Ra’ed Khalil Abu Teir

May 3, 2019: Ra’ed Khalil Abu Teir, 19, was killed by Israeli soldiers who shot him with a live round in the abdomen, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Ra’ed was shot when Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly Great Return March processions in the Gaza Strip, killing Ra’ed and another Palestinian, and injuring 82 others, including 34 children, two journalists and three paramedics.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) reported that in addition to Ra’ed, the soldiers killed Ramzi Rawhi ‘Abdo, 31, who died from serious wounds he suffered earlier that same day, when Israeli soldiers shot him with a live round in the head, east of al-Boreij in central Gaza.

It is worth mentioning that Ra’ed was still recovering from an in injury he suffered, last Friday, when the soldiers shot him with a live round in the leg, and was not near the fence when he was killed.

Ra’ed was among hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, who were near the tents of the Great Return March encampments, hundreds of meters away from the fence.

The PCHR stated that there were only a few incidents where a limited number of protesters attempted to approach the fence, and threw stones at the soldiers.

The PCHR added that the soldiers resorted to the excessive use of force against the unarmed protesters, on the 57th Friday of the Great Return March and Breaking the Siege, killing the two young men, and wounding 82 others.

It also confirmed that among the wounded are 34 children, five women, three paramedics and two journalists, who were all injured in several areas in the eastern parts of the coastal region.

Four of the injured Palestinians, including one girl, suffered serious wounds.

The soldiers were stationed in their sniper posts, and armored military jeeps across the perimeter fence, and fired a barrage of live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity gas bombs at the unarmed protesters.

The soldiers injured the three paramedics while trying to provide treatment to wounded Palestinians east of Jabalia in northern Gaza, in addition to al-Boreij in central Gaza, and in Gaza city.

In addition, the soldiers also targeted a Palestinian ambulance with a high-velocity gas bomb east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The PCHR denounced the systematic Israeli policy of targeting medical personnel and obstructing their humanitarian wok in direct violation of International Law.

According to PCHR data and documentation of the ongoing Israeli excessive use of force against the Great Return March processions, which started on Palestinian Land Day March 30th 2018, the soldiers killed 204 Palestinians, including 44 children, 2 women, 3 medics, 2 journalists and 8 persons with disabilities.

The following table shows the number of civilian casualties due to the Israeli forces’ suppression of the Great March of Return as published by the PCHR in its report this Friday: (This report was issued before Ramzi Rawhi Abdo died from his wounds, therefore, the number of slain Palestinians is now 205)

Killed Wounded
Total 204 12350
Children 44 2424
Women 2 375
Journalists 2 201
Medical personnel 3 201
Persons with disabilities 8 Undefined
Note:Among those wounded, 548 are in serious condition and 137 had their lower or upper limbs amputated; 123 lower-limb amputations, 14 upper-limb amputations, and 25 children had their limbs amputated according to the Ministry of Health.  The number of those wounded only include those wounded with live bullets and directly hit with tear gas canisters, as there have been thousand others who suffered tear gas inhalation and sustained bruises.

Ra’ed was from Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Source: IMEMC