New Israeli Massacres in UN Schools in Gaza

Kawther Salam

The Israeli war criminals committed horrible massacres in the Jabalia refugee camp today Tuesday January 6 2009. They bombed many houses of Palestinian civilians, and the UN schools in the Jabalia and Rafah refugee camps, Killing more than 135 civilian and wounding more than 400, more than half of the victims were children and women.

The Israeli criminal forces fired deliberately at three UNRWA schools in Gaza after the faculty administration of the UN schools informed the Israeli Authorities about the presence of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in these schools, who had fled from their homes and were using these UN schools as a shelter from Israeli strikes and the freezing winter weather. The Israeli criminals had also ordered the Palestinian civilians to leave their homes, and they were aware of where these civilian stayed when they bombed the places. It is a clear event of Genocide and ethnic cleansing according to the Palestinians testimonies.

45 civilians were murdered due to the bombings of the Al-Fakhora school in Jabalia, which happened as a direct response to the humanitarian request received from the UN school administration..
Another 100 Palestinian civilians were injured, among them dozens in critical conditions. Medical sources stated that two Israeli rockets exploded inside and outside the UN refugee school where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge from the Israeli attacks. The rockets murdered 45 and injured over hundred. There was no more place in the hospital refrigerators for the bodies of the dead people, who were left in the yard next to the hospital.

A Palestinian family, father, mother and their five children, were killed by shells fired from Israeli Navy ships in the Al-Shati refugee camp. An elderly man and his grandson were killed in the Zeitoun neighborhood before dawn. And also another 13 civilian civilians were murdered in another massacre in the southern part of Gaza in Zeitoun neighborhood, in which they were buried under heaps of rubble of their house after the Israeli air force lunched missiles on it. Parents, their children and their grandchildren all were murdered.

In another incident, 22 Palestinians from the Shamalkh and Samouni families were massacred under the rubble of their house and 35 were injured, among them 10 in critical conditions, because the Israeli forces bombed a mosque in the area were lived.

In another massacre within the Israeli ethnic cleansing of southern Gaza, all members of the Al-Daya family were murdered. The victims were the father, the mother, and their children Fayez, the daughter in law Rawan, Muhammad, aged 6 months, Sharaf Al-Din, aged of 5 years, Ala, aged 8 years, Rania, aged 12 and Doha, aged 3 years. Other 5 people are known to have been killed in the incident at same house, while many are still under the rubble of the 4-floor-house.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 110 children, youths and women were among the Palestinians murdered today and yesterday. This figure do not include the people killed in the evening and night hours, neither those killed on Monday morning.

American Soldiers at the Egyptian border

An increased number of dead and the wounded people in Gaza are left at the hospitals and medical centers, where there are no medical supplies. The medical staff are not able to cover the relief and to cope with the huge numbers of wounded people. According to sources from Gaza, the Egyptians are not allowing the medical relief to reach Gaza, and there is a team of American soldiers working at the Egyptian border impeding the movement of humanitarian relief supplies into Gaza. The American team arrived the Egyptian border due political agreement between the Egyptian government and the USA. The Egyptians are justifying the presence of the American soldiers at their border as "a step to prevent the flow of weapons into Gaza".

During a phone call to Gaza, an old woman, Umm Shamekh Badra, answered my questions about the current conditions. She said that the life of one million and a half Palestinian in Gaza is miserable. They live without food, water and electricity. The only light which she had yesterday night was the light of the Israeli bombs and the buildings burning. They live death, hunger, constant funerals, ethnic cleansing. They do not receive any humanitarian or medical treatments or relief. She said that the Egyptians had closed the borders and are enjoying the slow cold death of the people of Gaza.

Umm Shamekh was not able to reach her son in another room of the same house because of the darkness, she asked me to wait a moment on the phone while she searched for a match to make some light. While I was waiting for Umm Shamekh, I heard a noise - she had crashed into something in the room before she could find a match. I heard her weak voice cursing the awful life she lives and wishing for a miracle to end the occupation and the war.

Jordanian King Abdullah II today finally warned about an ongoing conspiracy against the Palestinians in Gaza. He expressed his deep concern due what will happen to Gaza and what measures will be taken against all Palestinians after the end of the current Israeli war crimes. It appears that the King has understood that the Jews have no friends, no matter how much someone licks their arse.

"Shame on the UN", the demonstrators chanted before the UN in Vienna
Today hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in front of the UN office in Vienna against the Israeli war crimes. Over 700 men, women and children from different parts of the Arab community as well as Austrian, leftist organizations Sirbian and Turkish, participated in the day of anger against the Israeli crimes.

The demonstrators held and wore Palestinian flags. They raised photos of dead children and of the destruction of Gaza, together with black, yellow and red, and Austrian flags.
The demonstrators held signs with different titles and colors: "Stop the Massacre", "Let Gaza live", "We all are Gaza", "Children killer - Kinder Mörder", "No war, don’t kill", … They all chanted "Gaza massacre Shame on the UN", "Al-laho Akbar Takbier - God is great and above all", "Israeli terrorists", "Occupation is a crime", " Bel-Rouh Be Aldam, Nifdik ya Gaza - With our sprit and our blood we sacrifice for Gaza", "Stop the occupation", "Go to Hell, Israel," and "Free Palestine". A coffin covered with a Palestinian flag and the pictures of the murdered children from Gaza was seen on the floor in the middle of the demonstrators in front of the UN office.

The demonstrators held signs with different titles and colors: "Stop the Massacre", "Let Gaza live", "We all are Gaza", "Children killer - Kinder Mörder", "No war, don’t kill", … They all chanted "Al-laho Akbar Takbier - God is great and above all", "Israeli terrorists", "Occupation is a crime", " Bel-Rouh Be Aldam, Nifdik ya Gaza - With our sprit and our blood we sacrifice for Gaza", "Stop the occupation", "Go to Hell, Israel," and "Free Palestine".
Several speeches were read before the demonstrators in front of the UN office in Vienna. The speakers were representatives of several Islamic organizations, the Arab, Turkish, Palestinian communities. The all demanded the UN to stop the Israeli war crimes against the million and a half Palestinian in Gaza and the inhuman situation which the Palestinian live since years under blockade, about the shortage of food, electricity and oil.
The speakers clarified that the continued killing of Palestinians is a war crime which must end according to international treaties and laws. They all criticized the silence of the international community toward the crimes against the Palestinian civilians, and demanded that the international community take seriously their responsibility to end the Israeli war crimes.