Bodies of members of the Samouni family targ have been retrieved at the site of the appalling Zaytoun massacre. 27 people are dead after 30 family members were herded into a house by the IDF which the IAF then bombed.
Over the course of four days, the Israelis then left the sick and dying – all civilians, the majority small children—with no medical assistance, food or water, even though Israelis enjoyed total control over the area. At the same time, they refused repeated requests for access to the neighborhood by aid workers.
More on this horrific massacre in this story – Bodies unearthed from rubble as Israel violates ceasefire
Sameh Habeeb offers his on the ground report in Gaza.
Day 23 of Israeli War On Gaza
Informative Report on Gaza War: Death toll 1310, wounded 5600By: Sameh A. Habeeb:
A Photojournalist, Humanitarian & Peace Activist in Gaza Strip.Dear Editors, Journalists and Friends,
Thousands of people appeared on the Gaza streets. Everybody is trying to explore what has happened to his relatives, houses and areas. I have documented a massive devastation throughout east, north and west of Gaza Strip. The devastating storms everything needed for normal life. Houses, schools, hospitals, clinics, police stations, charities, universities and streets totally and partially destroyed.
More than 100 dead corps were found today by paramedics mostly civilians and a family of 8 members. Samouni family which was massacred before found 17 more dead bodies under the rubbles. Many families still seek rest of members and relatives who were lost during the war time.
Here you have the photos of today: http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb/PostIsraeliWarOnGaza#
This is a new report for the 23nd day of Gaza War and the outcomes of Israeli invasion. For more reporting, breaking news, interviews and accounts in Gaza, you could reach me on my contact info below. Please try both numbers below because there is a big problem in communication resulted in Israeli power cuts.
I’m available 24 hours for media coverage in occupied Gaza. You could reach me any time in my house through this: Landline: 0097282802825 or Landline: 0097082802825 or Mob: 00972599306096PLEASE: FORWARD THIS EMAIL IN SIPPORT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY!
Mob: 00972599306096
Landline: 0097282802825
E-mail:
Skype: Gazatoday, Facebook: Sameh A. habeeb
Web: www.gazatoday.blogspot.com
Daily Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb
Please, make sure you forward this email to those who you feel are interested in this matter.
Day 23 of Israeli War On Gaza
Daily Feed About Gaza War:
1-Ceasfire started 2 Am Palestine time but the fire didn’t stop.
2-Exchange of fire in the eastern part of Gaza City.
2-A phosphorous bomb hit the eastern part of Gaza City.
3-Israeli F16s launched 3 air strikes in the north and east part of Gaza City.
4-Israeli F16s broke into the Gaza Strip space causing a case of fear and panic for civilians.
5-Samouni family found another 17 members dead under the rubbles of their house. Some of them were killed by shells and some others executed by live bullets.
6-Palestinian paramedics and medical staff found around 100 corps of dead people in various locations in Gaza.
7-Palestinian factions fired 6 rockets into Israeli territories.
8-Phosperous bombs still burning in many areas.
From the ICRC:
Gaza: Grief and devastation as fighting abates
Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Date: 18 Jan 2009
As fighting in Gaza has dropped off, people have been venturing out to look for missing relatives and see what is left of their lives. For many, the rubble reveals only further pain and despair.
Sunday morning, ICRC teams and ambulances of the Palestine Red Crescent Society rushed to areas that had previously been difficult or even impossible to get to because of the fighting. By midday, approximately 100 badly decayed bodies had been retrieved from under the rubble. Sadly, no survivors were found, raising fears that the actual death toll could climb in coming days.
Many people who had fled went to extract their own dead loved ones from what had once been their home. Some were transporting bodies by whatever means they could find for immediate burial in the cemeteries. “We saw the bodies of two old women being taken away by family members on a donkey cart. Both had head wounds,” said Iyad Nasr, the ICRC’s spokesman in Gaza. “It is almost impossible to describe the grief and devastation in that particular place.”
A number of areas, including parts of Beit Lahiya, looked like the aftermath of a strong earthquake – entire neighbourhoods were beyond recognition. Some houses had been completely levelled; others were still standing but were so badly damaged by shelling that it would be too dangerous to move back in. Roads were completely destroyed, making it almost impossible for vehicles to move through them. Friends and neighbours who had not seen one another for weeks hugged as they returned to their homes. Others sifted through the rubble, looking for pieces of furniture or kitchen utensils that could still be used.
As the fighting largely came to a halt and civilians no longer had to concentrate on simple survival, they now tried to come to terms with their loss.
“An old man approached me as I was assessing destruction in a neighbourhood,” said Nasr. “He told me that everything he had worked for all his life, everything he had achieved, had been destroyed: his house, his orchards of olive, citrus and palm trees. Everything. Then he wept. He just stood there with me and wept.”
ICRC activities
– ICRC staff have begun assessing the immediate needs of the population in Tel Al-Hawa, Al-Atatra and Jabaliya, which were among the areas of Gaza City worst affected by the three weeks of hostilities.
– The ICRC coordinated the trucking of fuel to Shifa Hospital and to the Specialized Paediatric Hospital in Gaza City to ensure that generators can meet the electricity needs.
– The ICRC surgical team at Shifa Hospital continued to work in support of Palestinian doctors treating the injured. Sunday has been a relatively quiet day, ICRC surgeons reported with relief. Shifa Hospital, overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients in recent days, received 50 mattresses and 100 blankets to improve accommodation for the injured and sick.
– ICRC staff escorted Palestinian engineers to assess damage to the Sheikh Ajleen wastewater-treatment plant south of Gaza City, hit by shelling several days ago. Repair work is planned for Monday.
Activities of the Palestine Red Crescent Society
Red Crescent ambulance teams have been searching all day for survivors and injured people, focusing on areas worst affected by the weeks of fighting. Together with other local ambulance services, including those of the Ministry of Health, Red Crescent staff have helped evacuate bodies found in the rubble.
Meanwhile, repair work continued at the Red Crescent’s Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, which was hit by shelling on 15 January. Some services may resume in the next few days, enabling dozens of patients to be treated.
Between the start of the hostilities until Sunday’s cease-fire, the ICRC and the Palestine Red Crescent were able to evacuate almost 1,100 people caught in the crossfire.
For further information, please contact
Marçal Izard, ICRC Geneva, tel. +41 22 730 34 43
Anne-Sophie Bonefeld, ICRC Jerusalem, tel. +972 2 582 88 45 or +972 52 601 91 50
Iyad Nasr, ICRC Gaza, tel. +972 59 960 30 15 (Arabic)
Yael Segev-Eytan, ICRC Tel Aviv, tel. +972 3 524 52 86 or +972 52 275 75 17 (Hebrew)
Nadia Dibsy, ICRC Jerusalem, tel. +972 5917900 or +972 52 601 91 48 (Arabic)
or visit our website: www.icrc.org
The OCHA Situation Report for the 18th detailing casualties is available here.
Since Israel began its slaughter on the 27th December, of 1300 Palestinian people dead, 410 (32%) are children, 104 (8%) are women.
There are 5,300 injured people, with 1855 (35%) children, and 795 (15%) women.
13 Israelis are dead, with 84 injured.
UNRA was also savaged, with 5 staff skilled, 5 injured, 3 contractors killed and 4 injured and 1 WFP contractors dead and 2 injured.
50 UN Buildings, 1 Compound, 1 NGO Installation and 4 Convoys were targetted, with an unknown number of NGO compounds hit.
1. A unilateral ceasefire in Gaza was declared by Israel at 0200 hrs (0000 hrs GMT) on 18 January. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) troops remain inside Gaza, but have withdrawn from some of the most populated areas, including Al Zaitoun, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun. Israel stated that it will not fully withdraw forces until there is a cessation of rocket fire into Israel from Palestine.
2. Limited violence, including Israeli bombardment and rocket fire from Palestine into Israel continued until the afternoon (local time) on 18 January. As at 1600 hrs (1400 hrs GMT), seventeen rockets were fired into Israel from Palestine on 18 January. At 1600 hrs (1400 hrs GMT) on 18 January, Hamas announced a week-long ceasefire, during which they said the IDF is to leave Gaza
3. The UN Secretary General stated that he was, “relieved that the Israeli Government has decided to cease hostilities…and that Hamas must stop firing rockets”. He urged that the ceasefire be the first step toward establishing a durable and sustainable ceasefire leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, as called for by Security Council resolution 1860. He also stressed that urgent access for the people of Gaza is the immediate priority, and that the UN is ready to support these efforts.
4. On 17 January a UN Relief and World Agency (UNRWA) school was shelled. Two children were killed in the attack and fourteen were injured. The school was functioning as an emergency shelter at the time it was hit, and was hosting 1,600 people. The UN Secretary General condemned the incident as “outrageous” and, “strongly demanded a thorough investigation into these incidents, and the punishment of those who are responsible for these appalling acts.”
5. To better establish the immediate humanitarian and early recovery needs, planning is underway to conduct an inter-agency assessment in Gaza, followed by sector-specific assessments, as the security situation permits.
ADDITIONAL READING ON THE UNILATERAL ‘CEASEFIRE’
@rafahkid “Declaring Israel had attained its goals, he said it would continue to occupy Gaza.” chances for ceasefire?
Collective action to stop Israel can be enforced
Opposition to U.S., Israel unites conference attendees
Bob Ostertag A Better Source for News on Gaza
Brian Klug, A crisis in Judaism
UPDATE 29 JANUARY
Surprise, surprise, the Washington Post comes good with an in depth look at the Zaytoun massacre.
At least 29 members of the Samuni family died over the next two weeks — including Almaz’s mother and two brothers. Sixteen or more were killed Jan. 5 when at least two Israeli shells smashed Wael al-Samuni’s crowded house. At least six others wounded in that attack died more slowly, over more than three days when the Israeli army kept emergency vehicles from entering the neighborhood, according to another teenager who had been stranded and later rescued from the house.
From November 11th 08
So who was really there first, and who was in charge of the religious hocus pocus mumbo jumbo? Surprise – women of the Natufian nomadic tribe were priestesses/shamans – 12,000-Year-Old Shaman Unearthed in Israel