Sp

ec
ia
lF
ile

Gaza lies under rains of fire.

Gaza’s children are children
without childhood.
without food, without water,
without a shelter.
They are living without a life.

Help Gaza
1
contents
Deserted streets
This is the truth and fear as Israel
demolishes Gaza.

Rights orgs: UN
New Year in Gaza. body must act
to end Gaza war
crimes .

The civilian targets Some of Gaza’s

of Israel’s bombing . suffering

The radio reported

that my friend was Presentation
under the rubble.

If there is an Israeli
invasion hospitals Innocence dreams
will collapse
This is
the truth
Hamas fairly won the 2006 UN monitored elections. Israel and
its allies, who were unhappy about the democratic choice of the
Palestinian people, waged a relentless war against Hamas, start-
ing with the collective punishment of all the people of Gaza. The
Israelis blocked all border crossings, starved the people of Gaza,
disconnected electricity and fuel, limited medical supplies and
continued with massacring Hamas activists, including their
families and neighbours (that also included sleeping women and
children). In response, Hamas fired home-made rockets over the
border of Israel, in a desperate attempt to respond to Israeli ag-
gression. To stop rocket fire, Israel launched an aerial bombard-
ment of the most densely populated territory in the world. The
disproportionate attacks have lead to 636 Palestinian deaths, of
whom the majority have been policemen, and a second are civil-
ians, whilst only 5 Israelis have been killed. Many suspect that
the attacks are a ploy by the current Israeli government to get
public support ahead of the upcoming elections this year.
Help Gaza
3
New Year in Gaza
«Our fireworks are the Israeli missiles»
Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 31 December 2008

«Look outside, F-16 jet fighters

are smiling for you, missiles are
dancing for you, zannana [the
Palestinian name for pilotless
drones] are singing for you. I re-
quested them all to wish you a
happy new year.» That was the
darkly humorous text message
Fathi Tobal, a Gaza City resi-
dent, received from a friend on
his mobile phone today.
Tobal added ironically, «While
other people around the world
celebrate, it seems the Israeli air
force is trying to save us the cost
of fireworks.»
On New Year’s Eve in Gaza, 1.5
million Palestinians are confined
to their homes under candlelight
and with scarce food supplies, but
worst of all with the constant fear
of the bombs which have already
killed almost 400 people, and in-
jured 2,000.
Peace, only peace is everyone’s
wish for 2009. They have no oth-
er dreams or wishes but to live in
the peace that they have yearned
for since Israel occupied their
lands in 1967.
But for the fifth day, Israeli
warplanes have bombed homes,
ministerial buildings, munici-
pal buildings, mosques, univer-
sities and charities throughout
the densely crowded Gaza Strip.
While Israel has attacked Gaza
many times, residents say this is
the worst they have lived through
since the occupation began.
Dr. Asad Abu Sharekh, a univer-
sity professor and a political ana-
lyst who lives at the Tal al-Hawa
neighborhood in Gaza City, said,
«this world should wake up; in-
stead of dancing and drinking,
they should move right away
to stop the new holocaust being
waged against the civilian popu-
lation of Gaza.»

Help Gaza
4
«Their [Israel’s] deputy defense
minister Matan Vilnai said
outright that there would be a
greater holocaust,» Abu Sharekh
said, referring to comments Vil-
nai made last March when Is-
raeli bombing killed more than
100 people in Gaza. «The United
States has promised Israel thou-
sands more missiles,» he added,
«the alleged international com-
munity must move to protect the
legitimate rights of a people un-
der occupation.»

«Our music for the New Year is

the sound of Israeli warplanes,
our lights for the New Year is the
fire made by Israeli missiles,»
said Raed Samir, 32, from the
central Gaza Strip. «As you see, I
am trying to see a friend of mine
at his shop, and that’s what I can
do, chatting a bit and smoking a
cigarette.»
Ola al-Helo, a 26-year-old woman
who works for women’s non-gov-
ernmental organization in Gaza
City, said bluntly of the situa-
tion: «It is shit.»
Hamada Hammad, 22, recalled
on this day last year, he, his par-
ents, sisters and his brothers-
in-law, enjoyed a day out at the
Gaza City’s al-Jundi al-Majhoul
square.
A house is bombed in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 31
)December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages
«Today I can’t even go to my work-
place. As you see, warplanes are
casting fear everywhere. I hope
that young people outside will do
something in solidarity with us,
the youth of Palestine,» Hammad
added.
For the the family of Ali Shaath,
75, of Rafah, at the southern end
of the Gaza Strip, New Year’s Eve
meant a new refuge as 25 fam-
ily members fled their home near
the border with Egypt to escape
Israeli bombing.
Israel has bombed the border
area intensively under the pre-
text of targeting the under-

Help Gaza
5
ground tunnels through which es-
sential supplies are brought into
besieged Gaza. The bombing has
forced many other families to seek
refuge with relatives or in school
buildings.
«Can you imagine, we are now
crowded into my small two-room
apartment, as my parents, sisters
and brothers have been forced to
stay with me for fear of the Israel
air raids on their neighborhood,»
said Marwan, 40, one of Shaath’s
sons whose home in Bader refugee
camp is further from the border.
Marwan did not conceal his out-
rage when he asked, «What new
year celebration? It does not even
exist in our terminology. Maybe
they have a word for it in Syria
or India or Egypt, where I used to
live. How can we celebrate when
we lack electricity, bread and
cooking gas?»
Israel is bombing Gaza under the
pretext of stopping rockets fired
from Gaza into Israel ever since
Israel violated a five-month old
ceasefire on 4 November and then
tightened its blockade on the Gaza
Strip. Israel says its attacks will
continue and even escalate and
there are reports of preparations
for a ground invasion.
Over the past five days, Israeli
Help Gaza
6
warplanes have been raiding many
parts of the coastal region under
the pretext of halting homemade
shells fire from Gaza into nearby
Israeli towns.
Israel says its attacks on Gaza
will continue until the underlined
objectives are reached as a ground
offensive is looming in the horizon
very soon, according to Israeli of-
ficials.
Fathi Tobal was right; Israel has
saved us the fireworks. Just 20
minutes before midnight, here
in al-Maghazi refugee camp, as I
write this report, two bombs have
hit my town. In Arabic, people ex-
change the New Year’s greeting,
«Kul am wa antum bi khair» (May
you be safe and well every year).
From Gaza I say, «Kul qasif wa
antum bi khair.» May you be safe
after every bombing.
Rami Almeghari is contributor to
The Electronic Intifada, IMEMC.
org and Free Speech Radio News
and is a part-time lecturer on me-
dia and political translation at the
Islamic University of Gaza. Rami
is also a former senior English
translator at and editor-in-chief
of the international press center
of the Gaza-based Palestinian In-
formation Service. He can be con-
Gaza
tacted at rami_almeghari@hot-
mail.com.
The civilian targets of Israel’s bombing
Report, Al Mezan, 31 December 2008
A building destroyed by Israeli bombing in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, 30 December
2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages) 12:30pm Gaza Time (+2hrs GMT
The Israeli Occupation Forces
(IOF) has continued its military
operation in the Gaza Strip for
the fifth day. Today, it targeted an
ambulance and its medical crew
with a missile, killing a doctor and
an orderly and critically injuring
its driver. According to Al Mezan
Center’s monitoring, the number
of Palestinian casualties since the
start of Israel’s Operation Cast
Lead at 11:30am on 27 December
2008 has risen to 315, of whom 41
were children and nine women.
At least 939 people have been in-
jured, including 85 children and
52 women. The number of civilian
objects that have been destroyed is
as follows:
•112 houses have been destroyed
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7
completely and approximately
3,500 houses damaged;
• Seven mosques have been com-
pletely destroyed from direct air
strikes;
• 38 private industrial and agricul-
tural enterprises have been com-
pletely destroyed;
•16 schools have been damaged;
•Nine CBO offices were completely
destroyed;
•Eight private vehicles were de-
stroyed;
•16 governmental facilities were
destroyed.
Moreover, 20 security installations
were targeted and destroyed. All of
these targets were struck from the
air. Hundreds of heavy missiles
have been fired on the Gaza Strip,
some of which on open fields.

Today, at approximately 1:50 am,
an Israeli aircraft fired a missile
at an ambulance that arrived in
the Jabal al-Rayis neighborhood
in the northeast of Gaza City af-
ter a call to rescue injured people.
The crew, a doctor, driver and or-
derly, were targeted just after they
stepped out of the ambulance. As
a result, the orderly, 30-year-old
Mohammed Sa’eed Abu Hasira,
was immediately killed. The doc-
tor, 33-year-old Ihab al-Madhoun,
died from the wounds he sustained
in this attack later in the morning.
The driver, 30-year-old Hishmat
Ajour, sustained critical wounds
and is still at hospital.
Meanwhile, the health sector in
Gaza has continued to suffer from
the very high number of casualties
and injuries it has been forced to
deal with under severe shortages
in medical necessities, which is
the result of the Israeli prolonged
siege on the Gaza Strip. Many
health facilities have little materi-
als and dozens of wounded people
face greater threats on their life as
a result.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
asserts, according to its monitor-
ing of the situation on the ground,
that the IOF has perpetrated grave
breaches of the international hu-
Help Gaza
8
manitarian law, amounting to war
crimes and crimes against human-
ity, in the course of its military
actions in Gaza. The Center also
asserts that the vast majority of
IOF’s targets in Gaza are civilian
targets that must not be deliber-
ately targeted. This includes hous-
es, mosques, police stations and at
least one ambulance. Most of the
casualties are not combatants and
were not involved in any hostilities
when they were targeted by IOF.
This behavior reflects a blatant
disregard of civilian life and of the
international law that is supposed
to protect it.
Al Mezan Center condemns the
IOF’s violations of international
law applicable in times of belliger-
ent occupation and armed conflict.
In particular, the violations by IOF
of the Fourth Geneva Convention
and its Protocol I have caused ex-
treme suffering as well as loss of
civilian life. Articles 15-19 of the
Convention prohibit the disruption
of the working of health facilities
during times of conflict. Article 20
requires respect and protection of
the persons who are involved in the
search for civilians, the sick, the
wounded, the elderly and mothers
and care for them. IOF violates in-
ternational humanitarian law by
imposing a strangulating blockade
that disrupts, and sometimes pre-
vents, the provision of humanitari-
an aid to the population of the Gaza
Strip.

As such, and as the silence of inter- what did this

national community continues to
allow for such violations of inter- children do ?!
national humanitarian law and hu-
man rights standards; including the
perpetration of war crimes in Gaza,
Al Mezan Center calls upon the in-
ternational community to uphold
its legal and ethical obligations by
taking effective measures to ensure
Israel’s compliance with the appli-
cable rules of international law, and
to ensure the protection of civilians
and civilian objects in Gaza. Al Me-
zan finds it ironic that the interna-
tional community continues to call
for such compliance while it must
act to ensure it, to protect and aid
civilians, and to prevent the perpe-
tration of grave breaches of interna-
tional humanitarian law.
Over 350 Palestinian civilians
Al Mezan Center welcomes the pop- have been killed by the Israeli
ular protests against the Israeli vio- army , in cold blood !
lations of human rights and inter-
national humanitarian law in Gaza, What happening in Gaza is a
and the worldwide solidarity with Slaughter against innocent
its people. The Center calls on civil Palestinian civilians: children,
societies to double their efforts to mothers, and old men.
exert pressure of their governments
so that they act in conformity with
their human rights and humanitar-
ian obligations.

Help Gaza
9
«The radio reported that my friend was
under the rubble»
Dr. Haider Eid writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 31 December 2008

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed police compound following an Israeli air-
strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 29 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

Dr. Haidar Eid is an Associate Professor in the Department of English

Literature, Al-Aqsa University, Gaza Strip, Palestine. He gave the fol-
lowing testimony to Eva Bartlett at 5pm Gaza Time on 30 December:

I was lying in my bedroom when the first strike happened, around 1:30
in the morning. A strike isn’t just one explosion, it’s a series of explo-
sions. Boom, boom, boom, boom. The whole building shook. I woke up
and went to the bathroom first, and within 30 seconds the second strike
hit. F-16s were bombing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, about
500 meters away. I could hear glass shattering everywhere. I went back
into the bedroom and saw glass everywhere, all over the bed which is
right up against the window. If I had been lying there still, it would
have shattered all over me, would have seriously injured me, or worse.
It was a very strong blast, and the glass must have hit the bed with
great force.

10
Help Gaza
under the rubble
I brought a mattress into the liv-
ing room, which faces the sea, and
lay down trying to sleep there. Mo-
ments later, I heard a huge explo-
sion, the third strike, this time from
an area closer to the sea. The front,
sea-facing window exploded into
the room, landing on the desk and
the floor, thankfully too far from
where I was lying.
I tried to call a friend who lives two
buildings away from the ministries.
He’s got five children, ages five to
15. He said they were okay, but the
children were terrified, screaming.
I went into the third room, a spare
bedroom, and saw that the win-
dows were already broken. I looked
through the shards of glass and
saw that four ambulances had
come, as well as two fire engines.
Help Gaza
11
There were huge, black clouds. I
was looking at the ambulances and
the people below when another
strike against the compound hap-
pened, another series of explosions.
Again, my building shook from the
impact. I heard people screaming,
there was more smoke, fire, and a
terrible smell. I don’t know what ...
the smell of death, I guess.
The radio reported that my friend,
Dr. Fawaz Abu Sitta, whose house
is just in front of the ministry com-
pound, was buried under the rub-
ble of his home. I was stunned, it
really affected me badly. He’s such
a kind man, and I couldn’t believe
it. I called friends, I was so worried,
and 15 minutes later finally learned
that another friend had spoken to
him: he and his wife were okay, in
the basement of their house, locked
in because some-
thing had fallen
against the door.
The compound has
three or four min-
istries, and each
building has eight
to ten floors. So I’d
imagine you need
three missiles for
each building. So
far there’d been
three sets of hits
against the buildings, as well as
ongoing strikes around Gaza City
and the Strip.
I could hear some of the explosions
in Gaza’s neighborhoods, and the
radio kept reporting the latest ex-
plosions. They were everywhere:
Sheikh Radwan (a district of Gaza
City, where my brother and his
family live. I started calling him,
but he didn’t answer), Zaytoun
(another district of Gaza), Jaba-
liya, Beit Hanoun ...
All the time, the building was shak-
ing, like an earthquake. These were
the loudest explosions I’ve ever
heard. It was terrible, frighten-
ing, confusing. And you know, you
don’t know where to run, what to
do. I looked outside, but it was too
dark, too filled with black smoke
... I don’t know what kind of bombs
Israel is using, something that cre-
ates fire, and very dark smoke. I
could hear children screaming in
my own building, screeching from
fear. My landlord is in his eighties,
and his wife had a stroke last year
and cannot walk. They live on the
12th floor. I couldn’t imagine how
they were feeling then, completely
helpless, the power out, no way of
escaping if our building was hit, or
even if it wasn’t hit, but just to es-
cape the terror.
Help Gaza
12
I took my mattress and went to the
corridor this time, the last place I
could try. I lay down, and listened
to the radio reporting the latest.
And I continued to hear blasts all
over.
Forty-five minutes after the third
strike, they came back, to fin-
ish the job against the ministe-
rial compound. With the fourth
strike, more glass shattered, what
was left of it. I rushed to the win-
dow closest to the attacks, already
shattered, and again tried to see
through dark smoke. But I couldn’t
see anything, but could hear am-
bulances below, more screaming.
The electricity was off, the land-
lines down. No phone lines, no In-
ternet, no cell phone connection. I
had no way of speaking to anyone.
It was very isolating, terrifying.
It seems ridiculous to go back to
bed after all of this, to try to sleep.
But there is really nowhere I felt
safe, so I went back to the mattress
in the corridor. It started raining,
and I could see rain coming in the
sea-view window, and my bedroom
window. I got up, tried to cover
things ... my laptop, my stereo ... I
was just trying to save my things.
And there was glass all over the
floor, I was stepping on it.
This morning, my nieces came
over, and when they saw my bed-
room with the broken windows
and thick shards of glass where
my head and body would have
been, they were horrified, started
crying.
We still have glass everywhere.
We tried to clean ... it’s every-
where.
I heard later that they used more
than 40 bombs, which when you
add up all the strikes is entirely
possible.
After the attacks, the drones were
all over, flying low, buzzing like
huge mosquitoes. The sound they
make, it’s loud, grating, and you
know it means they’re consider-
ing what to do next. They were
up there the rest of the night, fly-
ing circles, coming lower, going
back up, the pitch of their whine
raising, going away, coming back
... They want to make their pres-
ence felt. They are really saying to
us, «we can do whatever we want,
with impunity.»
“Why was he Killed” asked Omer
We were Just playing football
Can they live in peace ?!!
Help Gaza
13
There’s only so much one can bear,
you know. You can’t think clearly.
I don’t know what to do.
People are afraid they might strike
the Ministry of Justice and next to
it the Ministry of Education, just
up the street, about 400-500 me-
ters.
Update: 8am, 31 December, the
Council of Ministers, hosting the
prime minister’s office, was tar-
geted Tuesday night at around
8:50pm, along with the Ministry
of Interior in Tel al-Hawa (just
500 meters from Dr. Eid’s home),
which was targeted for the third
time. Both were completely de-
stroyed.
Eva Bartlett is a Canadian hu-
man rights advocate and free-
lancer who spent eight months in
2007 living in West Bank commu-
nities and four months in Cairo
and at the Rafah crossing. She
is currently based in Gaza, after
the third successful voyage of the
Free Gaza Movement to break the
siege on Gaza.
 «If there is an Israeli invasion hospitals will
collapse»
Report, The Electronic Intifada, 31 December 2008

A Palestinian injured by Israeli air strikes in Gaza arrives at Nasser hospital in Cairo,
Egypt, 30 December 2008. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages)

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - In Gaza’s main hospital,

the director’s office is under virtual siege, according to an IRIN
journalist in Gaza. Relatives of the injured are desperate to get
their kin transferred to Egypt for emergency treatment. There is
a fear here that the already overstretched healthcare system will
collapse if Israel mounts a ground offensive into the tiny coastal
strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.

As of the night of 30 December the death toll from the Israeli offen-
sive had reached 380, with 1,800 wounded, according to the Gaza
health ministry. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said
30 children and nine women were among the dead and 250 chil-
dren had been injured.

Fifteen medical patients passed through the Rafah border crossing

into Egypt for emergency care on that day, said WHO.

Help Gaza
14
 Hospitals in the enclave have
been overwhelmed by the trau-
ma cases flowing into emergen-
cy rooms since the morning of
27 December.
An official from the Palestin-
ian Medical Relief Society, Aed
Yaghi, said at a press conference
on 30 December that there were
2,053 hospital beds in Gaza, and
warned it was not enough.
«One hundred and fifty patients
were brought in at once,» said
Khaled Abu-Najar, a staff nurse
in al-Shifa’s emergency room.
«We lack beds, sterile gloves,
sheets, scissors and gauze to
treat patients.»
Shortages
He said there were shortages
of chest tubes, forceps, artery
clamps, ventilators and moni-
tors.
Nearly half of the emergency
room staff are volunteers re-
cruited since 27 December, said
Abu-Najar.
«We are short of rooms and sup-
plies, we are up to our necks,»
said Ramez Zyara, one of nine
general surgeons working 24-
hour shifts at al-Shifa. The
small team treated hundreds
Help Gaza
15
of patients on 30 December for
crush injuries and severe trau-
ma.
«The buildings are falling on
the heads of the patients,» said
Zyara.
The intensive care (ICU), burns,
orthopedic and surgery units
have reached capacity, said al-
Shifa hospital director Hussein
Ashur, while 10 of the 12 oper-
ating rooms are being used for
emergency care.
There are 25 life support sys-
tems -- also used to measure a
patient’s blood pressure, tem-
perature, oxygen circulation
and heart activity -- in the ICU
of al-Shifa. «We need at least 25
more,» said Ashur.
He also said there were short-
ages of dressings, and gauze
used in X-ray machines.
«We have not received medical
supplies at al-Shifa for three
months,» said Ashur.
The first emergency medical
aid deliveries reached Gaza on
30 December. Some 90 trucks
-- 53 supplied by aid agencies --
entered via the Kerem Shalom
crossing, according to WHO.
 Kamal Adwan hospital
Kamal Adwan is the primary
hospital serving Jabaliya and
Beit Lahiya. Jabaliya, Gaza’s
largest refugee camp, is home
to 300,000.
The hospital lacks medicine,
including basic antibiotics, an-
algesics and hydrocortisone,
said hospital director Bassam
Abu-Warda.
«If there is a major Israeli inva-
sion we will collapse,» warned
Abu Warda. «On Saturday [27
December] 93 patients came
for emergency care; we had to
set up make-shift beds.»
Since 27 December Abu-Warda
has added 24 beds to the exist-
ing 71.
Paramedics at Kamal said they
did not have enough staff, med-
ical supplies or ambulances.
Magdi Hatib, 48, witnessed
his brother, Akram Hatib, 35,
torn apart by burning shrap-
nel from an Israeli missile on
27 December in the Beach ref-
ugee camp of Gaza City, home
to Gaza prime minister Ismail
Haniyeh.
«He was bleeding on the ground
Help Gaza
for 15 minutes till we could ap-
16
proach him, fearing a second
explosion,» said Magdi. «There
were no ambulances, so we
took him to al-Shifa hospital
by taxi.»
Rafah tunnels bombed
Israel bombed dozens of tun-
nels in the Rafah area on 30
December, saying they were
used by Hamas for smuggling
weapons.
Health ministry spokesperson
Hamam Nasman said ship-
ments of Egyptian fuel were the
only means of running his fleet
of ambulances, half of which
are not operating due to a lack
of spare parts -- a result of the
border closures by Israel since
June 2007 when the elected
Hamas government took over
in the enclave.
The tunnels have been used to
import fuel, cooking gas, medi-
cine and food supplies to cir-
cumvent the Israeli blockade.
Residents flee their homes
Meanwhile, residents in Jaba-
liya and Beit Lahiya were flee-
ing their homes in anticipation
of further bombardments.
 «We evacuated our home last
night -- my wife and our two-
year old son Karim,» said Sami
Abu Salem, 38, an editor, after
the Israeli authorities warned
residents the home of a mili-
tant leader in the area would
be targeted.
«We took basic food items
with us and we are still afraid
to return,» said Abu Salem.
The Coastal Municipalities
Water Utility in Gaza said
that if the water supply net-
work is damaged it will be im-
possible to repair, due to the
lack of fuel and spare parts.
Access for aid agencies to
Gaza has been severely re-
stricted since the beginning of
November. A ground invasion
would make matters worse.
This item comes to you via
IRIN, a UN humanitarian
news and information ser-
vice, but may not necessarily
reflect the views of the United
Nations or its agencies. All
IRIN material may be repost-
ed or reprinted free-of-charge;
refer to the copyright page
for conditions of use. IRIN is
a project of the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humani-
tarian Affairs.

DEATH IN
GAZA In Gaza!!
There is no mercy!!
No food!! No electricity!! No fuel
No mercy!!
Israel says ..
We will strike terrorism.. !!
But!!
They are killing children!!
Help Gaza
17
Deserted streets and fear as Israel demolishes Gaza
Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 30 December 2008

Palestinains queue up to buy bread in Gaza, 30 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

As Israel’s relentless bombardment of the occupied Gaza Strip has

entered its fourth day, the number of dead and injured has exceeded
2,000. Speaking via Skype, The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami
Almeghari described the situation near his home in al-Maghazi refugee
camp in the central Gaza Strip:

I am in al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. This after-

noon Israeli drones targeted a house in al-Maghazi with three missiles.
Fortunately there were no casualties. But unfortunately there have been
many casualties elsewhere in Gaza where they have targeted houses
and mosques.
I went out of the house to deal with some urgent matters today. But
movement is really risky right now. Anyone who moves could be a po-
tential target for the Israeli warplanes that are buzzing overhead all the
time. You don’t know what the next target is. It is terrible, horrible for
the population here.

Most of the shops and businesses are closed. Only a few food stores are
open. There is very little movement in the streets. There are very few

Help Gaza
18
cars, for example, the on the Salah
al-Din road, a main thoroughfare
running through the Gaza Strip.
People are staying in their houses,
their neighborhoods. What is going
on is unprecedented since Israel
occupied Gaza in 1967. There is a
great deal of fear, worry, anxiety.
Fortunately we do have access to
the Internet, but the power outag-
es are very prolonged. Right now I
am talking to you using a gasoline-
powered generator. But gasoline
is in very short supply all over, so
shortly I could be cut off from the
world.
Some food shops and bakeries are
open, but just for a few hours a
day. They take whatever oppor-
tunity they can to make bread for
the people. This morning I went to
a bakery in the nearby Nusseirat
refugee camp to try to by bread for
my children and family. They said,
«There is no bread right now, may-
be after 8pm.» They are waiting for
the electricity to come back so they
can bake.
Over the past two days there have
been some food shipments into the
Gaza Strip, but in very limited
quantities -- much much less than
can meet the needs of 1.5 million
people. The average household
here has seven or eight persons, so
the need is very great.
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19
You cannot find any presence of the
government here now. Most of the
government buildings have been
destroyed by Israeli warplanes.
For example the whole compound
of ministerial buildings in Gaza
City -- including the ministries of
finance, interior, education and
others -- has been completely de-
stroyed.
These are not «terrorist» or military
sites. These were civilian buildings
that served the population in civil
matters. They had nothing to do
with any military purposes as Is-
rael always claims. Even the police
stations they have been targeting
over the past few days, were just
civil police stations, guarding se-
curity of the people, dealing with
traffic and so on. The people work-
ing in those police stations were
just previously unemployed youths
who took the opportunity to make
a living and feed their families.
Israel bombed the Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV station, but just one hour ago
on al-Aqsa TV a masked spokesman from the Izzedin al-Qassam Bri-
gades, the military wing of Hamas, spoke live from a hidden location.
And despite the repeated attacks by the Israelis, the firing of rockets is
still going on into Israel. So Israel has not hit Hamas. It has hit the civil-
ian population.

Rami Almeghari is contributor to The Electronic Intifada, IMEMC.org

and Free Speech Radio News and is a part-time lecturer on media and
political translation at the Islamic University of Gaza. Rami is also a for-
mer senior English translator at and editor-in-chief of the international
press center of the Gaza-based Palestinian Information Service. He can
be contacted at rami_almeghari@hotmail.com.

Gaza in the
middle of
darkness,
with no
electricity
and tones
of agony

GAZA IN THE MIDDLE

20
oF DARKNESS
Help Gaza
Rights orgs: UN body must act to end Gaza war
crimes
Intervention, various undersigned, 30 December 2008

A Palestinian woman and child at the site of a house damaged by Israeli air strikes on
a nearby governmental building, 30 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

The following intervention was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council

on 30 December 2008:

General Assembly to act under Resolution 377

Dear Member State of the UN Human Rights Council,

Representing the Palestinian human rights community, we write to you

with an urgent request for intervention by the UN Human Rights Coun-
cil to put an end to the war crimes and crimes against humanity being
committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as a result of the
Israeli occupying forces’ ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip. At least 310
persons, including 37 children, have been killed and more than 1,000 Pal-
estinians have been injured. The civilian population of the occupied Gaza
Strip will inevitably continue to suffer heavy losses without the external
intervention of the international community; this is confirmed by Israeli
Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s assertion that this is a «war to the bitter
end.»

Help Gaza
21
Grave breaches of the Fourth Ge-
neva Convention amounting to war
crimes, have been committed, in-
cluding, willful killing and the ex-
tensive destruction of property not
justified by military necessity and
carried out unlawfully and wan-
tonly. Furthermore, the continuing
collective punishment of the Gaza
Strip has left medical services un-
able to deal with the increasing
number of victims.
As member States of the UN Hu-
man Rights Council, you were ful-
ly apprised of the human rights
situation in the OPT, during the
Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
of Israel earlier this month. The
dire humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip was a dominant concern
raised by States during the review.
Despite recommendations to Israel
concerning its obligation to improve
the humanitarian situation in the
Gaza Strip, the capacity of Gaza’s
civilian infrastructure to respond
to the humanitarian needs of the
population after days of bombard-
ment has now reached breaking
point. You have further been noti-
fied by Special Rapporteur Richard
Falk of Israel’s failure to cooper-
ate with his mandate and his call
on «all Member States, as well as
officials and every relevant organ
of the United Nations system, to
Help Gaza
22
move on an emergency basis not
only to condemn Israel>s serious
violations, but to develop new ap-
proaches to providing real protec-
tion for the Palestinian people.»
We note that the Security Council
has thus far failed to take concrete
steps despite the gravity of the situ-
ation. However, General Assembly
President Miguel D’Escoto’s state-
ment that «the time has come to
take firm action if the UN does not
want to be rightly accused of com-
plicity by omission» offers a plat-
form for concrete action that should
be supported by the Human Rights
Council.
It is our considered judgement that
the only effective measure the UN
Human Rights Council can take
under these specific circumstances
is to issue a resolution requesting
the General Assembly to convene
under GA Resolution 377, «Uniting
for Peace,» with a view towards the
imposition of collective measures
against the Israeli Government.
We urge this approach having duly
considered the implications for the
Human Rights Council as well as
the human rights of the Palestinian
people should Israel again impede
or ignore the Council’s interven-
tions. We believe that such a step
would halt the escalation of civil-
ian deaths, offer hope to civilians in
despair over the political deadlock
and ultimately serve the long-term
interests of peace.
Sincere regards,
Palestinian Human Rights Com-
munity
Al-Haq
Adalah
Arab Association for Human Rights-
HRA
Addameer Prisoners’ Support &
Human Rights Association
Ad-Dameer Association for Human
Rights
Al-Mezan Center for Human
Rights
BADIL Resource Center for Pales-
Help Gaza
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tinian Residency & Refugee Rights
Defence for Children International
Ensan Center for Democracy & Hu-
man Rights
Independent Commission for Hu-
man Rights (ICHR)
Jerusalem Legal Aid & Human
Rights Center (JLAC)
Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR)
Palestinian Center for the Inde-
pendence of the Judiciary and the
Legal Profession, Musawa
Ramallah Center for Human Rights
Studies (RCHRS)
Women’s Center for Legal Aid and
Counseling (WCLAC)
Women’s Studies Center
The Palestinian Non-Governmental
Organizations’ Network - PNGO
 Some of Gaza’s
Gaza
suffering

In Pictures: Massacre of Gazan Children

PNN -Israeli forces killed two girls in an air attack on Beit Hanoun in
the northern Gaza Strip early Tuesday. Local sources report that a mis-
sile destroyed a house belonging to Talal Hamdan in Beit Hanoun today,
killing his two daughters of 12 and 4 years old. A son is reported seri-
ously injured. Yesterday Israeli forces killed four sisters and a four
year old boy. Over 40 children have been killed since Saturday.

Help Gaza
24
 Palestinians carry the body of 4-year-old
Lama Hamdan during her funeral in the town
of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip
December 30, 2008

Palestinians bury the body of 4-year-old Lama

Hamdan at Beit Hanoun cemetery in the north-
ern Gaza Strip December 30, 2008.

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 Palestinians mourn beside the bodies of
three children in Rafah in the southern
Gaza Strip December 29, 2008.

Three Palestinian children from the Balosha family, of five who were all
killed in the same Israeli missile strike, are seen in the morgue before
their burial at Kamal Edwan hopsital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip,
Monday, Dec. 29, 2008

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26
 Palestinian children from the Balosha family, who
were all killed in the same Israeli missile strike,
are seen in the morgue before their burial at Ka-
mal Edwan hopsital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza
Strip, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008

Palestinian women mourn over the bodies of three Palestinian children

from the Balosha family, of five who were all killed in the same Israeli
missile strike, in the morgue before their burial at Kamal Edwan hopsital
in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008

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27
 A Palestinian man buries the body of 4-year-old
Dena Balosha at Beit Lahiya cemetery in the north-
ern Gaza Strip December 29, 2008.

A Palestinian man carries the body of his 4-year-old daughter Dena Ba-
losha during the funeral for her and her four sisters in Jabalya refu-
gee camp in the northern Gaza Strip December 29, 2008.

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 A Palestinian mourner shouts as he lifts the body
of a child from the Balosha family, of which three
children and two teenagers, were killed in an Is-
raeli missile strike,durng their funeral in the Je-
baliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Monday,
Dec. 29, 2008

A Palestinian man buries the

body of 5-year-old Sodqi al-
Absi in Rafah cemetery in the
southern Gaza Strip Decem-
ber 29, 2008.

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A Palestinian mourner carries the body of 4-year-old Dena Balosha,
foreground, one of five members of the same family including three
children and two teenagers who were killed in an Israeli missile
strike, during their funeral in the Jebaliya refugee camp, in the north-
ern Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008

The father of Palestinian Dena Balosha, 4, left, one of five members of

the same family including three children and two teenagers who were
killed in an Israeli missile strike, carries her body during their funeral
in the Jebaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 29,
2008.

Help Gaza
30
 In this image taken from APTN video, Palestinian men carry two injured
children into hospital after Israeli aircraft struck Hamas security
compounds across Gaza in Gaza City on Saturday Dec. 27, 2008.

A wounded Palestinian boy is carried by

his father following an Israel air strike
in Gaza December 28, 2008.

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31
 A Palestinian boy is carried to al-Shifa hospital
following an Israel air strike in Gaza December
28, 2008

A Palestinian security force officer carries a wounded

girl into the emergency room at Shifa hospital in Gaza
City, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008.

Help Gaza
32
 A wounded Palestinian boy is carried by his father at a
hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli air strike

A Palestinian man carries his wounded

child to the treatment room of Kamal Ed-
wan hospital following an Israeli missile
strike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip,
Monday, Dec. 29, 2008.

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 Shifa hospital ICU: a six year old down’s
syndrom with brain trauma

Samera Baalusha (34) carries her surving child Mohamad (15 months)
while she waits to see the body of her daughter Jawaher Baalusha (aged
4) during the funeral held for her and four of her sisters who were
killed in an Israeli missile strike, on December 29, 2008 in the Jebaliya
refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip

Help Gaza
34
 Click to download

Help Gaza
35
w w w . i s l a m c g . c o m
 dr
Innocence dreams
In the beginning of the unknown day,
A child steps the first step on his longest way,

Whispering in the cold breeze,

All the wishes that he want but never sees;

“I wish a wish in that new day,

I wish all my pain will fade away,

Innocence
w w w . i s l a m c g . c o m
I wish that longest night can pass,
I wish the darkest times wont last,

I wish that the sun will rise,

I wish the tears can dry in our eyes,

I wish to see the golden rays of light,

I wish to see my hopes rising within the sunlight,

I wish today we will all be free,

I wish today the happiness we can see,

If only the blind world can see,

If only the deaf world can hear,

If only people feel what we’ve been through,

If only all my wishes come true………”

Are the only wishes of a lonely child,

Wandering in the scared land of Palestine.

Written by:

Sara Yasser

Help Gaza
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