8 july 2014
by Mona El-Farra
In Gaza last night, while Israeli army forces launched military attacks against Gaza, by sea, air and via artillery shells, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children were unable to sleep inside their roof- tinned homes, clinging to their parents, crying, and terrified. The shelling last night was earth shattering, and went through the entirety of the Gaza strip- at least 100 attacks have already taken place .
In Gaza, we do not have bomb shelters to escape and hide.
In Gaza, these bombs fall on top of our deteriorating economic situation. Unemployment because of the Israeli blockade against civilians is almost 40%. It is Ramadan, making it more difficult to get basic foods, and thousands of government employees cannot reach banks to access their salaries. I know there are internal problems between Fatah and Hamas, but the outcome is hardship, while the bombs keep dropping on top of our heads.
In Gaza, the feeling of insecurity throws its shadow against all of the population, and the military operation continues. With threats of expansion in the coming few days, there is no news about any ceasefire.
Prior to the attack, the local authorities warned the population against swimming in the Mediterranean sea (the only recreational outlet for 1.7 million people). The sea around Gaza has become overly polluted with sewage and wastewater, that the authority, due to lack of fuel, had to pump untreated into the sea.
In Gaza, over 90% of water is unsuitable for drinking.
Through my work at the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), we continue to implement the water purification systems at schools and kindergartens, to provide over 50,000 Palestinian children with clean water. Even though it is the summer holiday, the community had accessibility to our water units in schools, but the attacks make travel dangerous.
In Gaza today, imagine choosing between your child’s thirst and your child’s safety.
Also, at MECA, because of our deep understanding of the poor recreational facilities for Palestinian children, we continue our educational, entertainment and recreational activities, inside our partners’ community centres. It will be even more important during the difficult times ahead, to help the children and attract their attention away of the night shelling. Let the Children Play & Heal is an ongoing program, and I fear that there will be the need for more psycho-social programming, like we did in 2009 and 2012. While we help these children, we take care of the mothers too, via psycho-social trainings that aim to educate women about trauma, and how to deal with family and children during times of crises.
Today, different health facilities announced a need for more emergency supplies, which were already lacking because of the closure of the borders and the ongoing Israeli siege of Gaza. Just before the attacks, MECA managed to send some highly needed emergency medications to the Red Crescent Society, but more is needed.
In Gaza, MECA’s team, along with the many humanitarian and health organisations are going through a very difficult situation. We are physically unsafe, and we cannot sleep. But we work hard to support people at this very difficult times.
The streets of Gaza are empty, few cars are here and there, and Israel continues a collective punishment assassination policy demolishing homes by aerial bombardment.
These air raids fall on the majority of the population living in very crowded areas, so while they hit their targets, civilians pay a big price- we have many causalities and the numbers are rising every hour.
In Gaza, it is not a war or a military operation though it may look so. It is collective punishment and it is a brutal attack against all Palestinian people, and mainly civilians are paying the price.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Dr. Mona El-Farra, Director of Gaza Projects for the Middle East Children's Alliance, is a physician by training and a human rights and women’s rights activist by practice in the occupied Gaza Strip. She was born in Khan Younis, Gaza and has dedicated herself to developing community based programs that aim to improve health quality and link health services with cultural and recreation services all over the Gaza Strip. Dr. El-Farra is also the Health Chair of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip and a member of the Union of Health Work Committees. Dr. El-Farra has a son and two daughters.
In Gaza last night, while Israeli army forces launched military attacks against Gaza, by sea, air and via artillery shells, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children were unable to sleep inside their roof- tinned homes, clinging to their parents, crying, and terrified. The shelling last night was earth shattering, and went through the entirety of the Gaza strip- at least 100 attacks have already taken place .
In Gaza, we do not have bomb shelters to escape and hide.
In Gaza, these bombs fall on top of our deteriorating economic situation. Unemployment because of the Israeli blockade against civilians is almost 40%. It is Ramadan, making it more difficult to get basic foods, and thousands of government employees cannot reach banks to access their salaries. I know there are internal problems between Fatah and Hamas, but the outcome is hardship, while the bombs keep dropping on top of our heads.
In Gaza, the feeling of insecurity throws its shadow against all of the population, and the military operation continues. With threats of expansion in the coming few days, there is no news about any ceasefire.
Prior to the attack, the local authorities warned the population against swimming in the Mediterranean sea (the only recreational outlet for 1.7 million people). The sea around Gaza has become overly polluted with sewage and wastewater, that the authority, due to lack of fuel, had to pump untreated into the sea.
In Gaza, over 90% of water is unsuitable for drinking.
Through my work at the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), we continue to implement the water purification systems at schools and kindergartens, to provide over 50,000 Palestinian children with clean water. Even though it is the summer holiday, the community had accessibility to our water units in schools, but the attacks make travel dangerous.
In Gaza today, imagine choosing between your child’s thirst and your child’s safety.
Also, at MECA, because of our deep understanding of the poor recreational facilities for Palestinian children, we continue our educational, entertainment and recreational activities, inside our partners’ community centres. It will be even more important during the difficult times ahead, to help the children and attract their attention away of the night shelling. Let the Children Play & Heal is an ongoing program, and I fear that there will be the need for more psycho-social programming, like we did in 2009 and 2012. While we help these children, we take care of the mothers too, via psycho-social trainings that aim to educate women about trauma, and how to deal with family and children during times of crises.
Today, different health facilities announced a need for more emergency supplies, which were already lacking because of the closure of the borders and the ongoing Israeli siege of Gaza. Just before the attacks, MECA managed to send some highly needed emergency medications to the Red Crescent Society, but more is needed.
In Gaza, MECA’s team, along with the many humanitarian and health organisations are going through a very difficult situation. We are physically unsafe, and we cannot sleep. But we work hard to support people at this very difficult times.
The streets of Gaza are empty, few cars are here and there, and Israel continues a collective punishment assassination policy demolishing homes by aerial bombardment.
These air raids fall on the majority of the population living in very crowded areas, so while they hit their targets, civilians pay a big price- we have many causalities and the numbers are rising every hour.
In Gaza, it is not a war or a military operation though it may look so. It is collective punishment and it is a brutal attack against all Palestinian people, and mainly civilians are paying the price.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Dr. Mona El-Farra, Director of Gaza Projects for the Middle East Children's Alliance, is a physician by training and a human rights and women’s rights activist by practice in the occupied Gaza Strip. She was born in Khan Younis, Gaza and has dedicated herself to developing community based programs that aim to improve health quality and link health services with cultural and recreation services all over the Gaza Strip. Dr. El-Farra is also the Health Chair of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip and a member of the Union of Health Work Committees. Dr. El-Farra has a son and two daughters.
The armed wing of Hamas claimed that it fired several rockets at Jerusalem and Israeli cities Tel Aviv and Haifa Tuesday.
"For the first time, the Qassam Brigades strike Haifa with an R160 rocket, and strike occupied Jerusalem with four M75 rockets and Tel Aviv with four M75 rockets," a statement said.
It was the first time since a major 2012 conflict that Gaza-based militants had fired rockets at the holy city, and came as Israel pressed an aerial offensive against the besieged coastal Strip.
More than 130 rockets were fired at Israel on Tuesday, the army said, after the military began the offensive it called Operation Protective Edge.
Most hit open spaces causing no damage, and at least 23 were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, the military said.
Tuesday's airstrikes against at least 150 targets had killed at least 17 people, both militants and civilians, and wounded more than 100 in Gaza, medics said.
"For the first time, the Qassam Brigades strike Haifa with an R160 rocket, and strike occupied Jerusalem with four M75 rockets and Tel Aviv with four M75 rockets," a statement said.
It was the first time since a major 2012 conflict that Gaza-based militants had fired rockets at the holy city, and came as Israel pressed an aerial offensive against the besieged coastal Strip.
More than 130 rockets were fired at Israel on Tuesday, the army said, after the military began the offensive it called Operation Protective Edge.
Most hit open spaces causing no damage, and at least 23 were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, the military said.
Tuesday's airstrikes against at least 150 targets had killed at least 17 people, both militants and civilians, and wounded more than 100 in Gaza, medics said.
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Hamas said it fired a rocket barrage at two Israeli army bases on Tuesday, shortly after its militants also attempted to infiltrate Israel by sea.
A statement by Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired "10 Katyusha rockets" at the bases, one of which it said was at Zikim, on Israel's southern coast where the infiltration attempt occurred.
The military said it was checking the claim.
A statement by Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired "10 Katyusha rockets" at the bases, one of which it said was at Zikim, on Israel's southern coast where the infiltration attempt occurred.
The military said it was checking the claim.
Israeli airstrikes on the northern Gaza Strip killed six Palestinians on Tuesday evening, bringing the total death toll in Israel's latest assault on the besieged enclave to 17.
A child was killed and two others wounded in an airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City in the early evening.
Suleiman Salman Abu al-Sawaween, 30, was killed and another critically injured in an airstrike on al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis.
Ahmad Moussa Habib, 48, and Ahmad Ahed Habib, 19, were killed after an airstrike targeted a tuk-tuk vehicle in the al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza City, medics said.
Fakhri Saleh Ajjouri was reported killed after an airstrike targeted a motorcycle near Abraj al-Sheikh Zayed in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier, seven Palestinians were killed and 25 were severely injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the southern Gaza Strip, a medical official said.
An eight-year-old child, Siraj Iyad al-Abdel, later died from injuries sustained in the airstrike.
A missile slammed into the house in Khan Younis after people had reportedly formed a human shield to protect it, killing seven people, including two children.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbors to gather at the house as a human shield and that, shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that leveled the building.
The house belonged to the al-Kaware family.
Abduallah Kaware, Mohammad Ashour, 13, Riyadh Kaware, Mahmoud Judeh, Bakir Mahmoud Judeh, 22, Ammar Mohammad Judeh, 22, and Hussein Mohammad Kaware, 14, were killed.
"The Khan Younis massacre... of children is a horrendous war crime, and all Israelis have now become legitimate targets for the resistance," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Facebook.
Prior to the deaths in Gaza City, the body of Rashad Yassin, from al-Nuseirat refugee camp, was found under the rubble of a destroyed house in central Gaza.
Yassin is reportedly affiliated with Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades.
At least 100 Palestinians have been injured since late Monday in military action dubbed Operation Protective Edge, with Palestinian security sources putting the number of airstrikes at more than 70.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel was "playing with fire" and would pay for its ongoing operations.
Since midnight, militants in Gaza have fired more than 100 rockets, an Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP, saying only around 33 of them had hit Israeli territory.
A child was killed and two others wounded in an airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City in the early evening.
Suleiman Salman Abu al-Sawaween, 30, was killed and another critically injured in an airstrike on al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis.
Ahmad Moussa Habib, 48, and Ahmad Ahed Habib, 19, were killed after an airstrike targeted a tuk-tuk vehicle in the al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza City, medics said.
Fakhri Saleh Ajjouri was reported killed after an airstrike targeted a motorcycle near Abraj al-Sheikh Zayed in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier, seven Palestinians were killed and 25 were severely injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the southern Gaza Strip, a medical official said.
An eight-year-old child, Siraj Iyad al-Abdel, later died from injuries sustained in the airstrike.
A missile slammed into the house in Khan Younis after people had reportedly formed a human shield to protect it, killing seven people, including two children.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbors to gather at the house as a human shield and that, shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that leveled the building.
The house belonged to the al-Kaware family.
Abduallah Kaware, Mohammad Ashour, 13, Riyadh Kaware, Mahmoud Judeh, Bakir Mahmoud Judeh, 22, Ammar Mohammad Judeh, 22, and Hussein Mohammad Kaware, 14, were killed.
"The Khan Younis massacre... of children is a horrendous war crime, and all Israelis have now become legitimate targets for the resistance," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Facebook.
Prior to the deaths in Gaza City, the body of Rashad Yassin, from al-Nuseirat refugee camp, was found under the rubble of a destroyed house in central Gaza.
Yassin is reportedly affiliated with Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades.
At least 100 Palestinians have been injured since late Monday in military action dubbed Operation Protective Edge, with Palestinian security sources putting the number of airstrikes at more than 70.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel was "playing with fire" and would pay for its ongoing operations.
Since midnight, militants in Gaza have fired more than 100 rockets, an Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP, saying only around 33 of them had hit Israeli territory.
Three loud explosions rocked Jerusalem shortly after air raid sirens wailed across the city Tuesday night, AFP correspondents said.
The sirens sounded at around 10 p.m., with at least four bright flashes lighting the sky southwest of the city, a correspondent said.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the attack which took place as Israel began a military campaign in Gaza.
Media reports also spoke of sirens sounding north of Tel Aviv for the first time as Hamas fired rockets into Israel.
The sirens sounded at around 10 p.m., with at least four bright flashes lighting the sky southwest of the city, a correspondent said.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the attack which took place as Israel began a military campaign in Gaza.
Media reports also spoke of sirens sounding north of Tel Aviv for the first time as Hamas fired rockets into Israel.
16 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed and one hundred others were wounded in the persistent Israeli air raids on the beleaguered Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The number of casualties is expected to rise by the hour as the Israeli warplanes, armed drones and helicopter gunships continue to bomb different areas in the besieged Strip.
The Israeli air force blasted civilian houses inflicting casualties among citizens and severe material damage.
Various armed wings in the Strip fired a barrage of rockets at Israeli targets in retaliation to the Israeli raids.
The Israeli air force blasted civilian houses inflicting casualties among citizens and severe material damage.
Various armed wings in the Strip fired a barrage of rockets at Israeli targets in retaliation to the Israeli raids.
Gaza is completely missing about thirty percent of essential medicines
Palestinian health officials face a shortage of medicine and supplies, as Israeli air strikes on Gaza continue.
Dr. Ayman al-Sahbani rushed to attend to eight people, including two children, in the emergency ward of Al-Shifa hospital. With most suffering from shrapnel wounds, the injured came to Gaza's primary and largest hospital after an Israeli air strike hit eastern Gaza City. "Thank [God] their injuries are minor," Sahbani, the head of the hospital's emergency services, told Al Jazeera.
As Israel continues to pound Gaza with air strikes - carrying out 50 bombings overnight and more throughout the day on Tuesday - Sahbani expressed concern about the capacity of the territory's hospitals to attend to the many injured.
As of early evening on Tuesday, at least 12 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli bombardment. More than 80 others were wounded, according to a Gaza health ministry spokesperson, including more than 25 that had serious injuries.
All 12 beds in the hospital's intensive care unit were occupied on Tuesday. "Most of those people here have medical referrals and were supposed to be receiving treatment at outside hospitals," Sahbani said. "Now, we can't get them out, and we can’t find a space for new patients if the airstrikes intensify."
He added that the closure of smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt - the main lifeline through which medical supplies were brought into Gaza during Israel's last major offensive in November 2012 - and the closure of the Rafah border crossing have exacerbated the problem.
"[In 2012] we were sending critical patients day by day to Egyptian hospitals, aid was coming from Arab and other solidarity groups, foreign doctors were coming to help us, fuel was available," Sahbani said. "All that has gone."
Palestinian health officials face a shortage of medicine and supplies, as Israeli air strikes on Gaza continue.
Dr. Ayman al-Sahbani rushed to attend to eight people, including two children, in the emergency ward of Al-Shifa hospital. With most suffering from shrapnel wounds, the injured came to Gaza's primary and largest hospital after an Israeli air strike hit eastern Gaza City. "Thank [God] their injuries are minor," Sahbani, the head of the hospital's emergency services, told Al Jazeera.
As Israel continues to pound Gaza with air strikes - carrying out 50 bombings overnight and more throughout the day on Tuesday - Sahbani expressed concern about the capacity of the territory's hospitals to attend to the many injured.
As of early evening on Tuesday, at least 12 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli bombardment. More than 80 others were wounded, according to a Gaza health ministry spokesperson, including more than 25 that had serious injuries.
All 12 beds in the hospital's intensive care unit were occupied on Tuesday. "Most of those people here have medical referrals and were supposed to be receiving treatment at outside hospitals," Sahbani said. "Now, we can't get them out, and we can’t find a space for new patients if the airstrikes intensify."
He added that the closure of smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt - the main lifeline through which medical supplies were brought into Gaza during Israel's last major offensive in November 2012 - and the closure of the Rafah border crossing have exacerbated the problem.
"[In 2012] we were sending critical patients day by day to Egyptian hospitals, aid was coming from Arab and other solidarity groups, foreign doctors were coming to help us, fuel was available," Sahbani said. "All that has gone."
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Gaza also suffers from a shortage of medicine and medical supplies, Gaza's Health Ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qedra, told Al Jazeera. Gaza is completely missing about 30 percent of essential drugs, while 15 percent of the remainder is expected to be exhausted within days of an Israeli assault, he said.
"The medical services are in a very critical situation that we have never reached during the [Egyptian-Israeli] siege," Qedra said, adding that the ministry is running "extremely short" on items like gloves, urine catheters, and other medical equipment. Qedra said that the ministry has appealed to the Palestinian consensus government, which was formed last month, to help. "We are surprised that the government has not reacted so far to rescue the healthcare system," he said. |
The persistent fuel crisis in Gaza, which leads to frequent electricity cuts, also puts patients at risk, especially those who rely on incubators and dialysis machines, and are admitted to emergency departments.
"In the past, we used to have a crisis in one field, not crises on all levels like today," Dr. Sahbani said.
"In the past, we used to have a crisis in one field, not crises on all levels like today," Dr. Sahbani said.
Israeli soldiers at the borders of Gaza
Israel prepares to widen the military operation, so-called 'Protective Edge' in the Gaza Strip, to last for days, Israeli political sources said Tuesday.
The possibility of striking Gush Dan area “Tel-Aviv” by the Palestinian resistance is high and the Israeli military prepares to carry out a ground invasion into to the Strip.
On Monday, the Israeli occupation warplanes have launched 50 overnight raids throughout the Gaza Strip.
Israel prepares to widen the military operation, so-called 'Protective Edge' in the Gaza Strip, to last for days, Israeli political sources said Tuesday.
The possibility of striking Gush Dan area “Tel-Aviv” by the Palestinian resistance is high and the Israeli military prepares to carry out a ground invasion into to the Strip.
On Monday, the Israeli occupation warplanes have launched 50 overnight raids throughout the Gaza Strip.
The house of Ebadlah family after being bombed
Hamas's armed wing threatened with magnifying its Israeli target square in response to Israel targeting and destroying civilian houses in central and southern Gaza Strip. In a statement, Al Qassam Brigades denounced Israel's bombing of civilian houses, saying it "exceeds all red lines" and threatened to shoot rockets at longer distances. "We will respond by broadening the range of our targets," the militants said.
Israeli warplanes bombed Tuesday at dawn 5 Palestinian houses in Gaza, and flattened them.
The surge in violence has been experienced since the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teen last week by Israeli settlers in Jerusalem.
Hamas's armed wing threatened with magnifying its Israeli target square in response to Israel targeting and destroying civilian houses in central and southern Gaza Strip. In a statement, Al Qassam Brigades denounced Israel's bombing of civilian houses, saying it "exceeds all red lines" and threatened to shoot rockets at longer distances. "We will respond by broadening the range of our targets," the militants said.
Israeli warplanes bombed Tuesday at dawn 5 Palestinian houses in Gaza, and flattened them.
The surge in violence has been experienced since the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teen last week by Israeli settlers in Jerusalem.
Israeli warplanes blasted two mosques in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday afternoon at a time when the peaceful Muslim congregation rallied for afternoon prayers. According to an on-the-spot reporter, the Israeli warplanes launched a wave of air raids on al-Huda and Omar Ibn Abdul Aziz mosques, east of Khan Younis, reducing them to rubble.
A spate of other military operations targeting the Gaza Strip has been launched by the Israeli air force at dawn Tuesday.
The raids rocked dozens of towns and refugee camps in the Strip. One young man was killed while many others sustained severe wounds throughout the salvos.
PIC news reporter documented a volatile return to Israeli pre-planned schemes targeting civilians’ homes in the Gaza Strip. 24 Gazans, including children, have been left wounded in the process.
Along the same line, The Palestinian Health Ministry declared a state of emergency due to such an escalation in Israeli aggression against Gaza since the early morning hours, warning of its inability to cope with such an upsurge in the rates of Palestinian casualties.
Spokesperson for the ministry, Ahsraf al-Qudra, said in an exclusive statement to the PIC that the ministry has been on the alert so as to prevent any projected health crisis.
A spate of other military operations targeting the Gaza Strip has been launched by the Israeli air force at dawn Tuesday.
The raids rocked dozens of towns and refugee camps in the Strip. One young man was killed while many others sustained severe wounds throughout the salvos.
PIC news reporter documented a volatile return to Israeli pre-planned schemes targeting civilians’ homes in the Gaza Strip. 24 Gazans, including children, have been left wounded in the process.
Along the same line, The Palestinian Health Ministry declared a state of emergency due to such an escalation in Israeli aggression against Gaza since the early morning hours, warning of its inability to cope with such an upsurge in the rates of Palestinian casualties.
Spokesperson for the ministry, Ahsraf al-Qudra, said in an exclusive statement to the PIC that the ministry has been on the alert so as to prevent any projected health crisis.
Israeli forces on Tuesday killed a number of armed militants who came from Gaza by sea, an Israeli security source told AFP.
"A number of terrorists came out of the ocean and attacked the base with Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said.
Soldiers at the base, near the Zikim kibbutz, responded. Ground troops killed two of the attackers, air raids a third and naval forces the fourth, Lerner said.
One soldier was lightly wounded, he added.
Israeli media reported that a fifth fighter was later killed.
The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas, reported the attack. It said nothing of losses among its own forces.
The group said the operation went as planned, and that the leader of the fighters on the ground confirmed there were casualties among the Israeli army.
Israeli airstrikes on at least 150 targets inside Gaza killed 15 people on Tuesday, medics said, including children.
"A number of terrorists came out of the ocean and attacked the base with Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said.
Soldiers at the base, near the Zikim kibbutz, responded. Ground troops killed two of the attackers, air raids a third and naval forces the fourth, Lerner said.
One soldier was lightly wounded, he added.
Israeli media reported that a fifth fighter was later killed.
The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas, reported the attack. It said nothing of losses among its own forces.
The group said the operation went as planned, and that the leader of the fighters on the ground confirmed there were casualties among the Israeli army.
Israeli airstrikes on at least 150 targets inside Gaza killed 15 people on Tuesday, medics said, including children.
The Arab League called Tuesday for the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting to discuss the deadly Israeli air campaign against Gaza, Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said.
At least fourteen people were killed Tuesday and dozens wounded in a number of attacks in the most serious flare-up in and around the Palestinian territory since November 2012.
An official from the pan-Arab bloc told AFP Arabi had "instructed the Arab League's UN representative to initiate urgent consultations within the Arab group calling for an emergency security meeting of the Security Council."
Earlier, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas asked the international community to "immediately intervene to halt this dangerous escalation which would lead the region to more destruction and instability."
Arabi said he had been "in touch with president Abbas to follow the latest developments in the Gaza Strip" while also continuing "consultations with Arab foreign ministers on this subject."
He denounced the "dangerous Israeli escalation" and warned against its humanitarian consequences in Gaza.
"The continued attacks on Palestinian civilians by Israel is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Convention and international resolutions on occupied Palestine," said the Arab League chief.
Meanwhile, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), announced it would hold an "extraordinary" ministerial meeting Thursday in the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss the "intensifying and fierce Israeli campaign against Palestine".
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 14 people on Tuesday and wounded 80 more, the emergency services said in the most serious flare-up in and around the Palestinian territory since November 2012.
The deaths came hours after Israel announced the start of Operation Protective Edge, a military campaign aimed at stamping out rocket fire on southern Israel and destroying Hamas's military infrastructure.
Army figures show that since midnight, militants have fired 130 rockets at southern Israel, while the air force struck 150 "terror targets" in Gaza.
At least fourteen people were killed Tuesday and dozens wounded in a number of attacks in the most serious flare-up in and around the Palestinian territory since November 2012.
An official from the pan-Arab bloc told AFP Arabi had "instructed the Arab League's UN representative to initiate urgent consultations within the Arab group calling for an emergency security meeting of the Security Council."
Earlier, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas asked the international community to "immediately intervene to halt this dangerous escalation which would lead the region to more destruction and instability."
Arabi said he had been "in touch with president Abbas to follow the latest developments in the Gaza Strip" while also continuing "consultations with Arab foreign ministers on this subject."
He denounced the "dangerous Israeli escalation" and warned against its humanitarian consequences in Gaza.
"The continued attacks on Palestinian civilians by Israel is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Convention and international resolutions on occupied Palestine," said the Arab League chief.
Meanwhile, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), announced it would hold an "extraordinary" ministerial meeting Thursday in the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss the "intensifying and fierce Israeli campaign against Palestine".
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 14 people on Tuesday and wounded 80 more, the emergency services said in the most serious flare-up in and around the Palestinian territory since November 2012.
The deaths came hours after Israel announced the start of Operation Protective Edge, a military campaign aimed at stamping out rocket fire on southern Israel and destroying Hamas's military infrastructure.
Army figures show that since midnight, militants have fired 130 rockets at southern Israel, while the air force struck 150 "terror targets" in Gaza.
Palestinian medical sources have reported that a father and his child have been killed in new Israeli air airstrikes targeting Gaza City. Sixteen Palestinians killed by Israeli missiles Tuesday.
The sources said that a father and his child were killed when the army fired missiles into a residential area in the Shejaeyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. At least four Palestinians have been injured.
The remains of the father, Mohammad Habib, and his child, Mousa, were moved to the Shifa medical center. Four wounded Palestinians have also been moved to the same hospital.
The army fired dozens of missiles into various communities in different parts of the Gaza Strip, especially in Tal al-Hawa and at-Tuffah in Gaza.
The missile struck civilian homes and structures, in addition to government facilities.
The sources said that a father and his child were killed when the army fired missiles into a residential area in the Shejaeyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. At least four Palestinians have been injured.
The remains of the father, Mohammad Habib, and his child, Mousa, were moved to the Shifa medical center. Four wounded Palestinians have also been moved to the same hospital.
The army fired dozens of missiles into various communities in different parts of the Gaza Strip, especially in Tal al-Hawa and at-Tuffah in Gaza.
The missile struck civilian homes and structures, in addition to government facilities.
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Israeli leaders authorized the military Tuesday to call up 40,000 reservists for a possible assault on the Gaza Strip, the army said.
"Following a directive of the chief of staff the general staff... and the approval of the government, the Israel Defense Forces increased the draft of reserve forces," the military tweeted in English. "The approval is currently limited to 40,000." The move came during the most serious flare-up over Gaza since November 2012, as Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and militants fired rockets into southern Israel. |
"We have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard," chief military spokesman General Moti Almoz told army radio earlier, saying the operation would take place "in stages".
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned it was likely to be a protracted campaign.
"We are preparing for a campaign against Hamas, which will not end in just a few days," he said in a statement after meeting security chiefs, which defined the aim as being "to exact a very heavy price from Hamas".
"We will not tolerate rocket fire on Israel cities, and we are preparing to expand the operation with everything at our disposal to strike Hamas," he said.
Israel has killed 14 Palestinians and injured over 100 in the ongoing assault.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned it was likely to be a protracted campaign.
"We are preparing for a campaign against Hamas, which will not end in just a few days," he said in a statement after meeting security chiefs, which defined the aim as being "to exact a very heavy price from Hamas".
"We will not tolerate rocket fire on Israel cities, and we are preparing to expand the operation with everything at our disposal to strike Hamas," he said.
Israel has killed 14 Palestinians and injured over 100 in the ongoing assault.
The father of a killed Hamas fighter arrives at the morgue of the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza strip, on July 8, 2014.
Israeli airstrikes on the northern Gaza Strip killed four Palestinians on Tuesday evening, bringing the total death toll in Israel's latest assault on the besieged enclave to 15.
A child was killed and two others wounded in an airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City in the early evening.
Ahmad Moussa Habib, 48, and Ahmad Ahed Habib, 19, were killed after an airstrike targeted a tuk-tuk vehicle in the al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza City, medics said.
Fakhri Saleh Ajjouri was reported killed after an airstrike targeted a motorcycle near Abraj al-Sheikh Zayed in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier, seven Palestinians were killed and 25 were severely injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the southern Gaza Strip, a medical official said.
A missile slammed into the house in Khan Younis after people had reportedly formed a human shield to protect it, killing seven people, including two children.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbors to gather at the house as a human shield and that, shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that leveled the building.
The house belonged to the al-Kaware family.
Abduallah Kaware, Mohammad Ashour, 13, Riyadh Kaware, Mahmoud Judeh, Bakir Mahmoud Judeh, 22, Ammar Mohammad Judeh, 22, and Hussein Mohammad Kaware, 14, were killed.
Prior to the deaths in Gaza City, the body of Rashad Yassin, from al-Nuseirat refugee camp, was found under the rubble of a destroyed house in central Gaza.
Yassin is reportedly affiliated with Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades.
At least 100 Palestinians have been injured since late Monday in military action dubbed Operation Protective Edge, with Palestinian security sources putting the number of airstrikes at more than 70.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel was "playing with fire" and would pay for its ongoing operations.
Since midnight, militants in Gaza have fired more than 100 rockets, an Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP, saying only around 33 of them had hit Israeli territory.
Israeli airstrikes on the northern Gaza Strip killed four Palestinians on Tuesday evening, bringing the total death toll in Israel's latest assault on the besieged enclave to 15.
A child was killed and two others wounded in an airstrike on the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City in the early evening.
Ahmad Moussa Habib, 48, and Ahmad Ahed Habib, 19, were killed after an airstrike targeted a tuk-tuk vehicle in the al-Shujaiyeh neighborhood in Gaza City, medics said.
Fakhri Saleh Ajjouri was reported killed after an airstrike targeted a motorcycle near Abraj al-Sheikh Zayed in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier, seven Palestinians were killed and 25 were severely injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the southern Gaza Strip, a medical official said.
A missile slammed into the house in Khan Younis after people had reportedly formed a human shield to protect it, killing seven people, including two children.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbors to gather at the house as a human shield and that, shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that leveled the building.
The house belonged to the al-Kaware family.
Abduallah Kaware, Mohammad Ashour, 13, Riyadh Kaware, Mahmoud Judeh, Bakir Mahmoud Judeh, 22, Ammar Mohammad Judeh, 22, and Hussein Mohammad Kaware, 14, were killed.
Prior to the deaths in Gaza City, the body of Rashad Yassin, from al-Nuseirat refugee camp, was found under the rubble of a destroyed house in central Gaza.
Yassin is reportedly affiliated with Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades.
At least 100 Palestinians have been injured since late Monday in military action dubbed Operation Protective Edge, with Palestinian security sources putting the number of airstrikes at more than 70.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel was "playing with fire" and would pay for its ongoing operations.
Since midnight, militants in Gaza have fired more than 100 rockets, an Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP, saying only around 33 of them had hit Israeli territory.
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Powerful raw video shows Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
GRAPHIC VIDEO: Bloody aftermath of Israeli airstrikes, Khan Younis |
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