Yesterday,
3 children were wounded, the wounds of 2 of whom were serious, due to the
explosion of a suspicious object that they played with in a house yard in Beit
Lahia, north of Gaza.

According
to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR),
at approximately 14:30 on Tuesday, 17 February 2015, 3 wounded children were
admitted to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, as they a suspicious object they were
playing with in the yard of their family house, west of al-‘Amoudi area,
southwest of Beit Lahia, exploded. The wounds of 2 of these children were
serious. The wounded were identified as:

1. Majed
Nabil Mohammed Abu Jalhoum (13). He had his right arm amputated and sustained shrapnel
wounds throughout the body.

2. Mos’ab
Yusef Mahmoud Abu Jalhoum (3). He sustained a minor shrapnel wound to the head
and bruises throughout the body.

3. Yazan
Nasim Mahmoud Abu Jalhoum (3). He sustained a shrapnel wound to the belly, due
to which his guts went out. He also sustained shrapnel wounds throughout the
body.

According
to field investigations and inspections, the above-mentioned children and
others were playing near the main stairs leading to their house inside the
house yard, south of the house. They found a suspicious object in the sand and
played with it, so it exploded. Ambulances arrived immediately and transported
the wounded to the hospital. Wounds of Majed and Yazan were serious, due to
which they were admitted to the intensive care unit. An hour and a half later,
Majed’ health condition became stable and he was taken to the Surgery Section.
However, Mos’ab’s wound was minor.

The
Palestinian police arrived to the scene as well. They inspected the scene and
initiated an investigation to identify the circumstances of the incident.

PCHR
condemns this incident and calls upon the attorney general to investigate the
incident. PCHR also calls upon concerned authorities to take the necessary
measures to protect civilians from the risks of suspicious objects and weapons.