Lawlessness and Proliferation of Weapons

Misuse of Weapons by Armed Groups and Security Forces

Field Update

18 July 2007

2 Children Wounded in a Mysterious Explosion in Deir al-Balah

On Tuesday morning, 17 July 2007, 2 children were seriously wounded when a mysterious object exploded in Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 10:00 on Tuesday, 17 July 2007, 16-year-old Ussama ‘Abdul Karim Naji and Naji Mahmoud Naji were seriously wounded by shrapnel when a mysterious object exploded in Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip. The two children were setting fire to a garbage container near their house when a mysterious object exploded.

In his testimony to PCHR, Nahi Naji said:

“At approximately 09:30, I went out together with my cousin Ussama to clean the entrance of our house. We started to gather garbage and put it into a garbage container near the house. We then set fire into the container to get rid of the garbage. When the garbage was burnt, we went to bring water to extinguish fire. When we became nearly 15 meters away from the container, a heavy explosion occurred and we were wounded by shrapnel throughout the body. My left leg and my cousin’s right hand were amputated.”  

PCHR learnt that resident of the area had repeatedly complained about the existence of mysterious objects and mines.

PCHR is gravely concerned over increasing casualties resulting from the misuse of weapons.  PCHR calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to take precautionary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.