Hamas security forces shot dead a Palestinian citizen, who had failed to stop at a checkpoint east of Gaza City.
Militants from the Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, fired shots at three citizens who were traveling in a civilian vehicle near the Tuffah neighborhood. One of the passengers was killed and the other two wounded.
“Late Friday evening, a speeding vehicle entered one of the checkpoints of the Hama Al-Thoghour forces in the eastern border area of Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City,” Hamas’ interior ministry said in a statement about the shooting.
“The security forces suspected the vehicle of suspicious activity, and they signaled to the driver to stop, but he refused and continued moving at a very high speed.”
“Two shots were fired at the vehicle, but it did not stop, and it fled,” the statement pointed out, acknowledging that one of the passengers had been injured.
A Hamas interior ministry spokesman, Iyad Al-Bazm, stated that the injured Palestinian later died of his wounds after he was transferred to Shifa Hospital, while two other people who were inside the vehicle were kept in custody.
Also, the ministry announced it had opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The development comes days after an explosion at an apartment near a popular Gaza market killed a Palestinian and injured 10 others. Human rights groups are demanding the opening of serious and transparent investigations into such incidents.
Two days ago, the head of the follow-up to government work of Hamas in Gaza, a member of the movement’s political bureau, Issam Al-Dalis, announced the start of a “professional” investigation into the circumstances of the Zawiya market explosion.
