Manchester peace activist Thomas Hurndall, 21, suffered a gun shot to the head on Friday 11 April 2003. Thomas was acting as a human shield in Gaza when Israel Defence Forces hit him. Thomas is now comatose and hooked up to a respirator. Thomas is part of the International Solidarity Movement.
Tom Wallace, of the ISM, said the incident happened in a residential area, and local children had come to watch the protest, as they often did. He said shots were being fired over the protesters' heads from one of two Israeli watchtowers nearby. "The activists and all the women and kids decided to move away," Mr Wallace said. "He was standing in front of the women and kids to protect them."
Khalil Hamra, an Associated Press photographer, said the nine activists were walking towards Israeli tanks on the outskirts of the Rafah refugee camp, near the border with Egypt. The tanks patrol a road used by the army for incursions into the camp and the activists wanted to set up a protest tent on the road to block them. Soldiers opened fire when the group was about 200 yards away from three tanks. Mr Hurndall - who was wearing a fluorescent vest - and another activist tried to get children out of the line of fire, said Hamra.
Fellow activist Alison Phillips told the Manchester Evening News: "Tom got this little boy out of the way and then he saw these two little girls. He turned back to encourage them to come and was bent down when he was shot in the back of the head."