October 1, 2003:
Mohammed's younger brother
Issam was seriously injured
and was taken to the hospital
about a week ago. His leg
was amputated and he is
undergoing medical treatment.

October 18, 2003:
Mohammad's younger brother,
Hussam [17 yrs old], was killed
by the Israeli army today.

Hussam was sitting at home
when he was shot in the face,
chest, back, legs. He had
nothing to do with any violent
or even political movement.

Hussam's crime is that he was
a Palestinian.

— The Webmaster

7 March 05

The last fuanrel in Rafah Refugee Camp of Mazen Ben Hassan,
the IOF shelling is still ongoing during the nights

Whether one calls it a truce, a cease-fire, or a "calm-down" period, the Israeli army shelling is still ongoing in the refugee camps in Gaza. This week many people were injured, a nd some few were killed..

A bomb exploded in the Tal Al Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, seriously injuring four children who happened to be nearby. Residents think the device was a landmine left by the Israeli soldiers during one of the many incursion the area has suffered in recent years. Ambulances converged on the western Rafah neighborhood to rush the injured to Abu Yousif Al Najjar Hospital. Dr. Ali Musa, the hospital director, said the children had serious injuries from flying shrapnel. They are Ibrahim Aal Najjar, 14; Ahmed Qofah, 14' Ameer Nawfal, 5; and Ahmed's 9-month-old baby brother, Khaled Qufah.

Mazen Ben Hassan, 19, was killed recently by the IOF shooting in unknown conditions. Another 13-year-old boy, Jehad Judah, was seriously injured by Israeli bullets. Judah suffered gunshot wounds while near his house.

While the major incursions have stopped in the last few days, and the pace of shooting is somewhat lessened, closures of the main roads are still in force. Salah-ah-Deen street, the main north- south road connecting the major towns and refugee camps through Gaza, is closed, and the al-Mawasi area near the beach, once a thriving fishing and farming area, remains blocked off from the re st of Gaza by the occupying forces. Of course, there has been virtually no relief yet from the widespread poverty and unemployment affecting the citizens here.

This week, 21 schoolchildren had to be hospitalized with severe stomach trouble. The doctors treating them suspect they were all exposed to a toxin or drank tainted water. Since virtually all the Palestinian areas of Gaza lack clean drinking water and rely on bottled water, the precise source of the problem is puzzling. Is there some new danger in the environment on top of all the ones we're already aware of?

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