9 july 2014
Gaza's health ministry: 61 Palestinian deaths, over 500 injuries in Israeli assault on Gaza
29 Palestinians killed, Wednesday, 53 In Two Days
Palestinian medical sources have reported that two Palestinian women and two children have been killed on Wednesday evening, when Israeli soldiers fired missiles into Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and Jabalia, in the northern part of the coastal region. A journalist was killed in central Gaza.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) said a woman, identified as Salmiyya al-‘Arja, 53, was killed and at least eight Palestinians were injured, in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Three more Palestinians have been injured when the army bombarded a home in Abasan town, east of Khan Younis.
They were moved to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Another child, only two years of age, was killed when the army bombarded Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
An Israeli missile, fired into Gaza city, has also wounded three Palestinian medics, medical sources said.
WAFA added that the army also fired missiles into a graveyard, close to the Palestine Square,
In Gaza city. At least twenty Palestinians have been injured in a number of Israeli strikes targeting different parts of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, one woman, identified as Amal and Nariman Abdul-Ghafour, has been killed when an Israeli missile struck her home in the al-Qarara town, in Khan Younis.
A child, identified as Mohammad Arif, 13, was killed in an Israeli bombardment targeting the Shaghaf area, in Gaza city.
Moreover, a journalist identified as Hamed Shehab, was killed when the army fired a missile at a vehicle transporting reporters in the center of Gaza City.
Five Palestinians of the Nawasra family have also been killed, in the al-Maghazi refugee camp.
Medical Aid Palestine has reported that in the past 36 hours, Israel has dropped more than 400 tons of explosives on Gaza-an area the size of the Isle of Wight
Initial reports also indicate that two Palestinian fighters have been killed while trying to infiltrate, via the sea, the Zikim military base and settlement, across the border with Gaza.
On Tuesday, the army said it foiled a similar attempt, and killed four fighters.
Israeli sources said three Israelis have been killed in Keryat Malachi settlement, and five were injured in Haifa, by shells fired from Gaza.
Khaled al-Batsh, a senior political leader of the Islamic Jihad, stated that the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, has decided to strike Tel Aviv “because Tel Aviv is not more precious than Gaza, Rafah or Beit Lahia, under constant Israeli shelling and bombardment”.
Palestinian medical sources have reported that two Palestinian women and two children have been killed on Wednesday evening, when Israeli soldiers fired missiles into Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and Jabalia, in the northern part of the coastal region. A journalist was killed in central Gaza.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) said a woman, identified as Salmiyya al-‘Arja, 53, was killed and at least eight Palestinians were injured, in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Three more Palestinians have been injured when the army bombarded a home in Abasan town, east of Khan Younis.
They were moved to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Another child, only two years of age, was killed when the army bombarded Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
An Israeli missile, fired into Gaza city, has also wounded three Palestinian medics, medical sources said.
WAFA added that the army also fired missiles into a graveyard, close to the Palestine Square,
In Gaza city. At least twenty Palestinians have been injured in a number of Israeli strikes targeting different parts of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, one woman, identified as Amal and Nariman Abdul-Ghafour, has been killed when an Israeli missile struck her home in the al-Qarara town, in Khan Younis.
A child, identified as Mohammad Arif, 13, was killed in an Israeli bombardment targeting the Shaghaf area, in Gaza city.
Moreover, a journalist identified as Hamed Shehab, was killed when the army fired a missile at a vehicle transporting reporters in the center of Gaza City.
Five Palestinians of the Nawasra family have also been killed, in the al-Maghazi refugee camp.
Medical Aid Palestine has reported that in the past 36 hours, Israel has dropped more than 400 tons of explosives on Gaza-an area the size of the Isle of Wight
Initial reports also indicate that two Palestinian fighters have been killed while trying to infiltrate, via the sea, the Zikim military base and settlement, across the border with Gaza.
On Tuesday, the army said it foiled a similar attempt, and killed four fighters.
Israeli sources said three Israelis have been killed in Keryat Malachi settlement, and five were injured in Haifa, by shells fired from Gaza.
Khaled al-Batsh, a senior political leader of the Islamic Jihad, stated that the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, has decided to strike Tel Aviv “because Tel Aviv is not more precious than Gaza, Rafah or Beit Lahia, under constant Israeli shelling and bombardment”.
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Tuesday:
1. Mohammad Sha’ban, 24, Gaza. 2. Amjad Sha’ban, 30, Gaza. 3. Khader al-Basheeleqety, 45, Gaza. 4. Rashad Yassin, 27, Nusseirat. 5. Mohammad Ayman ‘Ashour, 15, Khan Younis. 6. Riyadh Mohammad Kaware’, 50, Khan Younis. 7. Bakr Mohammad Joudeh, 50, Khan Younis. 8. Ammar Mohammad Joudeh, 26, Khan Younis. 9. Hussein Yousef Kaware’, 13, Khan Younis. 10. Bassem Salem Kaware’, 10, Khan Younis. 11. Mohammad Ibrahim Kaware’, 50, Khan Younis. 12. Mohammad Habib, 22, Gaza. 13. Mousa Habib, 16, Gaza. 14. Saqr ‘Aayesh al-‘Ajjoury, 22, Jabalia. 15. Ahmad Nael Mahdi, 16, Gaza. 16. Hafeth Mohammad Hamad, 26, Beit Hanoun. 17. Ibrahim Mohammad Hamad, 26, Beit Hanoun. 18. Mahdi Mohammad Hamad, 46, Beit Hanoun. 19. Fawziyya Khalil Hamad, 62, Beit Hanoun. 20. Donia Mahdi Hamad, 16, Beit Hanoun. 21. Soha Hamad, 25, Beit Hanoun. 22. Suleiman Salam Abu Sawaween, 22, Khan Younis. 23. Siraj Eyad Abdul-‘Aal, 8, Khan Younis. 24. Abdul-Hadi Soufi, 24, Rafah. |
Palestinians killed Wednesday (Initial List)
1. Hamed Shihab, Journalist – Gaza. 2. Salmiyya al-‘Arja, 53, Rafah. 3. Nariman Abdul-Ghafour, Khan Younis. 4. Rafiq al-Kafarna, 30. 5. Nayfa Farajallah, 80. 6. Abdul-Nasser Abu Kweik, 60. 7. Khaled Abu Kweik, 31. 8. Mohammad Arif, 13. 9. Mohammad Malika, 18 months. 10. Amna Malika (Mohammad’s Mother), 27. 11. Hatem Abu Salem. 12. Mohammad Khaled an-Nimra, 22. 13. Sahar Hamdan (al-Masry), 40. 14. Ibrahim al-Masry, 14. 15. Mohammad Khalaf Nawasra, 4. 16. Nidal Khalaf Nawasra, child. 17. Saleh Awad Nawarsa. 18. Salah Awad Nawasra. 19. Mahmoud Nahedh Nawasra. 20. Aisha Najm. 21. Amal Yousef Abdul-Ghafour. 22. Ranim Jouda Abdul-Ghafour. 23. Ibrahim Daoud al-Bal’aawy. 24. Abdul-Rahman Jamal az-Zamely. 25. Ibrahim Ahmad ‘Abdin. 26. Mustafa Abu Murr. 27. Khaled Abu Murr. 28. Mazin Al-Jarba. 29. Marwan Eslayyem |
Five Palestinians have been killed on Wednesday evening, during Israel's ongoing airstrikes on northern and southern Gaza, bringing the total number of deaths in Gaza to 53.
Ma'an News Agency has reported that a house belonging to the Hamad family was recently targeted by Israeli forces, in Beit Hanoun, killing Hani Saleh Hamad, age 57, and Ibrahim Hamad, 20.
Five members of the same family were killed, late Tuesday, as Israeli warplanes bombed the home of one Hafiz Hamad, senior member of the Islamic Jihad, in the same area.
In Rafah, another airstrike killed Samia al-Arja, 65, in addition to an unidentified child who later died from injuries resulting from the strike.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the latest string of Israeli assaults in the region bring the total number of deaths in Gaza to at least 53.
Other reports cite larger numbers.
Over 450 Palestinians have been reported injured in the attacks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of committing genocide.
Ma'an News Agency has reported that a house belonging to the Hamad family was recently targeted by Israeli forces, in Beit Hanoun, killing Hani Saleh Hamad, age 57, and Ibrahim Hamad, 20.
Five members of the same family were killed, late Tuesday, as Israeli warplanes bombed the home of one Hafiz Hamad, senior member of the Islamic Jihad, in the same area.
In Rafah, another airstrike killed Samia al-Arja, 65, in addition to an unidentified child who later died from injuries resulting from the strike.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the latest string of Israeli assaults in the region bring the total number of deaths in Gaza to at least 53.
Other reports cite larger numbers.
Over 450 Palestinians have been reported injured in the attacks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of committing genocide.
Israeli air strikes killed 22 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, including fifteen women and children. That leaves the two-day death toll at 43. More than 370 people have so far been wounded.
Those numbers don't convey the horror of what's happening right now in Gaza. Neither do most of the photographs you'll find in news media. Streets and buildings have been blasted to rubble, yes. People are broken and mourning. Those things must be documented. But too often, we hide from the most graphic scenes of violence and death.
This page will do that documenting, and it will be updated as new images continue to appear. This is the cost of war.
Those numbers don't convey the horror of what's happening right now in Gaza. Neither do most of the photographs you'll find in news media. Streets and buildings have been blasted to rubble, yes. People are broken and mourning. Those things must be documented. But too often, we hide from the most graphic scenes of violence and death.
This page will do that documenting, and it will be updated as new images continue to appear. This is the cost of war.
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The father of Palestinian baby Ranim al-Gafur carries her body during a funeral ceremony for Ranim and her mother, Amal, on July 9, 2014 after they were both killed today in an Israeli air strike in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
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Emergency responders carry the body of a man, found under the rubble of his house following an Israeli airstrike on Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on July 9, 2014
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A Palestinian man looks at the bodies of two young Palestinians at a morgue in the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, following an Israeli air strike on July 9, 2014
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A dead Palestinian child, Mohammed Malaka, 2, is brought to the morgue at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, follwoing an Israeli air strike on July 9, 2014.
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A Palestinian looks at the body of a boy killed in an Israeli air strike at a morgue in the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, on July 9, 2014
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A wounded man is brought into the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on July 9, 2014 following an Israeli air strike.
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A Palestinian man carries his wounded daughter into the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on July 9, 2014 following an Israeli air strike
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A wounded Palestinian girl is treated by medics at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on July 9, 2014 following an Israeli air strike
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A wounded Palestinian boy is treated by medics at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on July 9, 2014 following an Israeli air strike
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Wounded children are brought into the the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on July 9, 2014 following an Israeli air strike.
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A Palestinian man removes bloody cushions from an outdoor sitting area following an Israeli air strike in Beit Hanun, in the northern of Gaza Strip on July 9 2014
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Palestinian relatives of Ahmed Mehdi, 14, stand next to his body at a hospital in Gaza City on July 8, 2014 after his was killed in an Israeli air strike.
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A Palestinian paramedic shows the remains of four people from the same family after their home was targeted during an Israeli air strike on July 8, 2014 in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. In the worst strike, a missile slammed into a house in the southern part of the city killing seven people, among them two teenagers, and wounding 25, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbors to gather at the house as a human shield. But shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that leveled the building.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbors to gather at the house as a human shield. But shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that leveled the building.
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Palestinian men look at the body of killed Hamas fighter Rashad Yassin, 28, in the morgue of the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014. Five Palestinians were killed as Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza at the start of a new campaign to stamp out rocket fire by Hamas militants on southern Israel
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Palestinians remove the body of a man from a vehicle targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on July 8, 2014
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Fire fighters extinguish a vehicle targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on July 8, 2014
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Palestinian mourners gather in a mosque as they pray over the bodies of five Hamas fighters during their funeral in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on July 7, 2014.
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Palestinians look at the bodies of two fighters in the mourgue of al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah center Gaza Strip on July 06, 2014
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Egypt on Wednesday urged Israel and Hamas in Gaza to halt their escalating conflict but played down hopes of a Cairo-mediated truce.
Egypt, which has a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, played a key role in mediating ceasefires in past wars between Hamas and Israel.
But it has signaled a more hands-off approach in the latest conflict, which comes at a time of mounting tensions between the new government in Cairo and Hamas.
"There is no mediation, in the common sense of the word," said Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty.
"Egyptian diplomatic efforts are aimed at immediately stopping Israeli aggression and ending all mutual violence. (Egyptian) contacts have not yet achieved a result."
A senior Hamas official pledged that militants would not "surrender" in the face of the latest air strikes on Wednesday.
"There are no ceasefire talks, in the conventional sense. There are ongoing contacts. The Israelis are not interested in mediation, they are looking for surrender," said Osama Hamdan, who is based in Beirut.
"The situation will clear up in the coming hours. We will respond to this escalation, and Israel might be convinced that the escalation does not help them."
The death toll in Gaza after two days of Israeli air strikes climbed to more than 50 on Wednesday, emergency services said.
The fighting is the deadliest between since an eight-day war in November 2012.
During that conflict, now deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi condemned "Israeli aggression" and sent his prime minister to Gaza in a show of support for the Palestinians.
Morsi brokered a truce seen as favorable to Hamas, which is linked to his Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Since the military overthrew him in July 2013, Cairo has cracked down on smuggling tunnels to the Gaza Strip and accused Hamas of aiding the Brotherhood in militant attacks inside Egypt.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who ousted Morsi and has been elected president in his place, has said Hamas alienated Egyptians by backing the Brotherhood.
The Egyptian presidency said late Tuesday that Sisi spoke by telephone with President Mahmoud Abbas, his ally, to discuss the Gaza conflict but without elaborating.
Egypt, which has a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, played a key role in mediating ceasefires in past wars between Hamas and Israel.
But it has signaled a more hands-off approach in the latest conflict, which comes at a time of mounting tensions between the new government in Cairo and Hamas.
"There is no mediation, in the common sense of the word," said Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty.
"Egyptian diplomatic efforts are aimed at immediately stopping Israeli aggression and ending all mutual violence. (Egyptian) contacts have not yet achieved a result."
A senior Hamas official pledged that militants would not "surrender" in the face of the latest air strikes on Wednesday.
"There are no ceasefire talks, in the conventional sense. There are ongoing contacts. The Israelis are not interested in mediation, they are looking for surrender," said Osama Hamdan, who is based in Beirut.
"The situation will clear up in the coming hours. We will respond to this escalation, and Israel might be convinced that the escalation does not help them."
The death toll in Gaza after two days of Israeli air strikes climbed to more than 50 on Wednesday, emergency services said.
The fighting is the deadliest between since an eight-day war in November 2012.
During that conflict, now deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi condemned "Israeli aggression" and sent his prime minister to Gaza in a show of support for the Palestinians.
Morsi brokered a truce seen as favorable to Hamas, which is linked to his Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Since the military overthrew him in July 2013, Cairo has cracked down on smuggling tunnels to the Gaza Strip and accused Hamas of aiding the Brotherhood in militant attacks inside Egypt.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who ousted Morsi and has been elected president in his place, has said Hamas alienated Egyptians by backing the Brotherhood.
The Egyptian presidency said late Tuesday that Sisi spoke by telephone with President Mahmoud Abbas, his ally, to discuss the Gaza conflict but without elaborating.
Israeli troops killed two Gaza militants in a seafront gunfight Wednesday, close to the site of an attack on a military base a day earlier, media said.
"Two armed terrorists came out of the sea more or less in the same area where the incident took place 24 hours ago," public radio said.
"Army lookouts spotted them and there was a gunfight which ended with both terrorists killed."
"Two armed terrorists came out of the sea more or less in the same area where the incident took place 24 hours ago," public radio said.
"Army lookouts spotted them and there was a gunfight which ended with both terrorists killed."
Israeli forces on Tuesday killed a number of armed militants who came from Gaza by sea, an Israeli security source told AFP.
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.
One soldier was lightly wounded and a fifth fighter was later killed.
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.
One soldier was lightly wounded and a fifth fighter was later killed.
Three grad missiles were fired at Israel from the village of al-Arja south of the Egyptian city of Rafah on Wednesday evening, Egyptian officials said.
Military officials said forces at the border detected three rockets launched from Egypt towards the Kerem Shalom kibbutz near the border with Gaza and Egypt.
Israeli authorities notified Egypt, who moved forces to the area.
There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Military officials said forces at the border detected three rockets launched from Egypt towards the Kerem Shalom kibbutz near the border with Gaza and Egypt.
Israeli authorities notified Egypt, who moved forces to the area.
There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Two rockets fired by Gaza militants Wednesday hit near the southern town of Dimona where Israel has a nuclear reactor, the military said on Twitter.
"A few minutes ago, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired three rockets at Dimona. Two fell in open areas; Iron Dome intercepted the other," it said referring to the Israeli missile defense system.
Gaza rockets hit near Dimona reactor
The Israeli military has confirmed that two Palestinian rockets have struck the city of Dimona where Israel has a nuclear reactor.
Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip fired the rockets in retaliation for Israeli attacks on the coastal enclave on Wednesday.
Another rocket was intercepted by Israel’s US-funded Iron Dome missile system. Similar responses were also witnessed elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territories including Regavim, Benei Shim'on, Rahat, Ashkelon, Eshkol and the Negev desert.
Tel Aviv said earlier that more than 70 rockets had been fired into Israel’s illegal settlements since the early hours of the day.
Businesses and factories in Israel have been forced to reduce production due to the escalation in the region.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reports said that Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz approved plans to deploy the army's ground forces into Gaza.
He also stressed that pressure would be increased against Palestinians.
Early on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the expansion of military operations against Palestinians.
More than 50 people have been killed and many others wounded, including women and children, by the new wave of Israeli aggression.
Gaza has been blockaded since 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.
"A few minutes ago, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired three rockets at Dimona. Two fell in open areas; Iron Dome intercepted the other," it said referring to the Israeli missile defense system.
Gaza rockets hit near Dimona reactor
The Israeli military has confirmed that two Palestinian rockets have struck the city of Dimona where Israel has a nuclear reactor.
Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged Gaza Strip fired the rockets in retaliation for Israeli attacks on the coastal enclave on Wednesday.
Another rocket was intercepted by Israel’s US-funded Iron Dome missile system. Similar responses were also witnessed elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territories including Regavim, Benei Shim'on, Rahat, Ashkelon, Eshkol and the Negev desert.
Tel Aviv said earlier that more than 70 rockets had been fired into Israel’s illegal settlements since the early hours of the day.
Businesses and factories in Israel have been forced to reduce production due to the escalation in the region.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reports said that Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz approved plans to deploy the army's ground forces into Gaza.
He also stressed that pressure would be increased against Palestinians.
Early on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the expansion of military operations against Palestinians.
More than 50 people have been killed and many others wounded, including women and children, by the new wave of Israeli aggression.
Gaza has been blockaded since 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.
Some activists posted photos of victims online, advising the fainthearted not to look at them.
Horrific images of the Palestinian victims of recent Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have revealed that the self-proclaimed Jewish state is using internationally-proscribed weapons, according to Palestinian doctors and rights activists.
Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra said the bodies of most victims had been incinerated, while others had been completely torn apart.
He said Israel was deploying weapons that destroy the bodies of their victims, noting that a preliminary survey of victims' bodies revealed the horrific nature of the weapons being used in Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.
"Israel used internationally-banned weapons in its two previous wars on Gaza," al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency. "The same weapons are being used now."
He called on international rights organizations to bring Israel to account for what he called "its continual violations" against the Palestinian people.
Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, have reported that Israeli airstrikes had incinerated the bodies of Palestinians who happened to be near targeted sites.
Israeli warplanes, they added, were using missiles that destroy their victims' bodies, often cutting them to pieces.
Some activists posted photos of victims online, advising the fainthearted not to look at them.
Photos showed Palestinians whose limbs had been blown off and others whose bodies looked as if they had been subject to chemical attack.
Palestinian doctors say the Israeli airstrikes had incinerated the bodies of a large number of Palestinians, while a number of others had lost limbs.
They added that the conditions of victims admitted to hospital revealed that Israel was using internationally-proscribed weapons in its current war on the embattled Gaza Strip.
Israel has been launching relentless airstrikes against Gaza since Tuesday, in which 41 Palestinians have been killed so far.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas described the current Israeli onslaught on Gaza as a "war on the entire Palestinian people."
Rights activist Essam Younis said Israel was committing war crimes against the people of Gaza.
"It is also violating international and humanitarian law conventions by targeting civilians," Younis, the head of the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, a Gaza-based NGO, told AA.
He said Israel was targeting women and children, whose bodies were turned to charcoal as a result of the attacks.
He went on to urge international rights groups to intervene to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
In 2009, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using internationally-banned weapons in its three-week-long war on Gaza in late 2008/early 2009.
Israel, for its part, continues to deny that it uses banned weapons.
By Ola Attalah
www.aa.com.tr/en
Horrific images of the Palestinian victims of recent Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have revealed that the self-proclaimed Jewish state is using internationally-proscribed weapons, according to Palestinian doctors and rights activists.
Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra said the bodies of most victims had been incinerated, while others had been completely torn apart.
He said Israel was deploying weapons that destroy the bodies of their victims, noting that a preliminary survey of victims' bodies revealed the horrific nature of the weapons being used in Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.
"Israel used internationally-banned weapons in its two previous wars on Gaza," al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency. "The same weapons are being used now."
He called on international rights organizations to bring Israel to account for what he called "its continual violations" against the Palestinian people.
Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, have reported that Israeli airstrikes had incinerated the bodies of Palestinians who happened to be near targeted sites.
Israeli warplanes, they added, were using missiles that destroy their victims' bodies, often cutting them to pieces.
Some activists posted photos of victims online, advising the fainthearted not to look at them.
Photos showed Palestinians whose limbs had been blown off and others whose bodies looked as if they had been subject to chemical attack.
Palestinian doctors say the Israeli airstrikes had incinerated the bodies of a large number of Palestinians, while a number of others had lost limbs.
They added that the conditions of victims admitted to hospital revealed that Israel was using internationally-proscribed weapons in its current war on the embattled Gaza Strip.
Israel has been launching relentless airstrikes against Gaza since Tuesday, in which 41 Palestinians have been killed so far.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas described the current Israeli onslaught on Gaza as a "war on the entire Palestinian people."
Rights activist Essam Younis said Israel was committing war crimes against the people of Gaza.
"It is also violating international and humanitarian law conventions by targeting civilians," Younis, the head of the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, a Gaza-based NGO, told AA.
He said Israel was targeting women and children, whose bodies were turned to charcoal as a result of the attacks.
He went on to urge international rights groups to intervene to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
In 2009, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using internationally-banned weapons in its three-week-long war on Gaza in late 2008/early 2009.
Israel, for its part, continues to deny that it uses banned weapons.
By Ola Attalah
www.aa.com.tr/en
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Truce violations List of names Pictures of martyrs
Days: Aug: 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
July: 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8
Days: Aug: 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
July: 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8
