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Iman Darweesh Al Hams (Arabic: ايمان درويش الهمص) Also transliterated, Iyman Hams and Iman al-Hams (1991 - 5 October 2004) was a 13-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops in a "no man's" zone near the Philadelphi Route on 5 October 2004 in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Hit by more than a dozen bullets, her death was one of series of incidents cited by human rights groups as illustrative of a "culture of impunity" among the Israel Defense Forces. It is also one of the few instances, among the hundreds of cases in which Palestinian children and teenagers have been killed by army fire, in which the army actually launched an investigation. Ultimately however, no one was held responsible for her death.
The Druze (IDF) commander of the soldiers from the Givati Brigade that killed her, known only as "Lieutenant R.," or "Captain R.," was accused of firing his entire magazine into the girl's body as she lay wounded on the ground. He was cleared of these charges after the one of the prosecution's witnesses admitted that he had not witnessed the shooting. There was no explanation from the officer or the court as to how al-Hams came to have 17 bullet wounds to her arms, legs, torso and face.
