Mass suicide attempt over Gaza war compensation

Seventeen members of families who lost relatives in Israel's 2008 war on Gaza staged a mass suicide attempt in protest over unpaid compensations from the Hamas government, a representative said. Alaa al-Barawi, speaking on behalf of the families, told Ma’an News Agency that 17 people related to those who died in the fighting attempted to hang themselves after a 39-day sit-in went unanswered. Witnesses said ambulances arrived at the scene and took a number of the family members to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Al-Barawi added that the families would continue seeking promised financial compensation from the government, which has paid families who lost loved ones in the 2008-2009 war. 

Israeli attacks killed over 1,400 Palestinians in the "Cast Lead" operation which began in late 2008 and lasted three weeks.

From Ma'an News Agency, Dec. 4