Gazan woman dies after 'violent beating by father' for 'calling divorced mother'

Citing medical sources, local reports said Jarba – who is from Deir al Balah – arrived at the Shuhada' Al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza late on Thursday with bruises on her body. She was also bleeding as a result of head and neck injuries, according to media reports.

She later died as a result of her injuries, reports added. 

The incident reportedly occured after Jarba used a phone to contact her divorced mother during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The young woman was not allowed to own a cellphone or use social media and was not permitted to communicate with her mother, who is divorced from her father, reports alleged.

Her death sparked outcry from Palestinians, who took to social media platforms to call for an end to violence against women.

"Madeleine is a girl from my city Gaza, we are the same age. Her father killed her ... stop the crimes against women!" one Twitter user said.

Read also: Why women activists are taking gender-based violence into their own hands

"Can you imagine how much women lack their rights in Palestine? To the extent that if a woman divorces, she is deprived of her daughter and is unable to communicate with her. To the extent that the daughter gets killed for it," an angered Palestinian wrote in a tweet.

The Gaza Strip's Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned the killing, and cited the "lack of seriousness" from authorities in dealing with domestic violence cases as a key factor contributing to an upsurge of killings of women.

The police are investigating the incident, and still looking for the father, who will be questioned when found, the NGO said.

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