Ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza; 225 killed over 700 wounded, Israel prepares
Saed Banora | 27.12.2008 21:38 | Palestine | Terror War | World
As instructed by its political leadership, the Israeli army continued its military offensive against the Gaza Strip and shelled further targets raising the number of deaths among the residents to 225, and at least 700 residents were wounded, dozens seriously.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera News Satellite news Agency said that the simultaneous and ongoing Israeli strikes also targeted a mosque, the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, and dozens of civilian homes and facilities.
At least 40 security centers were simultaneously hit; some centers were repeatedly hit which increased the number of casualties as the residents and medics rushed to evacuate the wounded and the casualties before the Israeli force struck the same targets again
AL Shifa hospital in Gaza, the main hospital in central Gaza, is overloaded with killed and wounded residents.
Dr. Hasan Khalaf, head of the hospital, said that the hospital had to use some ordinary rooms as primitive intensive care units due to the large number of injuries.
Dr. Khalaf added that dozens of families were hit, members of the same family killed and wounded after the army shelled their homes.
Dozens of children were also wounded as the shelling was carried out as school children were heading back home from school.
In the west Bank thousands of residents marched in the streets calling for unity and demanding Arab countries to interfere and calling for ending talks with Israel.
President Mahmoud Abbas contacted several Arab leaders asking them to intervene immediately and stop the Israeli assaults.
Also in the West Bank, the army violently attacked hundreds of protesters in villages and towns in east Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron and several other Palestinian areas.
Arab leaders and Arab residents of Israel also took off to the streets protesting against the ongoing Israeli offensives in the Gaza Strip.
Arab member of Knesset, Jamal Zahalka, participated in a protest in Nazareth and called for indicting the Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, for war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Mohammad Nazzal, one of Hamas political leaders in Damascus, said that Hamas and all resistance factions are ready to defend the residents of the Gaza Strip, and added that the Israeli crimes in Gaza require a massive response from the resistance in retaliation to the “massacres in Gaza”.
Nazzal demanded Arab countries not only to slam the Israeli offensive, but to act on the ground by cutting their relations with Israel, by breaking the Israeli siege and opening the Rafah Border terminal.
He also demanded the Arab countries and leaders to practice pressure on the international community to stop the Israeli offensive.
In Ramallah, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr, Hanan Ashrawi, said that Europe and the United States are supporting Israel as Europe is upgrading its relations with Israel which is encouraging it to carry further attacks against the Palestinians while the US is sending more financial and military support to Israel.
Ashrawi added that Arab leaders must be decisive in their response to the Israeli offensive and must act to stop these attacks. In Bethlehem, Dr. Victor Batarsa, mayor of the city, said that the municipality decided to cancel all Christmas celebrations and to remove Christmas tree from the manger square in addition to removing Christmas lights and decorations.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees in Jordan along with Jordanian nationals took off to the street protesting against the Israeli attacks in Gaza and called on Jordan to cut its diplomatic ties with Israel.
Massive protests were also reported in Egypt as the protesters calls for a response to the Israeli offensive and crimes against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Protests were also reported in refugee camps in Lebanon calling for unity among the Palestinian factions and demanding Arab unity in order to counter the Israeli crimes.
They also called on all resistance factions to step-up their retaliation against the Israeli offensive and to strike back in the occupied territories and in Israel.
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At least 40 security centers were simultaneously hit; some centers were repeatedly hit which increased the number of casualties as the residents and medics rushed to evacuate the wounded and the casualties before the Israeli force struck the same targets again
AL Shifa hospital in Gaza, the main hospital in central Gaza, is overloaded with killed and wounded residents.
Dr. Hasan Khalaf, head of the hospital, said that the hospital had to use some ordinary rooms as primitive intensive care units due to the large number of injuries.
Dr. Khalaf added that dozens of families were hit, members of the same family killed and wounded after the army shelled their homes.
Dozens of children were also wounded as the shelling was carried out as school children were heading back home from school.
In the west Bank thousands of residents marched in the streets calling for unity and demanding Arab countries to interfere and calling for ending talks with Israel.
President Mahmoud Abbas contacted several Arab leaders asking them to intervene immediately and stop the Israeli assaults.
Also in the West Bank, the army violently attacked hundreds of protesters in villages and towns in east Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron and several other Palestinian areas.
Arab leaders and Arab residents of Israel also took off to the streets protesting against the ongoing Israeli offensives in the Gaza Strip.
Arab member of Knesset, Jamal Zahalka, participated in a protest in Nazareth and called for indicting the Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, for war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Mohammad Nazzal, one of Hamas political leaders in Damascus, said that Hamas and all resistance factions are ready to defend the residents of the Gaza Strip, and added that the Israeli crimes in Gaza require a massive response from the resistance in retaliation to the “massacres in Gaza”.
Nazzal demanded Arab countries not only to slam the Israeli offensive, but to act on the ground by cutting their relations with Israel, by breaking the Israeli siege and opening the Rafah Border terminal.
He also demanded the Arab countries and leaders to practice pressure on the international community to stop the Israeli offensive.
In Ramallah, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr, Hanan Ashrawi, said that Europe and the United States are supporting Israel as Europe is upgrading its relations with Israel which is encouraging it to carry further attacks against the Palestinians while the US is sending more financial and military support to Israel.
Ashrawi added that Arab leaders must be decisive in their response to the Israeli offensive and must act to stop these attacks. In Bethlehem, Dr. Victor Batarsa, mayor of the city, said that the municipality decided to cancel all Christmas celebrations and to remove Christmas tree from the manger square in addition to removing Christmas lights and decorations.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees in Jordan along with Jordanian nationals took off to the street protesting against the Israeli attacks in Gaza and called on Jordan to cut its diplomatic ties with Israel.
Massive protests were also reported in Egypt as the protesters calls for a response to the Israeli offensive and crimes against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Protests were also reported in refugee camps in Lebanon calling for unity among the Palestinian factions and demanding Arab unity in order to counter the Israeli crimes.
They also called on all resistance factions to step-up their retaliation against the Israeli offensive and to strike back in the occupied territories and in Israel.
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Saed Banora
Homepage:
http://imemc.org/article/58173
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Demonstrations around the world
27.12.2008 23:32
STOP THE GAZA SLAUGHTER - DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE ISRAELI EMBASSY
Sunday 28th December 2009, 2pm
Israeli Embassy, 2 Palace Green Road, W8 – (nearest tube High Street Kensington)
Numerous buses go there.
Israel has murdered over 155 people in the Gaza strip and they say that this is only the beginning.
Please join us tomorrow to call for an immediate halt to the slaughter. There will also be demonstrations all over the Arab World.
For more info please call Ghada Razuki on 07958 450 867
Manchester:
When: Sunday 28th December 2008
Where: Outside the BBC, Oxford Road, Manchester
Time: 1pm
There will be demonstrations in Scotland – in both Edinburgh and Glasgow:
Stop Israeli Massacres of Palestinians
Stop Israeli Genocide
Stop British Government Support for Israeli crimes
Demonstrate, Sunday 28th 4.30pm
- Glasgow: George Square
- Edinburgh: Foot of the Mound, Princes Street
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) has called for a number of protests in the US and in Canada):
Stop the Massacre of Palestinians!
Tuesday, December 30: National Day of Action
Emergency Demonstrations on Tuesday, December 30 and other days (listed below)
The ANSWER Coalition, Muslim American Society Freedom, Free Palestine Alliance, National Council of Arab Americans, and Al-Awda, International Palestine Right to Return Coalition are calling for Tuesday, December 30 to be a National Day of Action to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and to demand an immediate end to the murderous attacks carried out by the Israeli military against the people of Gaza.
In Washington, D.C., there will be a demonstration at the State Department at 4:30 pm. Demonstrations will also be held in cities around the country. See below for an initial list. If there is a demonstration in your city, email the details to
Take Action:
- Demonstrations Across the Country
- Send a letter to the State Department and Congress
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, December 30
4:30 pm
State Department: 22nd St & C St NW
Contact: 202-544-3389 x14,
San Francisco
Tuesday, December 30
5:00 pm
Israeli Consulate:456 Montgomery St.
Contact: 415-821-6545,
Los Angeles
Tuesday, December 30
4:30 pm
Israeli Consulate: 6380 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: 213-251-1025,
* * * * *
In Anaheim, CA (Orange County):
Sunday, December 28
2:00 pm
512 S. Brookhurst St. (between Orange Ave. & Broadway)
Initiated by a coalition with a large number of groups
New York City
Tuesday, December 30
5:00 pm
Israeli Consulate: 800 2nd Ave (b/w 42nd and 43rd Sts)
Contact: 212-694-8720,
* * * * *
Sunday, December 28
2:00-4:00 pm
Gather at Rockefeller Center
March to the Israeli Consulate: 800 2nd Ave (b/w 42nd and 43rd Sts)
Initiated by Al-Awda New York
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Tuesday, December 30
5:00 pm
Federal Building: 299 E. Broward Blvd.
Contact: 954-707-0155,
Chicago
Details to be announced
Contact: 773-463-0311,
Boston
Details to be announced
Contact: 857-334-5084,
Seattle
Saturday, January 3
12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
Westlake Park: 4th and Pine
Initiated by Voices of Palestine
Contact:
Toronto (CANADA)
Sunday, December 28
2:00 pm
Israeli Embassy Consulate: 180 Bloor St. West
Initiated by a number of local organizations
If there is a demonstration in your city, email the details to
Send a letter to the State Department and Congress: Join with people around the country and around the world who are demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel. This is an urgent situation and we must all act now. You can send a letter with our easy click and send system demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel. Without U.S. aid, the Israeli military attacks, siege and blockade of Gaza could not be continued. Click this link now to send a letter to the State Department and elected officials in Congress.
You can help to support this important organizing effort by making a financial contribution today. Click here to donate online, where you can also find information on how to contribute by check.
Free Palestine Alliance Statement: Here is a statement from the Free Palestine Alliance:
Statement of the Free Palestine Alliance on the Wholesale Zionist Murders in Gaza
The Free Palestine Alliance condemns in the strongest terms the wholesale fascistic Zionist attacks against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Using the lies of targeting military and police centers, the Israeli killer army is in fact targeting entire families, killing fathers, mothers and children. To the time of issuing this statement, at least 206 Palestinian have been murdered and more than 400 severely injured. The number of victims are expected to rise, and Israel's Zionist assault is expected to continue and widen, as Israel has declared.
While we hold the Zionist fascistic regime fully responsible, we also hold the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptian government and all Arab regimes equally responsible. How many more meetings and conferences will be held before a mere and meager condemnation can be issued?
The PA headed by Abu Mazen must come to an understanding that its continued role of servitude to Israel places it squarely responsible for the killing of our people. The Egyptian government can't turn a deaf ear as it shares in the starvation of our people by insisting on closing the borders. The Arab regime must be held responsible for its unabated complicity in the ongoing killing fields.A time must come, and that time is now, when fascistic Israel must be stopped in its murderous campaigns against the Palestinian people. How long can these atrocities continue unabated, and how long will the international consciousness remain unshaken by a Nazi like regime that is shameless in its hate and colonial bigotry?
We call on our people to demand an immediate stop to any and all relations with the Zionist regimes. All Israeli embassies must be closed and all ambassadors must be expelled. We call on the Egyptian people to march to Rafah and open the borders that have been shut closed by the government of Egypt. We call on the Arab masses and communities in all 5 continents to take to the streets in solidarity of our people. The Arab people no longer want to hear about Arab League meetings and inconsequential condemnations. The time has come for concrete steps to affect change. Enough declaration and lies! Colonial Zionist hate and murder must be stopped!
We call on the newly elected United States President, Barak Obama, to recognize his historic role in immediately halting the long standing complicity of the US government in Israeli genocidal campaigns against the Palestinian people. The US can't continue to support Israel with endless military, economic and diplomatic support while the US economy itself is sinking, homes foreclosed and jobs lost. A new US moral policy must come to fruition, or at least begin to move in that direction.
Finally, but most importantly, we salute the heroic people of Palestine, especially those of Gaza. We salute your steadfast and recognize your pain, for it is also ours.
Together, we will undoubtedly triumph.
The Free Palestine Alliance
December 27, 2008
Paul
e-mail:
o_hanlon@hotmail.com