Medics: Palestinian shot, injured in Gaza

Published Friday 21/02/2014 (updated) 22/02/2014 09:27

 

(MaanImages/File)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A young Palestinian was injured by Israeli forces on Friday morning east of Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said.

Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma’an that a 21-year-old man was shot by Israeli forces located east of the camp.

He was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, al-Qidra added.

An Israeli army spokesman said that initial checks indicated that forces near the border fired "riot-dispersal means" when a Palestinian man approached a security fence.

Israeli military vehicles enter Gaza

Published Wednesday 19/02/2014 (updated) 20/02/2014 17:45

 

(MaanImages/file)

 

GAZE CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli military vehicles entered the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, locals said.

Locals told Ma'an that the Israeli vehicles crossed over to the Palestinian side of the border near the town of al-Qarara in the Khan Younis district.

The vehicles remained in the area for a few hours before returning to the Israeli side, witnesses said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

IOF Kills One and Injures 18 East of Jabaliya

Al Mezan

16-2-2014

On Thursday and Friday, 13 and 14 February, 2014, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed one man and injured 18 people including four children. The attacks raise the death toll to 47 since the beginning of 2014, of which 7 were children. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights calls on the international community to intervene to protect civilians and ensure the respect of international humanitarian law principles in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

At approximately 2:15 pm on Friday, 14 February, 2014, the IOF fired live ammunition and launched tear gas at tens of Palestinian youth and children who were near the separation fence east of the Islamic Cemetery east of Jabaliya, in the North Gaza district. The shooting continued until 6:00 pm. Of the 17 people injured in the attack, four were children. Nine people sustained injuries from live ammunition, one person sustained injuries from a rubber bullet, six people were injured by tear gas canisters, and one person suffered asphyxiation due to tear gas inhalation.

Just one day prior at approximately 2:30 pm on Thursday, 13 February, 2014, IOF opened fire at Ibrahim Salman Mansour, 35, and Rafeq Baker Al Houli, 21, while they were collecting rubble in the Malaka area east of Az-Zaitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City. As a result of the attack, Ibrahim was killed and Rafeq sustained a bullet injury to his right leg.

Al Mezan condemns the IOF’s deliberate attacks against Palestinian civilians in the border areas. These attacks raise questions as to Israeli continuous violations of international humanitarian law in its treatment of Palestinian civilians, who are protected and must not be attacked. These attacks signal violations of articles (3) and (32) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibit attacks against life and bodily integrity, especially acts of killing of protected persons.

Al Mezan calls on State Parties to abide by their obligations as per article (146) of the Fourth Geneva Convention and to exert pressure on Israel to cease its attacks against civilians in the Gaza Strip and ensure enforcement of international law standards and respect for the Fourth Geneva Convention. 

Ends

Israeli forces shoot, injure 5 Palestinians in northern Gaza

Published Friday 31/01/2014 (updated) 02/02/2014 10:43

 

(MaanImages/file)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and injured five people on Friday in the northern Gaza Strip, a medical official said.

Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Gaza's Ministry of Health, told Ma'an that a 27-year-old man was shot in the foot by Israeli soldiers in Beit Lahiya.

The man, who was not identified, was taken to Kamal Adwan hospital and is in a moderate condition.

Four Palestinians were also injured by gunfire east of Jabaliya, al-Qidra said.

They were taken to Kamal Adwan hospital with moderate injuries.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said "two riots erupted near the security fence in northern Gaza. In one riot, 50 Palestinians crowded in a prohibited area and hurled rocks at IDF soldiers at the scene."

Israeli soldiers fired warning shots in the air before resorting to opening fire towards a main instigator, she said, adding that a direct hit was identified.

Earlier, seven Palestinians were injured when Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The injured were taken to hospitals, where medics described their wounds as light to moderate.

Last week, Israeli forces shot dead one Palestinian and injured another during a protest east of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.

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.

Israeli forces shoot, injure man in central Gaza

Published Monday 27/01/2014 (updated) 29/01/2014 13:03

Palestinians carry a fellow protester wounded during clashes with
Israeli forces near east of Gaza City on January 17, 2014.
(AFP/Mohammed Abed)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers on Monday shot and injured a Palestinian man east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, a medical official said.

Spokesman for Gaza's Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, told Ma'an that a 34-year-old man was shot in the chest by Israeli fire.

The man, who was not identified, is in a critical condition.

Shortly before the man was shot Israeli forces opened fire indiscriminately after an explosion rocked the central border area as an Israeli military jeep was passing by.

A large group of Israeli troops were seen in the area and fired smoke bombs in order to evacuate the jeep, witnesses said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was not familiar with any incidents in the central Gaza Strip.

On Friday, Israeli forces shot dead one Palestinian and injured another during a protest east of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.

Spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra, said that 20-year-old Bilal Samer Oweidah died after being shot dead in the chest by Israeli forces near the border.

Owiedah was among a group of Palestinians who had gathered near the border to protest the buffer zone imposed by Israel.

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

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.

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

Israeli forces shoot dead Gaza protester, injure another

Published Friday 24/01/2014 (updated) 27/01/2014 09:47

Palestinians carry a fellow protester wounded during clashes with
Israeli forces near east of Gaza City on January 17, 2014.
(AFP/Mohammed Abed)

 

GAZA STRIP (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot dead one Palestinian and injured another on Friday during a protest east of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.

Spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra, said that 20-year-old Bilal Samer Oweidah died after being shot dead in the chest by Israeli forces near the border.

Owiedah was among a group of Palestinians who had gathered near the border to protest the buffer zone imposed by Israel, al-Qidra said.

Another Palestinian was moderately injured when Israeli forces opened fire on the protesters, he said.

Locals said that Oweidah was taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "Palestinians gathered in a prohibited area near the border," and began "hurling rocks and burning tires" towards Israeli forces.

She added that Israeli forces sought to break up the protest using "riot dispersal means," but "after all efforts were exhausted, they fired towards two main instigators and two hits were identified."

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

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

Israel troops open fire on Gaza protesters, 2 injured

 

Palestinians carry a fellow protester wounded during clashes with
Israeli forces near the Nahal Oz border crossing, east of Gaza City
on January 17, 2014. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

 

 

From Ma'an website

 

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- The Israeli army fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence in the Gaza Strip on Friday, wounding two Palestinians, medics and an AFP correspondent said.

Troops fired at some 300 demonstrators who were protesting against Israel's destruction of farmland for its 300-meter buffer zone, the correspondent said.

Two protesters were moderately wounded and taken to hospital, Gaza's health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told AFP.

Israel's army was "unaware of the incident," a spokeswoman said.

The demonstrators were marching near the border fence in support of Palestinian farmers, whose citrus trees they said had been uprooted to make way for the Israeli-controlled buffer zone that runs along the border.

"Israel destroyed most of our citrus trees ... (and) still prevents us from importing or exporting any products," said a statement from protest organizers the Gaza Youth Coalition.

The statement deplored "daily Israeli attacks" against farmers near the border.

Israel allows "civilian access on foot to areas up to 100 meters from the perimeter fence for agricultural purposes only, and vehicular access to a distance of 300 meters," according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Israeli soldiers often fire at Palestinians who walk near border areas.

Israeli air strikes wounded a woman and four children near Gaza City overnight Wednesday to Thursday, medical sources said, with Israel confirming it had struck in retaliation for rocket fire.

Israeli military vehicles enter border area in southern Gaza

Published Wednesday 15/01/2014 (updated) 16/01/2014 21:16

(MaanImages/file)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers entered a border area in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, witnesses said.

Locals told Ma'an that four tanks and three bulldozers entered an area several hundred meters east of Khan Younis and leveled private Palestinian land.

Israeli forces fired smoke bombs in the area to provide cover for the vehicles while reconnaissance planes hovered in the sky, witnesses added.

An Israeli military spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

Israeli military vehicles cross Gaza border, navy fires at fishermen

Published Tuesday 14/01/2014 (updated) 19/01/2014 10:51

(MaanImages/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli military vehicles crossed into the northern Gaza Strip for surveillance activities on Monday, witnesses told Ma'an.

The limited incursion took place in a border region near Beit Lahiya, the witnesses said.

Separately, Israeli warships opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast near al-Sudaniyya west of Beit Lahiya.

No injuries were reported, but the fishermen fled and were unable to continue fishing.

The Gaza Strip has been under a severe blockade imposed by Israel since 2006.

Palestinian fishermen are only allowed to go 3 nautical miles from Gaza's shore, even though Israeli-Palestinian agreements previously settled on 20 nautical miles.

Israeli naval forces frequently harass Palestinian fishermen who near the 3-mile limit, as well as those inside the zone.

There are 4,000 fishermen in Gaza. According to a 2011 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, 90 percent are poor, an increase of 40 percent from 2008 and a result of Israeli limits on the fishing industry.

The Israeli blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.

Gaza teen dies of wounds after Thursday border shooting

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian teenager died early Friday of wounds sustained by Israeli forces the day before in the northern Gaza Strip, medics told Ma'an.

Palestinian medical sources identified the teen, who was shot Thursday at the Israeli border near Jabaliya, as 16-year-old Adnan Abu Khater.

Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the emergency services in Gaza, said in a statement that Abu Khater died of his wounds after soldiers shot him in the leg east of Jabaliya, according to AFP.

Medical sources originally told Ma'an that Abu Khater was 18.

On Thursday afternoon, the youth was shot and injured by Israeli forces after he "was damaging" the border fence, an Israeli army spokeswoman said at the time. She said that after he refused to stop, Israeli soldiers hit him in the leg with live fire.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported he was "throwing stones" at the separation barrier.

The teen's death came as Israeli airstrikes targeted the Gaza Strip, hitting agricultural land near al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, the town of Beit Hanoun in the north, and another neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, Palestinian sources said.

No injuries from the strikes have been reported.

The Israeli army said the airstrikes were in response to a rocket from Gaza that hit southern Israel, causing no injuries or damages.

On Dec. 20, a similar death to Abu Khater's was documented. Two Palestinians were collecting scrap metal and plastic in the northern Gaza Strip -- nearly a kilometer away from the border -- when 27-year-old Odeh Hamad was shot dead by Israeli forces, his brother said. An Israeli army statement said Hamad was shot because he tried to lay an explosive device at the border.

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.

Last week, an upheaval in violence in Gaza left two dead and several injured. On Dec. 24, 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.

Two days later, two more Palestinians were injured in Israeli airstrikes, after two rockets fired from Gaza hit open Israeli areas, causing no injuries or damage.

On Saturday, Israeli tank fire injured two more Palestinians in central Gaza in an attack that was unconfirmed by the Israeli army but nonetheless made international headlines.

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 more than a thousand 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 Israel since 2006.