New evidence of Gaza child deaths

[slipslidingaway]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7843307.stm

Four-year-old Samar Abed Rabbu is a little girl with a captivating smile to melt the heart of the most hardened correspondent...

Samar had been shot in the back at close range. The bullet damaged her spine, and she is unlikely to walk again..

The women and children - mother, grandmother and three little girls - came out waving a white flag and then, he said, an Israeli soldier came out of the tank and opened fire on the terrified procession.

Samar's two sisters, aged seven and two, were shot dead. The grandmother was hit in the arm and in the side, but has survived.

Young victims

One of the most alarming features of the conflict in Gaza is the number of child casualties..."

[Idealism]

1. I hope those who did this find their justice somehow

Karma may be all that will try these thugs, thanks to Israel not recognizing the World Court, but I hope they find theirs somewhere.

[slipslidingaway]

2. So do I...another face to remember...

"The Israelis say is evidence that on many occasions when civilians were killed their troops had been responding to incoming fire.

There are reports of the neighbourhood where the family lived, known as Ezbat Abed Rabbu, had been used by militant fighters in the past. During an incursion in the spring of 2008 the Israelis took over Khalid's house for two days.

But Khalid insists he is not Hamas, he is not a fighter. He said he worked for the Palestinian Authority and is a member of Fatah, Hamas's political rivals.

"There were no fighters here," he added, picking up crisp bags printed with Hebrew lettering that the soldiers seemed to have left behind. "Do you think soldiers eat crisps sitting on their tanks when there is incoming fire?"

[peacetalksforall]

3. Killed and littered.

[slipslidingaway]

5. I think the father makes a good point, if they were under fire

would they be sitting on tanks and eating crisps.

:(

[oberliner]

4. So tragic that so many children have died in this conflict

Truly heartbreaking to read all these stories.

[slipslidingaway]

7. The people have been suffering for years due to the tight controls

and a significant portion of the children were already malnourished.

Yes it is heartbreaking and unfortunately our media is too biased to cover the stories in Gaza and our Congress passes one-sided resolutions.


http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/iha1209.doc.htm

3 August 2006

"...The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the targeting of Gaza’s vital infrastructures, particularly the destruction of the only domestic power plant, has triggered a chain reaction of lack of power, scarcity of fuel for generators and water shortage, thus causing a serious threat to people’s health and harming the functioning of the entire health system. Provisional measures to avert the crisis are being set up by the local institutions and the international community. The “temporary international mechanism” -- among others -- shall address emergency needs of the health sector, providing medical supplies, fuel, and allowances for health workers. Of further concern is the lack of access to health care in Egypt and Jordan, due to the Rafah border’s total and prolonged closure. WHO continues monitoring the situation to identify early warning signs of crisis in the health system and health status of the Palestinian people...


The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is extremely alarmed over the situation. Ever since the beginning of the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip, which started on 28 June, Palestinians have been a target for the Israeli army’s multiple shelling and bombings, which have resulted in 175 people being killed, of which at least 8 are women. Being a vulnerable group, women have lost their own lives, their husbands, brothers, fathers and children, and have been badly injured and traumatized; in addition to the destruction of people’s homes, sources of income and infrastructure. With the continuation of this situation, the devastation of women’s lives and their psychological well-being will become permanent, and any efforts to redeem these effects will become futile. As a rapid response, UNIFEM has launched an emergency intervention program of outreach psychological counselling for women across Gaza, with the help of the Gaza Community mental health program. The Fund will also launch another food-security initiative for rural women, to lend a helping hand in this hard economic situation.


These facts speak for themselves. Closures must be lifted, bearing in mind Israel’s legitimate security concerns. Gaza must be given back the capacity to export its goods. Both the Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza and the disproportionate shelling by the Israel Defense Forces must stop. The United Nations stands firmly by its commitments to uphold the dignity of the Israelis and the people of Gaza -- and the right of both sides to live in peace and security."

[delad]

6. no words n/t

[slipslidingaway]

8. Here is a follow up on this little girl...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm

"The BBC's Christian Fraser went in search of the father of an injured child he saw in an Egyptian hospital during hostilities and tracked him down in Northern Gaza.

Four year old Samar Abed Rabbo was wounded by Israeli troops, according to her family. The Israeli army says it is investigating the claim.

Christian Fraser reports..."