13 july 2014
The bodies of five Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike on a house are seen in the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, July 12, 2014
A Gaza hospital director says foreign activists, including a US citizen, are working as human shields to try to protect patients in the facility from Israeli strikes.
Israeli airstrikes hit El Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City five times Friday, said executive director Basman Alashi. The hospital normally houses 30 patients in varying stages of occupational and physical therapy, Alashi said. During the current operation, he trained the families of 16 patients to help provide care at home. For those too incapacitated to move, he resorted to another tactic: asking foreign activists to act as a human shield.
“After the fifth hit we decided to go on air and declare our case,” Alashi said by telephone. “All hospitals in Gaza are extremely busy and there is no other space for our patients. We decided not to take them out. They need the care 24 hours. We can’t leave the building and leave the patients. They are helpless.”
Alashi said he held a press conference Friday evening at Gaza’s Shifa hospital and asked for help. Eight foreigners agreed to stay in shifts in the hospital, including American Joe Catron, a pro-Palestinian activist from Hopewell, Virginia. Catron, 33, said in a telephone interview he hoped the presence of activists from the US, England, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela could bring enough attention to the hospital to deter the Israeli army from striking it.
“The hospital’s administration asked us to come here and maintain a presence,” Catron said. The Israeli army “may have had designs on it at but at this point I’m optimistic that the amount of attention they’ve got on the hospital has discouraged them from carrying through.”
An Israeli army spokesman said that the military takes great care to protect civilians in Gaza, including firing dud missiles and calling residents to warn of impending bombings.
“Hamas is renowned for its use of civilians to protect terror operation centers; whether it be storing missiles under schools, harboring terrorists in hospitals or sending children to the roof of terror operation sites,” the Israeli military said in a statement to McClatchy.
“Generally speaking, despite every effort made by the IDF to prevent civilian casualties, the reality of Hamas’ indifference to non-combatants has lead to tragic consequences.”
Alashi said he was not warned of impending strikes; however, he did receive a call in Israeli-accented Arabic inquiring about the condition of his hospital after it was hit. The caller identified himself as with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Alashi said, though he believed it was an Israeli probing for information to guide future military moves.
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge seven days ago to stop Hamas rocket attacks, which include rockets that have hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel has targeted more than 1300 sites in Gaza in the current operation. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting.
Militants in Gaza have launched about 940 rockets at Israel since the beginning of the operation, according to the Israeli army. There have been no direct Israeli fatalities, although an elderly woman in Haifa died after suffering a heart attack while rushing to a bomb shelter.
El Wafa hospital is in the eastern part of Gaza City. Director Alashi said it treats only rehabilitation cases, so there are no casualties arriving from the current round of fighting with Israel. Alashi said he did not know why Israel had targeted the hospital. He said there are no weapons or Hamas members in the hospital.
The first strike was Friday at 2 am, Alashi said. It hit the eastern side of the fourth floor. Two more strikes followed to the same wall. The fourth strike came through the roof. The fifth came again through the eastern wall. Alashi said the Israeli strikes destroyed the rooftop water containers of the hospital, but he managed to get another water supply for his patients.
Foreigners acting as human shields in Gaza are not a new phenomenon. In March 2003, Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington, died when an Israeli bulldozer drove into her as she stood in front of a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. The Israeli driver of the bulldozer claimed he did not see Corrie; her parents are still embroiled in a lawsuit in Israel. A month later, British activist Tom Hurndall was shot by Israeli sniper fire in Gaza; he fell into a coma and died in 2004.
Catron said he believes he faces less risk than those activists before him.
“Something was different in the Israeli equation in 2003,” he said. “I think after the deaths of Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, and the international outrage that followed, the Israelis realized that course of action wasn’t very good.”
Alashi said he is trying to help his patients cope with the trauma of war. None have been killed or injured by Israeli fire in the current operation, he said. However, although the hospital still stands, Alashi said his patients are terrified by the bombing of nearby buildings. Some grip his hands and beg him not to leave. There are 32 nurses, organized in 24-hour shifts to reduce the risk of driving back and forth. He said he feels the activists have helped him feel “a little bit safer.” They will stay until the operation is over, he said.
“At least I have someone...who understands we are suffering,” Alashi said. “We are human, we are not target practice for the Israelis.”
A Gaza hospital director says foreign activists, including a US citizen, are working as human shields to try to protect patients in the facility from Israeli strikes.
Israeli airstrikes hit El Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City five times Friday, said executive director Basman Alashi. The hospital normally houses 30 patients in varying stages of occupational and physical therapy, Alashi said. During the current operation, he trained the families of 16 patients to help provide care at home. For those too incapacitated to move, he resorted to another tactic: asking foreign activists to act as a human shield.
“After the fifth hit we decided to go on air and declare our case,” Alashi said by telephone. “All hospitals in Gaza are extremely busy and there is no other space for our patients. We decided not to take them out. They need the care 24 hours. We can’t leave the building and leave the patients. They are helpless.”
Alashi said he held a press conference Friday evening at Gaza’s Shifa hospital and asked for help. Eight foreigners agreed to stay in shifts in the hospital, including American Joe Catron, a pro-Palestinian activist from Hopewell, Virginia. Catron, 33, said in a telephone interview he hoped the presence of activists from the US, England, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela could bring enough attention to the hospital to deter the Israeli army from striking it.
“The hospital’s administration asked us to come here and maintain a presence,” Catron said. The Israeli army “may have had designs on it at but at this point I’m optimistic that the amount of attention they’ve got on the hospital has discouraged them from carrying through.”
An Israeli army spokesman said that the military takes great care to protect civilians in Gaza, including firing dud missiles and calling residents to warn of impending bombings.
“Hamas is renowned for its use of civilians to protect terror operation centers; whether it be storing missiles under schools, harboring terrorists in hospitals or sending children to the roof of terror operation sites,” the Israeli military said in a statement to McClatchy.
“Generally speaking, despite every effort made by the IDF to prevent civilian casualties, the reality of Hamas’ indifference to non-combatants has lead to tragic consequences.”
Alashi said he was not warned of impending strikes; however, he did receive a call in Israeli-accented Arabic inquiring about the condition of his hospital after it was hit. The caller identified himself as with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Alashi said, though he believed it was an Israeli probing for information to guide future military moves.
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge seven days ago to stop Hamas rocket attacks, which include rockets that have hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel has targeted more than 1300 sites in Gaza in the current operation. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting.
Militants in Gaza have launched about 940 rockets at Israel since the beginning of the operation, according to the Israeli army. There have been no direct Israeli fatalities, although an elderly woman in Haifa died after suffering a heart attack while rushing to a bomb shelter.
El Wafa hospital is in the eastern part of Gaza City. Director Alashi said it treats only rehabilitation cases, so there are no casualties arriving from the current round of fighting with Israel. Alashi said he did not know why Israel had targeted the hospital. He said there are no weapons or Hamas members in the hospital.
The first strike was Friday at 2 am, Alashi said. It hit the eastern side of the fourth floor. Two more strikes followed to the same wall. The fourth strike came through the roof. The fifth came again through the eastern wall. Alashi said the Israeli strikes destroyed the rooftop water containers of the hospital, but he managed to get another water supply for his patients.
Foreigners acting as human shields in Gaza are not a new phenomenon. In March 2003, Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington, died when an Israeli bulldozer drove into her as she stood in front of a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. The Israeli driver of the bulldozer claimed he did not see Corrie; her parents are still embroiled in a lawsuit in Israel. A month later, British activist Tom Hurndall was shot by Israeli sniper fire in Gaza; he fell into a coma and died in 2004.
Catron said he believes he faces less risk than those activists before him.
“Something was different in the Israeli equation in 2003,” he said. “I think after the deaths of Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, and the international outrage that followed, the Israelis realized that course of action wasn’t very good.”
Alashi said he is trying to help his patients cope with the trauma of war. None have been killed or injured by Israeli fire in the current operation, he said. However, although the hospital still stands, Alashi said his patients are terrified by the bombing of nearby buildings. Some grip his hands and beg him not to leave. There are 32 nurses, organized in 24-hour shifts to reduce the risk of driving back and forth. He said he feels the activists have helped him feel “a little bit safer.” They will stay until the operation is over, he said.
“At least I have someone...who understands we are suffering,” Alashi said. “We are human, we are not target practice for the Israelis.”
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports the following statistics as at 1600 hours on Sunday 13 July 2014:
Deaths: 165 – 36 children, 24 women over 18 yrs, 14 persons over 60 years
Injuries: 1,232 – 346 children, 256 women over 18 years, 48 over 60 years
Israeli Aggression Against Medical Staff
Dr. Anas Abu Alkkas – Killed by Israeli airstrike
Mohammed Al Najjar – nurse, injured
Nader Al Buhasay – ambulance officer, injured
Husam Radi – Lab Technician Injured on the way home from work at Kamal Odwan Hospital
Damages to Primary Health Care centers
Six centres damaged:
Al Fakhari
Beach
Al Attatrah
Ashi clinic
Medical Relief for Chronic Diseases
Beit Hanoun Center for Medical Relief
13 Centers closed
Hospitals Attacked
European Gaza
Al Wafa
Ambulances
Three ambulances destroyed and damaged in Ambulance Center.
Deaths: 165 – 36 children, 24 women over 18 yrs, 14 persons over 60 years
Injuries: 1,232 – 346 children, 256 women over 18 years, 48 over 60 years
Israeli Aggression Against Medical Staff
Dr. Anas Abu Alkkas – Killed by Israeli airstrike
Mohammed Al Najjar – nurse, injured
Nader Al Buhasay – ambulance officer, injured
Husam Radi – Lab Technician Injured on the way home from work at Kamal Odwan Hospital
Damages to Primary Health Care centers
Six centres damaged:
Al Fakhari
Beach
Al Attatrah
Ashi clinic
Medical Relief for Chronic Diseases
Beit Hanoun Center for Medical Relief
13 Centers closed
Hospitals Attacked
European Gaza
Al Wafa
Ambulances
Three ambulances destroyed and damaged in Ambulance Center.
Image showing effect of DIME explosive
A Norwegian doctor working at Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, told reporters that some of the injuries that wounded and killed Palestinians have experienced are consistent with the use of banned weapons by Israeli forces.
In the 2008-9 war on Gaza, Israel was found by the UN to have used white phosphorus on numerous occasions in civilian areas. White phosphorus is considered a ‘banned weapon’ in civilian areas, due to the severe burns it can cause.
The doctor, Mads Gilbert, has been working in Gaza for years, including during the 2008-9 Israeli invasion. He is most well-known for being the doctor who revived a woman from the lowest survived body temperature ever recorded, in 2000, in northern Norway.
Gaza’s undersecretary of health, Youssef Abu al-Resh, verified the concern that Israeli forces have begun to use banned DIME weapons against Palestinian civilians.
Abu al-Resh told a press conference, “Medical teams have found wounds on the bodies of those killed and injured that are caused by the banned DIME weapons.” He added, “Gaza hospitals are bursting at the seams with dead and wounded. Children and women make up around 62 percent of those injured in the attacks.”
Hospitals in Gaza have faced a chronic shortage of medicine and equipment since the Israeli siege on the coastal strip began in 2006, after the Palestinian people voted for the Hamas party in what was considered by international observers to be a free and fair election. Israel did not like the result of that election, and so imposed a blockade that has lasted eight years.
DIME weapons (Dense Inert Metal Explosive) cause extreme heat and severe injuries. Some of the indications that these weapons have been used include severed limbs that have extreme heat at the point of the severing, without shrapnel present at the site.
The weapon produces micro-shrapnel, which is not visible to the human eye. The weapon contains small particles of a chemically inert material such as tungsten. Several studies by the U.S. government have found DIME weapon exposure to cause cancer in lab animals.
A Norwegian doctor working at Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, told reporters that some of the injuries that wounded and killed Palestinians have experienced are consistent with the use of banned weapons by Israeli forces.
In the 2008-9 war on Gaza, Israel was found by the UN to have used white phosphorus on numerous occasions in civilian areas. White phosphorus is considered a ‘banned weapon’ in civilian areas, due to the severe burns it can cause.
The doctor, Mads Gilbert, has been working in Gaza for years, including during the 2008-9 Israeli invasion. He is most well-known for being the doctor who revived a woman from the lowest survived body temperature ever recorded, in 2000, in northern Norway.
Gaza’s undersecretary of health, Youssef Abu al-Resh, verified the concern that Israeli forces have begun to use banned DIME weapons against Palestinian civilians.
Abu al-Resh told a press conference, “Medical teams have found wounds on the bodies of those killed and injured that are caused by the banned DIME weapons.” He added, “Gaza hospitals are bursting at the seams with dead and wounded. Children and women make up around 62 percent of those injured in the attacks.”
Hospitals in Gaza have faced a chronic shortage of medicine and equipment since the Israeli siege on the coastal strip began in 2006, after the Palestinian people voted for the Hamas party in what was considered by international observers to be a free and fair election. Israel did not like the result of that election, and so imposed a blockade that has lasted eight years.
DIME weapons (Dense Inert Metal Explosive) cause extreme heat and severe injuries. Some of the indications that these weapons have been used include severed limbs that have extreme heat at the point of the severing, without shrapnel present at the site.
The weapon produces micro-shrapnel, which is not visible to the human eye. The weapon contains small particles of a chemically inert material such as tungsten. Several studies by the U.S. government have found DIME weapon exposure to cause cancer in lab animals.
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According to Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra, Gaza's total death toll included 16 women
The child in Sahar Hamdan's hands kept trembling in fear as Israeli warplanes kept thundering above their heads. Like any mother in the world, this Gaza Strip woman did her best to comfort her child, but the horror of the moment made all Hamdan's efforts seem ineffective. All of a sudden then, Hamdan's voice was silenced for good when she and her 12-year-old son were killed by a rocket fired by an Israeli plane on their home in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. The death toll did not include this 27-year-old woman and her son alone. Fourteen other men and women were also killed in the same strike. Together with others, these victims brought the total death toll from Israel's ongoing offensive on Gaza to 166. But according to Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra, Gaza's total death toll included 16 women. "Most of them were mothers who were killed beside their children," al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency. He said Saturday was the most bloody for women in the Gaza Strip. |
Israeli strikes on Gaza claimed the lives of 50 Palestinians on Saturday, including nine women, al-Qodra said.
This sends fear down the spines of all women here. One of these women is Randa Abdel-Rahman, 38, who was slightly injured in a previous Israeli strike.
"I cannot reconcile myself with the notion that my children can become orphans one day," Abdel-Rahman told AA.
"Israel targets children and women. Every time it kills a woman, this woman leaves children and a whole family behind her," she added.
-Crimes against humanity-
A Palestinian Ministry of Women Affairs official said the fact that Israel targets women and children in its current onslaught on the Gaza Strip proves that the self-proclaimed Jewish state commits crimes against humanity.
"Wars are also governed by laws and limits," Amira Haroun said. "Israel has done away with all these laws and limits by killing women and children and destroying homes," she told AA.
Haroun called on parties to the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to act against Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip.
She also called on international institutions and rights organizations to protect the children of Gaza, while Israel launches a full-fledged war against the Palestinian Strip.
Israel has launched a military offensive – dubbed "Operation Protective Edge" – against the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of ending rocket fire from the enclave.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire hundreds of rockets into Israel, some of which have reached Tel Aviv, in response to the ongoing offensive.
No Israeli fatalities have been reported thus far.
This sends fear down the spines of all women here. One of these women is Randa Abdel-Rahman, 38, who was slightly injured in a previous Israeli strike.
"I cannot reconcile myself with the notion that my children can become orphans one day," Abdel-Rahman told AA.
"Israel targets children and women. Every time it kills a woman, this woman leaves children and a whole family behind her," she added.
-Crimes against humanity-
A Palestinian Ministry of Women Affairs official said the fact that Israel targets women and children in its current onslaught on the Gaza Strip proves that the self-proclaimed Jewish state commits crimes against humanity.
"Wars are also governed by laws and limits," Amira Haroun said. "Israel has done away with all these laws and limits by killing women and children and destroying homes," she told AA.
Haroun called on parties to the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to act against Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip.
She also called on international institutions and rights organizations to protect the children of Gaza, while Israel launches a full-fledged war against the Palestinian Strip.
Israel has launched a military offensive – dubbed "Operation Protective Edge" – against the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of ending rocket fire from the enclave.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire hundreds of rockets into Israel, some of which have reached Tel Aviv, in response to the ongoing offensive.
No Israeli fatalities have been reported thus far.
Israel continues to bomb civilian houses and infastructure in Gaza for the 5th day
Hamas has decided to rule Egypt out as a negotiator for a ceasefire, a senior source of the Islamic movement told the Middle East Eye. He said that from now on, Hamas would only consider Turkey and Qatar as potential go-betweens with Israel. The Hamas decision counters international attempts to get ceasefire talks going, as they are primarily routed through Egypt.
The British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that he will discuss a ceasefire with US Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as their French and German counterparts, at the Vienna nuclear talks on Sunday. When Hague raised the issue with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday, the British Foreign Secretary "stressed Britain's strong support for an active Egyptian role".
Hamas's decision to rule Egypt out of the equation is a major shift in its position, as Egypt has played an important role in all previous truce negotiations between Israel and the movement since 2006. In November 2012, the then Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi played a key role in stopping a week-long assault on Gaza and was praised by the US administration for his actions. This is the agreement that the the Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair is now attempting to restore during a visit to Cairo.
This time, however, the source said that Hamas decided that Egypt was unable to negotiate a deal after being passed secret messages from Egyptian intermediaries on the eve of the bombardment that Israel would "wipe out" one third of the Gaza Strip. Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi had previously claimed that he would broker a ceasefire.
This was followed by the announcement by the Egyptian Army that they had blown up 29 tunnels under the country's border with Gaza. Hamas also noted the unrelenting hostility and triumphalism of the official Egyptian media to the Israeli bombardment.
Closely allied to that, the senior source revealed that Hamas had decided to harden its conditions for a ceasefire. Instead of calling for an end to the siege, the Islamic movement are now saying they demand the re-opening of both Gaza's sea port and its much bombed airport.
The decision to raise the bar of ceasefire conditions underlies Hamas' confidence in being able to weather the storm of Israel's onslaught as well as its determination never again to rely on the opening of Gaza's land crossings with Israel and Egypt. The Egyptian crossing at Rafah has been opened a number of times this week , but it is highly selective on whom it lets through. It closes soon after without Hamas being informed.
The source also told the MEE that Hamas is now actively "studying" the option of forming a national unity administration, comprised of all Palestinian factions in Gaza, because the Islamic movement feels betrayed by the statements and actions of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Hamas source stressed no decision had yet been taken.
He said that although Hamas had done its best to keep the unity deal on track, it was unity in name only. The senior source said Abbas was treating the deal as if the government in Gaza was an extension of his own in Ramallah by refusing to pay 50,000 government workers, even though the money had been offered by Qatar.
The unity government in Gaza was moribund, he said, because Israel had refused to let in the unity ministers and was being run by a rump of officials.
But it is the reaction of Abbas and his foreign minister Riyadh al-Maliki to the rockets fired by Hamas that has rubbed salt into this wound.
On Thursday Abbas called on Hamas to stop the rocket fire. Without naming Hamas, but obviously referring to them, he told Palestine TV:" "What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?.We prefer to fight with wisdom and politics."
Maliki, the unity government foreign minister went further, defending the Israeli bombardment on Gaza. In comments reported by Falesteen newspaper in Gaza, which is close to Hamas and Quds Press International Agency, Maliki said Israel had the right to defend itself as long as the response was proportionate
He said: "Israel has the right to defend itself as long as launching rockets continues. The Israeli retaliation should be appropriate and avoid by all means the civilians and not lead to strengthening Hamas."
The Hamas source said no decision had been taken on forming a unity administration because it depended on the response of the other Palestinian factions including Fatah, which in Gaza is divided on Abbas' behaviour since the unity deal was signed. He said the option to form such an administration would not mean that Gaza would revert to the Hamas government that existed before the deal was signed with Abbas.
The option is being given serious consideration because Abbas is not treating Hamas as a partner. He said that when Israeli forces in response to the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers entered the Palestinians cities in Zone A, which is nominally under the PA's full control, PA forces did nothing to stop them, and the PA continued to prevent or break up pro-Gazan demonstrations in the West Bank.
Hamas still wants to keep the idea of a unity deal with the West Bank open, but Abbas was actively tearing it up in the way he was behaving.
Kerry tells Netanyahu US still ready to broker Gaza truce
US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renew a US offer to help mediate a truce as Israel stepped up its military campaign against the Gaza Strip.
Kerry "highlighted the US concern about escalating tensions on the ground," a senior State Department official said, and told the Israeli leader that he was engaged with regional leaders "to help to stop the rocket fire so calm can be restored and civilian casualties prevented".
Hamas has decided to rule Egypt out as a negotiator for a ceasefire, a senior source of the Islamic movement told the Middle East Eye. He said that from now on, Hamas would only consider Turkey and Qatar as potential go-betweens with Israel. The Hamas decision counters international attempts to get ceasefire talks going, as they are primarily routed through Egypt.
The British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that he will discuss a ceasefire with US Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as their French and German counterparts, at the Vienna nuclear talks on Sunday. When Hague raised the issue with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday, the British Foreign Secretary "stressed Britain's strong support for an active Egyptian role".
Hamas's decision to rule Egypt out of the equation is a major shift in its position, as Egypt has played an important role in all previous truce negotiations between Israel and the movement since 2006. In November 2012, the then Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi played a key role in stopping a week-long assault on Gaza and was praised by the US administration for his actions. This is the agreement that the the Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair is now attempting to restore during a visit to Cairo.
This time, however, the source said that Hamas decided that Egypt was unable to negotiate a deal after being passed secret messages from Egyptian intermediaries on the eve of the bombardment that Israel would "wipe out" one third of the Gaza Strip. Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi had previously claimed that he would broker a ceasefire.
This was followed by the announcement by the Egyptian Army that they had blown up 29 tunnels under the country's border with Gaza. Hamas also noted the unrelenting hostility and triumphalism of the official Egyptian media to the Israeli bombardment.
Closely allied to that, the senior source revealed that Hamas had decided to harden its conditions for a ceasefire. Instead of calling for an end to the siege, the Islamic movement are now saying they demand the re-opening of both Gaza's sea port and its much bombed airport.
The decision to raise the bar of ceasefire conditions underlies Hamas' confidence in being able to weather the storm of Israel's onslaught as well as its determination never again to rely on the opening of Gaza's land crossings with Israel and Egypt. The Egyptian crossing at Rafah has been opened a number of times this week , but it is highly selective on whom it lets through. It closes soon after without Hamas being informed.
The source also told the MEE that Hamas is now actively "studying" the option of forming a national unity administration, comprised of all Palestinian factions in Gaza, because the Islamic movement feels betrayed by the statements and actions of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Hamas source stressed no decision had yet been taken.
He said that although Hamas had done its best to keep the unity deal on track, it was unity in name only. The senior source said Abbas was treating the deal as if the government in Gaza was an extension of his own in Ramallah by refusing to pay 50,000 government workers, even though the money had been offered by Qatar.
The unity government in Gaza was moribund, he said, because Israel had refused to let in the unity ministers and was being run by a rump of officials.
But it is the reaction of Abbas and his foreign minister Riyadh al-Maliki to the rockets fired by Hamas that has rubbed salt into this wound.
On Thursday Abbas called on Hamas to stop the rocket fire. Without naming Hamas, but obviously referring to them, he told Palestine TV:" "What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?.We prefer to fight with wisdom and politics."
Maliki, the unity government foreign minister went further, defending the Israeli bombardment on Gaza. In comments reported by Falesteen newspaper in Gaza, which is close to Hamas and Quds Press International Agency, Maliki said Israel had the right to defend itself as long as the response was proportionate
He said: "Israel has the right to defend itself as long as launching rockets continues. The Israeli retaliation should be appropriate and avoid by all means the civilians and not lead to strengthening Hamas."
The Hamas source said no decision had been taken on forming a unity administration because it depended on the response of the other Palestinian factions including Fatah, which in Gaza is divided on Abbas' behaviour since the unity deal was signed. He said the option to form such an administration would not mean that Gaza would revert to the Hamas government that existed before the deal was signed with Abbas.
The option is being given serious consideration because Abbas is not treating Hamas as a partner. He said that when Israeli forces in response to the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers entered the Palestinians cities in Zone A, which is nominally under the PA's full control, PA forces did nothing to stop them, and the PA continued to prevent or break up pro-Gazan demonstrations in the West Bank.
Hamas still wants to keep the idea of a unity deal with the West Bank open, but Abbas was actively tearing it up in the way he was behaving.
Kerry tells Netanyahu US still ready to broker Gaza truce
US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renew a US offer to help mediate a truce as Israel stepped up its military campaign against the Gaza Strip.
Kerry "highlighted the US concern about escalating tensions on the ground," a senior State Department official said, and told the Israeli leader that he was engaged with regional leaders "to help to stop the rocket fire so calm can be restored and civilian casualties prevented".
Members of the Al-Batsh family were taken to Al-Shifa hospital after the attack
At least 19 civilians were killed and more than 50 were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house and adjacent mosque during the evening prayers on Saturday. This turned the fifth day of Israel's war against the people of Gaza into the worst in terms of loss of life. The Director of the Palestinian Police in Gaza, Tayseer Al-Batsh, was killed in the attack, along with 18 other members of his family.
The total number of casualties on Saturday was 49 people killed, including 5 children and 8 women. This brought the total number of deaths since the beginning of the war to 168, of which 34 were children and 20 were women. Almost three hundred people were wounded on Saturday (79 children, 46 women), bringing the total since Israel launched its offensive last Tuesday to 1,100, almost 350 of whom are children and 171 are women.
The Israeli forces carried out 416 strikes on Saturday: 202 airborne missile attacks, 127 from warships and 87 by artillery. This brings the total strikes to 2,477 since the beginning of the war.
According to Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights, 176 houses have been destroyed completely in the offensive; more than 1,000 have been damaged severely.
At least 19 civilians were killed and more than 50 were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house and adjacent mosque during the evening prayers on Saturday. This turned the fifth day of Israel's war against the people of Gaza into the worst in terms of loss of life. The Director of the Palestinian Police in Gaza, Tayseer Al-Batsh, was killed in the attack, along with 18 other members of his family.
The total number of casualties on Saturday was 49 people killed, including 5 children and 8 women. This brought the total number of deaths since the beginning of the war to 168, of which 34 were children and 20 were women. Almost three hundred people were wounded on Saturday (79 children, 46 women), bringing the total since Israel launched its offensive last Tuesday to 1,100, almost 350 of whom are children and 171 are women.
The Israeli forces carried out 416 strikes on Saturday: 202 airborne missile attacks, 127 from warships and 87 by artillery. This brings the total strikes to 2,477 since the beginning of the war.
According to Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights, 176 houses have been destroyed completely in the offensive; more than 1,000 have been damaged severely.
Palestinian resistance fighters have launched a fresh barrage of rockets into Israel in retaliation for the aerial bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israeli sources said on Sunday that a hail of rockets landed in Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod and Bani Shamoon.
The projectiles reportedly caused fire in Ashdod upon impact.
Latest reports say air raid sirens went off in several cities.
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has said it will step up its attacks on Israel, using new and more powerful missiles.
The developments come as Israel’s US-funded Iron Dome missile system has once again proved vulnerable after failing to intercept retaliatory rockets fired by Palestinians into the occupied territories. The failure of the highly-publicized missile system has sparked panic among Israelis.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes have bombed some 1,300 targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 165 Palestinians since July 8. According to a UN report, nearly 80 percent of the victims have been civilians.
The world’s top independent charity for children has also warned that the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip further traumatizes young people in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The international non-governmental organization, Save the Children, further noted that children are likely to face sleeping disorders and other behavioral issues.
People in Iran, the United States, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, France, Indonesia, Britain and several other countries have taken to the streets, calling for a halt to the Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Tel Aviv regime will not stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip and that “no international pressure will prevent us” from attacking the besieged territory.
Israeli sources said on Sunday that a hail of rockets landed in Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod and Bani Shamoon.
The projectiles reportedly caused fire in Ashdod upon impact.
Latest reports say air raid sirens went off in several cities.
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has said it will step up its attacks on Israel, using new and more powerful missiles.
The developments come as Israel’s US-funded Iron Dome missile system has once again proved vulnerable after failing to intercept retaliatory rockets fired by Palestinians into the occupied territories. The failure of the highly-publicized missile system has sparked panic among Israelis.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes have bombed some 1,300 targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 165 Palestinians since July 8. According to a UN report, nearly 80 percent of the victims have been civilians.
The world’s top independent charity for children has also warned that the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip further traumatizes young people in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The international non-governmental organization, Save the Children, further noted that children are likely to face sleeping disorders and other behavioral issues.
People in Iran, the United States, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, France, Indonesia, Britain and several other countries have taken to the streets, calling for a halt to the Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Tel Aviv regime will not stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip and that “no international pressure will prevent us” from attacking the besieged territory.
Child Injured In Gaza - Still from Morocco TV Report
Palestinian medical sources have reported that two more Palestinians have been killed, and dozens injured, in the ongoing Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip.
The sources said that a Palestinian identified as Hussein Abdul-Qader Mheisin, 14, died of serious injuries suffered in an Israeli bombardment to homes east of Gaza city. Several Palestinians have been wounded.
Another Palestinian, identified as Samer Talal Hamdan, was killed in an Israeli bombardment in Beit Hanoun. His body was moved to a local hospital in the city.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said three children were injured after the Israeli army fired missiles into the Nusseirat refugee camp, and were moved to the al-Aqsa Hospital.
The army continued its bombardment of dozens of civilian areas, and farmlands, in different parts of the Gaza Strip. At least 25 Palestinians have been injured, Sunday.
Palestinians Killed On Sunday:
1. Ezzeddin Bolbol, Rafah.
2. Rami Abu Shanab, 25, Deir al-Balah.
3. Ramzya Abdul-‘Alem, 73, Gaza City.
4. Mo’ayyad al-‘Araj, 2, Khan Younis.
5. Husam Ibrahim Najjar, 14, Jabalia.
6. Hijaziyya Hamed al-Hilo, 80, Gaza City.
7. Huwaida abu Harb, 44, central Gaza.
8. Haitham Ashraf Zo’rob, 21, Rafah.
9. Mo’sab Daher, 22, Deir al Balah.
10. Laila Hassan al-‘Oweidat, 35, al-Maghazi.
11. Hussein Abdul-Qader Mheisin, 14, Gaza.
12. Samer Talal Hamdan, Beit Hanoun.
Palestinian medical sources have reported that two more Palestinians have been killed, and dozens injured, in the ongoing Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip.
The sources said that a Palestinian identified as Hussein Abdul-Qader Mheisin, 14, died of serious injuries suffered in an Israeli bombardment to homes east of Gaza city. Several Palestinians have been wounded.
Another Palestinian, identified as Samer Talal Hamdan, was killed in an Israeli bombardment in Beit Hanoun. His body was moved to a local hospital in the city.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said three children were injured after the Israeli army fired missiles into the Nusseirat refugee camp, and were moved to the al-Aqsa Hospital.
The army continued its bombardment of dozens of civilian areas, and farmlands, in different parts of the Gaza Strip. At least 25 Palestinians have been injured, Sunday.
Palestinians Killed On Sunday:
1. Ezzeddin Bolbol, Rafah.
2. Rami Abu Shanab, 25, Deir al-Balah.
3. Ramzya Abdul-‘Alem, 73, Gaza City.
4. Mo’ayyad al-‘Araj, 2, Khan Younis.
5. Husam Ibrahim Najjar, 14, Jabalia.
6. Hijaziyya Hamed al-Hilo, 80, Gaza City.
7. Huwaida abu Harb, 44, central Gaza.
8. Haitham Ashraf Zo’rob, 21, Rafah.
9. Mo’sab Daher, 22, Deir al Balah.
10. Laila Hassan al-‘Oweidat, 35, al-Maghazi.
11. Hussein Abdul-Qader Mheisin, 14, Gaza.
12. Samer Talal Hamdan, Beit Hanoun.
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Smoke is seen following an Israeli airstrike on Gaza International Airport.
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) has condemned Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip. The organization said in a statement that Tel Aviv’s offensive violates even the most minimum standards of international humanitarian law by attacking civilians indiscriminately. In addition, the Latin American bloc reaffirmed “its unconditional solidarity, support and sympathy to the people of Palestine against the new wave of violence.” |
Israeli warplanes have bombed some 1,300 targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 165 Palestinians since July 8. According to a UN report, nearly 80 percent of the victims have been civilians.
In response, Palestinian resistance fighters fired retaliatory rockets into the occupied territories.
People in Iran, the United States, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, France, Indonesia, Britain and several other countries have taken to the streets, calling for a halt to the Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Tel Aviv regime will not stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip and that “no international pressure will prevent us” from attacking the besieged territory.
In response, Palestinian resistance fighters fired retaliatory rockets into the occupied territories.
People in Iran, the United States, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, France, Indonesia, Britain and several other countries have taken to the streets, calling for a halt to the Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the Tel Aviv regime will not stop its attacks on the Gaza Strip and that “no international pressure will prevent us” from attacking the besieged territory.
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Video: Injured Palestinians at Rafah Crossing
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You find the photo's/video's disturbing? Remember, this is what Palestinian children see almost every day
