Mideast - AFP
AFP photographer wounded in Israeli raid in central Gaza Strip
Date: Wed, May 05, 2004
GAZA CITY (AFP) - A Palestinian photographer for AFP was wounded in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) when Israeli troops opened fire on a group of stone-throwers, Palestinians witnesses and medical sources said.
Mahmud Hams, 25, was hit by a bullet in his left thigh and by shrapnel in his right leg, said Doctor Ibrahim al-Musadar, from the Deir al-Balah hospital where Hams was taken.
His injuries were not thought to be serious.
He was hit as photographers were taking pictures of young Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli troops conducting a raid into Deir al-Balah, the witnesses said, stressing that no armed Palestinians were present in the area at the time of the incident.
Hams was wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof jacket, which clearly identified him as a reporter.
When contacted by AFP, an army spokesman said the exact circumstances of the incident were currently under investigation.
"I cannot of course at this point comment and assure you that he was hit by IDF (army) fire," he said.
He stressed that armed militants often mingle with young stone-throwers to fire at soldiers during Israeli military operations in the occupied territories.
"Where the terrorists open fire from within civilian population, it's very hard to distinguish between the two," he explained.
A 35-year-old Palestinian was killed in the same area moments earlier and several other Palestinians wounded, the same sources said.
SOURCE
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