19 July 06

Where should I begin? I'm wondering where to begin this update...

Perhaps I should begin with the children sending their appeal to the outside world. Or maybe the woman who can no longer afford food as the attacks continue at the Al Maghazi refugee camp. Or maybe even this cruel attack in the middle of Gaza which destroyed groves and orchards, men and all their belongings, as if the Israeli bulldozers' main enemy is every human walking on the ground.

An injured child carried to the hospital. He was standing by watching the army demolishing homes

An injured young man is carried to the hospital in the middle of Gaza Strip

Destruction left in Beit Hanoun before the EU envoy came to Gaza

A man sustaining an eye injury

Nine Palestinians were killed as the Israeli Occupation Forces moved into the Al Maghazi refugee camp, beginning the fourth week of their deadly assault. In the West Bank, three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces operating in the volatile West Bank town of Nablus. 100 were injured.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, paid his second visit to the blood soaked Middle East in days, and was scheduled to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Gaza City. I wonder if he had been able to see the Israeli tanks and bulldozers demolishing homes and killing people in the North, or if it had been spared this terrible sight and the Israeli Army stopped its attack by tanks and bulldozers on the north for three hours, backing off for a few hundred meters.

International appeals for restraint have fallen on deaf ears and a UN resolution urging Israel to stop the offensive was vetoed by the United States at the Security Council last week.

In the middle of Gaza, clashes are going on between the Israeli tanks invading the camp and groups of Palestinian militants. So far, only three people of the 60 killed were militants. The rest were children, women and old men who were sleeping in their dark houses when Israeli tanks and bulldozers started approaching the area, accompanied by Israeli helicopters and air force jets.

In the West Bank City of Nablus, an Al Jazeera correspondent was attacked by soldiers who were trying to drive around her with their military jeeps, and a crew member of Al Jazeera Satellites Channel TV was injured.

Right now, the attack is still going with shortages of water and electricity. I spoke to one of the people by mobile phone from Al Maghazi, who told me: "The soldiers cut off the phone lines, electricity and water, and put me and my family inside a small room and used the rest of the house upstairs for snipers posts." This is Abdel Hadi from Al Maghazi camp in a phone call before he ran out of batteries this afternoon.

17 July 06

Israel flattens Palestinian foreign ministry in Gaza and the war is still going on with total silence from the world!!

A child wounded inside Kamal Adwan Hospital

Destruction by the Israeli army

More destruction

A 21 year old relative of Ali Abdullah being carried to the hospital

Realtive of Abdel Latif Obeida collapses during his relative's funteral in Jabalya Camp

Taking shelter in an UNRWA school

More Palestinians seeking shelter

ONCE AGAIN IN GAZA: The Israeli F1-6s jets today attacked the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Gaza for the second time in a week, leaving the building in ruins as it stepped up an offensive three weeks after the capture of a soldier. Three residents were wounded when a missile was dropped in the early hours by an F-16 jet that destroyed what was left of the foreign ministry building, security sources said. It had already been badly damaged in the raid last Thursday.

The attack came after tanks, armored vehicles and bulldozers rolled into Beit Hanun before dawn, went into the deepest Israeli incursion into the area since Israel began its punishing offensive on June 28, three days after soldier Gilad Shalit was seized. Five Palestinians from were killed in the ongoing attack by the Israeli Army, the attack is still going on and many people are getting injured.

Operation Summer Rain, spearheaded with the twin objectives of retrieving the soldier and stopping rocket attacks on Israel, has now left more than 100 Palestinian killed and hundreds injured. Three Palestinians from Hamas were killed when an Israeli aircraft fired a missile and targeted them. Another 20 people were wounded, including a woman and a baby, by sporadic gunfire and Israeli shelling in the northern incursion. The bodies arrived at the hospital and many body parts are missing.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, whose Gaza offices were bombed by Israel on July 2, denounced the international community for not stepping in to halt the Israeli onslaught amid the rising death toll. "I am wondering whether the international community has been so silent ever before in the face of such cruelty. I've never heard of or read about the acceptance of such cruelty," he said to journalists and reporters in Gaza City.

Dozens of Palestinians living on the edges of Beit Hanun fled their homes, taking shelter in UN-run schools in the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp, among those, the mother of 8 children Umm Bassam Alian, who was there hiding inside the UNRWA school seeking shelter and asking where to sleep tonight when the soldiers are turning her house into a militant post used to sniper Palestinians living in the area. Civilian people were among the victims here in the North. This miserable situation continues as people are running out of food.

" What are those Israelis? They don’t feel that we have children and we want to live in peace?" she asked while her littlie child continued to cry asking for food which she simply cannot afford. She tried to calm the child by trying to lull him to sleep in her arms. "Does the world know about this?" she asked me, then she said:" if the world knows about this, why are they letting it happen when we are all humans and suffering?"

The night is still not over and the children had to go to sleep with no food. Is that something that American or British child have to go through every night?

JOURNALISTS ARE TARGETED:

Two journalists working for the Japanese News Agency were injured yesterday by Israeli snipers while covering the news in the northern part of Gaza Strip.

The director of Kamas Adwan hospital said that "Ambulances crew have brought them Kay Oto Saki 27 , a Japanese journalist who wasinjured in his right leg" while his assistant, a Palestinian named Majdi Abdeen 25 was also injured in his right leg. He is still in the hospital, while the Japanese journalist was transferred immediately into an Israeli hospital in Israel.

The Israeli soldiers targeted one of the ambulances while it was on its way to evacuate injured people in the north of Gaza.

The Israeli F-16s jets bombed the Palestinian Ministry of Economic causing huge destruction in the building.

14 July 06

Yesterday Mohammed was struck with shrapnel as he was taking those photographs. Thank God he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. [The webmaster]

A Palestinian woman looking out of her window at damage all around

Damage to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Destruction in Gaza

Gaza is set on fire

Children looking out of their windows watching funeral processions going by

Rafah children protesting at the border with Egypt

Out of a window

Damage caused by Israeli helicopters

In addition to the Israeli bombing, there is the daily shelling by Israeli F16s, helicopters and Israeli warplanes over at the Gaza beach where a number of Israeli warships are patrolling and shooting at people who are passing by the main road of Salah Al Deen in the middle of the Gaza Strip. Israeli helicopters bombed the building of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza City causing damage to the building and everything inside it. A large number of people were killed and injured throughout the Gaza Strip. The entire Gaza Strip is being besieged, there are tanks and bulldozers everywhere, and Israeli helicopters hover overhead all day.

Humanitarian crisis and death:

When you don’t have medicine, food, clean water and are only sleeping in the street, I can assure you that death is just around the corner. This is what's happening right now at the Rafah border with Egypt, where over 5 thousand Palestinians are waiting to get back into Palestine. Palestinians have been waiting for more than three weeks, sleeping in the streets on the Egyptian side.

On a local radio interview this morning with one of the people who are stuck at the border, a 28 years old woman said: "There are thousands of us here, people who were outside of Gaza, who found the crossing closed when we tried to go home. There are children here who need medication, old women and men who are in very bad shape, and need medicine and water".

She added: "There is nowhere to sleep, very few bathrooms for thousands of people, most of us have run out of money and we can no longer survive like this — we appeal to all human rights organizations to end this terrible situation! People are dying and we don't know how to preserve their bodies and it's not possible to bury them here." She was appealing to the international community and the world to stop this humanitarian crisis at the Rafah border and to put pressure on Israel to reopen the border and let people return to Gaza, and to allow those inside Gaza who need to travel to hospitals, to do so.

So far, 9 Palestinians have died awaiting entry into the Gaza Strip on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing which has been closed for nearly three weeks.

At least 5,000 Palestinians, including 578 children, are considered to be "urgent humanitarian cases.

Two people died at the crossing on Tuesday - a 19 years old woman and a 17 month old infant.

The young woman, named Mona Ismail, was returning from an operation in a Cairo hospital. She died as a result of a severe deterioration in her medical condition as she waited at Rafah. The infant, who was stuck as well named Hamza Abu Taleb, died of heat stroke.

Two other people also died over the past few days while waiting at the crossing. Hani Dawahidi, 70, suffered a heart attack after waiting nine days to return to Gaza after receiving medical treatment in Egypt. Muhammed Shuhab, 15, also died at the crossing after undergoing heart surgery in Cairo and now I got more news from Rafah border saying a 28 years old woman just passed away while she was waiting at the Rafah border.

The people who are stuck on the Rafah border are in bad need for water, food, and medication, if this continues, the number of the people dying will increase, as well as to the skin diseases spreaded among people as a result of not washing themselves for three weeks and waiting under the hot summer days on the Rafah border.

Rafah border can no longer work, since Israel is not letting the European Union observers come and carry out their work as it used to work three weeks ago.

12 July 06

RIGHT NOW: Israeli tanks and bulldozers are in the Middle of the Gaza Strip, no movement is allowed. In theose first few minutes tanks and bulldozers pushed into the middle of Gaza controlling Salah Al Deen St. which is Gaza's main street. Five people have been killed and many others injured. This is the first time that Israeli tanks and bulldozers reached into the middle of Gaza, reoccupying the former Jewish settlements and carrying military attacks since the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, or what is known as the "Gaza disengagement plan". Gaza is under occupation. There is no electricity, no water and everything is obviously under Israeli control and now it's time for Israeli soldiers to control wether to let this ambulance go to the hospital to rescue victims, or to keep them waiting until they die bleeding. This has been happening all day today!

After the strike, a Palestinian woman crying

A wounded child in the hospital in Gaza. He was injured in his own home

Sleeping babies are among the victims

Fire fighters trying to dig out people from under the rubble

in Gaza, after the attack,

A wounded child in the hospital in Gaza

Minutes after a bomb hit the heart of Gaza

A Palestinian child who lost his life

Women mourning after the murder of a relative

The children, their parents and everybody were sleeping in their houses, in the middle of the night when the Israeli F16s bombed a house in the middle of Gaza City, in Al Shiekh Radwan village, killing 23 Palestinians and injuring 60. The bomb felt like an earthquake. "I was asleep, then we found ourselves suddenly in the middle of dust and the floor fell apart and the windows blew up" said Samah, a 14 years old girl who was bleeding at Al Shifa hospitals.

Samah's tears alone told the horror story — nine among the victims are from one family, most are children as well as their mother and father who is s a university professor.

The attack this time was overwhelming for the entire neighborhood. This air raid was allegedly targetting a Hamas leader. Naturally those really targetted are the children, women and civilians sleeping inside their homes. These photos are proof that Palestinians are getting killed for no reasons, except being on their own land.

A leaflet handed by Hamas militant wing vows painful responses to the Israeli assault into Gaza as the Israeli army pushes for a new offensive in the impoverished territory.

A total of 70 Palestinians have now been killed since Israel stepped up its massive ground assault into Gaza last Wednesday in a bid to secure the release of the missing teenage soldier and to halt rocket fire.

9 July 06

A Palestinian medical worker carrying the body of a man killed by Israelis

Palestinian Children lamenting during a funeral

Terrified Children

Israeli tank during the invasion of Gaza

Israeli bulldozers blocking the beach road north of Gaza

Israeli helicopter shelling the Northern Gaza Strip

Palestinian medical workers carrying an injured photojournalist

So far in Gaza, over 50 people have been killed and over 200 injured in the past 48 hours—the attack is still relentless, and we live under miserable conditions, where there is no water here and no water in the Gaza Strip..
The last incident was when Israeli helicopters bombed a civilian house killing three Palestinian family members, including a six-year-old girl. The girl, her older brother and her mother were killed in the air raid. The attack is also targetting the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat called on international aid organizations to help avert "human catastrophe" in Gaza, while Israel has rejected a call by Palestinian Premier Ismail Haniya for a mutual ceasefire.

Mohammed Al Zanoun - Maan News Agency - is still breathing and his camera will prove the Occupation's crimes against humanity:

Mohammed al Zanoun before he was injured [photo by Maan News Agency]

Mohammed al Zanoun lying down after being injured while he was taking photos in the north of gaza, he got injured in his mouth, body and eye [[photo by Maan News Agency]

Palestinian journalists and photographers living in Gaza are also targets of Israeli snipers. A helicopter responded to one photo that a Palestinian photographer shot with one rocket. Mohammed Al Zanoun, a Palestinian photographer who was covering the attack and taking photos in the Eastern part of Gaza City was attacked in this manner. Al Zanoun is a witness to Israeli Occupation crimes on Saturday morning, but the Israeli occupation army prevented him from transmitting these crimes and translating them into pictures. They shot at him and splinters from their projectiles seriously injured him. Zanoun was taken to the hospital for treatment with injuries to his mouth, chest and face.

Mohammed Al Zanoun, is a 20 year old Palestinian who's a new photographer working for Maan News Agency in the Gaza Strip. He has always insisted on being the first to cover the news, take photos and document thye Occupation's crimes against Palestinians.

Mohammed was injured and fell to the ground together with his camera, "Where is the camera? There are many photos in it which bear witness to the killing of Palestinians; there are many photos of the Palestinians who have been killed," he kept repeating as ambulance workers rushed to his rescue.

Mohammed has rejected his mother's pleas to stop taking photos for the time being and to stop from going out at all. The life of a Palestinian journalist seems to not count for human rights organizations. There have been many cases where Israeli soldiers killed whoever carryied a camera as if this camera was a weapon. And it is.

7 July 06

Civilians killed in their demolished homes

An injured man in Gaza

Yet another funeral

Twenty-eight Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours here, the horrible shelling is still going on, there is no food, no water, no electricity. No water for people to drink, the attack is getting worse, civilians are targeted everywhere by the Israeli Occupation Forces. Heavy shelling is going on right now, My laptop battery is dying, more news coming later.

Hundreds arrived the hospital after being injured, the hospitals have no room for those who were killed. Bodies are thrown out in the streets. Israeli Occupation Forces re-occupy the former Jewish settlements and so far, a large number of tanks and bulldozers are attacking other new areas here. All of northern Gaza is under siege, People are appealing to all human beings around the world to stop these attacks and to protect civilians from the Israeli US made F16 helicopters, tanks and bulldozers. .

6 July 06

A Palestinian boy injured while inside his house in Gaza.

Gaza civilians targetted by Israeli shelling

Gaza under attack

Palestinians carrying the body of a wounded civilian

A wounded civilian in Northern Gaza

A child crying at the funeral of Rami Abu Hashem in Northern Gaza

Palestinian woman running away from her home as shelling began

Survivors of the Israeli attack

On Thursday, Israeli Bulldozers devastated vast areas of arable lands in Beit Lahia and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. The war is still going on, and the Israeli Army is bombing everywhere in the Gaza Strip. This aims only to
terrify the children, women and old men sleeping in their houses. A Palestinian woman, 56, told me ' I don’t know why the world is still silent. Until when? They are killing us inside our homes. For the sake of God and all our children, please intervene and stop killing us in Gaza.' She was hiding inside her house and talking from a window of a kitchen, terrified of getting out of her house.

The number of people who were killed is increasing from one minute to the next. Now tens of people have been injured and killed in the north of Gaza. No water, no food, no electricity ... everything is under siege. The woman told me: "We have not been able to go to our farms and get vegetables to cook for the children." There was shooting towards us as she was speaking to me.

Israeli bulldozers began devastating agricultural lands here in Al Salateen area, west of Beit lahia and seized a house, turning it into a military post, used by Israeli soldiers as snipers.

Three bulldozers also razed wide area of olive trees and planted lands owned by Abu Anza and Abu Rjeila families in al Faraheen area, east Khan Younis refugee camp. The situation is getting worse all over in the southern and northern parts of the Gaza strip.

The children here are appealing to you and to everyone who will listen to stop this attack. The children are born to live and not to die by Israeli shelling which does not diffeneciate between targeting a child, a woman or even and old man praying in a mosque.

Two journalists were injured, both working for Al Jazeera TV, and some ambulance workers have also been targeted by the Israeli Army. In addition, the educational buildings, of the Islamic university, where I studied last semester was also the hardest hit by Israeli F 16s. An orphanage has been also been bombed. It is quite horrible here, and the bombing is still going on. Right now, a new rocket hit a building close by.. more news coming later when my laptop batteries are charged again.

3 July 06

Now, while I'm writing this update, Israeli F-16s and helicopters are hovering over and bombing the Gaza Strip. Water and fuel shortages are throughout the Gaza Strip, and it is clearly the beginning of a new humanitarian crises—no electricity in most of areas in Gaza, hospitals also have medicine shortages.

Thousands of Palestinians are stuck at the Rafah border and are in horrible situations: they are unable to return back home as a result of the closure of the crossing by Israeli Occupation Forces.

Bombing just right now by F-16s.

Children traumatized during the American-made F-16s bombings

Running out of fuel and water and other necessary supplies for survival

Palestinians run from Israeli rockets showered on them by the helicopters in Rafah

The Wall at the Rafah Refugee Camp

Women crying at a funeral in Gaza

30 June 06

Funerals in the Southern part of Gaza Strip

Targetting the Palestinian Interior Ministry by helicopter last night

It might be the last time to get online, I have so many things to do. I have been doing many interviews today and none of them I was comfortable with while I was talking. It is hell here, we have so many problems now in Gaza. I don’t know what to do, but I will just go ahead and continue working on many things. I will load these photos then I should leave now. I have no time to write that much, but I guess photos could speak much better.