Israeli army admits abandoning Palestinian man with Down syndrome
The Israeli army has admitted that a Palestinian man with Down syndrome who died after being attacked and injured by an army dog was abandoned by its soldiers.
The army's admission comes two weeks after Middle East Eye originally reported on the death of Muhammed Bhar following a raid by Israeli soldiers on his family home in eastern Gaza City's Shujaiya neighbourhood on 3 July.
His family told MEE they had been forced at gunpoint to leave behind the 24-year-old after he was mauled by the dog. Relatives described Muhammed as "like a one-year-old", and said he needed help eating.
Family members contacted the Red Cross daily for a week, pleading for Muhammed's release or medical treatment, but were told that the Israeli army was not cooperating.
After a week, and once Israeli troops withdrew from Shujaiya, they returned to find his decomposing body at their home.
The Israeli army initially told journalists it was checking into reports about Muhammed.
But an army spokesperson told +972, the BBC and other outlets this weekend that soldiers left a man fitting his description after an RPG missile hit their tank, injuring soldiers and killing one.
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