A/HRC/8/17 page 17 as international NGOs approached the village council and documented the incident. The head of the village council reported that he was unaware of any investigations initiated by the Israeli Police at the time of writing. Other incidents, including intra-Palestinian violence, during the period from 25 February to 24 April 2008 45. During the reporting period, around 30 Palestinians, of whom allegedly 9 were civilians (including 5 children), were killed, and approximately 26 others injured in intra-Palestinian violence, according to Palestinian human rights organizations. 46. Several incidents were reported involving unidentified armed groups in Gaza while law and order continued to deteriorate. Incidents of intra-clan fighting, abductions, attacks on public institutions and civil freedoms, prevailed to claim further fatalities among civilians. According to Palestinian human rights organizations, 28 Palestinians were killed in Gaza as a result of these incidents.56 47. Among the incidents in Gaza the following are noteworthy: on 2 March 2008, unknown gunmen assaulted the Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, in Deir el Balah town in the central Gaza Strip. The circumstances of the incident remain unclear.57 On 19 March, local newspapers reported that Hamas security forces arrested the director of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and removed the Deputy Minister of Transportation from his position, before taking over his office and confiscating his car.58 On 23 March, the police in Gaza arrested a member of the PFLP politburo.59 On 13 April, unknown gunmen abducted a former officer of the Palestinian General Intelligence, and took him to an unknown destination. On 15 April, the police informed his family that his body had been found in the Sheikh Ejlin area south-west of Gaza City. According to local human rights organizations, clear signs of physical abuse were found on his body. In a statement published by local newspapers on 17 April, Fatah blamed Hamas for his death, and called for a fair and objective investigation into the incident. The authorities in Gaza announced that the incident will be investigated, the findings made public, and legal measures to redress abuses and bring perpetrators to justice will be taken. Local newspapers reported that a parliamentary committee was also set up to investigate the death of the former intelligence officer. Moreover, local human rights organizations recorded a total of 10 attacks on public institutions and peaceful assemblies in the Gaza Strip over the reporting period. 56 Interview with Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Gaza, April 2008.] 57 See, Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Press Release, 6 March 2008. 58 Ibid. 19 March 2008. 59 Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on 24 March 2008.