Red Cross Reports Grisly Find in Gaza
Israel Accused of Blocking Aid to Wounded
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that it had found at least 15 bodies and several children — emaciated but alive — in a row of shattered houses in the Gaza Strip and accused the Israeli military of preventing ambulances from reaching the site for four days.
Red Cross officials said rescue crews had received specific reports of casualties in the houses and had been trying since Saturday to send ambulances to the area, located in Zaytoun, a neighborhood south of Gaza City. They said the Israeli military did not grant permission until Wednesday afternoon.
In an unusual public statement issued by its Geneva headquarters, the Red Cross called the episode “unacceptable” and said the Israeli military had “failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded.”
(more)
As mike said earlier in a different thread
….. killing civillians will not cause them to rise up against Hamas, but drive them into their open arms. Operations like this have created a new generation of people who want the destruction of Israel, an entire new cadre of suicide bombers. In case you were not aware, studies by the University of Chicago indicate the suicide bombers are not motivated by religion, but rather by anger and loss – they are usually depressed and (shock!!) suicidal people who have endured a great recent loss – a friend, a close relative, their home – and wish to kill themselves and take revenge against their perceived enemies.
How many more people like that exist today, than did 6 weeks ago?
Hamas may be wrong, but Israel’s response is also wrong. The only innocents here are the civilians on each side who are dying, most of them Palestinian.
I can think of only two (supposedly) humane and democratic countries who are allowed to engage in tactics like this with virtual western impunity – Israel, and the United States of America.
Everyone’s favourite Bigot Extraordinaire, Ruffles, should be along any minute now to wag his oh-so self-righteous finger while stating unequivocally that if these people hadn’t voted for Hamas in the first place, their children wouldn’t be starving orphans. So there.
Or something equally heinous in its mouthbreathing stupidity as that — I just thought I’d head him off at the pass. You’re welcome, I’m sure, Stage.
@LuLu – He’ll be at work for another 2 or 3 hours. He already pulled that very stunt last night at JJ’s and when confronted at the corner of Smackdown Ave. and Douchebag Rd. he did his predictable obsequious, suck-up, passive-aggressive exit.
And posted pretty much the same comment over at JJ’s in response.
Either he really doesn’t get it, or he doesn’t care that “Palestinians” (code for Muslims) die.
Pretty disgusting display for someone who can be so reasonable at times.
Eva at In Gaza talked about that house two days ago. God.
an eye for an eyelash
That’s how Alison summarizes it. Check out her Cherniak smack down here:
http://thegallopingbeaver.blogspot.com/2009/01/vatican-cardinal-gaza-big-concentration.html
Those 4 children, weakened by hunger and traumatized by death and having no where to turn but their dead mother, that is the face of this atrocity.
Meanwhile, Amnesty Canada has drafted a letter to Lawrence Cannon, urging the Canadian government to act. You can sign here:
http://www.amnesty.ca/urgentappeal/2009/gaza/
@LuLu – the mutterings of bigots in the blogosphere are not as much of a concern as the mutterings of the Canadian government – if you recall yesterday it essentially legitimized Israeli military attacks on civilian targets; I am under no particular delusion that it will see help being denied to starving children in any different light.
UN is halting aid because they had been fired upon by Israeli forces who had their travel plans.
From the CBC article on a tentative agreement regarding a UN resolution on the situation:
“It comes hours after the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it will suspend aid shipments until the safety of its staff can be guaranteed.
“These firings on our convoy are coming from the Israeli military themselves, with whom we have co-ordinated our movement, and that is what is absolutely unacceptable,” UNRWA director John Ging said in an interview with CBC News.”
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/01/08/israel-gaza.html
Perhaps a regime change is necessary?
It was something else listening to UNRWA director John Ging. He could barely contain his rage and despair, a very broken voice.
I agree BY. I was reminded of listening to clips of Romeo Dallaire when he also spoke to As it Happens in the middle of an impossible situation.
The most striking statement not included in the print article (though CBC has a nasty habit of editing articles after I read them) that Ging mentioned in the interview that aired tonight was that his people were fired upon by the Israelis during the temporary ceasefire while the IDF was in possession of GPS data and detailed itineraries.