Gaza: Misuse of Weapons Kills Girl and Child--Injures 11 Others

PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Press Release

Ref: 72/2011

Date: 24 July 2011

Time: 10:15 GMT

A Girl and a Child Killed and 11 Others Injured Due to Misuse of Weapons

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) is gravely concerned over the recurrence of incidents relating to violations of the right to life in the past two weeks due to the misuse of weapons and assaults on the rule of law in the Gaza Strip.  PCHR calls upon the government in Gaza to take necessary measures to ensure the non-recurrence of such incidents.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 09:15 on Sunday, 24 July 2011, the corpse of Fatima Ahmed al-Musaddar, 18, from al-Musaddar village in the central Gaza Strip, was brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.  The victim was hit by a bullet to the neck.  Her corpse was transferred to the forensic medicine department at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.  Al-Musaddar was mistakenly hit by a bullet when her brother fired in celebration of her distinguished success of the General Certificate of Education (Tawjihi) with 95.2%.  The police arrived at the scene, opened an investigation and confiscated a Kalashnikov rifle. 

On 14 June 2011, the corpse of 3-year-old Einas Mohammed Daifallah, from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, was brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.  She was hit by two bullets to the heart and the left shoulder.  According to her family, she was hit by the two bullets when she and her 4-year-old brother were playing with the weapon of their father, who is a police officer. 

In another incident on the same day, 11 civilians, including 4 children, were injured when a person threw a hand grenade during a family quarrel among members of the al-Aklouk family, who live in al-Sabra neighborhood in the east of Gaza City.  The injured civilians were evacuated to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and the injury of one of them, 16-year-old Abdul Rahman Emad al-Ghalayini, was described by medical sources as serious since he was hit by shrapnel to the chest and the feet.  The police arrived at the scene of the quarrel, opened an investigation and arrested two persons. 

PCHR is concerned over the recurrence of incidents relating to violations of the right to life due to the misuse of weapons and assaults on the rule of law, and calls upon the government in Gaza to take necessary measures to ensure their non-recurrence.   

Public Document

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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893

PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org

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