Ref: 125/2022Date: 05 October 2022Time: 12:00 GMT Yesterday evening, two persons were killed on criminal grounds; one of them was wanted by the police, while a third one was injured in a law enforcement operation in Az- Zawayda village, central Gaza Strip.The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon the public prosecution to investigate the incident’s circumstances and law enforcement services’ compliance with the shooting standards and to publish the results on public.According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 19:10 on Tuesday, 04 October 2022, two persons namely Waseem Kamal Hasan al-Aqra’ (37) and Nasir Sameer Hussain al-Aqra’ (33) were shot dead, while a third person namely ‘Essam Salem al-Aqra’ (18) was injured with live bullets in the feet during counter-narcotics police operation, west of Az-Zawayda village, central Gaza Strip. The three wounded were taken to al-Shifa Hospital, where the medical reports showed the following: The first person died due to severe bleeding in the head and neck after being shot with 3 bullets in the head, neck and waist, while the second person died due to a bleeding in the waist and lower limbs after being shot with several bullets. The third person is still receiving treatment at al-Shifa Hospital, and he is under heavy police guard and denied visits.Following the incident, the Police General Directorate published a statement confirming that 2 persons were killed, including a drug dealer wanted in various cases, including shooting and wounding police officers last August, and another one was injured in an ambush set by the police in Az-Zawayda village, central Gaza Strip. According to the police statement, the wanted person firstly opened fire from the car he was inside and moderately wounded one of the police officers, who responded with gunfire that killed 2 persons and injured the third one; they were all inside the car.The police refused to reveal to PCHR’s fieldworker the identity of the wounded officer for fear of revenge. The wounded and killed persons were all taken to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, while the fate of the wounded police officer remains unknown.   Following the incident, outraged persons, from al-Aqra’ family, set fire to tires on the coastal road and at the entrance to al-Nakheel street at the beginning of Deir al-Balah. On Wednesday morning, they also burnt tires on the coastal road, closed roads and forced students to leave schools near their houses.

• PCHR calls upon the public prosecution to open an investigation into the death circumstances of the two persons from al-Aqra’ family and the injury of another, investigate the security officers’ compliance with local and international firearms control standards, publish the results to the public, and take the appropriate legal proceedings.
• PCHR emphasizes that law enforcement services should comply with the firearms control standards that oblige security officers to use weapons only when defending themselves or others from an imminent danger in exceptional circumstances and for the utmost necessity, according to the proportionality rules codified by the international standards.