4 aug 2014
Airstrike hits UN school in Gaza, 10 dead
by Chris Hedges
All governments lie, as I.F. Stone pointed out, including Israel and Hamas. But Israel engages in the kinds of jaw-dropping lies that characterize despotic and totalitarian regimes. It does not deform the truth; it inverts it. It routinely paints a picture for the outside world that is diametrically opposed to reality. And all of us reporters who have covered the occupied territories have run into Israel's Alice-in-Wonderland narratives, which we dutifully insert into our stories -- required under the rules of American journalism -- although we know they are untrue.
I saw small boys baited and killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza refugee camp of Khan Younis. The soldiers swore at the boys in Arabic over the loudspeakers of their armored jeep. The boys, about 10 years old, then threw stones at an Israeli vehicle and the soldiers opened fire, killing some, wounding others. I was present more than once as Israeli troops drew out and shot Palestinian children in this way.
Such incidents, in the Israeli lexicon, become children caught in crossfire. I was in Gaza when F-16 attack jets dropped 1,000-pound iron fragmentation bombs on overcrowded hovels in Gaza City. I saw the corpses of the victims, including children. This became a surgical strike on a bomb-making factory. I have watched Israel demolish homes and entire apartment blocks to create wide buffer zones between the Palestinians and the Israeli troops that ring Gaza. I have interviewed the destitute and homeless families, some camped out in crude shelters erected in the rubble. The destruction becomes the demolition of the homes of terrorists.
I have stood in the remains of schools -- Israel struck two United Nations schools in the last six days, causing at least 10 fatalities at one in Rafah on Sunday and at least 19 at one in the Jebaliya refugee camp Wednesday -- as well as medical clinics and mosques. I have heard Israel claim that errant rockets or mortar fire from the Palestinians caused these and other deaths, or that the attacked spots were being used as arms depots or launching sites. I, along with every other reporter I know who has worked in Gaza, have never seen any evidence that Hamas uses civilians as "human shields."
There is a perverted logic to Israel's repeated use of the Big Lie-- Große Lüge-- the lie favored by tyrants from Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin to Saddam Hussein. The Big Lie feeds the two reactions Israel seeks to elicit -- racism among its supporters and terror among its victims.
By painting a picture of an army that never attacks civilians, that indeed goes out of its way to protect them, the Big Lie says Israelis are civilized and humane, and their Palestinian opponents are inhuman monsters. The Big Lie serves the idea that the slaughter in Gaza is a clash of civilizations, a war between democracy, decency and honor on one side and Islamic barbarism on the other. And in the uncommon cases when news of atrocities penetrates to the wider public, Israel blames the destruction and casualties on Hamas.
George Orwell in his novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" called this form of propaganda doublethink. Doublethink uses "logic against logic" and "repudiate[s] morality while laying claim to it." The Big Lie does not allow for the nuances and contradictions that can plague conscience. It is a state-orchestrated response to the dilemma of cognitive dissonance. The Big Lie permits no gray zones. The world is black and white, good and evil, righteous and unrighteous. The Big Lie allows believers to take comfort -- a comfort they are desperately seeking -- in their own moral superiority at the very moment they have abrogated all morality.
The Big Lie, as the father of American public relations, Edward Bernays, wrote, is limited only by the propagandist's capacity to fathom and harness the undercurrents of individual and mass psychology. And since most supporters of Israel do not have a desire to know the truth, a truth that would force them to examine their own racism and self-delusions about Zionist and Western moral superiority, like packs of famished dogs they lap up the lies fed to them by the Israeli government. The Big Lie always finds fertile soil in what Bernays called the "logic-proof compartment of dogmatic adherence." All effective propaganda, Bernays wrote, targets and builds upon these irrational "psychological habits."
This is the world Franz Kafka envisioned, a world where the irrational becomes rational. It is one where, as Gustave Le Bon noted in "The Crowd: A Study of the Public Mind," those who supply the masses with the illusions they crave become their master, and "whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim." This irrationality explains why the reaction of Israeli supporters to those who have the courage to speak the truth -- Uri Avnery, Max Blumenthal, Noam Chomsky, Jonathan Cook, Norman Finkelstein, Amira Hass, Gideon Levy, Ilan Pappe, Henry Siegman and Philip Weiss -- is so rabid. That so many of these voices are Jewish, and therefore have more credibility than non-Jews who are among Israel's cheerleaders, only ratchets up the level of hate.
But the Big Lie is also consciously designed to send a chilling message to Gaza's Palestinians, who have lost large numbers of their dwellings, clinics, mosques, and power, water and sewage facilities, along with schools and hospitals, who have suffered some 1,650 deaths since this assault began -- most of the victims women and children -- and who have seen 400,000 people displaced from their homes. The Big Lie makes it clear to the Palestinians that Israel will continue to wage a campaign of state terror and will never admit its atrocities or its intentions. The vast disparity between what Israel says and what Israel does tells the Palestinians that there is no hope. Israel will do and say whatever it wants. International law, like the truth, will always be irrelevant. There will never, the Palestinians understand from the Big Lie, be an acknowledgement of reality by the Israeli leadership.
The Israel Defense Forces website is replete with this black propaganda. "Hamas exploits the IDF's sensitivity towards protecting civilian structures, particularly holy sites, by hiding command centers, weapons caches and tunnel entrances in mosques," the IDF site reads. "In Hamas' world, hospitals are command centers, ambulances are transport vehicles, and medics are human shields," the site insists.
"... [Israeli] officers are tasked with an enormous responsibility: to protect Palestinian civilians on the ground, no matter how difficult that may be," the site assures its viewers. And the IDF site provides this quote from a drone operator identified as Lt. Or. "I have personally seen rockets fired at Israel from hospitals and schools, but we couldn't strike back because of civilians nearby. In one instance, we acquired a target but we saw that there were children in the area. We waited around, and when they didn't leave we were forced to abort a strike on an important target."
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, in a Big Lie of his own, said last month at a conference of Christians United for Israel that the Israeli army should be given the "Nobel Peace Prize ... a Nobel Peace Prize for fighting with unimaginable restraint."
The Big Lie destroys any possibility of history and therefore any hope for a dialogue between antagonistic parties that can be grounded in truth and reality. While, as Hannah Arendt pointed out, the ancient and modern sophists sought to win an argument at the expense of the truth, those who wield the Big Lie "want a more lasting victory at the expense of reality." The old sophists, she said, "destroyed the dignity of human thought." Those who resort to the Big Lie "destroy the dignity of human action." The result, Arendt warned, is that "history itself is destroyed, and its comprehensibility."
And when facts no longer matter, when there is no shared history grounded in the truth, when people foolishly believe their own lies, there can be no useful exchange of information. The Big Lie, used like a bludgeon by Israel, as perhaps it is designed to be, ultimately reduces all problems in the world to the brutish language of violence. And when oppressed people are addressed only through violence they will answer only through violence
by Chris Hedges
All governments lie, as I.F. Stone pointed out, including Israel and Hamas. But Israel engages in the kinds of jaw-dropping lies that characterize despotic and totalitarian regimes. It does not deform the truth; it inverts it. It routinely paints a picture for the outside world that is diametrically opposed to reality. And all of us reporters who have covered the occupied territories have run into Israel's Alice-in-Wonderland narratives, which we dutifully insert into our stories -- required under the rules of American journalism -- although we know they are untrue.
I saw small boys baited and killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza refugee camp of Khan Younis. The soldiers swore at the boys in Arabic over the loudspeakers of their armored jeep. The boys, about 10 years old, then threw stones at an Israeli vehicle and the soldiers opened fire, killing some, wounding others. I was present more than once as Israeli troops drew out and shot Palestinian children in this way.
Such incidents, in the Israeli lexicon, become children caught in crossfire. I was in Gaza when F-16 attack jets dropped 1,000-pound iron fragmentation bombs on overcrowded hovels in Gaza City. I saw the corpses of the victims, including children. This became a surgical strike on a bomb-making factory. I have watched Israel demolish homes and entire apartment blocks to create wide buffer zones between the Palestinians and the Israeli troops that ring Gaza. I have interviewed the destitute and homeless families, some camped out in crude shelters erected in the rubble. The destruction becomes the demolition of the homes of terrorists.
I have stood in the remains of schools -- Israel struck two United Nations schools in the last six days, causing at least 10 fatalities at one in Rafah on Sunday and at least 19 at one in the Jebaliya refugee camp Wednesday -- as well as medical clinics and mosques. I have heard Israel claim that errant rockets or mortar fire from the Palestinians caused these and other deaths, or that the attacked spots were being used as arms depots or launching sites. I, along with every other reporter I know who has worked in Gaza, have never seen any evidence that Hamas uses civilians as "human shields."
There is a perverted logic to Israel's repeated use of the Big Lie-- Große Lüge-- the lie favored by tyrants from Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin to Saddam Hussein. The Big Lie feeds the two reactions Israel seeks to elicit -- racism among its supporters and terror among its victims.
By painting a picture of an army that never attacks civilians, that indeed goes out of its way to protect them, the Big Lie says Israelis are civilized and humane, and their Palestinian opponents are inhuman monsters. The Big Lie serves the idea that the slaughter in Gaza is a clash of civilizations, a war between democracy, decency and honor on one side and Islamic barbarism on the other. And in the uncommon cases when news of atrocities penetrates to the wider public, Israel blames the destruction and casualties on Hamas.
George Orwell in his novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" called this form of propaganda doublethink. Doublethink uses "logic against logic" and "repudiate[s] morality while laying claim to it." The Big Lie does not allow for the nuances and contradictions that can plague conscience. It is a state-orchestrated response to the dilemma of cognitive dissonance. The Big Lie permits no gray zones. The world is black and white, good and evil, righteous and unrighteous. The Big Lie allows believers to take comfort -- a comfort they are desperately seeking -- in their own moral superiority at the very moment they have abrogated all morality.
The Big Lie, as the father of American public relations, Edward Bernays, wrote, is limited only by the propagandist's capacity to fathom and harness the undercurrents of individual and mass psychology. And since most supporters of Israel do not have a desire to know the truth, a truth that would force them to examine their own racism and self-delusions about Zionist and Western moral superiority, like packs of famished dogs they lap up the lies fed to them by the Israeli government. The Big Lie always finds fertile soil in what Bernays called the "logic-proof compartment of dogmatic adherence." All effective propaganda, Bernays wrote, targets and builds upon these irrational "psychological habits."
This is the world Franz Kafka envisioned, a world where the irrational becomes rational. It is one where, as Gustave Le Bon noted in "The Crowd: A Study of the Public Mind," those who supply the masses with the illusions they crave become their master, and "whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim." This irrationality explains why the reaction of Israeli supporters to those who have the courage to speak the truth -- Uri Avnery, Max Blumenthal, Noam Chomsky, Jonathan Cook, Norman Finkelstein, Amira Hass, Gideon Levy, Ilan Pappe, Henry Siegman and Philip Weiss -- is so rabid. That so many of these voices are Jewish, and therefore have more credibility than non-Jews who are among Israel's cheerleaders, only ratchets up the level of hate.
But the Big Lie is also consciously designed to send a chilling message to Gaza's Palestinians, who have lost large numbers of their dwellings, clinics, mosques, and power, water and sewage facilities, along with schools and hospitals, who have suffered some 1,650 deaths since this assault began -- most of the victims women and children -- and who have seen 400,000 people displaced from their homes. The Big Lie makes it clear to the Palestinians that Israel will continue to wage a campaign of state terror and will never admit its atrocities or its intentions. The vast disparity between what Israel says and what Israel does tells the Palestinians that there is no hope. Israel will do and say whatever it wants. International law, like the truth, will always be irrelevant. There will never, the Palestinians understand from the Big Lie, be an acknowledgement of reality by the Israeli leadership.
The Israel Defense Forces website is replete with this black propaganda. "Hamas exploits the IDF's sensitivity towards protecting civilian structures, particularly holy sites, by hiding command centers, weapons caches and tunnel entrances in mosques," the IDF site reads. "In Hamas' world, hospitals are command centers, ambulances are transport vehicles, and medics are human shields," the site insists.
"... [Israeli] officers are tasked with an enormous responsibility: to protect Palestinian civilians on the ground, no matter how difficult that may be," the site assures its viewers. And the IDF site provides this quote from a drone operator identified as Lt. Or. "I have personally seen rockets fired at Israel from hospitals and schools, but we couldn't strike back because of civilians nearby. In one instance, we acquired a target but we saw that there were children in the area. We waited around, and when they didn't leave we were forced to abort a strike on an important target."
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, in a Big Lie of his own, said last month at a conference of Christians United for Israel that the Israeli army should be given the "Nobel Peace Prize ... a Nobel Peace Prize for fighting with unimaginable restraint."
The Big Lie destroys any possibility of history and therefore any hope for a dialogue between antagonistic parties that can be grounded in truth and reality. While, as Hannah Arendt pointed out, the ancient and modern sophists sought to win an argument at the expense of the truth, those who wield the Big Lie "want a more lasting victory at the expense of reality." The old sophists, she said, "destroyed the dignity of human thought." Those who resort to the Big Lie "destroy the dignity of human action." The result, Arendt warned, is that "history itself is destroyed, and its comprehensibility."
And when facts no longer matter, when there is no shared history grounded in the truth, when people foolishly believe their own lies, there can be no useful exchange of information. The Big Lie, used like a bludgeon by Israel, as perhaps it is designed to be, ultimately reduces all problems in the world to the brutish language of violence. And when oppressed people are addressed only through violence they will answer only through violence
Israel's offensive on Gaza has caused over $5 billion of damage to homes and infrastructure in the Strip, the Minister of Public Works said Monday.
Minister Mufeed al-Hasayneh, a resident of Gaza, told Ma'an that the amount of money is likely to increase as the assault continues.
Some 10,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 30,000 homes partially destroyed, al-Hasayneh said.
"The three areas that have undergone the most intense destruction are Shujaiyya, Beit Hanoun, and Abasan," the minister said.
"Ministry crews were astonished when they arrived to Shujaiyya, where some 110,000 people live. Sixty percent of the homes were completely destroyed, especially those in the eastern part of the neighborhood."
The minister said it would take $5 billion to rebuild structures alone, "not including possessions, like furniture and cars."
"The offensive destroyed buildings belonging to Gaza governorates, in addition to police stations and national security buildings," al-Hasayneh said.
The diesel containers belonging to Gaza's power plant have been destroyed as well, he said.
Al-Hasayneh says the "containers will cost $25 million, and there are ten power lines that supply Gaza with power and have been cut off" as well.
He added that 70 percent water wells had been completely destroyed, "in addition to waste water lines."
According to UN figures, up to 485,000 people -- a quarter of Gaza's population -- has been forced to leave their homes throughout the assault on the Strip.
Many of them will return to find their homes destroyed or damaged.
Minister Mufeed al-Hasayneh, a resident of Gaza, told Ma'an that the amount of money is likely to increase as the assault continues.
Some 10,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 30,000 homes partially destroyed, al-Hasayneh said.
"The three areas that have undergone the most intense destruction are Shujaiyya, Beit Hanoun, and Abasan," the minister said.
"Ministry crews were astonished when they arrived to Shujaiyya, where some 110,000 people live. Sixty percent of the homes were completely destroyed, especially those in the eastern part of the neighborhood."
The minister said it would take $5 billion to rebuild structures alone, "not including possessions, like furniture and cars."
"The offensive destroyed buildings belonging to Gaza governorates, in addition to police stations and national security buildings," al-Hasayneh said.
The diesel containers belonging to Gaza's power plant have been destroyed as well, he said.
Al-Hasayneh says the "containers will cost $25 million, and there are ten power lines that supply Gaza with power and have been cut off" as well.
He added that 70 percent water wells had been completely destroyed, "in addition to waste water lines."
According to UN figures, up to 485,000 people -- a quarter of Gaza's population -- has been forced to leave their homes throughout the assault on the Strip.
Many of them will return to find their homes destroyed or damaged.
2 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Khan Younis
Mahmoud Zaki Laham, 35, and Ahmad Abu al-Halim Muhammad al-Astal, 26, were killed in Israeli attacks on Khan Younis on Monday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.
Mahmoud Zaki Laham, 35, and Ahmad Abu al-Halim Muhammad al-Astal, 26, were killed in Israeli attacks on Khan Younis on Monday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.
France's Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius
Israel's right to security does not justify its actions in Gaza, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday, as he called for a political solution to be "imposed" by the international community.
"How many more deaths will it take to stop what must be called the carnage in Gaza?" Fabius said in a statement.
"The tradition of friendship between Israel and France is an old one and Israel's right to security is total, but this right does not justify the killing of children and the slaughter of civilians."
The statement comes amid global outrage over an Israeli strike next to a UN school where ten people were killed, among them civilians who had been seeking refuge from the violence.
Fabius said Islamist group Hamas, the de facto rulers of Gaza, "clearly carries an overwhelming responsibility" for the conflict but that Israel was not justified in carrying out what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called "a criminal act" with the attack near the school.
"That is why we support and demand the establishment of a real ceasefire as proposed by Egypt and why we are ready, as French and Europeans, to contribute to it in a concrete way," he said.
"It is also why a political solution is essential ... and should in my opinion be imposed by the international community," Fabius said.
Israel's right to security does not justify its actions in Gaza, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday, as he called for a political solution to be "imposed" by the international community.
"How many more deaths will it take to stop what must be called the carnage in Gaza?" Fabius said in a statement.
"The tradition of friendship between Israel and France is an old one and Israel's right to security is total, but this right does not justify the killing of children and the slaughter of civilians."
The statement comes amid global outrage over an Israeli strike next to a UN school where ten people were killed, among them civilians who had been seeking refuge from the violence.
Fabius said Islamist group Hamas, the de facto rulers of Gaza, "clearly carries an overwhelming responsibility" for the conflict but that Israel was not justified in carrying out what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called "a criminal act" with the attack near the school.
"That is why we support and demand the establishment of a real ceasefire as proposed by Egypt and why we are ready, as French and Europeans, to contribute to it in a concrete way," he said.
"It is also why a political solution is essential ... and should in my opinion be imposed by the international community," Fabius said.
Israeli forces 'shell Beit Hanoun' despite truce
A Ma'an reporter in Gaza said Israeli forces had resumed shelling in Beit Hanoun, despite an Israeli-declared humanitarian truce.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Israel had earlier informed residents of Beit Hanoun that it was safe to return home at 2 p.m.
An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an she did not know of any Israeli shelling ongoing in Beit Hanoun.
A Ma'an reporter in Gaza said Israeli forces had resumed shelling in Beit Hanoun, despite an Israeli-declared humanitarian truce.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Israel had earlier informed residents of Beit Hanoun that it was safe to return home at 2 p.m.
An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an she did not know of any Israeli shelling ongoing in Beit Hanoun.
Palestinian killed in Israeli strike on Rafah
An Israeli strike hit Rafah on Monday, killing 24-year-old Fadi Abd al-Karim, a health ministry spokesman said.
Ashraf al-Qidra said that Abd al-Karim's body had been taken to the Kuwaiti Hospital.
An Israeli strike hit Rafah on Monday, killing 24-year-old Fadi Abd al-Karim, a health ministry spokesman said.
Ashraf al-Qidra said that Abd al-Karim's body had been taken to the Kuwaiti Hospital.
Body of elderly man pulled from rubble in Shujaiyya
The body of an elderly Palestinian man was pulled from rubble in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City on Monday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.
8 bodies pulled from rubble in Rafah
The bodies of eight Palestinians were pulled from rubble in Rafah on Monday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.
The body of an elderly Palestinian man was pulled from rubble in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City on Monday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.
8 bodies pulled from rubble in Rafah
The bodies of eight Palestinians were pulled from rubble in Rafah on Monday, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.
Aseel Muhammad al-Bakri 8
Israeli forces targeted a home in Gaza City early Monday, killing a young girl and injuring dozens of Palestinians just minutes after a humanitarian ceasefire came into effect, health officials said.
Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said an airstrike hit the home of the al-Bakri family in al-Shati camp, killing eight-year-old Aseel Muhammad al-Bakri and leaving 30 people injured.
The wounded, among them children, were taken to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Less than an hour later, Israeli forces shelled a house in al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, causing injuries, a Ma'an reporter said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the incidents.
Israel unilaterally announced a humanitarian ceasefire from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The ceasefire was to apply across the Gaza Strip, excluding areas east of Rafah.
But Hamas officials told Palestinians in Gaza to be wary of the truce.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, calling on Palestinians to proceed with caution.
The Hamas movement "doesn't trust such a ceasefire," Abu Zuhri said.
Israeli forces targeted a home in Gaza City early Monday, killing a young girl and injuring dozens of Palestinians just minutes after a humanitarian ceasefire came into effect, health officials said.
Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said an airstrike hit the home of the al-Bakri family in al-Shati camp, killing eight-year-old Aseel Muhammad al-Bakri and leaving 30 people injured.
The wounded, among them children, were taken to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Less than an hour later, Israeli forces shelled a house in al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, causing injuries, a Ma'an reporter said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the incidents.
Israel unilaterally announced a humanitarian ceasefire from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The ceasefire was to apply across the Gaza Strip, excluding areas east of Rafah.
But Hamas officials told Palestinians in Gaza to be wary of the truce.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, calling on Palestinians to proceed with caution.
The Hamas movement "doesn't trust such a ceasefire," Abu Zuhri said.
A photo provided by the Ministry of Health shows a child who sustained wounds after his home was struck in al-Shati camp.
According to the Ministry of Health, the Israeli offensive on Gaza has left over 1,822 Palestinians dead, including 398 children. Some 9,370 Palestinians have been injured, 2,744 of them children.
Approximately 373,000 children are in need of psychological support as a result of the trauma of the war, according to UN figures.
Over a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to leave their homes throughout the assault.
According to the Ministry of Health, the Israeli offensive on Gaza has left over 1,822 Palestinians dead, including 398 children. Some 9,370 Palestinians have been injured, 2,744 of them children.
Approximately 373,000 children are in need of psychological support as a result of the trauma of the war, according to UN figures.
Over a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to leave their homes throughout the assault.
Hamas' military wing said in a statement late Sunday that its fighters had been using a new model of sniper rifle manufactured in the Gaza Strip.
The homemade rifle uses 14.5 mm cartridges and has a maximum effective range of two kilometers, the al-Qassam Brigades statement said.
The rifle is named "Ghoul" after the Brigades' late military leader Adnan al-Ghoul.
Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have long developed homemade weapons, most notably the Qassam rocket used by Hamas fighters.
The homemade rifle uses 14.5 mm cartridges and has a maximum effective range of two kilometers, the al-Qassam Brigades statement said.
The rifle is named "Ghoul" after the Brigades' late military leader Adnan al-Ghoul.
Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have long developed homemade weapons, most notably the Qassam rocket used by Hamas fighters.
Palestinians carry the body of a boy from the al-Ghul family, who died along with eight other family members after their house was hit by an Israeli airstrike, on Aug. 3, 2014 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
Sixteen Palestinians have been killed in attacks on Gaza since midnight on the 28th day of Israel's offensive on the Strip, a health official said Monday.
Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement that the death toll in Gaza since the beginning of the assault had risen to 1,822.
The lethal attacks came ahead of an Israeli-announced humanitarian ceasefire that was to begin at 10:00 a.m and continue until 5:00 p.m across the Strip, except for areas east of Rafah, where heavy clashes between militants and Israeli forces have been raging for days.
However, it was not immediately clear whether Hamas and other militant factions would respect the unilaterally-declared truce.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, calling on Palestinians to proceed with caution.
The Hamas movement "doesn't trust such a ceasefire," Abu Zuhri said.
Israel announced the limited ceasefire after one carrying out a bloody and sustained assault on Rafah from air, land, and sea, leaving some 200 Palestinians dead in 26 hours, according to the Ministry of Health. The announcement also comes after an UN school sheltering 3,000 people was hit by an Israeli strike on Sunday, killing at least 10.
Just before the beginning of the lull, Israeli strikes killed two Palestinians in al-Qarara north of Deir al-Balah. Before that, teenager Raghad Masood was killed and eight of her family members were injured in a shelling on a house in Rafah.
Israeli warplanes also targeted a group of Palestinians near Haifa Mosque in Tal al-Zaatar refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing five and injuring several others. The ministry of health identified those who were killed in the attack as Hamada Khalil al-Qaq, Ahmad Khalid al-Qaq, Suleiman Muhammad Maroof, Zahir al-Anqah, and Izz Addin Abu Tueima.
Earlier on Monday morning, the Islamic Jihad movement announced that Danial Mansour, a field leader of its military wing, was killed by an Israeli strike on a house in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. Another Islamic Jihad fighter, Abd al-Nasser al-Ajouri, was killed in the same raid.
Other Palestinians succumbed to wounds sustained in earlier attacks.
According to the Ministry of Health, the Israeli offensive on Gaza has left 1,822 Palestinians dead, including 398 children. Some 9,370 Palestinians have been injured, 2,744 of them children.
Approximately 373,000 children are in need of psychological support as a result of the trauma of the war, according to UN figures.
Over a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to leave their homes throughout the assault.
Sixteen Palestinians have been killed in attacks on Gaza since midnight on the 28th day of Israel's offensive on the Strip, a health official said Monday.
Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement that the death toll in Gaza since the beginning of the assault had risen to 1,822.
The lethal attacks came ahead of an Israeli-announced humanitarian ceasefire that was to begin at 10:00 a.m and continue until 5:00 p.m across the Strip, except for areas east of Rafah, where heavy clashes between militants and Israeli forces have been raging for days.
However, it was not immediately clear whether Hamas and other militant factions would respect the unilaterally-declared truce.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, calling on Palestinians to proceed with caution.
The Hamas movement "doesn't trust such a ceasefire," Abu Zuhri said.
Israel announced the limited ceasefire after one carrying out a bloody and sustained assault on Rafah from air, land, and sea, leaving some 200 Palestinians dead in 26 hours, according to the Ministry of Health. The announcement also comes after an UN school sheltering 3,000 people was hit by an Israeli strike on Sunday, killing at least 10.
Just before the beginning of the lull, Israeli strikes killed two Palestinians in al-Qarara north of Deir al-Balah. Before that, teenager Raghad Masood was killed and eight of her family members were injured in a shelling on a house in Rafah.
Israeli warplanes also targeted a group of Palestinians near Haifa Mosque in Tal al-Zaatar refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing five and injuring several others. The ministry of health identified those who were killed in the attack as Hamada Khalil al-Qaq, Ahmad Khalid al-Qaq, Suleiman Muhammad Maroof, Zahir al-Anqah, and Izz Addin Abu Tueima.
Earlier on Monday morning, the Islamic Jihad movement announced that Danial Mansour, a field leader of its military wing, was killed by an Israeli strike on a house in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. Another Islamic Jihad fighter, Abd al-Nasser al-Ajouri, was killed in the same raid.
Other Palestinians succumbed to wounds sustained in earlier attacks.
According to the Ministry of Health, the Israeli offensive on Gaza has left 1,822 Palestinians dead, including 398 children. Some 9,370 Palestinians have been injured, 2,744 of them children.
Approximately 373,000 children are in need of psychological support as a result of the trauma of the war, according to UN figures.
Over a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to leave their homes throughout the assault.
Israel announced it would be holding its fire in most of Gaza for seven hours Monday, amid world outrage over a deadly strike on a UN school in the Palestinian territory.
The unilateral truce, four weeks into fighting with Hamas, came after world powers fiercely condemned the attack that left 10 Palestinians sheltering at a school dead, as Israel was pulling some of its troops from Gaza.
The Israeli army said the seven-hour "humanitarian window" would take place between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.in all of the Palestinian enclave except the area east of southern city Rafah, "where clashes were still ongoing and there was Israeli military presence."
The army warned in a statement that it would "respond to any attempt to exploit this window" and attack civilians and soldiers during the truce, the sixth Israel has declared since the July 8 beginning of the confrontation.
It also said that residents of Abasan al Kabira and Abasan al Saghira, two villages east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, could return home beginning 8:00 Monday.
The announcement was received with distrust by Hamas, whose spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on Gazans to proceed with caution.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," he said.
Medical officials in Gaza said over 1,800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the July 8 beginning of the confrontation.
The Israeli army said that it had on Sunday targeted three Islamic Jihad militants on a motorbike "in vicinity of an UNRWA school in Rafah," southern Gaza.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the attack on the school sheltering some 3,000 Palestinians who had fled their homes due to the fighting "a moral outrage and a criminal act."
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was "appalled" by the attack and called for a "full and prompt" investigation.
"Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties," she said.
French President Francois Hollande said the bombing of the school was "unacceptable," backing calls by Ban "to ask that those responsible for this violation of international law answer for their actions," without saying who he considered responsible.
In an early Monday statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Israel does not aim its fire at civilians and is sorry for any attack that unintentionally hits civilians," without directly addressing the attack on the school.
The unilateral truce, four weeks into fighting with Hamas, came after world powers fiercely condemned the attack that left 10 Palestinians sheltering at a school dead, as Israel was pulling some of its troops from Gaza.
The Israeli army said the seven-hour "humanitarian window" would take place between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.in all of the Palestinian enclave except the area east of southern city Rafah, "where clashes were still ongoing and there was Israeli military presence."
The army warned in a statement that it would "respond to any attempt to exploit this window" and attack civilians and soldiers during the truce, the sixth Israel has declared since the July 8 beginning of the confrontation.
It also said that residents of Abasan al Kabira and Abasan al Saghira, two villages east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, could return home beginning 8:00 Monday.
The announcement was received with distrust by Hamas, whose spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on Gazans to proceed with caution.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," he said.
Medical officials in Gaza said over 1,800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the July 8 beginning of the confrontation.
The Israeli army said that it had on Sunday targeted three Islamic Jihad militants on a motorbike "in vicinity of an UNRWA school in Rafah," southern Gaza.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the attack on the school sheltering some 3,000 Palestinians who had fled their homes due to the fighting "a moral outrage and a criminal act."
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was "appalled" by the attack and called for a "full and prompt" investigation.
"Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties," she said.
French President Francois Hollande said the bombing of the school was "unacceptable," backing calls by Ban "to ask that those responsible for this violation of international law answer for their actions," without saying who he considered responsible.
In an early Monday statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Israel does not aim its fire at civilians and is sorry for any attack that unintentionally hits civilians," without directly addressing the attack on the school.
Palestinian medical sources have reported that at least ten Palestinians have been killed, on Monday at dawn, after the Israeli army and air force fired missiles into homes, and civilian areas, in different parts of the Gaza Strip. Dozens have been injured.
Update: 06:54: A Palestinian child, identified as Raghd Mas’oud, 7, from Rafah, was killed and four family members suffered moderate-to-severe injuries, after an Israeli missile struck their home in the al-Barazil neighborhood in Rafah. They have been moved to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah.
Earlier on Monday morning, the army bombarded a home belonging to resident ‘Ayed al-‘Abadla, in the al-Qarara area, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, causing at least one injury.
The Ministry said the latest Israeli strike led to the death of two Palestinians in Sheikh Radwan District, in Gaza, while many Palestinians have been injured.
They slain Palestinians have been identified as:
1. Dia’ ed-Deen Mohammad al-Madhoun, 23, Gaza.
2. Ahmad Banat, 22, Gaza.
A medical source in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, has reported that five Palestinians have been killed, and scores injured, when the army bombarded several homes in the city.
They have been identified as:
3. Hamada Khalil al-Qaaq, Beit Lahia.
4. Ahmad Khaled al-Qaaq, Beit Lahia.
5. Suleiman Mohammad Ma’rouf, Beit Lahia.
6. Zaher al-Anqah, Beit Lahia.
7. Abdul-Nasser al-Ajjoury, Beit Lahia.
Sources at the Shifa Medical Center in Gaza also reported that two Palestinians died of serious injuries suffered after the army fired missiles into homes, in earlier Israeli bombardment, in Sheikh Radwan.
Several Palestinians were injured, some seriously. The slain Palestinians have been identified as:
8. Abdul-Hai Salama al-Qreinawi, 45, Gaza.
9. Mohammad Sabri Atallah, 21, Gaza.
Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, the Israeli security cabinet has decided Israel is not interested in a cease-fire agreement, through mediated negotiations with Hamas and other groups in Gaza, but is instead considering “unilaterally withdrawing from the Strip and relying on what it called “restored deterrence”, Israeli daily, Haaretz, said.
Haaretz quoted Netanyahu saying: “all options are on the table” for what he called "restoring security after all tunnels are destroyed”.
By the end of the day Sunday, the Ministry of Health said the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza since July 8 is now more than 1803, including 401 children, 238 women, and 74 elderly.
The number of wounded Palestinians, including hundreds in serious conditions, has exceeded 9370, including 2805 children, 1823 women, and 434 elderly.
The Ministry said the Israeli army has targeted 36 Palestinian ambulances, some of them have been completely destroyed, while 19 medics have been killed and more than 102 have been injured.
Update: 06:54: A Palestinian child, identified as Raghd Mas’oud, 7, from Rafah, was killed and four family members suffered moderate-to-severe injuries, after an Israeli missile struck their home in the al-Barazil neighborhood in Rafah. They have been moved to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah.
Earlier on Monday morning, the army bombarded a home belonging to resident ‘Ayed al-‘Abadla, in the al-Qarara area, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, causing at least one injury.
The Ministry said the latest Israeli strike led to the death of two Palestinians in Sheikh Radwan District, in Gaza, while many Palestinians have been injured.
They slain Palestinians have been identified as:
1. Dia’ ed-Deen Mohammad al-Madhoun, 23, Gaza.
2. Ahmad Banat, 22, Gaza.
A medical source in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, has reported that five Palestinians have been killed, and scores injured, when the army bombarded several homes in the city.
They have been identified as:
3. Hamada Khalil al-Qaaq, Beit Lahia.
4. Ahmad Khaled al-Qaaq, Beit Lahia.
5. Suleiman Mohammad Ma’rouf, Beit Lahia.
6. Zaher al-Anqah, Beit Lahia.
7. Abdul-Nasser al-Ajjoury, Beit Lahia.
Sources at the Shifa Medical Center in Gaza also reported that two Palestinians died of serious injuries suffered after the army fired missiles into homes, in earlier Israeli bombardment, in Sheikh Radwan.
Several Palestinians were injured, some seriously. The slain Palestinians have been identified as:
8. Abdul-Hai Salama al-Qreinawi, 45, Gaza.
9. Mohammad Sabri Atallah, 21, Gaza.
Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, the Israeli security cabinet has decided Israel is not interested in a cease-fire agreement, through mediated negotiations with Hamas and other groups in Gaza, but is instead considering “unilaterally withdrawing from the Strip and relying on what it called “restored deterrence”, Israeli daily, Haaretz, said.
Haaretz quoted Netanyahu saying: “all options are on the table” for what he called "restoring security after all tunnels are destroyed”.
By the end of the day Sunday, the Ministry of Health said the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza since July 8 is now more than 1803, including 401 children, 238 women, and 74 elderly.
The number of wounded Palestinians, including hundreds in serious conditions, has exceeded 9370, including 2805 children, 1823 women, and 434 elderly.
The Ministry said the Israeli army has targeted 36 Palestinian ambulances, some of them have been completely destroyed, while 19 medics have been killed and more than 102 have been injured.
The Ministry of Health Gaza is reeling from the reports coming out of Rafah, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, who informs that scores of people have been killed and injured, today, including 10 dead and over 30 injured in yet another attack on an UNRWA school -- this time the Anas Ibn Malik Prepatory School sheltering thousands of forcibly displaced persons.
A group of women, children and elderly were sitting against the wall which stands at the entrance to the school, seeking shade from the sun when they were attacked by the Israeli military.
Missile and mortar attacks are continuous in Rafah, Al Ray reports. This puts enormous pressure on the 20-bed Kuwaiti Maternity Hospital, which is now overflowing with the dead and injured.
At the time of this report, there were 30 bodies lying on the floor of the dental clinic, with children’s bodies stored in ice-cream, flower, and vegetable freezers, as morgue facilities are not an option. Other bodies have apparently been taken to the western cemetery for burial. The eastern cemetery is inaccessible due to Israeli fire.
Fatma Abu Musa, who is a lab technician at Kuwaiti Maternity Hospital states:
“We desperately need blood, we do not have enough for transfusions... we only have two operating theatres, one for minor surgery. They have to operate on two people at the same time on one operating table, major surgeries, with intestines on the outside, eyes on the outside. It is impossible to deal with all the wounded.”
A group of women, children and elderly were sitting against the wall which stands at the entrance to the school, seeking shade from the sun when they were attacked by the Israeli military.
Missile and mortar attacks are continuous in Rafah, Al Ray reports. This puts enormous pressure on the 20-bed Kuwaiti Maternity Hospital, which is now overflowing with the dead and injured.
At the time of this report, there were 30 bodies lying on the floor of the dental clinic, with children’s bodies stored in ice-cream, flower, and vegetable freezers, as morgue facilities are not an option. Other bodies have apparently been taken to the western cemetery for burial. The eastern cemetery is inaccessible due to Israeli fire.
Fatma Abu Musa, who is a lab technician at Kuwaiti Maternity Hospital states:
“We desperately need blood, we do not have enough for transfusions... we only have two operating theatres, one for minor surgery. They have to operate on two people at the same time on one operating table, major surgeries, with intestines on the outside, eyes on the outside. It is impossible to deal with all the wounded.”
Official Press Release - Ministry of Health
The people of Gaza face enormous barriers to accessing primary health care, with only 10 of the government’s 56 Primary Health Care clinics operational, eight of UNRWA’s 22 clinics open, and most NGO clinics closed.
The majority of displaced persons have no access whatsoever to primary health care services. This is at a time when there are urgent public health problems arising from the Israeli offensive threatening the health of the entire population.
The destruction of the sole Gaza power plant leaves sewage pumps incapacitated. The lack of electricity combined with the destruction of at least 16 water wells has left 1.8 million people without access to water, according to the latest OCHA report.
It also reports that some 10,000 homes have been completely annihilated, and 450,000 people forcibly displaced, with 250,000 of them seeking shelter in UN facilities only able to cope with a fifth of that number, and another 30,000 in government schools and institutions.
The over-crowding and lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities has seen the incidence of viral meningitis skyrocket from five per day, to 53 cases today.
Diarrhoea and scabies are rampant in the overcrowded shelters, with clean drinking water all but impossible to obtain.
Hospitals are also coming under enormous pressure, with large numbers of displaced treating them as safe havens. This has created problems of electricity overload, garbage, high water consumption, and sanitation crises.
Decomposing bodies whose retrieval has been prevented by Israeli shelling and aerial attacks continue to pose a significant risk to public health. Although dozens have been retrieved during brief ceasefires, an unknown number, possibly in the hundreds, still remain in Shujeiyah, Beit Hanoun, Khuza’a, and Rafah and will significantly impact on the health of the population as displaced persons return to their neighbourhoods.
The Ministry of Health Gaza calls on national and international organisations to immediately address the looming public health crisis by:
1) restoring the electricity supply as a matter of urgency;
2) providing adequate water & sanitation facilities in shelters for displaced persons;
3) providing Hygiene Kits to displaced persons;
4) restoring the sewage pumping capacity as a matter of urgency;
5) providing access to potable water to all residents of Gaza;
6) restoring water wells as a matter of urgency;
7) providing longer-term shelters for the tens of thousands of displaced persons whose homes have been completely destroyed, until rebuilding is possible, and
8) restoring Gaza’s four evacuated hospitals, especially the Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital and Al Durrah Paediatric Hospital, to operational capacity as soon as possible.
The people of Gaza face enormous barriers to accessing primary health care, with only 10 of the government’s 56 Primary Health Care clinics operational, eight of UNRWA’s 22 clinics open, and most NGO clinics closed.
The majority of displaced persons have no access whatsoever to primary health care services. This is at a time when there are urgent public health problems arising from the Israeli offensive threatening the health of the entire population.
The destruction of the sole Gaza power plant leaves sewage pumps incapacitated. The lack of electricity combined with the destruction of at least 16 water wells has left 1.8 million people without access to water, according to the latest OCHA report.
It also reports that some 10,000 homes have been completely annihilated, and 450,000 people forcibly displaced, with 250,000 of them seeking shelter in UN facilities only able to cope with a fifth of that number, and another 30,000 in government schools and institutions.
The over-crowding and lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities has seen the incidence of viral meningitis skyrocket from five per day, to 53 cases today.
Diarrhoea and scabies are rampant in the overcrowded shelters, with clean drinking water all but impossible to obtain.
Hospitals are also coming under enormous pressure, with large numbers of displaced treating them as safe havens. This has created problems of electricity overload, garbage, high water consumption, and sanitation crises.
Decomposing bodies whose retrieval has been prevented by Israeli shelling and aerial attacks continue to pose a significant risk to public health. Although dozens have been retrieved during brief ceasefires, an unknown number, possibly in the hundreds, still remain in Shujeiyah, Beit Hanoun, Khuza’a, and Rafah and will significantly impact on the health of the population as displaced persons return to their neighbourhoods.
The Ministry of Health Gaza calls on national and international organisations to immediately address the looming public health crisis by:
1) restoring the electricity supply as a matter of urgency;
2) providing adequate water & sanitation facilities in shelters for displaced persons;
3) providing Hygiene Kits to displaced persons;
4) restoring the sewage pumping capacity as a matter of urgency;
5) providing access to potable water to all residents of Gaza;
6) restoring water wells as a matter of urgency;
7) providing longer-term shelters for the tens of thousands of displaced persons whose homes have been completely destroyed, until rebuilding is possible, and
8) restoring Gaza’s four evacuated hospitals, especially the Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital and Al Durrah Paediatric Hospital, to operational capacity as soon as possible.
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