One child was died and a young man was shot in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip this week.
Masked men opened fire at Aa’id Al Akhras and caused injuries to him in his legs.
The child died from a bullet to the head.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns these incidents.
Al Mezan calls for serious investigations into incidents involving use of small arms illegally.
Al Mezan also warns about the serious repercussions of the lack of deterring such incidents in Gaza.
At approximately 9:10pm on Sunday 13 February 2011, masked, armed men opened fire at 'Aai’d Saber Hassan Al Akhras, 20, while he was at a barbers shop near the UNRWA Distribution Center in Block M in the Rafah refugee camp, south of the Gaza Strip.
According to eyewitnesses who were at the barber shop when the shooting occurred, the masked and armed men entered the shop and fired several bullets at Al Akhras’s legs.
Another masked man stayed at the entrance of the shop.
Al Akhras was admitted to Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.
He was then referred to the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis for medical treatment.
Medical sources described his injury as moderate.
In a separate incident, at approximately 5:30pm on Saturday 12 February 2011, Mohammed Ra’ed Doghmosh, 11, died from a bullet to his head.
The police initiated an investigation into the incident.
The conditions of the death of this child were not clear when this press release was issued; however, it is believed that the child died due to mishandling of a weapon.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights expresses its sorrow for the death of the child and the injury of another young man.
Both of them were victims of misuse of small arms in Gaza.
Al Mezan strongly condemns the deliberate shooting of Al Akhras by masked, armed men and calls for an immediate, effective investigation into the incident.
The perpetrators must be brought to justice.
Al Mezan warns of the repercussions of the failure of investigating incidents where small arms are used, or those involving deliberate attacks on Palestinian citizens by unknown persons, in the Gaza Strip.
These incidents reflect serious challenges to the law and could prompt a return to the state of insecurity Gaza had suffered in previous years.
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