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The soldiers then directed the older men and the women and children to leave thehouse. They were told to go to the house of Ramadan’s uncle (a well-respectedlawyer also called Ramadan Qdeih), a short distance away (see point 6 on the map).The younger men, a total of 7, were kept in the house and blindfolded.Shortly after, the men’s blindfolds were removed and the soldiers ordered Ramadanand the other young men to undress to their underwear. The men were beaten andaccused of having bombs. They were accused of intending to explode a suicide bomb,killing themselves and the Israeli soldiers. One by one they were interrogated andbeaten. The Israeli soldiers demanded to know the location of Hamas headquartersand resistance fighters.The soldiers then made Ramadan walk in front of them down the stairs to thebasement. He was warned that if any person hiding in the basement was found, thesoldiers would immediately kill him. Ramadan was terrified, fearing that if anyone hadremained in the basement and the soldiers heard or saw any movement, they wouldbe shot. While walking down the stairs he mentally counted the women and childrenwho had left the house, trying to calculate if anyone was missing and might still behidden in the basement. At the door to the basement, one soldier placed the barrel ofhis rifle on Ramadan’s shoulder and fired into the basement. When Ramadan beganto shout in fear, he was struck with the rifle butt and insulted by the Israeli soldiers.The 7 males were kept in the house. Some of the soldiers went to the uncle’s houseand brought the women, the children, and the uncle back to Ramadan’s housetogether with the uncle’s family. The women, children and older men were ordered togo to the first floor and were kept there.The young men were taken to the second floor. The Israeli soldiers had removed theglass from the windows facing the street. Two of the young men were then placed infront of the open windows in each room. The Israeli soldiers placed the rifle barrelsonto the men’s shoulders and fired out the windows. They did not fire continuously,but now and then over approximately one hour. Meanwhile the Israeli soldiers werelaughing and joking. The rifle barrels were alternately placed on the left and the rightshoulder of Ramadan (probably the same regarding the other men) and Ramadanwas ordered to stand completely still. This lasted for about 8 hours, during which timeRamadan received no food or drink. During the shooting, he got a severe headachewith pain and mild ringing in his ears (tinnitus), which persisted for several days. Atthe time of the interview with the second FFM team, he reported no tinnitus. 21After a while the women and the children were again ordered to leave the house.The Israeli soldiers also left the house, leaving one soldier behind to guard the men.Ramadan was untied by his uncle. He started to scream and ran around looking for21This description of the young men being used as human shields in the occupied house has been described by a Genevabasedgroup called Euro-Mid. A video of their description is available at http://www.euromid.org/en/article/597/Euro-Mid-Documents-Israel%E2%80%99s-Use-of-Human-Shields-in-Gaza , accessed 23 Nov 201491