15 july 2014
The Israeli army on Tuesday said it would suspend its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, hours after the Israeli security cabinet accepted an Egyptian initiative for a ceasefire with Palestinian resistance groups in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army "has ceased fire against Hamas, but remains prepared for further attacks from Gaza and any other potential developments," military spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted.
At least 194 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1400 others injured in unrelenting Israeli airstrikes on the besieged coastal enclave since last Monday.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks.
Egypt on Monday proposed a ceasefire between Gaza-based resistance factions and Israel.
The initiative calls on Israel to cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip, halt any ground operations and stop targeting civilians, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
It also calls on Gaza-based Palestinian factions to cease all hostilities against Israel, halt rocket fire and cross-border attacks and stop targeting civilians.
The Egyptian initiative also calls for reopening Gaza crossings and facilitating the movement of persons and goods.
The Israeli army "has ceased fire against Hamas, but remains prepared for further attacks from Gaza and any other potential developments," military spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted.
At least 194 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1400 others injured in unrelenting Israeli airstrikes on the besieged coastal enclave since last Monday.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks.
Egypt on Monday proposed a ceasefire between Gaza-based resistance factions and Israel.
The initiative calls on Israel to cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip, halt any ground operations and stop targeting civilians, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
It also calls on Gaza-based Palestinian factions to cease all hostilities against Israel, halt rocket fire and cross-border attacks and stop targeting civilians.
The Egyptian initiative also calls for reopening Gaza crossings and facilitating the movement of persons and goods.
Attack 15 july
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Hamas to accept Egypt's cease-fire proposal to halt fighting with Israel in the Gaza Strip. In a brief statement released by the State Department Tuesday, Kerry welcomed Israel's decision to accept the proposal.
"The Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire and negotiations provides an opportunity to end the violence and restore calm," Kerry said. "We welcome the Israeli cabinet's decision to accept it. We urge all other parties to accept the proposal," he added.
Hamas has thus far refused to accept the Egyptian proposal to end a week of the deadliest violence in Gaza Strip for years, which killed more than 190 Palestinians.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Hamas to accept Egypt's cease-fire proposal to halt fighting with Israel in the Gaza Strip. In a brief statement released by the State Department Tuesday, Kerry welcomed Israel's decision to accept the proposal.
"The Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire and negotiations provides an opportunity to end the violence and restore calm," Kerry said. "We welcome the Israeli cabinet's decision to accept it. We urge all other parties to accept the proposal," he added.
Hamas has thus far refused to accept the Egyptian proposal to end a week of the deadliest violence in Gaza Strip for years, which killed more than 190 Palestinians.
Attack 15 july
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday stepped up his rhetoric against Israel over its its deadly air offensive on Gaza, accusing the Jewish state of committing "state terrorism" against the Palestinians.
Presenting himself as the sole world leader speaking up for the Palestinians, Erdogan said that any normalization in the troubled ties between Israel and Ankara was currently out of the question. " Israel is continuing to carry out state terrorism in the region. Nobody, except us, tells it to stop," Erdogan told members of his ruling party in parliament, accusing Israel of perpetrating a "massacre" of Palestinians.
"To what extent will the world remain silent to this state terrorism?" Supporters from his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) often interrupted his address by shouting slogans like "Murderer Israel!"
His comments came after a week of the deadliest violence in the Gaza Strip for years which has claimed at least 185 lives, sparking international condemnation. Israel accepted Tuesday an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire, despite a Hamas decision to turn down the US-backed truce. Erdogan welcomed the cease-fire proposal as "very positive" and "precious." "I hope this cease-fire will be secured," he said. "But it appears that the blood of innocent Palestinian children is being exploited in the dirty politics of the Middle East," he said. Erdogan is due to host Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Turkey for talks Friday.
Ties between Israel and Turkey hit an all-time low after Israeli marines stormed a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010 while in international waters. Ten Turks were killed. Encouraged by the United States, there had been progress toward a normalization of ties. But Erdogan said this could not be considered as long as the Israeli offensive continued. "The Israeli state must know that it is out of the question to normalize our relations if those massacres continue," he said. Erdogan sees himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and is also keen to underline his credentials as a global Muslim leader ahead of August 10 presidential elections in which he is standing.
"You are no longer alone and will never be," said Erdogan, referring to the Palestinians. Until the rise to power of Erdogan's AKP, NATO member Turkey was seen as Israel's key ally in the Islamic world and Middle East.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday stepped up his rhetoric against Israel over its its deadly air offensive on Gaza, accusing the Jewish state of committing "state terrorism" against the Palestinians.
Presenting himself as the sole world leader speaking up for the Palestinians, Erdogan said that any normalization in the troubled ties between Israel and Ankara was currently out of the question. " Israel is continuing to carry out state terrorism in the region. Nobody, except us, tells it to stop," Erdogan told members of his ruling party in parliament, accusing Israel of perpetrating a "massacre" of Palestinians.
"To what extent will the world remain silent to this state terrorism?" Supporters from his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) often interrupted his address by shouting slogans like "Murderer Israel!"
His comments came after a week of the deadliest violence in the Gaza Strip for years which has claimed at least 185 lives, sparking international condemnation. Israel accepted Tuesday an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire, despite a Hamas decision to turn down the US-backed truce. Erdogan welcomed the cease-fire proposal as "very positive" and "precious." "I hope this cease-fire will be secured," he said. "But it appears that the blood of innocent Palestinian children is being exploited in the dirty politics of the Middle East," he said. Erdogan is due to host Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Turkey for talks Friday.
Ties between Israel and Turkey hit an all-time low after Israeli marines stormed a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010 while in international waters. Ten Turks were killed. Encouraged by the United States, there had been progress toward a normalization of ties. But Erdogan said this could not be considered as long as the Israeli offensive continued. "The Israeli state must know that it is out of the question to normalize our relations if those massacres continue," he said. Erdogan sees himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and is also keen to underline his credentials as a global Muslim leader ahead of August 10 presidential elections in which he is standing.
"You are no longer alone and will never be," said Erdogan, referring to the Palestinians. Until the rise to power of Erdogan's AKP, NATO member Turkey was seen as Israel's key ally in the Islamic world and Middle East.
Attack 15 july
Israel sees in the Egyptian-proposed Gaza truce an opportunity to strip the Palestinian enclave of rockets but is prepared to redouble military action there if the cross-border launches persist, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"We agreed to the Egyptian proposal in order to give an opportunity for the demilitarisation of the (Gaza) Strip - from missiles, from rockets and from tunnels - through diplomatic means," he told reporters. "But if Hamas does not accept the cease-fire proposal, as would now seem to be the case, Israel would have all international legitimacy to broaden the military operation to achieve the required quiet."
Israel sees in the Egyptian-proposed Gaza truce an opportunity to strip the Palestinian enclave of rockets but is prepared to redouble military action there if the cross-border launches persist, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"We agreed to the Egyptian proposal in order to give an opportunity for the demilitarisation of the (Gaza) Strip - from missiles, from rockets and from tunnels - through diplomatic means," he told reporters. "But if Hamas does not accept the cease-fire proposal, as would now seem to be the case, Israel would have all international legitimacy to broaden the military operation to achieve the required quiet."
Attack 15 july
Hamas was still debating an Egyptian-proposed Gaza truce Tuesday, a top official from the Palestinian Islamist group said as rocket fire from the territory into Israel continued more than two hours after the deal was meant to go into effect.
"We are still in consultation and there has been no official position made by the (Hamas) movement regarding the Egyptian proposal," Moussa Abu Marzouk, who was in Cairo, said in a Facebook posting.
Hamas was still debating an Egyptian-proposed Gaza truce Tuesday, a top official from the Palestinian Islamist group said as rocket fire from the territory into Israel continued more than two hours after the deal was meant to go into effect.
"We are still in consultation and there has been no official position made by the (Hamas) movement regarding the Egyptian proposal," Moussa Abu Marzouk, who was in Cairo, said in a Facebook posting.
A Gaza rocket struck the southern port city of Ashdod on Tuesday, police said, just hours after Israel agreed to abide by an Egyptian truce.
"The rocket struck a yard outside a house in Ashdod, several people have been treated for shock," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.
The attack was claimed by the armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, which said it had fired "eight Grad rockets" at Ashdod, which is home to some 212,000 people.
Earlier the Israeli security cabinet voted to accept an Egyptian proposal for a unilateral ceasefire which went into force at 9 a.m. although it warned it would respond "with force" to any further rocket fire.
There were no immediate reports from Gaza of a military response to the fire on Ashdod, which came after three mortar shells struck open areas near the southern flank of the Israel-Gaza border.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza said they were not consulted about the ceasefire terms.
"The rocket struck a yard outside a house in Ashdod, several people have been treated for shock," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.
The attack was claimed by the armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, which said it had fired "eight Grad rockets" at Ashdod, which is home to some 212,000 people.
Earlier the Israeli security cabinet voted to accept an Egyptian proposal for a unilateral ceasefire which went into force at 9 a.m. although it warned it would respond "with force" to any further rocket fire.
There were no immediate reports from Gaza of a military response to the fire on Ashdod, which came after three mortar shells struck open areas near the southern flank of the Israel-Gaza border.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza said they were not consulted about the ceasefire terms.
As Israel continues to bomb hundreds of targets in the Gaza Strip, hospitals are facing a shortage of medical supplies.
Pre-existing shortages are being exacerbated by heightened need and by the border policies of the Egyptian government, which continues to limit entry into Gaza.
Gaza's Ministry of Health has announced a state of emergency, with the danger of acute shortages of basic medication. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health, said the needs would soon become critical.
"We are already facing a severe shortage - 35 to 40 percent - of needed medicines and disposables, which impacts the treatment of the growing number of injuries because of the current escalation," he told IRIN.
According to the World Health Organization, 30 percent of the essential drug list and half the disposable medical supplies were out of stock in Gaza - even before the crisis.
Together with WHO, the Ministry has appealed for $60 million to urgently cover out of stock medical supplies and medical referrals out of Gaza.
In the past week, the AFP news agency said at least 172 Palestinians have been killed as Israel has attacked hundreds of targets in what it says is a response to rocket attacks and the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank last month.
The UN has reported that nearly 1,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, while up to 17,000 people have sought refuge in UN facilities, with Israel threatening a ground attack. Israeli said its troops carried out their first ground raid into Gaza targeting a rocket site on July 14, an operation in which four of its soldiers were injured.
When IRIN visited al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the rooms were packed as medical staff tried to keep on top of their workload. Those injured were rushed to surgery, intensive care or sometimes the morgue. In the reception, relatives rushed around seeking news of their loved ones.
Christian Cardon, head of the Gaza sub-delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the situation was "exceptional".
"In comparison to the figures of casualties in the last conflict (in 2012), we are already reaching a high level of intensity in fatalities, including women and children. There is a need for more drugs and disposables, and medical items at some point," he said.
He called on all sides to respect medical staff and to allow "hospitals to function day and night (and) ambulances to be able to move everywhere in the Gaza Strip. This is very complicated nowadays in terms of the security situation and intensity of the conflict."
Medical crews have faced difficulties accessing certain areas, while 12 people were injured in a strike on the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Jabaliya, northern Gaza.
Aed Yaghi, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, called for immediate international action to protect Palestinians and provide medical supplies.
"There should be an active response to avoid further deterioration in the situation in Gaza. It is not acceptable to see people suffer without any action to save their lives," he told IRIN.
Egyptian border restrictions
The shortage is made worse by stringent restrictions on the entry of goods into Gaza, imposed by the years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip by Egypt and Israel.
At the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, frustrated aid workers struggled to cross into the enclave. Ayman Koueider, a representative of the Arab Doctors Union, told IRIN he and other charity workers were stranded as they had been prevented from entering Gaza to deliver medical and food aid.
The contrast with the last conflict is stark. During those five-day hostilities between Israel and Hamas in November 2012 the then-Muslim Brotherhood-led Egyptian government opened the border with Gaza and facilitated the delivery of medical supplies.
Since the Brotherhood was overthrown by the military last year, the new government under the leadership of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has become friendlier with Israel and taken a tougher stance against Hamas in Gaza, and the border has remained largely closed.
"They told us in Gaza that they need many necessary medical supplies," Koueider said. "It is a humanitarian situation; ideologies should be left aside," he added, alluding to the tensions between the leaderships in Gaza and Cairo.
Likewise, for those trying to flee, the border has been largely sealed - the vast majority of those that IRIN met crossing into Egypt were not Palestinian.
A Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin said it had taken him several days to cross into Egypt as the security forces were reluctant to accept him.
Milina Shahin, public information officer at the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, said their information was that only a "very limited number" of people had been allowed to cross, though she stressed the body had no formal role monitoring the border.
An Egyptian security source on the border confirmed the government was severely limiting the number of Palestinians allowed to leave, but stressed that the injured were largely being granted access, though relatively few of them had made it to the border.
The source added that one of the reasons for the stringent controls was a fear of radical jihadists crossing into Egypt to carry out attacks.
The blockade is not only affecting medical supplies. The Ministry of Health estimates that Gaza's ambulance service is only running at 50 percent capacity due to lack of fuel. Gaza has long relied on a network of tunnels to import basic goods such as fuel but in the past year the Egyptian military has cracked down, closing most of the tunnels.
The ICRC's Cardon added that hospitals, too, could run out of power. "One of the main concerns will be (ensuring there is) the fuel to make sure the hospitals (run) around the clock. We know that there is a shortage of fuel already."
According to Mahmoud Daher, head of WHO's office in Gaza, an Emirati delegation was able to bring medical equipment and a field hospital into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on 13 July.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, six truckloads of humanitarian assistance donated by the Egyptian Army to the Ministry of Health and to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, including 2,500 boxes of medical supplies, arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on 12 July.
A number of international NGOs donated medical supplies worth over $800,000 to the Ministry of Health, OCHA added, and Médecins Sans Frontières France is scheduled to send a medical team to work in al-Shifa Hospital later this week.
In addition, some donors have pledged to support medical needs in Gaza, promising WHO the resources to bring supplies through the Israeli border. So far, the government of Norway has pledged $2.5 million and the Islamic Development Bank is looking to follow suit.
However, procurement of the supplies will take a few days, Daher said, and "without big contributions, we cannot replenish these (pre-existing shortages)."
Pre-positioned trauma kits of the ICRC, the NGO MAP UK and others will allow aid agencies to respond to emergency cases over the next 10 days or so, so long as there is no further deterioration, Daher said, "but the problem will be with the people with chronic diseases, cancer, and those who, (because of) a backlog in the system for a long time, have not had proper healthcare."
Pre-existing shortages are being exacerbated by heightened need and by the border policies of the Egyptian government, which continues to limit entry into Gaza.
Gaza's Ministry of Health has announced a state of emergency, with the danger of acute shortages of basic medication. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health, said the needs would soon become critical.
"We are already facing a severe shortage - 35 to 40 percent - of needed medicines and disposables, which impacts the treatment of the growing number of injuries because of the current escalation," he told IRIN.
According to the World Health Organization, 30 percent of the essential drug list and half the disposable medical supplies were out of stock in Gaza - even before the crisis.
Together with WHO, the Ministry has appealed for $60 million to urgently cover out of stock medical supplies and medical referrals out of Gaza.
In the past week, the AFP news agency said at least 172 Palestinians have been killed as Israel has attacked hundreds of targets in what it says is a response to rocket attacks and the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank last month.
The UN has reported that nearly 1,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, while up to 17,000 people have sought refuge in UN facilities, with Israel threatening a ground attack. Israeli said its troops carried out their first ground raid into Gaza targeting a rocket site on July 14, an operation in which four of its soldiers were injured.
When IRIN visited al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the rooms were packed as medical staff tried to keep on top of their workload. Those injured were rushed to surgery, intensive care or sometimes the morgue. In the reception, relatives rushed around seeking news of their loved ones.
Christian Cardon, head of the Gaza sub-delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the situation was "exceptional".
"In comparison to the figures of casualties in the last conflict (in 2012), we are already reaching a high level of intensity in fatalities, including women and children. There is a need for more drugs and disposables, and medical items at some point," he said.
He called on all sides to respect medical staff and to allow "hospitals to function day and night (and) ambulances to be able to move everywhere in the Gaza Strip. This is very complicated nowadays in terms of the security situation and intensity of the conflict."
Medical crews have faced difficulties accessing certain areas, while 12 people were injured in a strike on the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Jabaliya, northern Gaza.
Aed Yaghi, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, called for immediate international action to protect Palestinians and provide medical supplies.
"There should be an active response to avoid further deterioration in the situation in Gaza. It is not acceptable to see people suffer without any action to save their lives," he told IRIN.
Egyptian border restrictions
The shortage is made worse by stringent restrictions on the entry of goods into Gaza, imposed by the years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip by Egypt and Israel.
At the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, frustrated aid workers struggled to cross into the enclave. Ayman Koueider, a representative of the Arab Doctors Union, told IRIN he and other charity workers were stranded as they had been prevented from entering Gaza to deliver medical and food aid.
The contrast with the last conflict is stark. During those five-day hostilities between Israel and Hamas in November 2012 the then-Muslim Brotherhood-led Egyptian government opened the border with Gaza and facilitated the delivery of medical supplies.
Since the Brotherhood was overthrown by the military last year, the new government under the leadership of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has become friendlier with Israel and taken a tougher stance against Hamas in Gaza, and the border has remained largely closed.
"They told us in Gaza that they need many necessary medical supplies," Koueider said. "It is a humanitarian situation; ideologies should be left aside," he added, alluding to the tensions between the leaderships in Gaza and Cairo.
Likewise, for those trying to flee, the border has been largely sealed - the vast majority of those that IRIN met crossing into Egypt were not Palestinian.
A Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin said it had taken him several days to cross into Egypt as the security forces were reluctant to accept him.
Milina Shahin, public information officer at the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, said their information was that only a "very limited number" of people had been allowed to cross, though she stressed the body had no formal role monitoring the border.
An Egyptian security source on the border confirmed the government was severely limiting the number of Palestinians allowed to leave, but stressed that the injured were largely being granted access, though relatively few of them had made it to the border.
The source added that one of the reasons for the stringent controls was a fear of radical jihadists crossing into Egypt to carry out attacks.
The blockade is not only affecting medical supplies. The Ministry of Health estimates that Gaza's ambulance service is only running at 50 percent capacity due to lack of fuel. Gaza has long relied on a network of tunnels to import basic goods such as fuel but in the past year the Egyptian military has cracked down, closing most of the tunnels.
The ICRC's Cardon added that hospitals, too, could run out of power. "One of the main concerns will be (ensuring there is) the fuel to make sure the hospitals (run) around the clock. We know that there is a shortage of fuel already."
According to Mahmoud Daher, head of WHO's office in Gaza, an Emirati delegation was able to bring medical equipment and a field hospital into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on 13 July.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, six truckloads of humanitarian assistance donated by the Egyptian Army to the Ministry of Health and to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, including 2,500 boxes of medical supplies, arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on 12 July.
A number of international NGOs donated medical supplies worth over $800,000 to the Ministry of Health, OCHA added, and Médecins Sans Frontières France is scheduled to send a medical team to work in al-Shifa Hospital later this week.
In addition, some donors have pledged to support medical needs in Gaza, promising WHO the resources to bring supplies through the Israeli border. So far, the government of Norway has pledged $2.5 million and the Islamic Development Bank is looking to follow suit.
However, procurement of the supplies will take a few days, Daher said, and "without big contributions, we cannot replenish these (pre-existing shortages)."
Pre-positioned trauma kits of the ICRC, the NGO MAP UK and others will allow aid agencies to respond to emergency cases over the next 10 days or so, so long as there is no further deterioration, Daher said, "but the problem will be with the people with chronic diseases, cancer, and those who, (because of) a backlog in the system for a long time, have not had proper healthcare."
A group of Israeli film-makers have issued a joint statement condemning the current Israeli military action against Palestinian targets in Gaza, and the attacks by Hamas on Israel.
At a press conference during the Jerusalem film festival, the likes of Keren Yedaya and Shira Geffen read out the names of children who had been killed in the Israeli missile attacks of recent days. They said it was "not an act of provocation, it's natural to give them a name and remember... Children living in Gaza today are our partners in peace tomorrow. The killing and horror we inflict only push any diplomatic solution further away."
Yedaya, whose controversial film A Lovely Girl appeared in the Un Certain Regard section of this year's Cannes festival, was in tears as she described being "the mother of two kids who suffer from the fear and panic of the threat of the missiles."
The group took a dovish stance, arguing "we do not seek revenge and do not believe in a military solution," and that film-makers and journalists have a duty to depict the suffering on both sides of the conflict. "Cameras here, in Israel, film and tell about the suffering and pain of Israeli citizens subject to missile attacks... A dialogue must be established, an acknowledgment of the suffering of the other. Today, we want to direct those cameras to the suffering of Gaza residents, men, women and children killed during the last few days. Those filming the suffering of Israelis should be courageous and honest enough to film the killing and destruction in Gaza as well, and tell that story as well."
Various cultural activities in Israel and Palestine, such as a planned Neil Young concert, have been cancelled, and Yedaya considered not attending the festival before she spoke with the other film-makers. They argue that the "'life goes on' conception... is morally impossible," and instead the festival is an opportunity "to issue a clear, loud cry for change."
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have begun, but a ceasefire remains far from certain as a proposed truce, initially accepted by Israel's security council, was rejected by Hamas.
At a press conference during the Jerusalem film festival, the likes of Keren Yedaya and Shira Geffen read out the names of children who had been killed in the Israeli missile attacks of recent days. They said it was "not an act of provocation, it's natural to give them a name and remember... Children living in Gaza today are our partners in peace tomorrow. The killing and horror we inflict only push any diplomatic solution further away."
Yedaya, whose controversial film A Lovely Girl appeared in the Un Certain Regard section of this year's Cannes festival, was in tears as she described being "the mother of two kids who suffer from the fear and panic of the threat of the missiles."
The group took a dovish stance, arguing "we do not seek revenge and do not believe in a military solution," and that film-makers and journalists have a duty to depict the suffering on both sides of the conflict. "Cameras here, in Israel, film and tell about the suffering and pain of Israeli citizens subject to missile attacks... A dialogue must be established, an acknowledgment of the suffering of the other. Today, we want to direct those cameras to the suffering of Gaza residents, men, women and children killed during the last few days. Those filming the suffering of Israelis should be courageous and honest enough to film the killing and destruction in Gaza as well, and tell that story as well."
Various cultural activities in Israel and Palestine, such as a planned Neil Young concert, have been cancelled, and Yedaya considered not attending the festival before she spoke with the other film-makers. They argue that the "'life goes on' conception... is morally impossible," and instead the festival is an opportunity "to issue a clear, loud cry for change."
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have begun, but a ceasefire remains far from certain as a proposed truce, initially accepted by Israel's security council, was rejected by Hamas.
His whole life passed before his eyes like a film uncut by memory. He dived into the rubble of his home, hoping to find something to defeat the idea of his family’s death. But death is always stronger and here, the smell of blood fills the air.
He calls them to slow down their march towards death but the sounds of their lives quiet down and their steps count down until zero hour. The hard truth appears in front of him, this earth can no longer hold them.
A pile of dirt covers them, while he remains alone, devoured by sorrow. His fate is to be inhabited by pain, battling this life. This is the state we found the young Gazan man, Yasser al-Hajj, in. Beating his hands against each other, he is lost between the names of his family members, not knowing whom to cry over first. It was 2 am when the noise of Zionist madness grew louder above the home of the Hajj family. Israeli warplanes dropped their venom on them without prior warning, as they were trying to steal a few moments of rest after a raucous day bursting at the seams with the tales of death. In a blink of an eye, the moments turned into a journey of eternal sleep, a journey that took away all the members of the family.
Only minutes kept Yasser from joining them on the train of death. He was about to enter his home in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, but the Israeli bombing got to his family before him, turning them into charred corpses and scattered carnage.
Mahmoud, Bassima, Asmaa, Najlaa, Tarek, Saad, Omar and Fatima, names worn out by this life and transported to the other, more expansive side. These people are Yasser’s little world, his parents, brothers and sisters. They lie now in front of him, bidding their final farewell before disappearing forever.
Yasser thought his eyes were deceiving him when he saw his mother Bassima (53 years old), with her legs cut off by the bombing. He was looking hysterically for the limbs and heads of his younger siblings. In a voice full of pain and sorrow, he told Al-Akhbar: “Life has no meaning after their death. I don’t know how I will adapt to this harsh reality. Everyone I shared my life and my feelings with are gone and I am left alone here.”
He wonders: “What objectives did the Israeli government accomplish? Killing unarmed civilians while they are sleeping is going to eradicate the seed of Resistance? On the contrary, the Resistance will grow stronger and we ask the Resistance forces to take revenge. My family’s blood is not cheap.” This is how Yasser will spend the rest of his life, haunted by the ghost of his family.
Yasser is not the only one whose entire family has been killed in this war. There are dozens of similar stories all over Gaza, even if the details differ. Sixteen-year-old Housam Ghannam shares Yasser’s fate except Housam is lying in the intensive care unit in the European Hospital in Khan Younis, his young body suffering from a serious injury.
After the dawn call for prayer last Friday, the sound of a huge explosion shook the Yibna refugee camp in Rafah in southern Gaza. The camp residents were awoken by the sound to find that the three-storey home of the Ghannam family had disappeared. His mother, father, grandmother and two little sisters were among the dead. They were all pulled from under the rubble amidst a giant cloud of smoke. One eyewitness told Al-Akhbar: “F-16 warplanes fired three missiles at the house without a warning missile. The sight was harrowing as the house was leveled to the ground, erasing the identities and features of the family members, leaving only dismembered body parts behind.”
Despite everything, many Gazans have tried to overcome this bleak reality. As the attention of the world turned to Brazil and people were mesmerized before TV screens watching the world’s most important football event, Gazans followed suit. They have tried to carve out room for fun in the middle of a place enveloped by tragic news. Ibrahim and Mohammed Qanun, Suleiman, Ahmed and Mousa al-Astal, Hamdi, Ibrahim and Salim al-Sawali and Mohammed al-Aqqad, brought together by their passion for football, found death waiting for them.
They went out last Wednesday evening to get ready for the Argentina - Netherlands game and to have a good time in the town of al-Qarara on the coast of Khan Younis. The missile that targeted them turned this football celebration into a funeral and took all the fun away from them. Mohammed al-Sawali, brother of the three martyrs told Al-Akhbar: “I ran to the cafe to find my two brothers Ibrahim and Hamdi as still corpses. I kept looking for my brother Salim whose body I found the next day.”
He calls them to slow down their march towards death but the sounds of their lives quiet down and their steps count down until zero hour. The hard truth appears in front of him, this earth can no longer hold them.
A pile of dirt covers them, while he remains alone, devoured by sorrow. His fate is to be inhabited by pain, battling this life. This is the state we found the young Gazan man, Yasser al-Hajj, in. Beating his hands against each other, he is lost between the names of his family members, not knowing whom to cry over first. It was 2 am when the noise of Zionist madness grew louder above the home of the Hajj family. Israeli warplanes dropped their venom on them without prior warning, as they were trying to steal a few moments of rest after a raucous day bursting at the seams with the tales of death. In a blink of an eye, the moments turned into a journey of eternal sleep, a journey that took away all the members of the family.
Only minutes kept Yasser from joining them on the train of death. He was about to enter his home in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, but the Israeli bombing got to his family before him, turning them into charred corpses and scattered carnage.
Mahmoud, Bassima, Asmaa, Najlaa, Tarek, Saad, Omar and Fatima, names worn out by this life and transported to the other, more expansive side. These people are Yasser’s little world, his parents, brothers and sisters. They lie now in front of him, bidding their final farewell before disappearing forever.
Yasser thought his eyes were deceiving him when he saw his mother Bassima (53 years old), with her legs cut off by the bombing. He was looking hysterically for the limbs and heads of his younger siblings. In a voice full of pain and sorrow, he told Al-Akhbar: “Life has no meaning after their death. I don’t know how I will adapt to this harsh reality. Everyone I shared my life and my feelings with are gone and I am left alone here.”
He wonders: “What objectives did the Israeli government accomplish? Killing unarmed civilians while they are sleeping is going to eradicate the seed of Resistance? On the contrary, the Resistance will grow stronger and we ask the Resistance forces to take revenge. My family’s blood is not cheap.” This is how Yasser will spend the rest of his life, haunted by the ghost of his family.
Yasser is not the only one whose entire family has been killed in this war. There are dozens of similar stories all over Gaza, even if the details differ. Sixteen-year-old Housam Ghannam shares Yasser’s fate except Housam is lying in the intensive care unit in the European Hospital in Khan Younis, his young body suffering from a serious injury.
After the dawn call for prayer last Friday, the sound of a huge explosion shook the Yibna refugee camp in Rafah in southern Gaza. The camp residents were awoken by the sound to find that the three-storey home of the Ghannam family had disappeared. His mother, father, grandmother and two little sisters were among the dead. They were all pulled from under the rubble amidst a giant cloud of smoke. One eyewitness told Al-Akhbar: “F-16 warplanes fired three missiles at the house without a warning missile. The sight was harrowing as the house was leveled to the ground, erasing the identities and features of the family members, leaving only dismembered body parts behind.”
Despite everything, many Gazans have tried to overcome this bleak reality. As the attention of the world turned to Brazil and people were mesmerized before TV screens watching the world’s most important football event, Gazans followed suit. They have tried to carve out room for fun in the middle of a place enveloped by tragic news. Ibrahim and Mohammed Qanun, Suleiman, Ahmed and Mousa al-Astal, Hamdi, Ibrahim and Salim al-Sawali and Mohammed al-Aqqad, brought together by their passion for football, found death waiting for them.
They went out last Wednesday evening to get ready for the Argentina - Netherlands game and to have a good time in the town of al-Qarara on the coast of Khan Younis. The missile that targeted them turned this football celebration into a funeral and took all the fun away from them. Mohammed al-Sawali, brother of the three martyrs told Al-Akhbar: “I ran to the cafe to find my two brothers Ibrahim and Hamdi as still corpses. I kept looking for my brother Salim whose body I found the next day.”
Rocket hit on home, Sderot, 3 July 2014.
Two Thursdays ago, on 3 July 2014, at about 8:30 in the morning, a rocket hit my neighbor’s house. On that day, the house was being used as a small child day care center, as part of a rotation system. There are a few families here that share care for their children on a rotating basis. Each family is responsible for one day a week, and there are five children altogether.
After the Color Red Warning, we heard the blast and my wife and I ran outside. We went into the house next door, into the security room, where the children were, to get them out. My wife and I both took one child in each hand and got out. The fifth child was with the care giver. The rocket hit the wall of the house and lodged there, but luckily, it didn’t explode, so the damage was relatively minor. I’ve learned from past experience not to let the kids see the damage the rockets cause, because it can be traumatic, so I waited inside the house with the kids until the bomb squad removed the rocket lodged in the wall, before we went out.
I have four children. The older two are already in university and in the army. My two youngest ones, 13 and 10 years old, are still at home. They were born into the era of Qassam rocket attacks. My house was hit by rockets twice, once 8 years ago and once 6 years ago. The first time, 8 years ago, there was no Color Red Warning. The rocket must have been launched from a low spot so the detectors missed it. It hit the house and all the windows were shattered at once.
We were in the security room, so we didn’t get hurt. Since the hits on the house, my kids have refused to sleep in their bedrooms, and they’ll only sleep in the security room. It’s like that every night, not just when there’s an escalation. One of them goes regularly to the Hosen Center, for trauma treatment. He sees a therapist who helps him cope with the fear. We try to speak openly with them about the situation and all. I feel that we’ll only discover the true mental damage done to Sderot kids many years down the road.
Avi Adaf lives in the town of Sderot. His testimony was taken Yuval Drier Shilo on 14 July 2014 by telephone.
Two Thursdays ago, on 3 July 2014, at about 8:30 in the morning, a rocket hit my neighbor’s house. On that day, the house was being used as a small child day care center, as part of a rotation system. There are a few families here that share care for their children on a rotating basis. Each family is responsible for one day a week, and there are five children altogether.
After the Color Red Warning, we heard the blast and my wife and I ran outside. We went into the house next door, into the security room, where the children were, to get them out. My wife and I both took one child in each hand and got out. The fifth child was with the care giver. The rocket hit the wall of the house and lodged there, but luckily, it didn’t explode, so the damage was relatively minor. I’ve learned from past experience not to let the kids see the damage the rockets cause, because it can be traumatic, so I waited inside the house with the kids until the bomb squad removed the rocket lodged in the wall, before we went out.
I have four children. The older two are already in university and in the army. My two youngest ones, 13 and 10 years old, are still at home. They were born into the era of Qassam rocket attacks. My house was hit by rockets twice, once 8 years ago and once 6 years ago. The first time, 8 years ago, there was no Color Red Warning. The rocket must have been launched from a low spot so the detectors missed it. It hit the house and all the windows were shattered at once.
We were in the security room, so we didn’t get hurt. Since the hits on the house, my kids have refused to sleep in their bedrooms, and they’ll only sleep in the security room. It’s like that every night, not just when there’s an escalation. One of them goes regularly to the Hosen Center, for trauma treatment. He sees a therapist who helps him cope with the fear. We try to speak openly with them about the situation and all. I feel that we’ll only discover the true mental damage done to Sderot kids many years down the road.
Avi Adaf lives in the town of Sderot. His testimony was taken Yuval Drier Shilo on 14 July 2014 by telephone.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement has announced that it rejects a ceasefire with Israel prior to reaching a truce agreement. However, Hamas confirmed that it had not "thus far" received any official initiatives regarding "the truce" from any party, Anadolu news agency has reported. Sami Abu Zuhri, the movement's spokesperson, said in a press statement released in the early hours of Tuesday that what is being circulated regarding the disarming of the resistance is "rejected" and is not subject to discussion. "We are a people who live under occupation," he stressed. "Resistance using all means is a legitimate right for people under occupation."
He affirmed that Hamas also rejects the notion of a ceasefire before a truce has been negotiated. "It has never happened before in the case of war that a ceasefire is observed before negotiating," he insisted.
The Hamas communique was released nearly four hours after Egypt announced an initiative on Monday to "stop the aggression against the Palestinian people" in accordance with a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry. The Egyptian initiative states that Israel shall cease all hostilities against the Gaza Strip via land, sea and air, and shall commit to refrain from conducting any ground raids against Gaza and targeting civilians. It also states that all Palestinian factions in Gaza shall cease all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel via land, sea, air and underground, and shall commit to refrain from firing all types of rockets, and from attacks on the borders or targeting civilians. In addition, Egypt called for all crossings to be opened and the passage of persons and goods through border crossings to be facilitated once the security situation becomes stable on the ground. The initiative also states that other issues, including security issues, shall be discussed with the two sides.
The military wing of Hamas, meanwhile, issued its own statement early on Tuesday morning in which it pointed out that no communication has been received from any "official or unofficial" party, despite what media reports might claim.
"The initiative," said the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, "is not worth the ink with which it was written." A ceasefire before truce negotiations would, the statement added, be nothing but "submission and capitulation"; the armed wing rejects this "in its entirety and in its details".
The brigades vowed to continue to battle against the Israelis with "increased intensity and ferocity", and to "be loyal to the blood of the martyrs" of the people of Palestine.
He affirmed that Hamas also rejects the notion of a ceasefire before a truce has been negotiated. "It has never happened before in the case of war that a ceasefire is observed before negotiating," he insisted.
The Hamas communique was released nearly four hours after Egypt announced an initiative on Monday to "stop the aggression against the Palestinian people" in accordance with a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry. The Egyptian initiative states that Israel shall cease all hostilities against the Gaza Strip via land, sea and air, and shall commit to refrain from conducting any ground raids against Gaza and targeting civilians. It also states that all Palestinian factions in Gaza shall cease all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel via land, sea, air and underground, and shall commit to refrain from firing all types of rockets, and from attacks on the borders or targeting civilians. In addition, Egypt called for all crossings to be opened and the passage of persons and goods through border crossings to be facilitated once the security situation becomes stable on the ground. The initiative also states that other issues, including security issues, shall be discussed with the two sides.
The military wing of Hamas, meanwhile, issued its own statement early on Tuesday morning in which it pointed out that no communication has been received from any "official or unofficial" party, despite what media reports might claim.
"The initiative," said the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, "is not worth the ink with which it was written." A ceasefire before truce negotiations would, the statement added, be nothing but "submission and capitulation"; the armed wing rejects this "in its entirety and in its details".
The brigades vowed to continue to battle against the Israelis with "increased intensity and ferocity", and to "be loyal to the blood of the martyrs" of the people of Palestine.
