“A soldier asked me if I was a terrorist then he pointed his gun at my stomach and threatened to shoot me.”
Ashraf S, 15, from Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza
“On 4 November 2009, at about 9am, I was near the sea shore in north Gaza visiting a friend of mine. I went to the beach and sat there for a while before I heard the sound of shooting; it appeared to be coming from the Israeli military boats in the sea. I rushed to escape towards the north where I saw two Israeli tanks in front of me. I heard a voice through a loudspeaker saying in English: ‘Stop’. I looked behind me and saw dogs running towards me, so I ran to escape from them. Then I fell down and I felt my neck hurt and felt it was bleeding [Sami had been shot in the neck].
One of the dogs attacked me and tore my trousers. I got up and tried to escape, but I fell down again. Then I saw a soldier wearing a green military uniform approaching me. He kicked me in the mouth and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I saw three soldiers and three doctors around me and I realized that I was inside a helicopter. There was a respiration appliance on my mouth. A soldier asked me about my name, whether I was affiliated with Hamas, and whether I was a terrorist.
Then the helicopter landed and they carried me out on a stretcher. I saw a lot of soldiers around me in what seemed to be a military base. They put me inside an ambulance in which there was a male nurse who gave me first aid. The ambulance drove for some time before it stopped. They took me out of the ambulance and two girls began to search my clothes. A soldier asked me if I was a terrorist then he pointed his gun at my stomach and threatened to shoot me. I said that I was a school student, not a terrorist. I saw one of the girls arguing with the soldier, telling him that I was a student and asking him why he didn't believe me. Then they carried me for a while after which I saw a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance. Six nurses got out of it. Then I saw a soldier saying to the people who were carrying me not to give me to the Red Crescent. The solider began to argue with the Red Crescent team. The argument went on and I remained waiting for half an hour after which three of the Red Crescent team came and carried me to their ambulance.
The ambulance drove until it reached Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where doctors treated me. A doctor put a waxy substance on my entry and exit wounds. The doctors told me that I had a fracture in the fourth and fifth cervical vertebra [bones in the neck]. Consequently, I was referred to Wafa Hospital, which is located east of Gaza City, for rehabilitation and to continue my medical treatment. I don't understand why the occupation soldiers would shoot at me and wound me in the neck while I was sitting on the beach about a kilometer away from the Israeli borders.”
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