12 july 2014
Palestinian civilians and civilian facilities are being targeted repeatedly by Israeli airstrikes across the coastal enclave including residential buildings, sports clubs and parks.
On Saturday morning Israeli F-16 warplanes fired a missile at the building of Khadamat al-Maghazi sport club in al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Another missile hit a football playground in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
A park was also targeted Saturday in the al-Manshiyya neighborhood in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip. The home of the Sbeih family was hit in the same area. Missiles also landed near al-Weam charitable society in Beit Lahiya.
The home of the al-Hawajiri family was hit in the Nuseirat camp as well as the home of the Ammar Irhayyim family in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
Palestinian resistance factions continue to attack Israeli towns
Hamas' military wing said the group’s fighters had fired 571 different rockets and shells at Israeli targets by noon Saturday.
The attacks included four R160 missiles, 2 J80 missiles, 37 M75 missiles and 13 Sijjeel 55 missiles in addition to hundreds of Grad missiles, mortar shells and homemade projectiles.
For its part, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for firing two missiles at Israeli military base Sufa Saturday morning.
Also, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the al-Nasser Salah Ad-din Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters fired four mortar shells at Israeli military vehicles stationed in Kissufim forest.
Similarly, the Ayman Judah Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters fired a missile at Kibbutz Miflasim and two homemade projectiles at Kibbutz Beeri.
The Al-Ansar Brigades said in a statement that its fighters fired four missiles toward Kerem Shalom military base.
5 injured in airstrike on Saftawi neighborhood in Jabaliya
Five people were injured moderately to seriously in an airstrike on the Saftawi neighborhood in Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Rocket warning sirens heard in 2 central Israel towns
Rocket warning sirens were heard in Rehovot and Bet Oved, two towns in central Israel, on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday morning Israeli F-16 warplanes fired a missile at the building of Khadamat al-Maghazi sport club in al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Another missile hit a football playground in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
A park was also targeted Saturday in the al-Manshiyya neighborhood in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip. The home of the Sbeih family was hit in the same area. Missiles also landed near al-Weam charitable society in Beit Lahiya.
The home of the al-Hawajiri family was hit in the Nuseirat camp as well as the home of the Ammar Irhayyim family in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
Palestinian resistance factions continue to attack Israeli towns
Hamas' military wing said the group’s fighters had fired 571 different rockets and shells at Israeli targets by noon Saturday.
The attacks included four R160 missiles, 2 J80 missiles, 37 M75 missiles and 13 Sijjeel 55 missiles in addition to hundreds of Grad missiles, mortar shells and homemade projectiles.
For its part, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for firing two missiles at Israeli military base Sufa Saturday morning.
Also, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the al-Nasser Salah Ad-din Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters fired four mortar shells at Israeli military vehicles stationed in Kissufim forest.
Similarly, the Ayman Judah Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters fired a missile at Kibbutz Miflasim and two homemade projectiles at Kibbutz Beeri.
The Al-Ansar Brigades said in a statement that its fighters fired four missiles toward Kerem Shalom military base.
5 injured in airstrike on Saftawi neighborhood in Jabaliya
Five people were injured moderately to seriously in an airstrike on the Saftawi neighborhood in Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Rocket warning sirens heard in 2 central Israel towns
Rocket warning sirens were heard in Rehovot and Bet Oved, two towns in central Israel, on Saturday afternoon.
Disabled Palestinian wounded in bombing of Beit Lahia Disabled Society
Airstrikes continue; Israeli officials say ground invasion imminent
Two young, disabled girls were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike that targeted a center for the disabled in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza.
The three girls have not yet been identified, as information is still coming in about the details of that attack. Several images have been posted on social media of disabled youth in the hospital who were wounded in the blast.
Three men were killed in a bomb that targeted At-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City. They were identified as
1. Ibrahim Nabil Hamada.
2. Hasan Ahmad Abu Ghush.
3. Ahmad Mazen al-Bal’awy.
According to a spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, it took several hours to identify the three men because their bodies had been torn apart by the missile. They were taken to Shifa hospital for treatment.
A correspondent with the Wafa News Agency reported that Israeli fighter jets did not let up on the attack throughout the night and continuing into the day. The correspondent noted that the planes targeted houses, mosques, public property, infrastructure, and even parks and sports clubs, as well as agricultural land, power lines and drinking water infrastructure. He said that the ongoing explosions are causing panic and terror among the population, particularly the children, who make up around half the population of the crowded coastal Strip
Airstrikes continue; Israeli officials say ground invasion imminent
Two young, disabled girls were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike that targeted a center for the disabled in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza.
The three girls have not yet been identified, as information is still coming in about the details of that attack. Several images have been posted on social media of disabled youth in the hospital who were wounded in the blast.
Three men were killed in a bomb that targeted At-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City. They were identified as
1. Ibrahim Nabil Hamada.
2. Hasan Ahmad Abu Ghush.
3. Ahmad Mazen al-Bal’awy.
According to a spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, it took several hours to identify the three men because their bodies had been torn apart by the missile. They were taken to Shifa hospital for treatment.
A correspondent with the Wafa News Agency reported that Israeli fighter jets did not let up on the attack throughout the night and continuing into the day. The correspondent noted that the planes targeted houses, mosques, public property, infrastructure, and even parks and sports clubs, as well as agricultural land, power lines and drinking water infrastructure. He said that the ongoing explosions are causing panic and terror among the population, particularly the children, who make up around half the population of the crowded coastal Strip
Two severely disabled adult women killed in a shelter in Beit Lahiya. We saw a body pulled from the rubble.
The attacks Saturday morning included both bombing from the air and artillery fire from tanks and weapons stationed on the northern and eastern borders of Gaza.
Three men were killed in an airstrike that hit the yard next to a mosque in Gaza City. They were identified as:
4. Ali Nabil Basal, 32.
5. Hamada al-Halaby, 28.
6. Mohammad Abu Askar, 20.
Another mosque in Nusseirat refugee camp was damaged when a house nearby was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes, but no casualties were reported in that attack.
Also in Nusseirat, Israeli airstrikes targeted the home of Essam Da'ales, former adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, and another home belonging to the Khalidi family. Another airstrike in Nusseirat took out the Farouq mosque.
A charity organization was bombed in Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.
Repeated airstrikes hit the Abasan area of Khan Younis in the early hours of Saturday morning, in the southern Gaza Strip. At one point in the pre-dawn hours, around 20 bombs were dropped on Rafah and Deir al-Balah in the space of about ten minutes.
A separate airstrike in Gaza City Saturday morning resulted in the death of:
7. Mohammad Sweity, 20.
In the northern Gaza Strip, the home of the Abu Habal family was bombed. The airstrike and artillery shelling wounded 22.
Earlier Saturday morning, before 2 am, five Palestinians were killed in the yard of a local mosque, in Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza, while many residents were injured, two seriously. The slain Palestinians have been identified as:
8. Anas Yousef Qandil, 17.
9. Yousef Mohammad Qandil, 47.
10. Mohammad Edrees Abu Sneina, 20.
11. Abdul-Rahman Saleh al-Khatib, 28.
12. Husam Thieb ar-Razayna, 38.
Israeli forces have been amassing on the border, along with heavy artillery, and Israeli authorities have indicated a potential ground invasion.
There are unconfirmed reports of an attack by Palestinian fighters from the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, on an Israeli jeep in Nahal Oz military base, near Al-Shujeia neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
The attacks Saturday morning included both bombing from the air and artillery fire from tanks and weapons stationed on the northern and eastern borders of Gaza.
Three men were killed in an airstrike that hit the yard next to a mosque in Gaza City. They were identified as:
4. Ali Nabil Basal, 32.
5. Hamada al-Halaby, 28.
6. Mohammad Abu Askar, 20.
Another mosque in Nusseirat refugee camp was damaged when a house nearby was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes, but no casualties were reported in that attack.
Also in Nusseirat, Israeli airstrikes targeted the home of Essam Da'ales, former adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, and another home belonging to the Khalidi family. Another airstrike in Nusseirat took out the Farouq mosque.
A charity organization was bombed in Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.
Repeated airstrikes hit the Abasan area of Khan Younis in the early hours of Saturday morning, in the southern Gaza Strip. At one point in the pre-dawn hours, around 20 bombs were dropped on Rafah and Deir al-Balah in the space of about ten minutes.
A separate airstrike in Gaza City Saturday morning resulted in the death of:
7. Mohammad Sweity, 20.
In the northern Gaza Strip, the home of the Abu Habal family was bombed. The airstrike and artillery shelling wounded 22.
Earlier Saturday morning, before 2 am, five Palestinians were killed in the yard of a local mosque, in Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza, while many residents were injured, two seriously. The slain Palestinians have been identified as:
8. Anas Yousef Qandil, 17.
9. Yousef Mohammad Qandil, 47.
10. Mohammad Edrees Abu Sneina, 20.
11. Abdul-Rahman Saleh al-Khatib, 28.
12. Husam Thieb ar-Razayna, 38.
Israeli forces have been amassing on the border, along with heavy artillery, and Israeli authorities have indicated a potential ground invasion.
There are unconfirmed reports of an attack by Palestinian fighters from the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, on an Israeli jeep in Nahal Oz military base, near Al-Shujeia neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
By Jean-Luc Renaudie
Benjamin Netanyahu, initially accused by Israel's most ardent hawks of dithering over Hamas rocket fire, appears to have found at least a temporary political balance with his punishing air campaign against Gaza.
But rivals on the far-right are still snapping at him, some demanding that he strangle the densely populated and impoverished Palestinian enclave by cutting off electricity, fuel and food, and others insisting he send in troops and reoccupy it.
And there is still the unknown factor of how Hamas might turn up the heat. It already hiked tensions sharply this week by firing rockets at major cities and towns across the country, but has so far not killed a single Israeli.
The latest crisis began in June, after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped in the West Bank.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas and embarked on a punishing campaign against the Islamist group, arresting hundreds of its members in the West Bank and attacking its infrastructure there.
During the arrest campaign, six Palestinians were killed, further raising tensions as militants in Gaza stepped up their rocket fire.
Just days after the teenagers' bodies were found on June 30, the situation took a turn for the worse. A Palestinian of similar age was kidnapped from east Jerusalem and burned to death in a suspected revenge crime by Jewish extremists.
That brutal murder triggered a wave of angry protest in East Jerusalem and across Palestinian towns in Israel, and further fire from Gaza.
Netanyahu came under pressure from the hawks to hit back hard.
Pressure from the hawks
Rightwing nationalist foreign minister and Netanyahu coalition partner Avigdor Lieberman demanded that the premier invade Gaza and reoccupy it. Netanyahu baulked.
So Lieberman pulled out of his parliamentary alliance with the premier's Likud party.
Netanyahu has also been urged by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the rightwing religious party Jewish Home, to respond harshly.
But while pledging to do "whatever is necessary," Netanyahu has called on his cabinet and, by extension, the populace, to keep a cool head and not give way to "harsh words and impetuousness."
On Tuesday, Netanyahu unleashed Operation Protective Edge, a relentless air assault on Gaza in response to continuing rocket fire. So far, it has killed 103 Palestinians, including many women and children, and wounded hundreds.
In reaction, says public commentator Hanan Cristal, "everybody (in Israel) is now playing the national unity card."
"Netanyahu's position now is even stronger because he is showing a united front with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and chief of staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz."
"Right now he's reassuring because he gives the impression of not having an itchy trigger finger," Cristal concludes.
But Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon is taking a hard line.
"It is inconceivable that on the one hand we fight Hamas and on the other we provide fuel and electricity that are used to transport missiles that are fired at us," Danon was quoted this week as saying.
In the meantime, Netanyahu has kept his options open.
As early as Tuesday, he announced he was calling up 40,000 reservists to prepare for a possible ground assault on Gaza and has moved tanks into place along the border.
And a day later he said "we have decided to further intensify the attacks on Hamas and the terror organisations in Gaza."
Mistrustful of military adventures
Any such action would be costly in terms of lives and money, and an opinion poll published by daily newspaper Maariv this week shows no strong appetite for it.
Of those surveyed, 47 percent said they opposed an invasion, as against 38 percent for it.
So Netanyahu now finds himself torn, says Maariv political columnist Ben Caspit.
He has "always been mistrustful of military adventures, and is one of the most prudent and calculating prime ministers in Israeli's history," Caspit says.
"That has earned him a reputation as a wimp on the right, good only for talking but weak when it comes to taking action."
But Netanyahu knows that, beyond the current crisis over Gaza, he is engaged in a struggle for control of Israel's right wing.
"That's why he's decided to take it up another notch."
The problem is, Caspit concludes, "Hamas is doing it too, and that's how wars in the Middle East start, and Bibi (Netanyahu) could be driven there against his will."
But Friday evening, Netanyahu remained resolute, saying he would not bow to world entreaties for him to stop the ferocious air campaign.
"No international pressure will prevent us from striking the terrorists who are attacking us," he said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, initially accused by Israel's most ardent hawks of dithering over Hamas rocket fire, appears to have found at least a temporary political balance with his punishing air campaign against Gaza.
But rivals on the far-right are still snapping at him, some demanding that he strangle the densely populated and impoverished Palestinian enclave by cutting off electricity, fuel and food, and others insisting he send in troops and reoccupy it.
And there is still the unknown factor of how Hamas might turn up the heat. It already hiked tensions sharply this week by firing rockets at major cities and towns across the country, but has so far not killed a single Israeli.
The latest crisis began in June, after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped in the West Bank.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas and embarked on a punishing campaign against the Islamist group, arresting hundreds of its members in the West Bank and attacking its infrastructure there.
During the arrest campaign, six Palestinians were killed, further raising tensions as militants in Gaza stepped up their rocket fire.
Just days after the teenagers' bodies were found on June 30, the situation took a turn for the worse. A Palestinian of similar age was kidnapped from east Jerusalem and burned to death in a suspected revenge crime by Jewish extremists.
That brutal murder triggered a wave of angry protest in East Jerusalem and across Palestinian towns in Israel, and further fire from Gaza.
Netanyahu came under pressure from the hawks to hit back hard.
Pressure from the hawks
Rightwing nationalist foreign minister and Netanyahu coalition partner Avigdor Lieberman demanded that the premier invade Gaza and reoccupy it. Netanyahu baulked.
So Lieberman pulled out of his parliamentary alliance with the premier's Likud party.
Netanyahu has also been urged by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the rightwing religious party Jewish Home, to respond harshly.
But while pledging to do "whatever is necessary," Netanyahu has called on his cabinet and, by extension, the populace, to keep a cool head and not give way to "harsh words and impetuousness."
On Tuesday, Netanyahu unleashed Operation Protective Edge, a relentless air assault on Gaza in response to continuing rocket fire. So far, it has killed 103 Palestinians, including many women and children, and wounded hundreds.
In reaction, says public commentator Hanan Cristal, "everybody (in Israel) is now playing the national unity card."
"Netanyahu's position now is even stronger because he is showing a united front with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and chief of staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz."
"Right now he's reassuring because he gives the impression of not having an itchy trigger finger," Cristal concludes.
But Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon is taking a hard line.
"It is inconceivable that on the one hand we fight Hamas and on the other we provide fuel and electricity that are used to transport missiles that are fired at us," Danon was quoted this week as saying.
In the meantime, Netanyahu has kept his options open.
As early as Tuesday, he announced he was calling up 40,000 reservists to prepare for a possible ground assault on Gaza and has moved tanks into place along the border.
And a day later he said "we have decided to further intensify the attacks on Hamas and the terror organisations in Gaza."
Mistrustful of military adventures
Any such action would be costly in terms of lives and money, and an opinion poll published by daily newspaper Maariv this week shows no strong appetite for it.
Of those surveyed, 47 percent said they opposed an invasion, as against 38 percent for it.
So Netanyahu now finds himself torn, says Maariv political columnist Ben Caspit.
He has "always been mistrustful of military adventures, and is one of the most prudent and calculating prime ministers in Israeli's history," Caspit says.
"That has earned him a reputation as a wimp on the right, good only for talking but weak when it comes to taking action."
But Netanyahu knows that, beyond the current crisis over Gaza, he is engaged in a struggle for control of Israel's right wing.
"That's why he's decided to take it up another notch."
The problem is, Caspit concludes, "Hamas is doing it too, and that's how wars in the Middle East start, and Bibi (Netanyahu) could be driven there against his will."
But Friday evening, Netanyahu remained resolute, saying he would not bow to world entreaties for him to stop the ferocious air campaign.
"No international pressure will prevent us from striking the terrorists who are attacking us," he said.
A Palestinian family stand at the balcony of their house as they look at a neighboring building which was targeted in an Israeli military strike in Gaza City on July 12, 2014.
Ever since the Palestinian Resistance launched its first missile during the second intifada, a recurring scene has been unfolding in Israel. [With every missile], sirens go off as both settlers and soldiers head to shelters. On the Palestinian side, however, the scene is completely different.
Gaza – Reading the headline, people aware of the Palestinian cause may find the question a bit odd, because they know that Gaza lacks shelters for its residents to head to. Even foreigners who are unfamiliar with the real situation in Palestine and its occupation may wonder why these people are dying on the streets and why they are not taking refuge in safer places.
The first Gaza war in 2008 established a rule that “no place is safe in Gaza.” Back then, even far off and wealthy neighborhoods were destroyed, such as Tel al-Hawa, to the west of the Strip.
Very few shelters are found in Gaza, most of them dating back to the Egyptian- Israeli war of 1973, and they have been deserted ever since. Locals here have continued to ignore these places, even during the various Israeli assaults on the strip.
But what if shelters existed in Gaza, would people take refuge there?
To answer this question, one should observe the high morale that local citizens have been displaying even though they know that new martyrs and casualties are expected to fall by the hour. This is added to the horrific scenes produced by the Israeli war machine, as missiles rip apart the bodies of women and children, making it hard for medical staff and concerned authorities to identify the remains of the martyrs unless they stumble upon some way to identify them like an ID or a watch.
The scene in Gaza has not changed in the last three days and the smell of death still emanates from its streets and alleys. As the death toll in Gaza rises by the minute, Israeli hysteria peeks every time military planes bombard innocent civilians. As for Israeli warships, they follow the same path of insanity as they shell the coastline. But from within the darkness and the bloody faces of children rises a Resistance that has the full support of its people.
Despite their injuries, victims here are proud because the Resistance’s missiles have hit Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. This besieged population did not expect the Resistance to start the battle from the same place where the previous war ended. They thought that Israel would burn Gaza from north to south, but as it turned out, the enemy is now under the range of the Resistance’s missiles, and seeing the fear in the eyes of the occupation only makes residents even more proud. However, Gazans still feel great pain; these people face the threat of losing a loved one at any time, and entire families may go to meet their maker in a mere second, leaving behind a small child thinking his parents left them for a short period and will return for them after their trip.
Locals are also aware of the wide disparities between the Resistance’s and Israel’s military and technological capabilities, so they excuse Palestinian factions for not being able to strongly and directly strike the occupied territories.
In Gaza, even those hit by death and those who have lost their homes maintain their support for the Resistance. They refuse to abandon the battle before reinforcing deterrence against Israel and ensuring that the political isolation and the siege are lifted.
Mohammed Kawareh survived the Khan Younes massacre during which seven members of his family were killed and 25 others were injured. Mohammed praised the Resistance, urging it to target regions farther than Dimona and Hadera.
Undefeated, the 43 year-old man told Al-Akhbar “this is the price that we have to pay; Haifa cannot be shelled and the Resistance men cannot sneak into Ashkelon to clash with the occupation soldiers if we do not present martyrs and casualties… all our wounds do not matter it if they can shorten the distance to Palestine.”
With a sad sarcastic tone, Gazans said the war largely relieved them from the pressure of living under the siege for eight years. Most recently, the social situation emanating from the salaries crises almost pushed Gaza into the abyss.
Today, however, the people of Gaza are praised for coming to the aid of Jerusalem and the territories occupied in 1948, and for carrying the burden of confronting Israel while other cities only have stones as a weapon.
Before asking about ending the current war, people in Gaza ask about the nature of this ending. They want to know what they will gain after all the blood that they have shed and the massive destruction that they have endured. They are also worried about the reconstruction process that has already stalled for years due the siege. Although protests have faded in many cities, the events in Gaza generated public dismay about the indifference displayed by the authorities in Ramallah and in the Arab world in the way they dealt with the Israeli assault.
Speaking to Al-Akhbar, Jerusalem resident Mohammed Shahadeh said “some people are adopting the [Palestinian] Authority’s rhetoric and comparing the losses borne by the enemies to those borne by Gaza, and are finally reaching a defeatist conviction because the Resistance’s missiles are failing to hit Israel’s internal front while Gaza is suffering huge losses on the materialistic and human level.”
“For these people, a disproportionate war will not liberate Palestine any faster,” Shahadeh added, stressing however that “most Palestinians believe that the legitimacy of the missiles is the one that will eventually prevail, because it is not possible to count on the international legitimacy that President Mahmoud Abbas keeps promoting.” He also urged the [Palestinian] Authority to unchain the Resistance and abandon security coordination [with Israel].
Amid growing popular support for the Resistance, occupation forces continued for the fifth consecutive day to shell civilian houses and to call for those in the border areas to leave their homes. They have also been making phone calls to residents and threatening to bombard their homes to generate chaos and push people toward internal displacement.
Gaza resident Omar Mansour was one of those who received a phone call ordering him to vacate his house in the north of the Strip, but he refused to comply.
“We refuse to become refugees again, all residents in the region decided to stay to support the Resistance” he told Al-Akhbar.
Commenting on these statements, political analyst, Hassan Abdo, said “public support for the resistance is a support for the Palestinian essence; Palestinians have never admitted defeat but they have blamed their political and intellectual leaderships who have led the previous eras of the struggle, based on narrow interests restricted to a party or a faction.”
“The Resistance is the real embodiment of the will of a people that has never hesitated to make great sacrifices to liberate its country,” Abdo told Al-Akhbar, warning that “contesting the Resistance and its goals, actually contests the right of Palestinian self-determination.”
Ever since the Palestinian Resistance launched its first missile during the second intifada, a recurring scene has been unfolding in Israel. [With every missile], sirens go off as both settlers and soldiers head to shelters. On the Palestinian side, however, the scene is completely different.
Gaza – Reading the headline, people aware of the Palestinian cause may find the question a bit odd, because they know that Gaza lacks shelters for its residents to head to. Even foreigners who are unfamiliar with the real situation in Palestine and its occupation may wonder why these people are dying on the streets and why they are not taking refuge in safer places.
The first Gaza war in 2008 established a rule that “no place is safe in Gaza.” Back then, even far off and wealthy neighborhoods were destroyed, such as Tel al-Hawa, to the west of the Strip.
Very few shelters are found in Gaza, most of them dating back to the Egyptian- Israeli war of 1973, and they have been deserted ever since. Locals here have continued to ignore these places, even during the various Israeli assaults on the strip.
But what if shelters existed in Gaza, would people take refuge there?
To answer this question, one should observe the high morale that local citizens have been displaying even though they know that new martyrs and casualties are expected to fall by the hour. This is added to the horrific scenes produced by the Israeli war machine, as missiles rip apart the bodies of women and children, making it hard for medical staff and concerned authorities to identify the remains of the martyrs unless they stumble upon some way to identify them like an ID or a watch.
The scene in Gaza has not changed in the last three days and the smell of death still emanates from its streets and alleys. As the death toll in Gaza rises by the minute, Israeli hysteria peeks every time military planes bombard innocent civilians. As for Israeli warships, they follow the same path of insanity as they shell the coastline. But from within the darkness and the bloody faces of children rises a Resistance that has the full support of its people.
Despite their injuries, victims here are proud because the Resistance’s missiles have hit Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. This besieged population did not expect the Resistance to start the battle from the same place where the previous war ended. They thought that Israel would burn Gaza from north to south, but as it turned out, the enemy is now under the range of the Resistance’s missiles, and seeing the fear in the eyes of the occupation only makes residents even more proud. However, Gazans still feel great pain; these people face the threat of losing a loved one at any time, and entire families may go to meet their maker in a mere second, leaving behind a small child thinking his parents left them for a short period and will return for them after their trip.
Locals are also aware of the wide disparities between the Resistance’s and Israel’s military and technological capabilities, so they excuse Palestinian factions for not being able to strongly and directly strike the occupied territories.
In Gaza, even those hit by death and those who have lost their homes maintain their support for the Resistance. They refuse to abandon the battle before reinforcing deterrence against Israel and ensuring that the political isolation and the siege are lifted.
Mohammed Kawareh survived the Khan Younes massacre during which seven members of his family were killed and 25 others were injured. Mohammed praised the Resistance, urging it to target regions farther than Dimona and Hadera.
Undefeated, the 43 year-old man told Al-Akhbar “this is the price that we have to pay; Haifa cannot be shelled and the Resistance men cannot sneak into Ashkelon to clash with the occupation soldiers if we do not present martyrs and casualties… all our wounds do not matter it if they can shorten the distance to Palestine.”
With a sad sarcastic tone, Gazans said the war largely relieved them from the pressure of living under the siege for eight years. Most recently, the social situation emanating from the salaries crises almost pushed Gaza into the abyss.
Today, however, the people of Gaza are praised for coming to the aid of Jerusalem and the territories occupied in 1948, and for carrying the burden of confronting Israel while other cities only have stones as a weapon.
Before asking about ending the current war, people in Gaza ask about the nature of this ending. They want to know what they will gain after all the blood that they have shed and the massive destruction that they have endured. They are also worried about the reconstruction process that has already stalled for years due the siege. Although protests have faded in many cities, the events in Gaza generated public dismay about the indifference displayed by the authorities in Ramallah and in the Arab world in the way they dealt with the Israeli assault.
Speaking to Al-Akhbar, Jerusalem resident Mohammed Shahadeh said “some people are adopting the [Palestinian] Authority’s rhetoric and comparing the losses borne by the enemies to those borne by Gaza, and are finally reaching a defeatist conviction because the Resistance’s missiles are failing to hit Israel’s internal front while Gaza is suffering huge losses on the materialistic and human level.”
“For these people, a disproportionate war will not liberate Palestine any faster,” Shahadeh added, stressing however that “most Palestinians believe that the legitimacy of the missiles is the one that will eventually prevail, because it is not possible to count on the international legitimacy that President Mahmoud Abbas keeps promoting.” He also urged the [Palestinian] Authority to unchain the Resistance and abandon security coordination [with Israel].
Amid growing popular support for the Resistance, occupation forces continued for the fifth consecutive day to shell civilian houses and to call for those in the border areas to leave their homes. They have also been making phone calls to residents and threatening to bombard their homes to generate chaos and push people toward internal displacement.
Gaza resident Omar Mansour was one of those who received a phone call ordering him to vacate his house in the north of the Strip, but he refused to comply.
“We refuse to become refugees again, all residents in the region decided to stay to support the Resistance” he told Al-Akhbar.
Commenting on these statements, political analyst, Hassan Abdo, said “public support for the resistance is a support for the Palestinian essence; Palestinians have never admitted defeat but they have blamed their political and intellectual leaderships who have led the previous eras of the struggle, based on narrow interests restricted to a party or a faction.”
“The Resistance is the real embodiment of the will of a people that has never hesitated to make great sacrifices to liberate its country,” Abdo told Al-Akhbar, warning that “contesting the Resistance and its goals, actually contests the right of Palestinian self-determination.”
Israel air strikes a civilian house
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