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GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF), stationed on the Gaza border, shot a Palestinian youth in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The spokesman for the Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra told PIC's correspondent that the young man was shot in the foot and is in a moderate condition, noting that the medical staff transferred him to Beit Hanoun Hospital to receive treatment. The IOF, stationed along the Gaza border, has been almost daily targeting the citizens and their agricultural lands in an ongoing violation of the truce signed under the auspices of Egypt. ----
Israeli forces shoot, injure man on Gaza border
Published yesterday (updated) 26/07/2013 12:12
 The victim was shot in his foot by Israeli soldiers in a watchtower near Beit Hanoun, said ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra. The Israeli military said a number of Palestinians had damaged the fence between Israel and Gaza. Soldiers requested them to retreat and the group continued to damage the fence, so soldiers fired warning shots in the air, an Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an. After the Palestinians refused to comply, the soldiers fired at their legs "to prevent the incident from escalating." In a separate statement, Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said the fence was "crucial to the safety of nearby Israeli communities." "Infiltrators are often apprehended along the fence by security forces preventing potential threats. The IDF maintains the fight to act in self defense and prevent future infiltrations to the area surrounding the Gaza Strip," Lerner said. ------------------------------ Awad, 19, wounded by Israeli fire while gathering firewood
31st July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
On
Thursday afternoon, July 25, 2013, a 19 year old, Rafat Awad Abdel Aty
was injured while working in an area called “Jamarik” near Beit Hanoun
in the northern Gaza Strip.
Awad Abdel Aty (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
Awad,
who was admitted to the Kamal Odwan hospital, told us that he was
collecting firewood to be sold at about 500 meters from the separation
barrier with Israel.
“At about 14:00 I suddenly heard a shot,” said Awad.
A
bullet went through Awad’s right leg, and several fragments of bullet
injured his lower limb and his chest. The bullet that entered and exited
from the leg, then exploded from the impact on the ground, causing more
injuries from the shrapnel that flew back up.
“Some
people tried to reach me but the soldiers shouted at them to go back,”
said Awad, who was finally transported by ambulance to Beit Hanoun
hospital and later transferred to the Kamal Odwan hospital.
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
A
doctor explained to us that Awad needs bandaging daily, although
fortunately the bullet did not cause fracture. Some fragments have been
removed, while others remain embedded in his body.
In the last two weeks two civilians were wounded in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.
These
workers are “invisible” in the eyes of the media, often kids who have
not reached the age of maturity, usually on donkey carts to reach the
lands along the border to pick up metal, plastic, copper, wood and other
materials they could. The limited amount of materials caused by the
siege, makes it necessary for companies to recycle and reuse previously
constructed materials. Usually the families of these young people are
very poor, or what they earn is not enough to provide for themselves.
Often, they have no other way to survive.
Awad can earn a maximum of around 25 shekels a day.
His
father Rafat told us that he had received a call from a friend when
Awad was injured. “I was very worried, I thought I was going crazy,
because often when someone calls to say that your son was injured they
are covering for the fact he is dead,” said Rafat.
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
Rafat
did not even have the money to pay for a taxi to get to the hospital.
Some neighbours offered to take him in their car to get to his son.
Rafat
told us that he previously worked as a fisherman. “I stopped working as
a fisherman because there is not enough fish in the sea,”. He explained
the difficulties facing the fishermen of Gaza as a result of the 6-mile
limit imposed by the Israeli authorities and also the recent lack of
fuel in Gaza. This means Rafat does not work. The only person in the
family who works is his son Awad, who is now hospitalized.
Their
family, originally from the village of Majdal (Palestine, 1948) is
composed of 11 people, including 5 sons (Awad, 19, Mohammed, 7 years
old, Ahmed, 14, Saqer, 8 years old, Yousef, 3 years ) and 4 daughters
(monaz, 21, Soha, 13, Nesma, 4 years, Ghazal, 1 year). They live thanks
to coupons issued by UNRWA or donations from NGOs.
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
“I
don’t always know from where I can provide an Iftar (the meal which
breaks the fast during Ramadan) to my family, now my son is injured,”
said Rafat.
The future is uncertain for the family of Rafat, who can not afford to pay the university fee for his children.
Rafat
would like the international community to put an end to the siege on
the Gaza Strip and to stop denying his people the chance to live as
“human beings.”
Since the beginning of
the ceasefire in the month of November 2012, Israeli forces have killed
four Palestinian civilians and injured at least 100 people, including
24 children, in areas along the border. Yet, according to those
agreements, Israeli forces should cease all aerial attacks by land and
by sea.
The number of casualties is
likely to rise soon in the lands along the border, when the planting
season begins and many farmers will work need to work on their lands,
lands that are these families’ only source of livelihood.
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Friday, July 26, 2013
IOF shoots Palestinian youth in northern Gaza
