GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Fatima Abu Mahdi, 17, who lived in the Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza, was killed Jan. 19 in her house after a bullet hit her in the head. A Hamas-affiliated police spokesman in Gaza, Ayman al-Batniji, told Al-Monitor, “According to preliminary investigations, the family reported that Fatima’s brother killed her by mistake with a bullet that was fired while he was cleaning his gun.” Batniji said the investigation was ongoing.
There have been a number of recent cases where women were killed by a family member in the Gaza Strip, with the listed causes ranging from gun accidents to honor killings.