Lebanon: 7-year-old girl Naya Hanna dies three weeks after being hit by stray celebratory gunfire

Seven-year-old Lebanese girl Naya Hanna passed away on the night of Saturday to Sunday, some three weeks after being hit by stray gunfire.

She was struck by a bullet fired on 3 August during celebrations which followed the release of high school exam results while at a summer camp in the town of Hadath, south of Beirut.

After collapsing on the ground, Hanna was taken to hospital. Dr Kamal Qansou said a bullet was lodged at the base of her skull.

Celebratory gunfire is a common practice in many Middle Eastern countries. Edouard Beigbeder, the UN children's agency UNICEF's representative in Lebanon, branded it a "very dangerous tradition that needs to end" after it was reported at least four children had been seriously hurt in the country in a 48-hour period last year.

After Hanna was struck by a bullet earlier this month, a wave of outrage swept Lebanon.

One more angel in heaven, broken hearts and tearing eyes on earth!

RIP NAYA HANNA 🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/JP1WqJbI4U

— Fouad M (@FouadWM) August 27, 2023

The day after she was shot, caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi condemned the "recklessness that turned into a heinous crime".

He called on security and military forces to pursue those who fired the shots and refer them to judicial authorities to serve as an "example to others".

Halabi said there is a need to "stop this senseless habit that is spreading in our society".

As Hanna lay in hospital before her tragic death, her parents and other relatives held onto hope. "Naya is a strong girl and she is still fighting to come back to us," the family said in a statement.

Hadath Mayor George Aoun said at the time he was waiting for "divine mercy" for Hanna to regain consciousness.

"I take this as an opportunity to cry out to the conscience of every human being in Lebanon to stop firing shots on [celebratory] occasions, as stray bullets kill innocent people who have chosen to stay in Lebanon," he said.