February 8, 2019: Hasan Eyad Shalabi, 14, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers while participating in the Great March of Return protest at the Gaza-Israel border near Khan Younis. This was the 46th week of the Great Return March demonstrations in Gaza.
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip confirmed that Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinian teens, 17 and 14 years of age, and injured 104, 22 of whom were hit with live fire, when the Israeli army engaged in the excessive use of force against the Great Return March processions in several parts of the coastal region.
The Health Ministry said the soldiers killed a child, identified as Hasan Eyad Shalabi, 14, from the Nusseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, after shooting him with live fire in the chest, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry added that the soldiers also killed Hamza Mohammad Roshdi Eshteiwi, 17, from Gaza city, after shooting him with live fire in the neck, east of Gaza.
Furthermore, the soldiers fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity gas bombs at protesters in many areas across the coastal region, especially in Malka area, east of Gaza city, and areas east of Jabalia in northern Gaza, in addition to the al-Boreij refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli army fire injured eighteen Palestinians with live rounds, and injured dozens with rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to the effects of teargas inhalation.
Also on Friday, a Palestinian detainee, identified as Yasser Eshteyya Hamed, 36, from Tal village, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, died at the Be’er as-Sabe’ (Beersheba) Israeli prison, due to the lack of adequate medical treatment. Hamed was taken prisoner in 2009, and is serving a life term.
His death just came two days after a political prisoner, identified as Fares Baroud, 51, from Shati’ refugee camp in Gaza, died due to the lack of medical treatment.
UNICEF issued a statement condemning the killing of the two children, stating, “This is another stark reminder of the significant violence that children in the State of Palestine continue to endure. As we mark 30 years since the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is essential that the fundamental rights of children be respected”.
“It is time that violence against children ends. For years, children in the State of Palestine and Israel have suffered not only physically but have also borne the brunt emotionally”, the UN organization said.
“Children are children. They must be protected at all times. Children should never be a target. Nor should they be exposed to any form of violence, by any party””, continued the UNICEF statement.
The documentation by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights shows that, on Friday, 8 February, 2019, Israeli forces killed two children and injured 104 protesters, including 43 children, five women, and one paramedic — 22 by live ammunition and 48 by tear gas canisters. One protester was seriously wounded.
Al Mezan added that, since the start of the protests on 30 March, 2018, 265 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Of the total fatalities, 188 were killed at the protests, including 38 children, two women, two journalists, three paramedics, and eight persons with disability, including one child. Another 14,378 persons have been wounded, including 3,058 children, 630 women, 171 paramedics, and 149 journalists. Of those wounded, 7,635 were hit by live fire, including 1,426 children and 152 women. The Israeli forces continue to keep the bodies of 11 fatalities, including three minors.
Hasan was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC
