Israeli occupation forces shoot Palestinian farmer in Gaza

Israeli occupation forces shot on Sunday afternoon a Palestinian farmer in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, Anadolu news agency reported.

Citing Palestinian medical sources, the news agency reported that Rajab Maarouf, 22, was shot in his leg while working on his farm in Beit Lahia. Maarouf was then taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital, where doctors said he had suffered moderate injuries to his leg.

According to Israeli media, an Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the shooting, claiming that: “There were two suspects that approached the security fence” in the area.

She added that the soldiers fired “warning shots in the air and at their lower extremities and then the suspects moved away.”

A ceasefire agreement between Palestinian factions in Gaza and the Israeli occupation was reached on 26 August, ending a 51-day Israeli war on the Strip that claimed the lives of more than 2,160 Palestinians and wounded more than 11,000 others, mostly civilians.

The Israeli occupation maintains a 1,500-metre “military buffer zone” along the Gaza borders, which was supposed to be reduced as part of the ceasefire agreement, with farmers initially reporting that they were able to access their fields within 100 meters from the border fence.

However, since the signing of the agreement, Anadolu pointed out that Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire at and arrested Palestinians going about their daily work in Gaza.