News from Gaza

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This is a section that includes news and images from Gaza as often as we can get them. While this site is only about Rafah, the incidents in Gaza have made us decide to begin posting about Gaza as we are about Rafah. Images will be supplied by friends from the area.

21 February 05

An Israeli soldier looking at the body of a Palestinian boy who has been killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces in West Bank, photos by AFP..

The Norwegian Prime Minister visited Gaza Strip to meet with the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

The Israeli Occupation Forces delivered 15 bodies of Palestinians killed during the past few months in the ongoing Intifada.

Numbers of ambulances and medics workers went to Erez Crossing to get the bodies of the Palestinians whom were killed and their bodies were kept for long time in the Isareli side..

The Occupation Forces are still closing the main roads of the Gaza Strip, in addition to closing the Gaza International Airport, and the Erez Crossing, which is the only way for Palestinians workers to get into their work.

On West Bank also, the IOF break the truce by killing a Palestinian child at Hebron, and many others were arrested.

Meanwhile, the Occupation Forces allowed 16 Palestinian whom were deported from West Bank to Gaza to get into their homes again in the villages of West Bank.

Isarel promised the Palestinian side to set free 500 prisoners out of 8000 prisoners whom have been in the Israeli jail for mnay years. The families of the rest of the prisoners appeals to the international community and the whole world to put pressure on Israel and find a solution for their prisoners..

2 February 05

People after being homeless in Rafah

Palestinians targeted everywhere by the Israeli war machine. . .

Khan Younis: "Israel doesn’t want peace. All they want is to swallow the land and to kill the
Palestinians," said an old man. He was sitting in the ruins of what had once been his house in Khan Younis Refugee Camp. His home had been destroyed by the Israeli army bulldozers "for security reasons."

Gaza City:

Abdelmoti Abu Zaker, a paralyzed man of 21, was killed after lying on the ground bleeding for several hours after being shot by the Israeli army. Israeli troops guarding an Israeli settlement south of Gaza City opened fire on him for no apparent reason. He suffered numerous bullet wounds, then was left
bleeding for hours before an ambulance was called.

Deir Al Balah, central Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent thousands of Palestinian security forces to northern and central Gaza to patrol the Israel/Gaza border and areas near Israeli settlements to prevent militant attacks. The Israeli army responded to this concrete step to further peace by opening fire on a 3-year-old child.

Rahmah Abu Shamas was killed in the Deir Al Balah area by the bullets fired from the Tal Qatef Israeli
settlement. She was shot in the head. There has been no protest from the international community about her death.

The closure of Gaza international Airport, Rafah Crossing and the main roads in Gaza is still ongoing,
despite of the talk about new peace initiatives in the region.

17 January 05

Life over: Palestinian mourners burying the body of a Palestinian child Omar Al Girnawi, killed by Israeli snipers with a shot to his head

Victims of the Israeli daily incursions in Gaza Strip

While the Israeli government is promising an 'unrestricted' attack on Gaza if new Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas does not 'control the terrorists' in Palestine, four large-scale Israeli military assaults this weekend have left twelve palestinians dead.

In al Zaitoon Camp in Gaza, over 9 people were killed, and 20 were injured, in an incursion which began Thursday night, several hours after 5 Israeli soldiers were killed at the Karni crossing point in Gaza.

In Khanyounis a Palestinian mother and son were killed this morning in their home, the father and sister were injured.

When Eyah Abu Tuour, 19 years old, saw his brother killed this morning, one of two shot in the head near kissufim crossing, he screamed and smeared sewage and mud on his face: ”My brother Nedal got killed, my brother Nedal got killed, my brother Nedal got killed. Oh, Ohhh my brother Nedal, may God rest you in peace, may God rest you in peace my brother, my brother”

The Gaza Strip crossings are all closed, and Sharon's warning that he may invade all of Gaza Strip has left many Palestinians afraid that Sharon's so-called 'disengagement plan' may cost them their lives.

8 January 05

Palestinians workers transferring the ballot boxes for the elections on next Sunday

One of the victims at Jabalya Refugee Camp

An Isareli tank passes near one of the building that was demolished
during the last incursion at Khanyounis refugee Camp

Only few hours after Abbas's speech , Israel shelled 8 children under 17 years of age, all from one family in North Gaza near Beit Lahia refugee camp. The children ranged in age from 11 to 17; all
were shelled as they worked on the family farm picking strawberries. The Israeli Occupation forces claim their victims were armed militants; the earliest wire service reports stated the Associated Press
photographer personally saw children among the dead. The rocket attack was so devastating that bloody fragments of the young victims were scattered over the strawberry field and cannot easily be spotted among the ruined plants. The medical workers were searching for hours to gather the human remains.

In a separate incident, a 24 year old Palestinian man was killed and five were wounded in the East of Gaza. In Rafah Refugee Camp, 17- year-old Rezeq Musleh was killed by Israeli gunfire while he was hanging a poster of Mustapha Al Barghouti on the wall of his house in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood.
This is just one day's major attacks, hard on the heels of recent incursions into Khan Younis, called
the Orange Iron Incursion and the Violet Iron Incursion. The Israeli army also attacked Jebalya in
northern Gaza again in an incursion called "Autumn Winds."

In a phone interview with Mohammed Al Atar, 39, from Bethlehem, he said, "I don't know how we are going to vote in a democratic atmosphere when there is continuous bloodshed in Gaza and in all the
Palestinians camps!"

This morning also, one Palestinan was killed during clashes with the IOF soldiers inside the Jani Tal Jewish settlement, Palestiane sources said.

31 December 04

To view more pictures please click here

From New York City to Gaza Strip they came: American and Israeli settlers, many with dual
American-Israeli citizenship, who blocked the main north-south artery in Gaza, the Salah Al Deen Road,
and blocked the Abu Holi Checkpoint with their demonstration urging the Israeli settlers not to
withdraw from Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians were stuck the Abu Holi checkpoint hours longer than usual during this demonstration. Nothing and nobody moved, including ambulances trying to transport patients for emergency treatment. Inside one ambulance was Mohammed Mahdi, 28, who was accompanying his mother who urgently needed surgery at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, but
the settlers' demonstration brought their trip to a standstill.

" I have been waiting inside the ambulance for many hours, but of course, the checkpoint is closed as
you see. Not just the usual settlers but our guests from US," Mahdi said. "We have been appealing to
United Nations, and asked them to get word to the international community to put pressure on Israel to
permit emergency traffic, but we have had no response so far."

The Isareli Newspaper, Yaduat Ahronoth, confirmed that the unusually large crowds of settlers closing
the Salah Ah Deen Road included hundreds of US citizens who came to Gaza to support those residents of the Israeli Gush Katif settlement who oppose Sharon's plan to withdraw all Israeli settlers from Gaza. Many Palestinian residents are well aware that some Israeli settlers have second homes in America, while they themselves are in danger of becoming homeless allegedly to ensure those settlers' safety.

While normal travel was near impossible in Gaza, heavy incursions continued in Khan Younis where on December 31, 11 people were killed at Khanyounis Camp, and another 30 were injured. These are the latest casualty numbers from the ongoing incursion targeting Khan Younis.

Shreds of human flesh and bone fragments are spread over the streets from the tank shell attacks. Even
worse, many of the injured lie bleeding in the streets for hours while the ambulances are pinned down by
direct fire. Those lucky enough to be evacuated from the free fire zone still may not reach treatment in
time due to the complete closure of Abu Holi checkpoint.

At least 300 are newly homeless. Ali Abu Zarka, 12, had his family's home bulldozed during the last few
days, and is now taking shelter with his family of seven members in the classroom of an UNRWA school. "I was sleeping and heard the loud speakers. The soldiers were saying we had to leave our houses at once. So we ran out into the very chilly weather and ran for the UN school" he said.

Ali was lucky compared to many other families who were told their houses would be demolished over
their heads. Many eyewitnesses in the attacked neighborhoods reported the announcements said any who didn't leave instantly were at risk of being bulldozed with their houses.

In Nothern Gaza, the town of Dier Al Balah has also suffered an incursion which ended only hours ago.
Many houses were demolished, many people injured, and many planted fields and groves were destroyed. The damage reports are growing by the hour. As usual, it may take a few days before anyone can assess the true numbers of houses destroyed and people injured. All these ongoing attacks on civilian areas are taking place against the background of preparation for national elections on January 9. Supposedly, new leadership may be able to restart peace talks, but it is hard to see how meaningful these elections will be when tens of thousands of Gazans cannot safely leave their houses, and other tens of thousands no longer have houses to leave.

17 December 04

Palestinian refugees take the UNRWA schools as shelters after their houses were destroyed in Khanyounis ongoing incursion today

"They destroy my leg, my leg was smashed by the soldiers snipers, my leg was smashed while I was trying to get out of home" said a 12 years old boy who was laying down at Nasser hospital.

The Israeli soldiers prevent people from burying the bodies of their relatives whom were killed in Rafah, by occupying and destroying many parts of Khanyounis cemetery.

In Khan Younis, four more Palestinians were killed overnight in the Israeli army incursion called Orange Iron. They are Humid Al Rants; 23, Izzedeen Hamdan; 23, Ahmad Radwan, 25, and Mohammed Abu Rafie; 23. These are the latest deaths in the Operation Orange Iron attack on Al Nimsawi district of Khan Younis Refugee Camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

On Friday, the Israeli army killed six Palestinians in this incursion, even as Israeli Prime Minister Sharon was talking of peace prospects. This is the most deadly incursion in Palestine since the death of Yassir Arafat on 11 November. Tanks invaded Khan Younis shortly before midnight while Apache
helicopters backed them with shelling. The Israeli media has called this attack on civilian neighborhoods
their "response" to Qassam rocket attacks by Hamas militants on the nearby Israeli settlement of Neve
Dakalim in which several of the Israeli residents were injured. Israeli army spokesmen say they are
prepared to continue the shelling, sniper fire and home demolitions for "several days if necessary." At
least 28 others have been injured, many of them seriously.

The most recent death, as of this writing, is a 16-year-old boy targeted by Israeli snipers as he walked down the street. The Israeli army snipers have forcibly occupied the rooftops of several of the tallest buildings to target anyone or anything moving outdoors.

The director of Nasser Gospital, Dr. Mohi Al Deen Al Faraa said, "We now have 11 people killed and another 55 injured. Most of the injured people are civilians. Our hospital itself is under attack," he added. "The bulldozers are knocking down the perimeter wall around the hospital grounds and shooting at the hospital." The aerial shelling aimed at the hospital has been intense.

The Israeli occupation forces made loudspeaker announcements through the neighborhoods nearest Neve Dakalim saying people must leave their homes or risk death and injury. Hundreds of families, roughly 600 men, women and children, had to flee into the cold into mosques, hospitals, or, in many cases, on the street further away from the threatened areas. Despite Gaza's desert location, winters here are quite cold and rainy—snow is rare, but wet, cold nights just above the freezing point are common.

Nobody is being spared. The tanks have been shooting at ambulances and injured one ambulance driver, Hasan Abu Samrah, 45. " The red light of the was clear on the roof of the ambulance for all the soldiers, but the soldiers intends to shoot at the ambulance"

Operation Orange Iron began a few days after the killing of a seven-year old girl, Rania Siam, who was
fatally injured by shrapnel while she was inside her home. Then a few hours after that child's death,
Israeli tanks shelled an elementary school classroom, injuring nine students, plus their teacher.
The situation throughout Khan Younis is extremely difficult for everyone, and the numbers of dead and
injured are mounting quickly.

All of the Gaza Strip is divided into many smaller sections by the Israeli checkpoints. Cities and
villages are isolated, and a section of the beach roadway near Abu Holi checkpoint has been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, to further paralyze any civilian travel.

Meantime, Sharon is still talking about peace prospects and evacuating the Israeli settlers from all
of Gaza.

AFTER TARAGETTING AMBULANCES: Palestinians carrying the body of an injured man inside Al Nimsawi refugee Camp

11 December 04

Farwell time: relatives lamenting 7 year old Rana, who was killed
by Israeli snipers inKhanyouies Camp.

Once again, the medics in the morgue at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis had to enshroud the body of a
young child. Rania Siam, 7, was killed by a head injury inflicted by Israeli army fire while she was playing just outside her home in Khan Younis, a few kilometers north of Rafah. The fatal wound was
inflicted either by automatic fire or a tank shell fragment.

Two others were less seriously wounded in the incident, including the child's father. The death
came shortly after a mortar attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on the nearby Jewish settlement of neve Dakalim which wounded at least two Israeli civilians, one of them a young child.

Omar Siam, 50, Rania's father, was in tears as he explained, "We were having lunch when suddenly there were some explosions and automatic gunfire. I felt a pain in my leg, but I was only slightly injured, thank God. But the food on the table was splashed with blood. We looked around and realised that Rania had been killed by a bullet to the head." Her family rushed her to the hospital despite ongoing gunfire, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Further north in Gaza, Hamas militants Adham Hejilah, and Momen Rajab were killed during a gunfight with the Israeli soldiers near an Israeli settlement south of Gaza City. In this incident, the Israeli media
reported one Israeli soldier killed and four injured.

5 December 04

Funeral of Dr. Samir Hejazi, killed in Rafah
durring the random shelling by the Occupation Forces.

Israeli Occupation Forces shelled Al Zahra Village with tanks, and fire errupted in one of the building. Four year old Shaima Abu Shamaleh was injured in Rafah by the IDF snipers while playing near her house in Block "O" area. She was trasnfred from Abu Yousif Al Najjar hospital into Al Shifa hospital because she was shot in the upper part of her mouth.

In Gaza City, thousands of mourners participated in the funeral of two gunmen who were killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers.

Sniping children seems to be a hobby of Israeli soldiers, clear demonstrated by the large number of injured and dead children and civilians everyday in Gaza Strip.

Iman Al Qadi (16) , Noor Al Qadi (7), and Itimad Abu Shaar were also injured in different places in Rafah.

10 November 04

While the Gaza Strip is busy with President Arafat's illness, the Israeli incursions continue. Two Palestinians were killed today near Netzarim Jewish settlement in Gaza City, while they were watching the soldiers in the area, eyewitnesses said.

The two young men were killed by three tank shelled that was followed by shooting.