Description
Palestinians gather at the site of an explosion that ripped through a house in the Al-Shabura refugee camp near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on August 6, 2015. (AFP Said Khatib)
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UPDATE Aug 16, 2015
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian woman from the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday morning succumbed to wounds sustained earlier this month when an unexploded ordnance last summer's Israeli military offensive went off.
Palestinian medical sources at Abu Yousif al-Najjar hospital in Rafah said that 77-year-old Amina Abu Naqira on Sunday morning died after fighting for her life for more than a week.
Four other Palestinians were killed and more than 30 injured when the unexploded ordnance went off while a family was clearing rubble from a destroyed house in the Shabora neighborhood of Rafah on Aug. 6.
The other fatalities were all relatives of Amina Naqire and were identified as Bakr Hasan Abu Naqira, Abdul-Rahman Abu Naqira, Ahmad Hasan Abu Naqira, and Hassan Ahmad Abu Naqira.
More than 7,000 unexploded ordnances were left throughout the Gaza Strip following last summer's war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, according to officials of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories.
Even before the most recent Israeli assault, unexploded ordnances from the 2008-9 and 2012 offensives were a major threat to Gazans.
A 2012 report published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that 111 civilians, 64 of whom were children, were casualties to unexploded ordnance between 2009 and 2012, reaching an average of four every month in 2012.
Last year's 50-day war was the longest and deadliest of the three, with 2,251 Palestinians killed, mostly civilians, including 551 children, and 73 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
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GAZA CITY (Ma'an) Aug 6, 2015 -- At least four Palestinians were killed on Thursday and over 30 injured when an unexploded ordnance from last summer's Israeli military offensive went off while clearing rubble from a destroyed house in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said.
Palestinian medical sources at the Abu Yousif al-Najjar hospital in Rafah said four bodies and multiple wounded Palestinians arrived at the emergency room.
The victims, who were all from the same family, were identified as Bakr Hasan Abu Naqira, Abdul-Rahman Abu Naqira, Ahmad Hasan Abu Naqira, and Hassan Ahmad Abu Naqira.
Medics said it is likely that the death toll will increase.
Over 7,000 unexploded ordnance were left throughout the Gaza Strip following last summer's war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, according to officials of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories (OCHA).
Even before the most frequent Israeli assault, unexploded ordnance from the 2008-9 and 2012 offensives was a major threat to Gazans.
A 2012 report published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that 111 civilians, 64 of whom were children, were casualties to unexploded ordnance between 2009 and 2012, reaching an average of four every month in 2012.
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by Jack Khoury for Haaretz
At least four people were reportedly killed Thursday in Gaza after an undetonated round from the summer war between Israel and Hamas exploded during attempts to clear debris left over from the conflict.
According to medical sources in the Strip, up to 29 people were hurt when the unexploded shell blew up in Rafah. According to reports in Gaza, the shell was an Israeli dud left over from Operation Protective Edge.
The unexploded bomb was in the ruins of a house that used to belong to Sheikh Attia Abu-Nakira, senior member of Hamas' military wing. He apparently wasn't hurt in Thursday's blast. Israeli forces struck his house last July, during the war with Gaza.
Local reports said all the casualties were members of the Abu Nikra family and were aged 18 to 38. According to Gaza officials, the explosion took place during an attempt to clear debris from a house belonging to the family – which they said sustained damage from an aerial assault on Gaza during the 50-day summer conflict. Thursday's blast also reportedly caused damage to surrounding structures.
According to Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, three members of the family were killed in the initial explosion, but one of the wounded later succumbed to his wounds. According to the official, 10 of those wounded were said to be in serious condition and some were still facing life-threatening wounds.
A ceasefire last August bought 50 days of fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and armed Gaza militants brought to an end. According to Gaza health officials, more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed. Israel lost 67 soldiers during the fighting and six civilians were killed as a result of rocket fire.
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/beta/1.669871
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