NOVANEWS
This factsheet describes violations of children’s rights in the Gaza Strip in accordance
with the Monitoring & Reporting Mechanism on grave violations of children’s rights
in situations of armed conflict, which was adopted by the Security Council in its
Resolution No. 1612 (2005). This Mechanism requires monitoring and documentation
of killing and maiming of children, recruitment and use of children by armed forces or
armed groups, attacks on schools or hospitals, rape or other sexual violence, forced
deportation of children, abduction of children, and denial of humanitarian access.
This factsheet covers the period from 01 to 30 October 2012.
1. Injuries
During the reporting period, 10 Palestinian, aged 1 month–16 years, were wounded in
the Gaza Strip. According to PCHR’s documentation, 7 children were wounded by
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). On 07 October 2012, 4 children aged 1 month–10
years, including two siblings who were visiting their grandparents in Rafah, were
wounded as a result of an Israeli aerial attack that targted two Palestinians in civilian
clothing riding a motorcycle in the al-Brazil neighborhood in Rafah. The injured
children were identified as: Bisan (1 month) and Nasim Mohammad al-Maqousi
(2); Malak Hisham Abu-Jazar (3); Bashier Mustafa Qeshta (10). On 08 October
2012, Mohammad (12) and Seireen Mahmoud Ali al-Daghma (14), from ‘Absan
village east of Khan Yunis, sustained moderate wounds when IOF stationed on the
borderline east of Khan Yunis shelled farmlands in ‘Absan village with artillery shells
and machine-guns. On 13 October 2012, Saleh Mohammad Saleh al-Najjar (6),
from Jablya in the northern side of the Gaza Strip, sustained a cut in the right foot,
due to window fragments scattered after IOF targeted a motorcycle ridden by two
Palestinian resistance activists.
Three children were wounded in different incidents related to the violation of the right
to life, including security chaos and misuse of weapons incidents in the Gaza Strip.
On 02 October 2012, Eyad Abdul-Kariem Abu-Ghazal (16), and Mussa Said AbuHashish (17), from Um Al Nasser village in the north of the Gaza Strip, were injured
with live bullets by the Palestinian police while the latter were evacuated
governmental lands on which civilian houses had been built.
According to the investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 10:00 on
Tuesday, 2 October 2012, officials from the Land Authority in Gaza, accompanied by
the Palestinian Police, arrived at the governmental lands located to the north of the “Bedouin” village in order to evict the civilians who live in the area, many of whom
living in houses made of iron sheets. A number of civilians started throwing stones at
police officers and the bulldozer which was leveling the land. The police officers beat
these civilians in response, using clubs and sticks, combined with shooting. As a
result of the shooting, Eyad Abdel Karim Abu Ghazalah, 16, was injured by a bullet
in the right leg; and Mousa Said Abu Hashish, 17, injured by a bullet that penetrated
both his thighs. The two injured children were transported to Kamal ‘Edwan Hospital
in Beit Lahia to receive the necessary medical treatment. The medical staff described
their injuries as moderate.
On 24 October 2012, an explosive device was detonated by unknown persons in an
deserted house near Nama’a Association in Jablya in the north of the Gaza Strip,
causing severe damages to the walls. Reim Hassan Khader (6) suffered from a
breakdown while she was at her house, which is located in the explosion area. She
was transported to Kamal ‘Edwan hospital in Beit Lahia for treatment, where the
doctors described her condition as stable.
3. Access to Education Services
According to PCHR’s documentation, during the reporting period, the Ministry of
Education in the Gaza Strip suspended education in all schools established in the
border area throughout the Gaza Strip, after IOF moved several hundred meters into
the Gaza Strip’s border area. On 15, 22 and 24 October 2012, the Ministry of
Education declared suspension of education in all schools located near the border area
in the northern, central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, after IOF had moved
several hundred meters into the Gaza Strip, amidst heavy shooting and covered by
warplanes.