List of Palestinians killed or injured by IOF in Gaza Strip since the November 21, 2012 ceasefire - UPDATE 1-1-2014

Hala Ahmed Abu Sbaikha

Since November 22, 2012, 13 Palestinians, including a 3-year-old girl, have been killed and at least 141 Palestinians, including 29 children, have been wounded by IOF fire in Gaza Strip. One of the above mentioned Palestinians has been wounded twice, in 2 different incidents.

Eight of the martyrs were civilians and 4 were fighters. One of the martyrs, was accused to be a Palestinian militant, but without his status being clear, at the exact moment when he was extrajudicially executed.

Seven of the wounded are fishermen who were shot in the sea, while the others are mostly protesters, workers and farmers shot in the areas close to the fence of the Green Line. Only one of the wounded is cited as a fighter. Also, 2 Palestinians have been injured by tear gas canister shot with weapon. Additionally, another 8 Palestinians (four of them fishermen), including one child, were injured not directly by the Israeli gunfire but because of Israeli shooting attacks or airstrikes.

The data are from PCHR weekly reports, unless otherwise noted. Additional links to the relevant posts of this blog, from other sources, are also provided.

This is not a complete list of Israeli violations of the ceasefire, as it contains only the incidents which resulted in injuries or deaths. 

Martyrs

• Anwar Abdul Hadi Msallam Qdeih, 20, was wounded in the head and died directly, in the east of Abassan and Khuza'a, east of Khan Yunis, on Friday 23 November.

• Mahmoud Ali Jarghoun, 20, was wounded by a bullet to the pelvis, in al-Shouka village, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday, 30 November 2012.Medical efforts to save his life failed and he was pronounced dead in the early morning on Saturday, 01 December 2012.
• Anwar Al Malouk, 19, wounded by gunshot to the abdomen, east of Jabalya, on Friday 11 January 2013, while 40 meters from the fence. Died while evacuated to the hospital. 
• Mustafa Abu Jarad, 20, shot in the forehead by sniper's fire, nearly 1,200 meters away from the border, north of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday 14 January 2013, while farming. Died in hospital.  
• Haitham Ziyad Ibrahim al-Meshal, 26, extrajudicially killed, when an Israeli warplane launched a missile, while he was riding a motorbike near Bader military site, in the northwest of Gaza, on Tuesday, 30 April 2013. Al-Meshal was affiliated to the Jihadist Salafist Group and a security officer in Shifa hospital in Gaza City. 
• Hussein Abdul Hadi AwadAllah (al-Nouri) 34, was killed by Israeli gunfire, while he attempted to cross the border fence, northeast of al-Bureij refugee camp, on Saturday 10 August 2013.
• Hweishel Ismail Hweishel Hanajra, 35, was killed having hit by several bullets in the back and one bullet in the back of the head, about 400 meters far from the border fence, east of al- Misreyin Street in the east of Beith Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Monday 30 September 2013.
• Rabi’ Khalil Suleiman Baraka, 23, a member of the Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, was killed by shrapnel to the head, during clashes after Israeli incursion, east of al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis,on Thursday, 31 October 2013.
• As a result of the Israeli shelling during those armed clashes, another 3 members of the Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades were killed when a tunnel was destroyed over them by Israeli forces:

1. Khaled Mohammed Jum’a Abu Bakra, 35;

2. Mohammed Rasheed Hussein Dawood, 26; and

3. Mohammed Essam Omar al-Qassas, 23.

• ‘Odah Jihad Hamad, 27 [name and age according to another PCHR report], a Palestinian scrap and metal collector, was killed by a bullet to the head and his brother wounded in the landfill near the border area, east of Beit Hanoun, when Israeli forces stationed at the borderline opened fire at them without any prior warning, on Friday, 20 December 2013.
• 3-year-old Hala Ahmed Abu Sbaikha died as a result of internal haemorrhage due to the heavy explosions, when two shells hit a 2-storey house, when Israeli tanks stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the central Gaza Strip fired a number of shells at al-Maghazi refugee camp, on Tuesday, 24 December 2013.

Wounded

• 9 Palestinians wounded in the east of al-Faraheen area in Abassan, east of Khan Yunis, on Thursday 22 November 2012.

• 2 Palestinian wounded in the east of al-Shouka village in the east of Rafah, on Thursday 22 November 2012.

• 18 Palestinians wounded, including 3 children, in the east of Abassan and Khuza'a, east of Khan Yunis, on Friday 23 November

• 2 Palestinians wounded, including 1 child, Mohammed Nabil Ahmed Abu Eyadah, 14, lightly wounded in the head, east of ‘Abassan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday 25 November.

• 2 Palestinians wounded, east of Jablya in the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday 26 November 2012. The first sustained a bullet wound in the right thigh and shrapnel wounds in the right shoulder. The other one sustained a bullet to the left knee.

• 1 Palestinian, an 18-year-old boy sustained a bullet wound in his right knee, east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday 27 November 2012

• 1 Palestinian, Abdul Fattah Ashraf Zaqout, 20, was wounded by 3 bullets to the abdomen and right arm, in the east of al-Shouka village, east of Rafah, on Tuesday 27 November 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Hassan Ahmed Naseer, 26, was wounded by a bullet to the right knee, in the east of Beit Hanoun, on Wednesday, 28 November 2012.

• 8 Palestinians, including 3 children, were wounded, in the east of al-Bureij and al-Maghazi refugee camps in the central camps, on Wednesday, 28 November 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Mahmoud Sami Na'im, 24, was wounded by shrapnel from a bullet in the chest, in the east of Beit Hanoun, on Wednesday, 28 November 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Suleiman Saleh al-Najadi, 42, was wounded by a bullet to the back, in the east of al-Shouka village, east of Rafah, on Wednesday, 28 November 2012.

• 1 Palestinian child, Waheed Majed Adel al-Fseifis, 17, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, on Thursday, 29 November 2012.

• 4 Palestinians, including 1 child wounded the east of Jabalya town in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday, 30 November 2012:

- Lo'ai Ahmed Kamel Abed Rabbu, 14; wounded by a bullet to the right leg;

- Ahmed Anwar al-Zaza, 18; wounded by a bullet to the right knee;

- Salman Osama Salman Abu Ajwa, 24, wounded by a bullet to the right leg;

- Ahmed Mesleh Salah, 26, wounded by a bullet to the right leg.

• 1 Palestinian, Bassam Mohammed Abu Rjaila, 22, was wounded by a bullet to the leg, in the east of Khan Yunis, on Friday, 30 November 2012.

• 4 Palestinians protesters wounded, in the northeast of al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on Friday, 30 November 2012:

- Hassan Hammad Ibrahim al-Tebri, 39, wounded by a bullet to the left leg;

- Ahmed Abdul Qader Omar Abu Jalal, 22, wounded by a bullet to the right leg;

- Mohammed Ahmed Sulaiman al-Awawda, 27, wounded by a bullet to the left leg;

- Mohammed As'ad Mohammed al-Bardini, 23, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh.

• 1 Palestinian child, Jihad Iyad Mohammed Abu Ouda, 16, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg, east of Beit Hanoun, on Friday, 30 November 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Nedal Mohammed Abdallah, 21, was moderately wounded by a bullet to his right foot, east of Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, 01 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Mahmoud Mohammed al-Adgham, 23, was wounded by a bullet to his right foot, east of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, 01 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Sami Saeed Rabi’a Hamdiya, 28, was wounded by a bullet to his right knee, in the east of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, 01 December 2012. 
•  3 Palestinians, wounded by Israeli gunfire, in the vicinity of their homes about one kilometer away from the separation fence  between Gaza Strip and Israel northeast of Wadi As-Salqa village, on Saturday 1 December 2012:
• Rabah Ahmed Khammash, 27;
• His brother Jihad, 23; and
• Ahmed Naief Al Louh, 25.  [Al Mezan]

 

• 1 Palestinian child shepherd, Jihad Mesbah Salim al-Sawarka, 16, wounded him in the left knee, while grazing sheep 300 meters away from the border fence, in the east of al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, on Monday, 03 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian worker, Abdullah Salim Abu Jari, 23, sustained injuries in his left leg, while he was 300 meters away from the border fence, in northwestern Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday, 09 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian worker, Hamza Mohammed Rajab Ma’arouf, 19, wounded during IOF incursion, northwest of “Elissenai” settlement, northwest of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, 12 December 2012. He was 500 meters away from the border fence when they started firing.

• 1 Palestinian, Asef Rasmi Ibrahim al-Khaldi, 19, wounded by a bullet to the right arm, while  collecting aluminum and metal pieces from the landfill, which is 150 meters away from the border fence, in Wadi Gaza (Juhor al-Deek), on Thursday, 13 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Mohammed Salah Qdeih, 22, was wounded by a bullet to the right hand, in the east of Khan Yunis, east of al-Faraheen area, 200 meters to the west of the border fence, on Friday, 14 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian, Mo'men Mohammed al-Abed Nawwarah, 19, was seriously wounded by a bullet to the right leg, in the east of Jabalya, 150 meters away from the fence, on Friday, 14 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian farmer, Khaled Sulaiman Abdul Karim Mhanna, 25, was seriously wounded by a bullet to abdomen that exited the back, while working at his farm, located 500 meters away from the border fence, east of Khan Yunis, on Sunday, 16 December 2012.

• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Mos'ad Abdul Razeq Baker, 38, wounded by a bullet to the left thigh, while sailing 7 nautical miles of Wadi Gaza shore, on Monday, 17 December 2012.

• 2 Palestinians protesters, including a child, were wounded, east of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, 30 meters away from the fence, on Friday, 21 December 2012:

-Mohammed Ahmed Mahmoud ‘Ebeid, 21 was wounded by a bullet that penetrated his 2 legs.

-Mazen Jamal Mohammed Mesleh, 17 was seriously wounded by a bullet to the right and left knees.

• 2 Palestinians protesters, including a child, were wounded, north of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, 50 meters away from the fence, on Friday, 21 December 2012:

-Mohammed Mostafa Mohammed ‘Ashour, 31, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg; and

-Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed Salman, 15, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg (entered and exited).

• 1 Palestinian child worker, Ramzi Mohammed Rajab Ma'rouf, 17, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg, in the northern Gaza Strip, 500 meters away from the border fence, on Monday, 31 December 2012. 
•  1 Palestinian worker, Awad Abdullah Ali al-Za'anin, 36 wounded by shrapnel from a bullet in the right side of the head, while in a waste truck 150 meters away from the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in Beit Hanoun landfill, on Saturday 5 January 2013. 

•  1 Palestinian, Omar Wadi, 21, wounded by shrapnel in both legs, east of Jabalya, on Friday 11 January 2013, while trying to save Anwar Al Malouk (martyr), who was 40 meters from the fence. 
• 1 Palestinian child, Mohammed Samir Ahmed Sorour, 17 wounded in the foot, by gunfire, north of Beit Lahiya, on Friday 18 January 2013.  
• 1 Palestinian child, Nahed Ahmed al-'Edini, 2, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, east of Wadi al-Salqa village in the central Gaza Strip, on Saturday 19 January 2013. 
• 1 Palestinian worker, Abdullah Mohammed Sofian Mahmoud Ma’arouf, 18, was injured in the right leg that led to damaging it, north of al-Ghoul land, north of the former location of “Eli Sinai” settlement, northwest of Beit Lahiah in the northern Gaza Strip, on Monday 21 January 2013. 
• 4 Palestinians, including 2 children, injured by Israeli gunfire, while a few meters away to the west of the border fence, northeast of Islamic Martyrs cemetery, east of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday 25 January 2013: 

1- Baker Hashem al-Fayoumi, 20, from al-Sheja’aya neighborhood, sustained shrapnel injuries in the left side of his neck in the right thigh;

2- Mohammed Hatem Mohammed Eidal-Summery, 16, from al-Sheja’aya neighborhood, sustained a seven centimeter long and 2 centimeter deep cut in the left cheek;

3- Faisal Naser Yousif al-Summery, 18, from al-Sheja’aya neighborhood, injured with a gunshot in his right thigh; 

4- Nidal Hussein Ahmed Nofal, 12, from Block 9 in Jabalya, injured with a gunshot in the left hand.

• 1 Palestinian, Mamdouh Muhanna Mansour al-Kafarnah, 19, was wounded by a bullet in the left thigh, north of Dimrah area, northeast of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday 29 January 2013
• 2 Palestinian children, wounded by Israeli gunfire,  while few meters away from the west of the border fence, east of Abu Safia area, east of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday 1 February 2013:
  
  1- Ahmed Ra’afat Harb Abu Namous, 14, from Jabalya, seriously wounded by a bullet to his right leg which was severely damaged.  
  
  2- Ibrahim Akram Hassan Nassar, 16, wounded by a bullet in the right leg.  

•  2 Palestinian scrap and rubble collectors, wounded by Israeli gunfire, while 300 meters to the west of the border fence, east of al-Douh valley, northeast of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, 14 February 2013 :
  1. Hosam Samih Zaki al-Kafarna, 20, was wounded by a bullet to the left hand (entered and exited) and a bullet to 2 fingers in the right hand; and  2. Kamel Adham Hussein al-Kafarna, 20, was wounded by a bullet to the abdomen. 

• 2 Palestinian fishermen, including a child, wounded by Israeli Navy's gunfire while on a fishing boat, approximately 3 nautical miles off al-Sudaniya shore, north of Gaza City, on Monday, 18 February 2013:   

1. Abdul Razeq Mahmoud Jarbou', 16, from Gaza City, was wounded by a shrapnel in his right leg; and 2. Abdullah Mas'oud al-Ghoul, 24, from Gaza City, was wounded by a shrapnel in the left leg.

• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Ayman Adnan Mohammed Kabaja, 37, lightly wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the right leg and by shrapnel in the left hand, while on board of a fishing boat that was sailing 3 nautical miles of Beit Lahia shore in the northern Gaza Strip, on Thursday, 21 February 2013. 
• 2 Palestinians wounded by Israeli gunfire, while they were about 50 meters to the northeast of al-Shuhada' cemetery near the border fence,  east of Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip,
  on Friday, 22 February 2013:  

1. Ali Hassan Abdul Rahman Mohammed Khalil, 20, from bloc (1) in Jabalya refugee camp, wounded by a bullet (entered and exited) to the left leg; and
2. Amen Rabah Abdul Khaleq Ali Hussein, 20, from al-Mahkama streets in Jabalya, wounded by a bullet to the left foot.

• 1 Palestinian, Montaser Samir Ali Mas'oud, 18, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg, while he was about 100 meters to the west of the fence, east of Abu Safiya area, east of Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday, 22 February 2013.
•  3 Palestinians wounded, while 100-300 meters away from the border fence, in the east of Abu Safiya area, east of Jabalya, on Friday, 01 March 2013: 

1. Jehad Nasser Jawdat Hmeid, 18, from Ijdaida area in al-Shuja'iya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, wounded by a bullet to both legs (he suffers from a mental disorder);
2. Abdul Rahman Sa'id Abu Jalhoum, 23, from bloc "9" in Jabalya refugee camp, wounded by a bullet to the left leg that caused fractures.
3. Ahmed Abdul Fattah Ibrahim 'Ebeid, 20, from al-Na'ayma streets in Beit Hanoun, wounded by a bullet to the right leg.

•  1 Palestinian, Mohammed Samir Abdul Jawwad al-Taramsi, 19, lightly wounded in the buttocks, by Israeli gunfire, while a few meters away from the border fence, north of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday, 01 March 2013.

• 1 Palestinian, Omar Isma'il Omar Wadi, 20, seriously wounded by a bullet to the chest, east of Jabalya in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday, 08 March 2013.
  It should be noted that on 11 January 2013,  Wadi was wounded by bullet shrapnel in both legs when he attempted to rescue Anwar Mohammed Elian al-Mamlouk, 19, who was killed in the northeast of al-Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia. 
• 1 Palestinian child, Yazeed Mohammed Abu Khader, 16, sustained a bullet wound in the right leg, when IOF opened fire towards a group of Palestinians who were between 20 and 400 meters away from the separation fence, east of the Islamic Cemetery east of Jabaliya in North Gaza district, on Friday 5 April 2013. [Al Mezan] [ see also OCHA] [PCHR factsheet]
• 1 Palestinian shepherd, Mohammed Mahmoud Mussallam Abu S'ayed, 32, wounded by a bullet in the back that exited from the chest, while around 400 meters away from the fence, east of al-Bureij refugee camp, in the centre of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, 16 April 2013. [The date is according to Al Mezan and OCHA]
• 1 Palestinian child, Jamil Wa'el Jamil Risha, 17, wounded by an explosive bullet to the left leg, near al-Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday, 26 April 2013. [The correct date is according to Al Mezan , OCHA and PCHR factsheet]
•  1 Palestinian, Ahmed Emad al-Hamadeen, 21, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh while he was riding a cart 300 meters away from the border fence, east of Abu Safiya area to the east of Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, 02 June 2013. 
• 1 Palestinian worker, Amer Mazen Abu Hadyed, 20, wounded by a bullet that entered into his left shoulder and exited from the chest, while working in gravel collecting, 80 meters away from the border fence, east of Khan Yunis, on the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, 10 June 2013. 
• 1 Palestinian farmer, Omar Gayad Abu Mohareb, 47, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh while he was irrigating his land that is about 400 meters away from the border fence, east of al-Salqa valley, southeast of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Friday, 14 June 2013. 
• 1 Palestinian worker, Khaled Shehada Hamad, 18, wounded by a bullet to the left thigh (entered and exited), while collecting metal pieces in the landfill, northeast of Beit Hanoun, about 400 meters away from the border fence, on Sunday 14 July. 
• 1 Palestinian worker, ‘Awadh R’fat ‘Abdul ‘Aati, 19, wounded by 2 bullets to the right thigh and leg, and shrapnel from a bullet to the abdomen, while collecting wood, approximately 500 meters away from the border, northwest of Beit Hanoun, on Thursday, 25 July 2013.   
• 1 Palestinian with psychological disorder, Fadi Waleed ‘Eissa, 29, wounded with 2 bullets to the legs, when he approached the border in the central Gaza Strip, on Saturday, 27 July 2013.  
• 2 fishermen were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets, fired by Israeli gunboats, while on a fishing boat sailing 7 nautical miles off Gaza Valley shore, on Tuesday 6 August 2013.

 1. Khader Marwan al-Sa'idi (26), was wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets to the hands and chest;

2. Mohammed Jamal al-No'man (28), was wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets to the back, abdomen and chest;

• 1 Palestinian farmer, Hamada Samir Jneid (21) was wounded by a live bullet to the left leg (entered and exited), while harvesting on a farmland that is 400 meters away from the fence, on Sunday, 11 August 2013.
• 2 Palestinian children where wounded when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Jabalia, opened fire at a group of boys, 300 meters away from the fence in the area between al-Shuhada' cemetery and Abu Safiya area, east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, 20 August 2013. The wounded were:

1. Lo'ay Tal'at al-Mabhouh (17), from Jabalia refugee camp. He was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, another bullet to the right thigh and shrapnel in the head. Medical sources described his wounds as moderate; and

2. Hassan Soheil Abu Aita (16), from Jabalia refugee camp. He was wounded by a bullet to the left leg. Medical sources described his wound as moderate as well.

• 1 Palestinian, Yusef Kamel Sa'd (20) sustained a bullet wound in the left thigh while he was with his friends on a farmland, near al-Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia,  500 meters away from the Israeli forces, on Friday, 30 August 2013.
• 2 Palestinians were wounded, when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of al-Shuhada cemetery, east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of young men who were 100 meters away from the above-mentioned fence. The young men threw stones at Israeli soldiers who stepped out of their military jeeps. The incident happened on Friday, 20 September 2013, and the wounded are:

1. Jehad Rashed al-Haddad (18), from al-Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City. He sustained a bullet wound in the left leg; and

2. Kamal Na'im al-'Attar (18), from Jabalia. He sustained a bullet wound in the right leg.

• 1 Palestinian, Subhi Hussein Salem Abudib, 36, wounded and arrested by IOF, east of al- Misreyin Street in the east of Beith Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Monday 30 September 2013.
• 1 Palestinian fighter moderately wounded during clashes after Israeli incursion, east of al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis,on Thursday, 31 October 2013.
• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Mahmoud Saleh Abu Warda, 18, was wounded with shrapnel to the abdomen, and abducted along with his brother, when Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats that were sailing 3 nautical miles offshore, on Sunday, 10 November 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Ashraf Fayez Abu Zaher, 23, who got as close as to 80 meters from the border to the east of al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis, was wounded with a bullet to the right leg, when Israeli forces positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired at him, on Wednesday, 13 November 2013.
• 1 Palestinian farmer, Abdullah Mohammed Abu Mnaifi, 25, was seriously wounded by a bullet to the chest, when Israeli forces positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of al-Musaddar village fired at a number of Palestinian farmers who were working nearly 500 meters away from the border on Wednesday, 13 November 2013.
• 2 Palestinians, were wounded when Israeli forces stationed at the border fence, east of al-Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of young men, who were few meters to the west of the border fence, on Friday 22 November 2013:

1. Mohammed Adel Afana (23), from Beit Lahia, wounded by a bullet to the right leg (entered and exited); and

2. Sami Ashour Alloush (34), from Jabalia, wounded by bullet shrapnel to the head.

• 1 Palestinian, Jebril Ahmed al-Najjar, 21, was seriously wounded by 2 bullets to the legs, when Israeli soldiers positioned at the border, fired in response at Palestinian civilians who were gathered to the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, nearly 30 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel and they threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers positioned at the border, on Friday, 29 November 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Naji Rajab al-Qassas 22, was wounded by a bullet to the right knee and 2 bullet shrapnel to the same leg, while he was about 200 meters away from the border fence, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, when Israeli forces opened fire on Saturday, 14 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian child farmer, Mohammed Rafiq al-Shenbari 17, was wounded by a bullet (entered and exited) to his left leg, when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, northeast of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of farmers in a farmland belonging to Nafez Abu Shammas that is about 500 meters away from the border fence, northeast of Beit Lahia, on Sunday, 15 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian farmer, Yehia Amjad al-Herthani 19, was wounded by a bullet (entered and exited) to his left leg, when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of al-Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of farmers who were in a land belonging to Mohammed al-Herthani  that is about 600 meters away from the border fence, on Monday, 16 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian scrap and metal collector, Raddad Jihad Hamad, 22, [name and age according to another PCHR report] was wounded by a bullet to the right hand while trying to reach his wounded brother to rescue him (he was finally killed) in the landfill near the border area, east of Beit Hanoun, when Israeli forces stationed at the borderline opened fire at them without any prior warning, on Friday, 20 December 2013.
• 3 Palestinians, 2 stone throwers, including a child, and a coal-supplier standing in front of his shop around 70 meters away from the borderline were wounded, when Israeli soldiers opened fire directly at them after they had started throwing stones at Israeli soldiers stationed along the border fence as the civilians were 50-70 meters away from the fence near the Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday, 20 December 2013. The persons who were wounded were identified as:

1. Diaa’ Ahmed As’ad al-Natour, 17, from Jabalia refugee camp, sustained a bullet wound to the left leg;

2. ‘Ali Hasan ‘Abdel Rahman Khalil, 20, from Jabalia refugee camp, sustained a bullet wound to the left thigh; and

3. Mohammed Hamoudah Ayyoub, 23, from Jabalia refugee camp, a coal-supplier, sustained a bullet wound to the right leg.

• 2 Palestinians, Omar Ahmed Isma'il Subuh, 21, was wounded by a bullet to the right thigh and Abdul Halim Abdul Karim Abdullah al-Naqa, 23, was wounded by shrapnel to the right leg, when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip opened fire at a group of civilians, who were present on agricultural lands to the west of the border fence, on Friday, 20 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Isma'il Ibrahim Isma'il al-Najjar, 21, was wounded by a bullet to the right thigh, when he was 600 meters away from the fence, when Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of civilians who were present on agricultural lands and streets to the south of the fence, on Saturday, 21 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Mo'men al-Sayed Ahmed al-Halhouli, 27, was wounded by 3 bullets: one entered his back and exited his belly and other two ones hit the left leg, while he was on Beit Lahia beach about 50 meters away from the border, when Israeli forces stationed on the northern borders in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at him, on Monday, 23 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Ali Bashir Rehan, 18, was wounded by 2 bullets to the right thigh and hand, when Israeli forces stationed along the northern borders of the Gaza Strip opened fire at a group of labourers collecting metal pieces while they were present in al-Ghoul area, northwest of Beit Lahia, about 200 meters away from the border, on Tuesday, 24 December 2013.
• 3 Palestinians, Buthaina Talal Abu Sbaikha, 28, and her two children: Bilal, 4, and Mohammed, 6, were wounded by shrapnel to the lower limbs, when two shells hit a 2-storey house, when Israeli tanks stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the central Gaza Strip fired a number of shells at al-Maghazi refugee camp, on Tuesday, 24 December 2013.
• 1 Palestinian worker sustained fractures in the right leg, when Israeli warplanes raided against a concrete factory in Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah, on Tuesday, 24 December 2013.

Injured by tear gas canisters

•  1 Palestinian, Yousif Soliman Hamdan Abu Odah, 21, was injured with a tear gas canister in the head,  north of the Islamic Martyrs cemetery, east of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, while 100 meters from the fence, on Friday 18 January 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Adham Abdullah Salim al-Dabji, 18, sustained injuries in his lips as he was hit by a tear gas canister at the mouth, a few meters away from the border fence, north of Bouret Abu Samrah, north of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday 25 January 2013. 

Other Palestinians injured because of Israeli attacks

• 1 Palestinian, Basel Mohammed Abu Al Qoumasan, 23, sustained a fracture in the left elbow while he was trying to help one of the injured persons, in Hamdoush agricultural area north of Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza district, on Friday 21 December 2012. [Al Mezan]
• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Adel Abdul Karim Baker, 50, sustained serious injuries, when the sail of a boat fell on his head, when Israeli gunboats stationed off Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats sailing within 2 nautical miles of the shore, on Wednesday, 01 May 2012.
• 1 Palestinian woman, Alaa' Jihad al-'Amawi, 19, sustained a fracture in the left leg as a door of a closet fell over her when she was sleeping at home, during an Israeli airstrike, in al-Zawayda village, in the central Gaza Strip, on Monday, 24 June 2013.
• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Sharif Hussein Khalil ‘Arafat, 29, was injured while he was trying to hide from Israeli shooting, when Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in al-Soudaniya area 6 nautical miles off the shore, on Sunday, 30 June 2013. His right leg stuck in the fishing spinner which wrapped around it causing the leg to bleed. Medical sources in the hospital stated that there is an urgent need for amputation of his right leg. However, the family of the fisherman refused and he was transferred in Israel to receive treatment.
• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Hassan Ali Murad, 27, was injured as his face was hit by the boat, during an attack of Israeli gunboats, while sailing 7 nautical miles off Gaza Valley shore, on Tuesday 6 August 2013.
• 1 Palestinian, Mohammed Atta Shabat, 25, was injured in the left hand due to smash of windowpanes, when an Israeli jet plane fired a missile at an open area about 500 meters away from the northern separation fence between Gaza Strip and Israel, southeast of Erez crossing, on Wednesday 14 August 2013. [Al Mezan]
• 1 Palestinian fisherman, Saleem Khaleel Al Faseeh, 58 was injured when Israeli gunboats opened heavy fire at a Palestinian fishing boat, off the coast west of Gaza city, causing damage to the winch which fall and hurt him, on Wednesday 18 September 2013. He was referred to Shifa hospital and one of his fingers was amputated. [Al Mezan]
• 1 Palestinian child, Hamada Suleiman al-Barrawi, 15, fractured his right arm and some veins, and later underwent operations, after he fell while fleeing panicked from the scene of the incident where 2 Palestinians were shot, east of al-Shuhada' cemetery, east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday 22 November 2013. [ISM]

IOF soldiers fire shells at central Gaza

[ 31/12/2013 - 07:22 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired two artillery shells at Juhr Al-Deek area in central Gaza Strip on Monday night. Local sources said that the two shells exploded in the amidst of citizens’ homes, but no casualties were inflicted.       The Hebrew radio had claimed earlier that a rocket was fired from Gaza Strip at the western Negev. The broadcast said that the rocket was fired Monday night and exploded in an open area in Sha’ar HaNegev without inflicting any casualties or damages.

Two citizens seriously wounded in IOF tank shelling

[ 30/12/2013 - 07:26 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian young men were seriously injured on Sunday night after Israeli occupation forces fired a tank shell at them in central Gaza Strip. Palestinian security sources told the PIC reporter that the two men, in their twenties, were wounded to the east of Maghazi refugee camp near the Gaza borders with 1948 occupied Palestine. The two young men were transferred to a hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza but were later taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza in view of their critical condition. ------ Official: 2 Palestinians injured by Israeli artillery in Gaza Published Sunday 29/12/2013 (updated) 31/12/2013 10:37 (MaanImages/File) GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Two Palestinians were injured after Israeli artillery hit the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, a Palestinian official said. Israeli forces hit an area east of al-Maghazi refugee camp with an artillery shelling, Gaza's Ministry of Health spokesman said. Ashraf al-Qidra said two Palestinians suffered from burns as a result of the shelling, and were taken to Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in moderate condition. An Israeli army spokesman said he was not familiar with the incident. The shelling comes days after an upheaval of violence in the Strip made international headlines. On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes killed a 3-year-old Palestinian girl and injured several others after a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli Civil Defense employee working at the border. On Thursday, two other Palestinians were injured in Israeli airstrikes, after two rockets fired from Gaza hit open Israeli areas, causing no injuries or damage. An Egyptian mediated ceasefire agreement was reached in November 2012 between Palestinian factions and Israel to end over a week of fighting which left over 170 Palestinians dead and thousands injured. Six Israelis were also killed during the fighting. Since the agreement, Israeli forces have shot dozens of Gazans in border areas, and have launched frequent incursions. The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by the Israel since 2006.

Why does Israel treat Gaza farmers sowing wheat by hand as military targets?

28th December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)

December is the time for farmers in the Gaza Strip to sow. But for those with fields near the Israeli separation barrier, it is highly dangerous. Sure enough, we were met by news that an 18-year-old was shot an hour earlier when he was checking his bird nets here in Khuza’a in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. To sell small birds can earn a few bucks, but also makes the hunter the hunted. This one was lucky. For him, a day’s hospital visit was enough.
That our presence and our yellow vests are desirable cannot be mistaken. Without any directive, some of us get up on the tractors as protection for the drivers while the rest form a row between the field and the Israeli barrier. Here the open fields were once interspersed with olive and other fruit trees, trees devastated by Israeli bulldozers. Now they can only plant wheat, a crop that grows without daily care.

(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)

The fields to be plowed were not large, and after they been sowed, we came closer and closer to the fence. We saw the barbed wire rolled out in large circles before the fence, the towers with machine guns, the large mounds of dirt and tanks coming up behind them, the military Jeeps that stop for a moment before continuing. But we also saw the green fields behind all this, where irrigation is permitted. The contrast is great.
The work takes us closer and closer to the barrier. Activists with yellow vests still sit on tractors, but the rest of us are no longer in a row. We are now very close to the fence, so we walk directly beside those sowing by hand. It would look funny at any time, in any other part of the world, but here it is deadly serious. Maybe 70-80 meters from the fence, the ground is completely disturbed by bulldozers and tanks. Deep traces of crawlers are everywhere, some of them made earlier in the week, we are told. The tractors cannot plow there, and the farmers are not trying, either. And they can only hope that the Israeli soldiers will not tear up their fields and plow down the wheat before they reap. It has happened in the past and will most likely happen again.

(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)

Done for the day, we walk back. Not a a single bullet has been fired at us this time. But I find one in the ground, one that didn’t find its target, and show my Israeli souvenir for the others. But no one reacts significantly. Someone strikes out with his arm over the fields: there are plenty of different kinds of ammunition fired here.
I try to understand how the soldier who shot early that morning reasoned. What made him shoot? Did he feet that he did his duty, believe that he erased a potential threat to the state of Israel? Did he get a pat on the shoulder from his commander, or backslapping by his peers in the barracks? When he comes home, will his proud mother serve him his favorite dish, and will his father open the forbidden cabinet to invite his to taste something stronger now then he has become a man?

(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)

But above all, I wonder what makes them think that farmers who sow by hand are really a threat forcing the soldiers to shoot them. What makes them so afraid that they take shelter in bulletproof guard towers or tanks. How the State of Israel can be protected by bulldozing Palestinians’ fields and destroying their crops. And how to get an entire nation to believe that these farmers are a threat to their existence. I do not understand it. But I understand that our presence can mean the difference between life and death.

7 Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli forces on Gaza border

Published yesterday (updated) 28/12/2013 11:18

 

(MaanImages/file)

GAZA (Ma'an) -- Seven people suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces east of Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday.

Witnesses told Ma'an reported that Israeli forces fired tear gas heavily at Palestinian youths, and the fumes reached residences in the Izbet Abed Rabbo area east of the camp.

Medics said that two women were among the injured, and that they were taken to Kamal Adwan hospital.

Tensions have been high along the border with Israel in the Gaza Strip recently, as Israeli forces have severely escalated attacks against Palestinian civilians in the area, killing two and injuring 14.

Palestinian militants inside the strip have launched increasing numbers of rockets into southern Israel, which have all landed in open areas.

On Thursday, Dec. 20, Israel forces shot dead a Palestinian man who was collecting plastic and metal scraps near the border, while his brother was injured.

On the same day, four other Palestinians were also shot near the borders of the Gaza Strip in separate incidents.

On Tuesday, when a Palestinian sniper shot an Israeli Defense Ministry employee working at the border fence, Israel responded with air strikes against the Gaza Strip, killing 3-year-old, Hala Abu Sbeikha while she was playing in the yard of her home in al-Maghazi refugee camp, and injuring her mother and brother.

Four other Gazans were also injured in a series of Israeli attacks on that day.

Since then, two more Palestinians have been injured in Israeli airstrikes.

An Egyptian mediated ceasefire agreement was reached in November 2012 between Palestinian factions and Israel to end over a week of fighting which left over 170 Palestinians dead and thousands injured. Six Israelis were also killed during the fighting.

Since the agreement, Israeli forces have shot dozens of Gazans in border areas, and have launched frequent incursions.

The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by the State of Israel since 2006.

Escalation of Israeli attacks on Gaza kills two, injures at least 14, over five days

27th December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

An Israeli military vehicle by the separation barrier near Khuza’a. (Photo by Silvia Todeschini)

Early on the afternoon on Friday, 20th December, Israeli occupation forces killed a 27-year-old Palestinian, Odah Jihad Hamad, and wounded his brother Raddad, age 22, north of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports that Israeli forces fired directly at them, although it was clear that the two civilians were collecting steel and plastic from the landfill near the separation barrier. “According to the testimony given by Raddad Hamad to PCHR, at approximately 12:00 on Friday, 20 December 2013, Raddad went with his brother ‘Odah to the landfill near the border area, east of Beit Hanoun, in order to collect plastics and steels for livelihood. At approximately 15:30, when the area was very calm, Israeli forces stationed at the borderline opened fire at them without any prior warning. As a result, Odah was wounded by a bullet to the head and fell onto the ground while Raddad was hiding in a low area. Raddad tried to reach his brother to rescue him, but Israeli forces opened fire at him to wound him by a bullet to the right hand. He immediately fled and managed to call the Palestine Red Crescent Society to send him an ambulance. The ambulance was delayed by Israeli forces till at approximately 16:15 when it obtained coordination through the International Committee of the Red Cross. The ambulance staff searched for ‘Odah to find him wounded and then transferred him to the Beit Hanoun Governmental Hospital. He was entered into the Intensive Care Unit, but a few minutes later, he was pronounced dead.”
Raddad said the ambulance found the body of his brother in another place closer to barrier. Israeli soldiers probably took him, to check if he was alive, then left his body there.
“He was just trying to eke out a living,” his mother said in the morning tent. “He wanted to earn some money to buy wood for our house, because the cooking gas finished,” one of his brothers said. To find cooking gas in Gaza is almost impossible now due to restrictions on imports and the closure of the tunnels.
In addition, three Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire near the al-Shohada cemetery east of Jabaliya. Mohammad Ayoub Hammouda, age 23, Dya Ahmad Al Natour, age 17, and Ali Hasan Khalil,  age 20, were transported to Kamal Odwan hospital.
Hammouda works in a coal shop near the cemetery. He said he finished his shift and was walking away when he saw a group of men close to his shop. As he asked them to go away, Israeli soldiers started shooting. The shop is next to the barrier. Youth go there to throw stones at the soldiers, especially on Fridays. The Israeli forces begin to shoot without hesitation. Young Palestinians are injured so every week or two in this area. Hammounda worried that the youths near the store wanted to through stones, so he asked them to leave the area.
A bullet struck Hammouda in his right leg. The youths ran away. He lay on the ground 15 minutes before someone came to help him. An ambulance could not reach him, so a young man on a motorcycle carried him to one waiting near Abu Baker mosque. The shop where Hammouda works is 600 meters from the fence. He thinks that the shots came from one of the control towers placed along the border, in which there are automated machine guns.

An Israeli control tower by the separation barrier near Khuza’a. (Photo by Silvia Todeschini)

The bullet that the doctors extracted from Hammouda’s leg during surgery is a 250 mm projectile. The bullet caused a fracture. The doctors have placed an external fixator in his limb. He will keep it for six months.
Hammouda’s family, from the Jabaliya refugee camp, has eleven members. He is the only one with a stable job. His father works occasionally. He  earned 30 shekels, about six Euros or eight US dollars, a day. He said he would accept any salary because of unemployment.
The other two Palestinians suffered minor injuries in their lower limbs and were released from the hospital.
On the afternoon of the same day, two men were injured east of Khuza’a in the south of the Gaza Strip. Omar Sobh Qudaih, age 21, and Abdul Halim Alnaqa, age 23, were transported to the European hospital. Qudaih said that around 2:30 pm, they had been collecting beans about 500 meters from the fence. The bullet did not enter his limb. He suffered from superficial wound and needs antibiotics and dressing.
The following day, on Saturday, 21sr December, at about 7:30 am, Israeli soldiers fired at farmers and workers near the barrier Khuza’a. Ismael al-Najjar, a 21-year-old farmer, was wounded in his leg.
Al-Najjar thinks that the bullets were fired from control towers. He said he was with two other workers at about 600 meters from the barrier, and that he had been walking toward his chicken farm. He suffered from a superficial wound. A nurse said his condition is stable.
On Tuesday, 24th December, Israeli forces carried out a series of airstrikes hitting different locations in the Gaza Strip, and shelled different areas along the barrier.
Earlier afternoon, a contractor of the Israeli occupation forces had been killed by a Palestinian resistance group east of Gaza City. Israeli authorities declared that they would respond harshly against Gaza. Shortly afterward, a Palestinian civilian was wounded by Israeli army fire in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Government buildings were immediately evacuated.
Western media and others claiming the escalation began with the shooting of the military contractor should be reminded of the killing by Israeli forces of a young Palestinian collecting material from a landfill on Friday.
In the afternoon of 24th December, local sources reported two Palestinians had been killed, included a three-year-old child killed in a bombing of Maghazi in the center of the Gaza Strip. The number of injuries remains imprecise.
Shortly after the shooting of the contractor, Israeli forces reported they had killed a Palestinian along the northern barrier around the Gaza Strip, as Palestinian sources also did later. It later became clear the Israeli army had opened fire at a large tortoise moving slowly along the barrier. Its large size, and its bloodshed after an Israeli missile, led some to speak of a martyr. The occupation hits anything moving along the barrier, including a rare breed of giant tortoise.
The three-year-old girl killed in Maghazi was named Hala Ahmed Abu Sbeikha. Several members of her family were injured, included two children, Mohammed Abu Sbeikha, age six, and Belal Abu Sbeikha, age four.
In the morgue of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where members of the Abu Sbeikha family were hospitalized, her face was stained with blood.
Members of her family in the hospital included Busaina Abu Sbeikha, 27 years old, and the two wounded children.
“I had gone to visit them and we were seated on the first floor of the house,” an aunt said. “Two bombs fell in few seconds. It was about 3:30 to 4:00 pm. After the second bomb, we climbed to the second floor, where there our children, about ten of them, were. Busaina, with her children, was also there, helping them to study. We found Hala dead. Then we left the house, and a third bomb struck the two-story building, almost completely destroying it. Even the houses nearby were damaged by the bombing. ”
Women from the family told us that it is the first time that their house, in which 30 people lived, had been hit. “Even during the two wars, they never struck us or asked us to evacuate,” they said. Their house is located about 700 meters from the separation barrier east of Maghazi, in an area called Beheiri in the central Gaza Strip. It is a very quiet area.
“The Israelis said they had hit a site of the Palestinian resistance, but it is not true.” No resistance activity had been present in the area, they said.
Busaina Abu Sbeikha has undergone surgery for a shrapnel injury. Her children Belal and Mohammed lay on a bed in the same hospital room. Mohammed was almost asleep because of the painkillers, while Belal’s eyes were wide. He had no reaction when his his face and hair were caressed. Both children were injured by shrapnel.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital received around nine injured civilians that evening, in addition to the dead child.

Video: Israeli troops fire on Palestinian farmers and international activists in Gaza

27th December 2013 | Resistenza Quotidiana, Silvia Todeschini | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

International activists have been accompanying Palestinian farmers to their lands near the separation barrier between the territories occupied in 1948 and the Gaza Strip. We have noticed, in recent days, an increase in the presence of the Zionist occupation forces. A few days ago, we felt more drones and F-16, then Jeeps and bulldozers began to move near the barrier more often. On Sunday, 22nd December, two Jeeps were stationed in front of the area where farmers were seeding and tractors plowing. They fired shots into the air and one the the ground. This video shows the last episode.



Olive,orange and lemon trees grew in these fields until the second Intifada. Then bulldozers and tanks of the occupying forces uprooted them. After “Operation Cast Lead,” the no-go zone was established at 300 meters, but aggression towards Palestinians was not limited to that area. According to UN reports, high-risk areas in some places reach two kilometers from the barrier, and included 35% of all arable land in Gaza. Following the truce concluded after the Zionist attack called “Operation Pillar of Defense,” farmers were able to reach their land up to 100 meters. Now, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the situation is very similar to that seen before the last offensive: Zionist aggression reaches up to 1,500 meters from the border. The high-risk areas comprise 35% of arable land, and in the restricted areas, 95% is cultivable. Also according to PCHR data, the last farmer killed by the occupation forces while working, Mustafa Abdul Hakim Mustafa Abu Jarad, was 1,200 meters from the barrier. He was killed by a bullet in the head 14th January 2013, one of four people killed this year in the areas near the separation barrier.

(Photo by Silvia Todeschini)

Not only are Palestinian farmers attacked during their work, but the land they farm is itself  destroyed by the passage of bulldozers and tanks. They create deep grooves that make it difficult for a tractor to pass and plow. By doing so, they mix layers, making the land less fertile. In addition, the water tanks which are used for irrigation in this area are all destroyed by Zionist gunfire.
In the separation barrier are installed several instruments of repression. There are turrets with automatic weapons, others on which snipers can stand, tall iron columns with cameras installed and others with radar. There is barbed wire, gates where Zionist military vehicles can enter, balloons equipped with cameras, and more.
The violence of the Zionists towards Palestinian farmers and fishermen are an attack not only on their ability to work, but also on the food sovereignty of all the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.

(Photo by Silvia Todeschini)

The presence of foreign activists sometimes manages to lightly calm the situation, because we are inconvenient witnesses for the Zionist occupation forces. But the heroes are the farmers, who continue to reach their land. Without regular watering, they can grow only wheat, although after it has been cultivated for several years, not much grows anymore. The heroes are the farmers who, generation after generation, continue to say “adha hardy” – “this is my land,” no matter how strong the Zionist repression with all its resources, weapons, armor and surveillance equipment may be.

In video: Brother of Gaza man killed by Israeli sniper speaks out

Published Thursday 26/12/2013 (updated) 28/12/2013 15:25

Raddad Hamad describes how he and his brother were shot.

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The brother of a Palestinian man shot dead by an Israeli sniper last Friday spoke out against the killing in a video released by the Institute for Middle East Understanding on Thursday.

Raddad Hamad, 22, and his brother Odeh, 27, were collecting scrap metal and plastic on Friday, December 20 when Odeh was shot in the head by Israeli forces, killing him.

In the video, Raddad explained that the two were around a kilometer away from the Israeli border fence when his brother was suddenly hit in the head by an Israeli bullet. Raddad was shot in the hand at the same time.

Raddad stressed that the area in which they were shot is regularly frequented by Palestinians looking for bits of metal and plastic to sell.

"We go everyday to collect plastic, to earn a living."

"What crime did he commit for them to shoot him?" he added.

Raddad said that after being shot he fell into a ditch nearby, and although he called out for his brother, Odeh did not respond.

He said that he then crawled for a half hour even as Israeli forces continued shooting in his direction.

He finally managed to crawl far enough and call an ambulance, but once the ambulance arrived Israeli forces would not allow it to cross to get his brother, Raddad said.

"I said we have to get to him, he's dying. My brother is dying inside there. Odeh is dying."

"They didn't let the ambulance enter."



The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in a statement following the incident, "Israeli forces used excessive force and directly opened fire at them, although it was clear that the two civilians were collecting steels and plastics from the landfill near the border fence."

An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an at the time that "Palestinians caused damage to the northern security fence" and "fired a mortar shell" into Israel, adding that they "rioted and hurled rocks at soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip, and neared the fence in an attempt to enter Israel."

On the same day, four other Palestinians were also shot near the borders of the Gaza Strip, in a major escalation of violence against Palestinian civilians.

On Tuesday, when a Palestinian sniper shot an Israeli Defense Ministry employee working at the border fence, Israel responded with air strikes against the Gaza Strip, killing 3-year-old, Hala Abu Sbeikha while she was playing in the yard of her home in al-Maghazi refugee camp, and injuring her mother and brother.

Four other Gazans were also injured in a series of Israeli attacks on that day.

Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip if they approach large swathes of land near the border that the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.

The "security buffer zone" extends between 500 meters and 1500 meters into the Strip, effectively turning local farms into no-go zones.

According to UNOCHA, 17% of Gaza's total land area and 35% of its agricultural land were within the buffer zone as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gazans.

The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by the State of Israel since 2006.

Young man seriously injured by Israeli fire in northern Gaza Strip

Published Monday 23/12/2013 (updated) 25/12/2013 11:23

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and seriously injured a young Palestinian man near Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.

Palestinian medical sources confirmed that a young man in his twenties from Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City was hit in the leg and abdomen.

He was evacuated first to Kamal Udwan hospital in Jabalia, then to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

An Israeli spokeswoman said in a statement that, "A suspect was identified approaching the security fence in the northern Gaza strip, in an attempt to conceal an explosive device against IDF soldiers."

"The soldiers at the scene called at the suspect to stop, fired warning shots to the air, and once he failed to comply, opened fire towards his lower extremities."

Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip if they approach large swathes of land near the border that the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.

The "security buffer zone" extends between 500 meters and 1500 meters into the Strip, effectively turning local farms into no-go zones.

The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by the State of Israel since 2006.