Broad-Daylight Shooting in Central Gaza City

Field Update

02 June 2020

On Monday, several areas in Gaza City were exposed to opening fire by gunmen, including a facility belonging to Murtaja family where a child sustained a live bullet wounds, lawyer Sharhabeel Yousef al-Za’eem’s vehicle parked in front of his office and ‘Abdullah Skik’s house.This incident falls under the state of proliferation of weapons and assault on the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 15:30 on Monday, 01 June 2020, identified gunmen opened fire at Basheer Ragheb Murtajah’s shop for water pumps and generators on al-Basateen Street in al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City. As a result, a street vendor, Anas Tal’at Salman (15), was shot and injured with a live bullet in his left foot and taken to al-Shifa Hospital, where his injury was classified moderate.

Following that, the gunmen headed towards Salah al-Deen Street in al-Toufah neighborhood, where they opened fire at Khaled Murtajah’s  homeware shop. They then headed to al-Jalaa’ Street near YMCA Headquarters, where Sharhabeel’s office is located, and fired several live bullets at Sharhabeel’s vehicle parked there. The gunmen also opened fire at ‘Abdullah Skik’s house in al-Samer area in the central Gaza City.

The Ministry of Interior’s website quoted the Spokesperson of the Palestinian Police in the Gaza Strip, Colonel Ayman Al-Batnaiji, saying that the police arrested the main suspects in the incident: (T. G), 38, and ( A. G), 37, and referred them to the Public Prosecution to complete the legal procedures. The police also confiscated weapons and a vehicle used in the incidents.

PCHR condemns this attack, which is a flagrant attack on the rule of law in the oPt, and calls upon the competent authorities to take strict measures to combat the increase in unlawful firearm use, especially in the recent period, which caused the killing and injury of a number of Palestinians on grounds of social violence.