Ref: 30/2021
Date: 07 March 2021
Time: 12:30 GMT
On Sunday, 07 March 2021, three Palestinian fishermen were killed while fishing due to a bombshell that hit their fishing boat. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the incident, where evidence indicates it was caused by armed groups’ training activities and calls for the competent authorities to investigate the incident, publish the results and hold the perpetrators accountable.
According to PCHR’s follow-up, the fishing boat was sailing within 2 nautical miles nearby al-Qarara, northwest of Khan Yunis, when it was shelled; the bomb penetrated and completely destroyed their boat and killed all three fishermen: Mohammed Hijazi Saleh al-Lahham (27), his brother, Zakariya (24), and their nephew, Yehya Mostafa Hijazi al-Lahham (29), from al-Mawasi, southwest of Khan Yunis. The remains of their bodies were transported to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
Eyad al-Bozom, spokesperson of the Ministry of the Interior in Gaza, said in a press statement that the ministry is investigating the incident involving the death of three fishermen due to an explosion in their boat in Khan Yunis waters, southwest of the Gaza Strip.
It should be noted that PCHR documented several cases of live ammunition being used during armed groups’ trainings in the Gaza Strip that led to regrettable incidents that have taken the lives of innocent civilians. These incidents have recurred without serious accountability, despite their severe consequences, the latest of which was when two children sustained bullet wounds while playing at the municipal cafeteria near the fishermen’s seaport in Rafah, where armed groups’ military sites exist.
PCHR affirms that military trainings in civilian areas are prohibited, and any use of live ammunition must be done under strict controls to guarantee protection for civilians’ lives and properties. Furthermore, PCHR asserts that overlooking such incidents without accountability is a decisive factor in their recurrence.
PCHR expresses its grave concern regarding the recurrence of such tragic incidents and calls upon the competent authorities to open a serious investigation, publish the results of the investigation and bring perpetrators to justice.
