza


Nidal Hasan El Najar, age 16

The Israeli Offensive Forces are cracking down on people working in the buffer zone. In the past two weeks 20 people have been shot, four of whom were children. Today the atrocities continued: this morning three people were injured in Beit Lahiya; in Khuza’a, near Khan Younis, the army shot a child of 16. Early this morning Nidal Hasan El Najar, age 16, set out to work with his two brothers and grandmother in the family’s bean field, which is in the border area. At approximately 7 am, a military jeep approached and quickly pulled over for a soldier to jump out and shoot Nidal in the upper leg. The jeep then just took off again. No warning shots were fired.
The boy was taken to Europa hospital in Khan Younis where he underwent surgery for a commuted bone fracture. At the time ISM volunteers visited him, Nidal was regaining consciousness from surgery while his family stood by with worry. One of his uncles exclaimed in disbelief: “Every day, every day! Every day things like this happen.”
The family owns 9 dunams, or 9 square km, of land in Khuza’a, stretching close to the south east border of the Strip. The family lives off the farming land they have there and previously had no problems with the Israeli army. This attack comes unexpected, but seems to be part of Israel’s crackdown on any presence in the border area. Israel has declared 300 meters from the fence to be a no-go-zone and does not hesitate to fire at anyone in or nearing this zone.

Updated on December 12, 2010

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Palestinian worker wounded in IOF shooting

[ 11/12/2010 - 02:09 PM ]


GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian worker was shot in his foot on Saturday when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stationed north of the Gaza Strip fired at him, medical sources said.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the coordinator of medical services in the Strip, told the PIC that the worker was hit with a bullet in his left foot while collecting gravel in Beit Lahia town, north of the Strip.
Four Palestinian workers were injured on Friday in a similar shooting incident displaying a clear IOF targeting of those workers.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Medic: Soldiers fire at teen near Gaza border

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers fired at a Palestinian teenager collecting rubble near Gaza's border on Friday afternoon, medics said.

Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmia said the 16-year-old was shot north of Beit Lahiya and transferred to the Dar Ash-Shifa hospital in a stable condition.

Abu Salmia said the incident brings the number of workers injured at the border to 96 since March.

Palestinian workers collect gravel and rubble from the remains of Israeli settlements near the border to sell for recycling.

Israel declared a "buffer zone" along the border inside the Strip, which officially extends 300 meters into the coastal enclave. Its military considers it a "combat zone" and fires at Palestinians who enter the area.

A UN study in August found that in practice, Palestinians have been prevented from accessing land up to 1,500 inside the border.

Medics: 2 teens killed by old Israeli shell

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Two Palestinian teenagers was killed when an artillery shell left behind by Israeli forces exploded in Gaza Friday morning, medics said.

Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said 16-year-old Victor Batniji was dead when he arrived at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital. Moumin Helles, also 16, died shortly after arriving at the hospital, after being wounded in the same incident in the Shujaiyya area.

An Israeli military spokesman said the army was aware of an explosion in the area but "nothing IDF [Israel Defense Forces] related."

Three people were also injured by Israeli fire in the "buffer zone" along the border with Israel.

Abu Salmiya said two men in their 20s arrived at Kamal Udwan hospital in Beit Lahiya after being shot in the legs by Israeli forces after venturing into the northern "buffer zone" near the Israeli border to collect firewood.

In another shooting, local sources said a 16-year-old boy was also shot in the leg by Israeli soldiers while working on his family's farm in the village of Khuza'a, near Khan Younis. He was taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, according to Abu Salmiya.

The Israeli spokesman confirmed that soldiers shot three people, two in Beit Lahiya, in the north, and one near Khan Younis in the south. In both cases, he said, soldiers spotted Palestinians approaching the border, then fired warning shots before shooting at their lower bodies.

Earlier Israeli warships fired on Israeli fishing boats off the coast of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis, according to sources in Gaza. No one was reported injured.

Separately, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, Al-Quds Brigades, said it fired several mortars at Israeli special forces near the Kissufim military installation.

Two Children Killed In Gaza, Several Palestinians Wounded In israeli Attacks

Friday December 10, 2010 11:50 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies
Medical sources in the Gaza Strip that the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning arrived at two after a wounded resident died of his wounds
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The two were killed after an explosive left by the Israeli army detonated near them. The sources added that Mo’men Hallas, 16, dies of his wounds at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, shortly after suffering serious injuries.

The first child, Montaser al-Batteekhy, 16, was immediately killed when the explosive went off.

Several Palestinians were wounded in a number of Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning.

Updated From;

Child Killed As Explosive Left By The Army Detonates Near Him
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:50:34

Palestinian medical sources reported Friday morning that a Palestinian child was killed in al-Shujaeyya, east of Gaza City, and another resident was seriously injured, when an explosive, left by the army during an earlier invasion, detonated near them east of Gaza City, the Arabs48 News reported.

Adham Abu Salmiyya, spokesperson of the Emergency Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza in Gaza, reported that the body of Montaser al-Batteekhy, 16, was moved to Dar al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Abu Salmiyya added that the wounded resident was moved to the Intensive Care Unit due to the seriousness of his condition.

Also on Friday, three Palestinians were wounded by army fire in northern and southern Gaza.

Two of them were wounded while collecting wood north of Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, a 16-year-old child, from Khuza’a in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, was shot and wounded while working in his family’s land near the border.

Israeli troops frequently attack farmers and laborers who work in Palestinian lands located near the border fence.

Soldiers do not allow the Palestinians to approach the border fence under claims of preventing infiltrations into Israel or into nearby military camps.

IOF Injures Child East of Khan Younis District

10-12-2010

At approximately 9am on Friday 10 December 2010, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire at Palestinian agricultural land east of Khuza'a town, in the east of Khan Younis district. As a result, Nedal Hassan Mohammed An-Najjar, 16, was injured in the right leg. An-Najjar was irrigating olive trees in his father's land, about 800 meters from the separation fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. He was admitted to the Gaza European Hospital where his injury was described as moderate

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Israeli Aircrafts Attacks Qassam Training Site; Two Schools Damaged

9-12-2010

At approximately 2:50am on Thursday 9 December 2010, Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a training site for the Azadin Al-Qasam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas movement. The training site is located east of Az-Zaytoun neighborhood east of Gaza city. The Tunis High School for boys and Bisan Primary School for girls, which are close to the site, were damaged from the blast. The two schools host about 1,380 students.

IOF Shoot Palestinian Civilian Collecting Scrap in North Gaza District

9-12-2010

At approximately 7:30am on Thursday 9 December 2010, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire at a group of Palestinian civilians as they were collecting scrap and rubble from the destroyed structures near the border fence between Gaza and Israel. The group was few meters from the border fence near the Burat Abu Samra area north of Beit Lahiya, in the North Gaza district when IOF fired at them. As a result, two brother, Sultan and Ahmed Sa'ad Ismail Ghabin (29 and 20 respectively), who are residents of Beit Lahiya, were injured in their right legs. Medical sources at Kamal Odwan Hospital described Sultan's injury as moderate. Ahmed's injury was described as critical. The bullet caused fracture to Ahmed's leg.

PCHR weekly report 2/12 - 8/12/2010: 4 workers including a child injured, 4 incursions, airstrike destroys farms kills animals

exrtracts from PCHR weekly report 2/12 - 8/12/2010:


IOF continued to fire at Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip. 
- 4 Palestinian workers, including a child, were wounded.


Israeli warplanes bombarded civilian targets in the Gaza Strip. - A bird farm was destroyed and another one was damaged in Khan Yunis.


In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 4 limited incursions into Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip, during which they leveled areas of Palestinian land, which they had already razed.   


Thursday, 02 December 2010


At approximately 03:45, IOF moved nearly 200 meters into 'Izbat 'Abed Rabbu area in the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. They leveled areas of Palestinian land, which they had already razed. They withdrew from the area a few hours later, and no casualties were reported.


At approximately 14:00, IOF moved nearly 250 meters into the same area, opening fire. They withdrew from the area approximately 45 minutes later, and no casualties were reported.



Friday, 03 December 2010


At approximately 10:10, Israeli soldiers positioned on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia town opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site on which the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, 'Alaa' Nafez Barakat, 21, from al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, was wouned by shrapnel to the feet, when he was nearly 400 meters away from the border. 


Saturday, 04 December 2010 


At approximately 09:00, Israeli soldiers positioned on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia town opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site on which the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, two workers, including a child, were wounded when they were nearly 550 meters away from the border:


  1. Mohammed 'Ata al-Hossoumi, 22, wounded by a bullet to the left leg; and
  2. Bilal Sha'ban al-Hossoumi, 17, wounded by a bullet to the left leg. 
 At approximately 10:30, Israeli soldiers positioned on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia town opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site on which the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Marwan Mahmoud Ma'rouf, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the right foot, when he was nearly 45 meters away from the border. 


Monday, 06 December 2010


At approximately 07:00, IOF moved nearly 300 meters into the east of Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis. They leveled areas of Palestinian land and opened fire indiscriminately. No casualties were reported.


Tuesday, 07 December 2010 


At approximately 06:30, IOF moved nearly 400 meters into the east of al-Boreij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. They leveled areas of Palestinian land and opened fire. They withdrew from the area at approximately 13:30.


Wednesday, 08 December 2010 


At approximately 01:05, Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a 35-square-meter, tin-roofed bird farm belonging to 'Abdul Hakim al-Majaida in Gizan Abu Rashwan area in the southwest of Khan Yunis. The farm was destroyed and a nearby farm belonging to Mohammed al-Bayouk was damaged. Dozens of birds were killed. 

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

IOF Fire Two Flechette Shells at a House in Gaza City

8-12-2010

At approximately 11:40am on Wednesday 8 December 2010, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired two artillery shells at residential houses east of the Al Sheja'ia neighborhood east of Gaza City. One of the shells fell in an open area west of Karni crossing. The second shell fell on a house owned by Mas'oud Abdel Aziz Sha'ban As-Sirsawi, 47. The house is about 280 square meters, two stories, and is located at the Al Mansoura street west of Karni crossing east of the Al Sheja'ia neighborhood east of Gaza City. The shell that hit the house did not explode and hit three walls of the second floor. The police arrived to the scene of the attack. According to the police, the unexploded shell was a flechette. According to Al Mezan's field information, the house hosts 21 persons; 13 of them are children. Flechette bombs killed three Palestinian civilians in a small field close to the border with Israel in Beit Hanoun on 14 September 2010. This suggests that flechette bombs are posing great threats to civilians life in areas close to the border.

Israeli Aircrafts Attack Livestock Farm in Khan Younis

8-12-2010

At approximately 1am on Wednesday 8 December 2010, Israeli aircrafts attacked a livestock farm in the Rashwan Gezan area in Khan Younis. The tin-roofed farm is about 350 square meters and belongs to Abdel Kreem Ali Al Majaida, 49. The Farm was completely destroyed and around 2000 chicks were killed as a result of the attack. An adjacent livestock farm, owned by Mohammed Sa'eed Al Bayouk, 36, was also partially destroyed in this attack.

Israeli Aircrafts Attack on the Gaza-Egypt Border

8-12-2010

At approximately 1:15am on Wednesday 8 December 2010, Israeli aircrafts fired a missile at the Gaza Egypt border in the Al Shoka village east of Rafah town. No casualties or injuries were reported.  

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Witnesses say limited Israeli incursion in central Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Several Israeli military vehicles reportedly entered the Gaza Strip east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp on Tuesday morning, firing light ammunition into the area, witnesses said.

An Israeli military spokesman said no military activity was reported in the area during the morning, but said forces were aware that a projectile had been launched from the Strip overnight.

The reported site of the limited incursion was the same as a report from the militant group affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committees, which said fighters launched mortars at an invading force the night before.

------------
Al Mezan

7-12-2010



Limited IOF Incursion east of Al Bureij Refugee Camp


At approximately 6:30am on Tuesday 7 December 2010, three Israeli tanks accompanied by three Israeli armored bulldozers moved under fire about 400 meters inside the east parts of the Al Bureij refugee camp. Bulldozers leveled a huge pile of sand that was in the area. At approximately 1:30pm on the same day, the IOF withdrew from the area. 

Shootings in Gaza ‘buffer zone’ continue

4 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza
On Saturday, the 4th of December 2010, three people were shot and injured at the northern border near to Bait Lahya. All of them sustained multiple fractures that required surgery, and two of them were hit with ‘dum-dum’ bullets, which explode on impact.
The three of them were civilians who have no other way to survive than by collecting scrap at the border.
Belal Elhsomi is 17 years old, but looks much younger. The sniper who shot him may have thought he was shooting a 14 year old boy. When we visited him, he had great difficulty speaking because he had just come out of surgery and had 6 irons sticks protruding from his leg for fixing the broken bone.
Usually Belal collects scrap, but today he was collecting wood 500 – 600 meters from the border in an area near to Beit Lahya. A dum-dum projectile, which exploded on impact, entered his right lower leg, smashing the bones inside.
“Israeli special forces entered in the area and hid there, I saw it”, witness Ata Elshomi explains to us. After Belal was shot, his friends took him by horse cart to a place where the ambulance could come, and from there he was brought to the hospital. According to Ata, after the shooting, all the 300 people who had been working in the area went away.
Belal’s father explained to us: “I am worried for my son, but there is so much unemployment, my son has to work.” Belal’s 26-year-old brother was injured 5 months ago in the same area, at the same distance from the border, so Belal was forced to take his place. The father has problems with his back and cannot work, so the work of this son is the only source of income for their 15 member family.
According to the doctor, Belal will need five months to recover before he will be able to walk again.
Mohammed Ata Elhosomi is married, has two sons, and shares his home with seven members of his family. Only two weeks ago he began collecting scrap. But on Saturday, at 9:30 in the morning, he was shot at in his leg with no warning shot by an M16, while working on his own in an area with about 300 people doing the same work.
He used to be a farm hand, but can no longer find such work in the sector because farming has decreased in Gaza. Since Mohammed was forced to give up his farming job, the only thing he can do is go to the border and collect scrap.
According to the OCHA report, about 35% of the cultivable land in Gaza lies in the ‘buffer zone’, the patch of land stretching up to 500 meters into Gaza which is a high risk area: anyone entering from 1000 – 1500 meters from the border is under a high risk of being shot at by Israeli soldiers. There are frequent incursions in the area, during which the Israeli army destroys fields so that farmers can no longer work on them.
“I don’t care if I will get injured; I just care about my family. I have to bring them food and for this I do whatever I can,” Mohammed stated.
The doctor showed us the x-ray on which we saw the fibula broken into many little pieces and explained to us that he is going into surgery because he “needs an internal fixing”.
When we entered the room where Marwan Mahmoud Murouf was lying, he was moving moving his head without opening his eyes, moaning, and clearly suffering. He had just come out of surgery and was not able to communicate. He had been hit in the higher part of his right leg. According to the doctor, it will take four months before Marwan will be able to attempt walking again, and he must undergo surgery because he needs internal fixes.
The father of his wife told us that Marwan is 26 years old, and has four children. He is the only one working in the family, and it was his first day of work as a scrap collector. Before this job, he worked in the tunnels.
Marwan’s father-in-law explained: “I used to work in Israel. The sons have to go to school and there is no work here. We go into the buffer zone as scrap collectors because there is no alternative. What else can we do?”
According to Ma’an news, another man was injured today while standing in front of his house, in an area in the east of Deir ElBalah, when Israeli forces opened fire on him. Another two workers were shot yesterday, and the day before. There has obviously been a sharp increase in causalities within and close to the buffer zone this month. The total number of civilians shot since March is 90, with 17 in the last week alone, and four today.
The siege is not only blocking the admission of building materials: in the last period the amount of incoming wheat has decreased alarmingly, and the average number of tons of animal fodder permitted from Israel into the coastal enclave per week has dropped from 16,000 tons to 2,000 in the last two periods, according with Ma’an.
It is brutal that Israel won’t leave any alternative to the people of Gaza than to work at the border, but will then shoot at them knowing they are civilians, and usually, visibly young.

Updated on December 7, 2010

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Four more workers shot in Gaza buffer zone: an ordinary day in Gaza

5 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

On Tuesday, the 30th of November 2010, four different individuals were wounded by Israeli gunshots while trying to make their living in the only way they could given the desperation in Gaza’s current economy.
Ismael Sa’aed Qapeen, 31 years old

Ismael Sa’aed Qapeen, 31 years old, was doing his daily work collecting stones when he was shot in the foot, causing him to lose three toes. He was in the “buffer zone,” the area spreading up to 500 meters into Gaza where people are at higher risk of being shot at by the Israeli military. He collects stones there, which later are crushed to cement. This is the only way he has to live, with jobs so scarce in the disastrous economic situation of Gaza. “I was about 200m from the fence when I was shot at, without any being given any warning shot. In the beginning I didn’t feel anything, but after a few seconds I started to feel something in my foot. Then I knew that I had been shot. I fell unconscious,” he tells. His friends carried him on a horse cart to Bait Lahya, where an ambulance picked him up and brought him to Kamal Odwan hospital. This was not his first time getting shot, but the third time. The first time was during an Israeli incursion in 2004, when he was shot near his right knee. The second time was two years ago in his hand. This time has been the hardest as the doctors have had to remove three of his toes.
He isn’t the only one in his family who has been shot while working for his livelihood. Two of his brothers have been injured before, too. The first one, Soltan, was 25 when he was shot at his head: by luck, it wasn’t serious. His other brother Mahmoud was shot during an Israeli incursion in 2004 when he was 18 years old, and injured in both of his legs.

Bayan Farouk Ahmad Tambor, 26 years old

Ismael also wasn’t the only person shot on Tuesday. Bayan Farouk Ahmad Tambor, 26 years old, works in trading potatoes. He was was on his way to the field from where he buys potatoes, unaware of an Israeli incursion in the area. At 8am, when Bayan was 600 meters from the fence, without giving any warning shot Israeli soldiers fired two bullets at him: one missed his leg, but the other smashed his shinbone. People from the area rescued him and took him to the hospital, where he received surgery. Other members of his family have also been shot by Israeli soldiers. Two of his brothers have been injured by bullets. Adham was 21, working as a farmer harvesting potatoes, when he was shot in the knee 700 meters from the fence. His other brother, Kaled, was shot in his chest two years ago, in the same area. The wound was so serious it is miraculous he was able to survive.
The third person shot on Tuesday was Ameen Akram Abo Saweash, 22 years old. He and two of his brothers are the only men who have work to support their 14 member family. Ameen and his brothers, Emad, 14 years old, and Moamen, 13 years old work together as scrap collectors. They were 500 m away from the fence when they were shot at on Tuesday. During our interview with them, Ameen himself was not yet able to speak because of the operation he had to undergo. A friend said, “I was with him, we always work together in that area. I was only a few meters away from him when he was shot at without any warning shot. They shot him in his thigh with a dum-dum bullet. The doctors said that it’s going to take him four to six months to recover from this injury until he will be able to start walking again.”

Ameen Akram Abo Saweash, 22 years old

“Isn’t that a crime?” his father interrupts. “With a dum-dum bullet!” It is a crime according to the Hague Convention of 1999, Declaration III, which prohibits the use of expanding bullets, called “dum-dum” bullets, in international warfare. The fourth person injured on Tuesday was Gasan Abo Ryala, 21 years old. He was transmitted to Kamal Odwan hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound in the leg, but fortunately he was able to leave the hospital soon after.
Tuesday wasn’t an exceptional day. This is an ordinary excerpt from the life of Gaza’s workers in the buffer zone: routine violations of human rights, and brutal crimes committed against Gazan civilians. Ismael, Bayan, Ameen and Gassan will be commemorated only as statistics in the bloody record of the Israeli occupation. But one of them will go on living without three toes, one with a smashed shinbone, and one will go without work for half a year until he can walk again.
“What we will do tomorrow?” one of the friends and fellow scrap collectors at Ameen’s bed laughs bitterly. “We will go back to work, of course. There is no work in this country, as you can see. There is no other option. It’s the only job that is available. If the situation changed, and I found another job, I would do that, of course. I know well how risky this job is, but right now, there is just no other option. So I will go back to work as usual tomorrow”.

Updated on December 6, 2010