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82nd Friday of Demonstrations in Gaza: 90 Wounded, including 31 Children, Two Women, One Paramedic

On Friday 8 November 2019, the 82nd week of the Great March of Return (GMR) protests, Israeli forces continued to use live fire and other violent means in policing unarmed protests. 90 people were injured, including 31 children, two women and one paramedic. Of the injured, 39 sustained wounds from live fire, while 11 were hit directly by tear gas canisters. Medical sources reported three wounded in serious injury.

The documentation by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights shows that on Friday, Kamal Al Shahari, 24, a volunteer paramedic, was injured in the head with a plastic-coated steel bullet at the demonstration in Khan Younis district.

Al Mezan’s documentation shows that from 30 March 2018, Israeli forces have killed 328 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Of the total fatalities, 214 were killed at the protests, including 46 children, two women, four paramedics, two journalists, and nine persons with disability. Another 19,043 persons have been wounded, including 4,901 children and 858 women. 9,475 of the wounded were injured by live fire, including 2,095 children and 185 women. In 277 shootings, 224 paramedics were wounded, 45 of them more than once. Also, in 246 shootings, 173 journalists were injured, 43 of them more than once. The Israeli forces continue to keep the bodies of 15 fatalities, including two minors.

Al Mezan condemns the continued use of excessive and other unlawful force by the Israeli forces, including sharpshooters, to police demonstrations. Al Mezan also expresses concern by the continued deliberate attacks on unarmed protesters, including children, persons with disability, paramedics and journalists— the last two categories being visible as such to Israeli forces. Al Mezan stresses that the rights to peaceful assembly and to free expression are fundamental rights and must be respected. Unarmed protesters not posing any serious or imminent threat to the Israeli forces must not be harmed.

Al Mezan calls on the international community to condemn all violations of international law and to promptly intervene to ensure the protection of civilians from unlawful attack in the context of the protests. The international community must end its silence on the aggravating human rights situation and condemn all violations of international law. Al Mezan also calls on the international community to take firm action to ensure accountability and justice for serious violations of international law.