Death in Gaza: Israeli forces kill teenage boy, 45-year-old man dies after being arrested by the Executive Force

Armed members of the Executive Force(MaanImages)

January 24, 2007

Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli forces killed a Palestinian boy, east of Deir Al Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday morning, and injured two others before arresting them and taking them to an unknown destination.

Director of Al Aqsa Brigades hospital, Khalid Najjar, said that 17-year-old Mahran Zakaria was already dead upon arrival at the hospital after being shot by the Israeli forces.

Earlier this morning, Dr Moawiya Hassanein, the director of emergencies and first aid in the Palestinian health ministry, said that the boy was killed by a bullet in the stomach. Dr Hassanein said that the teenager was shot by the Israeli forces stationed in the area of east Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian ambulance servicemen said that they received Zakaria's body and were informed by the Israeli forces that two others were injured and that they had been arrested.

The three Palestinians were in the area of a dumping site, where two Israeli bulldozers were carving up the land.

In a separate incident, the body of a 45-year-old Palestinian man was brought to Abu Yousef An-Najar hospital in Rafah on Wednesday morning under suspicious circumstances.

The body was of Hisham Hammad who was arrested three days ago by the Hamas-affiliated Executive Force in the governorate of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

A spokesman for the force, Islam Shahwan, said that Hammad died "because of a heart attack on Wednesday morning. The hospital was contacted and they sent an ambulance to transport the man."

The deceased was rumoured to have marks on his body which would indicate torture.Shahwan denied that the man had any marks on his body or died because of torture.

He confirmed that Hammad died of a heart attack and said that the Executive Force has demanded a medical report to prove the reason of his death.

Witnesses said that Hammad was not arrested for political reasons and that he was interrogated accordingly.