Flooding South Lebanon - Human Rights Watch

Dr. `Abdel Nasser Farran told Human Rights Watch that Hassan was suffering from a
shrapnel wound caused by a piece that entered at the waist and exited through the
stomach. 157 It shredded his intestines and damaged his liver and stomach. He was in
critical condition when Human Rights Watch saw him. Sukna had shrapnel injuries to
her liver and other light wounds to her body. Marwa had minor leg injuries and was
released from the hospital a few days later.
In late August, Human Rights Watch researchers returned to Blida, which Israel
attacked with clusters on July 19. `Abbas Yousif `Abbas, a 6-year-old boy, was
injured on August 30, suffering shrapnel wounds to the stomach, bladder, left lung,
and right hand. He said that he was on the road in front of a friend’s house when
another friend picked up a submunition and threw it, and it exploded. “It looked like
a perfume bottle,” he said. 158
Despite education efforts, many children remained unaware of the danger of
submunitions into the fall of 2006. In Halta, Rami `Ali Hassan Shebli, 12, died on
October 22 when he picked up a submunition while playing with his brother, Khodr,
14. Khodr, who suffered shrapnel wounds as a result of the incident, sat on a tree
branch outside of his neighbor’s home, dropping pinecones on his brother on the
ground below. Rami picked up something to throw back at his brother. When a
witness noticed that Rami had picked up a submunition and yelled at him to put it
down, Rami raised his hand to throw it away. The dud exploded when his hand was
behind his ear. 159 Human Rights Watch arrived in Halta several hours after the
incident and saw the Lebanese Army destroy about 15 unexploded cluster duds in a
backyard next to the village in the course of an hour.
157 Human Rights Watch interview with Dr. `Abdel Nasser Farran, Jabal Amel Hospital, Tyre, August 18, 2006.
158 Human Rights Watch interview with `Abbas Yousif `Abbas, Najdeh Sha`biyyah Hospital, Nabatiyah, August 30, 2006.
159 Human Rights Watch interview with witness (name withheld), Halta, October 22, 2006.
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Human Rights Watch February 2008