Field
Update

In the past
five days, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) documented the injuries
of eight persons, including two children and three women, due to the explosions
of home-made rockets in populated areas across the Gaza Strip. The injury of one of the women was described
as serious. PCHR calls upon concerned
authorities to investigate these incidents, to take necessary measures to
ensure the non-recurrence of such incidents and to provide protection to
civilians.  

The latest
incident took place at approximately 01:40 on Monday, 22 August 2011, when a home-made
rocket landed onto the roof of a 3-storey house belonging to Sobhi Ibrahim
Shakhsa, 53, where three families live, in al-Tawaheen area in al-Shuja’ya
neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. As
the result of the rocket’s explosion, three sons of Shakhsa were shocked and were
transported to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Besides, the rocket made a hole in the roof, falling part of the
southern wall of the house and damaging the water network and doors. In his testimony to a PCHR field worker,
Shakhsa said that the Explosives Police arrived at the scene and collected the
rocket’s shrapnel, but the civil police did not come to investigate the
incident.

Earlier, at
approximately 20:00 on Sunday, 21 August 2011, another home-made rocket hit the
western side of the house of Mas’oud Ibrahim al-Sheikh, 53, near Dar al-Arqam
School in al-Toffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City. As a result, his son Ra’ed Mas’oud al-Sheikh,
8, was moderately wounded by shrapnel to the head, and his daughter Samar
Mas’oud al-Sheikh, 28, was seriously wounded by shrapnel to the pelvis and
back, and consequently, was admitted into the intensive care unit at Shifa
Hospital.

At
approximately 20:45 on Saturday, 20 August 2011, Sa’d Bakr al-Salhi, 16, from
Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip and Naheda Hashem Salem, 53, were evacuated
to Shifa Hospital, as the former was wounded by shrapnel to the right hand and
the latter was wounded by shrapnel throughout the body. Medical sources described their wounds
between light to moderate. The two
persons were wounded due to the explosion of a home-made rocket while exiting
from Sa’eed Murad Mosque near al-Helou Hall, southeast of Jabalya in the
northern Gaza Strip.

At
approximately 03:00 on Friday, 19 August 2011, Mohammed Yusef al-Najjar
Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah received Abdul Sattar Selmi
Abu Snaima, 21, from al-Shouka village, east of Rafah, as he was wounded by
shrapnel throughout the body. Medical
sources described his wound as moderate. According to Palestinian police sources, Abu Snaima had been wounded when
a home-made rocket landed in front of his house, which is located near
al-Shouka clinic.

PCHR in
concerned over increasing casualties resulting from explosions of home-made
weapons.  PCHR calls upon concerned authorities to investigate these
incidents, to take necessary measures to ensure the non-recurrence of such
incidents and to provide protection to civilians.