Gaza: Stop The Genocide

Ewa Jasiewicz was on BBC News 24 briefly at about 12:35 reporting that the ambulance she had been travelling in had been damaged by the IDF. She seemed unhurt but reported the driver had been injured. The ambulance looked inoperable. The BBC mis-spelled her name phonetically, and haven't repeated the footage or put it on their website but I'll post her report here if it is repeated.

This report from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel Gaza was updated yesterday
Attacks on medical personnel and serious obstacles to evacuation of wounded within the Gaza Strip

Attacks on medical personnel:

- December 31, 2008: Helicopter fires on medical crew evacuating wounded: in Jabal Kashif in northeast Gaza a crew set out to offer assistance. While approaching the bleeding victim on foot, they were hit by helicopter fire. Dr. Ihab Madhun, medic Muhammad Abu Hasireh, as well as the injured victim, were killed.

- January 3, 2009: Second attack on a house after medical crews enter to evacuate the wounded: The house of the Dabbabish family in Sheikh Radwan had already been bombarded. As a crew of medics dressed in medical vests arrived on the scene to tend to the wounded the house was bombarded for a second time. One person was critically wounded: Ayyad Ahmad.

- January 4, 2009: Ambulance belonging to the Al Awda Hospital in Beit Lahiya was hit by helicopter fire. Arfa Abd al Daim, a senior volunteer medic was killed and two other medical personnel were critically injured.

- January 4, 2009: Tank fires on ambulance during attempts to evacuate a family in Tel Alhawa. Inass Fadil Naim, Yassir Shabir and Rifaat Abdel Al were killed.

Difficulties in internal evacuation of the wounded:

- According to the head of the Palestinian emergency health services in Gaza Dr. Mu'awiya Hasaneen, and the MoH spokesperson Hammam Nasman, there are many wounded and dead, but access to them is impeded by ongoing gunfire.

- According to information collected by PHR-Israel, the ICRC, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the hospitals meet severe difficulties in evacuation of the wounded, due to the ongoing fighting, due to the refusal of the Israeli army to enable passage between the north and the south of the Gaza Strip, and due to unwieldy bureaucratic procedures, whereby the security forces demand coordination between the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee and the Israeli authorities at Erez Crossing for each case. It should be noted that during hostilities the ICRC – of which PRCS is now a member – should enjoy full authority and protection for evacuation of wounded.

- The PRCS reported to PHR-Israel that they have no way of dispatching ambulances without prior coordination since ambulances that set out for evacuation duties at AlAtatra were fired at by apache helicopters. They appealed to PHR-Israel after attempts to coordinate passage via the ICRC have failed since yesterday. AlAwda hospital in Beit Lahiya also asked for our assistance since they must send out ambulances to AlAtatra and Tel Zaatar but cannot dispatch ambulances without being shot at. The hospital is urgently requesting coordination to enable evacuation.

- According to our information, between 2 hours and 8-10 hours pass between a request by the ICRC for coordination until the Israeli authorities actually coordinate passage. In some cases teams waited for 24 hours for coordination

- A shortage of ambulances has been reported: patients are often evacuated in private vehicles either because of shortage or because ambulances cannot access the areas.

Palestinians say strike on 2nd UN school kills 12
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian medical officials say at least 12 people are dead in an Israeli airstrike outside a U.N. school in the northern Gaza Strip. It is the second deadly Israeli airstrike to hit a U.N. school in the past few hours.

Israeli fire kills 10 near Gaza school - witnesses
GAZA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Israeli tank fire killed at least 10 Palestinians near a U.N.-run school in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, witnesses and medical officials said.
 http://uk.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUKL6660323

Strike on Gaza school 'kills 40'
At least 40 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike on an United Nations-run school in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources have said.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7814054.stm


John Ging, UNRWA Gaza Operations Director was interviewed after the first attack on UN school refugees and before the later attack or attack:


It's horrific, these 400 people fled from the Northern Gaza strip last night seeking refuge because they were no longer safe in their own homes. We had given them refuge in our schooland at 11:30 last night 3 of them were using the toilet facility in the school, and they had just come out of the toilets and they were struck by a missile from an aircraft and killed instantly. So it's just more evidence again of how dangerous it is. There is no place in Gaza safe for the ordinary people here and they are terrorised by the fact they can be next. The numbers speak for themselves, 600 dead, almost 3000 injured. They are right to be terrorised

We have provided the GPS coordinates of every single one of our locations, they are clearly marked with UN insignia and flags flying, lights shining on the flags at night and so on. It is very clear that they are United Nations installations. We are calling for accountability for all actions in this conflict as per the Geneva Convention. There are laws of war and everybody who is involved in war has to be accountable under these laws for every action that they take. Everylife is precious and everybody has to take that responsibility very seriously. Those involved here, there has to be an impartial independent inquiry for that and for all other actions here on the Palestinian and the Israeli side.

They [Gazans] are petrified because they know they aren't safe hiding in their own homes. There is a million people without electricity, 750000 without water, everybody is short of food, the hospitals are overwhelmed. The staff - I was in the main hospital this morning - heroic staff working around the clock, two Norwegian surgeons at the end of their tether when they see the scale and nature of the injuries that are oming in. It's a horrific situation, a huge military operation in a densely populated area, of course there are going to be a large number of casualties and very horrific casualties.

We are on the cusp of a catastrophe here. There was laready a shortage of basic humanitarian supplies even before this military operation began. Now it is next to impossible to get the aid through the areas of conflict. Even if we do, and we did have some success yesterday it was very, very difficult just to get it to our distribution centres. Then people have the task of getting themselves from their home to our centres to receive their aid and that is very, very dangerous.

The whole thing has to stop. There is no military solution to this problem, in fact this conflict is a result of political failure that lies on the shoulders of all politicians and it is on their shoulders now to actually stop the fighting and get back to a political solution.

[Asked if the refusal of Israel to stop underlines the impotence of the international community]

If that is the case then that certainly underlines the impotence of the international community because the international community have responsibilities to act, not just to issue statements but to take action when they see in conflict a civilian population without the legal protection that they are entitled to, when they see so many casualties unfolding day after day after day.

The Palestinian leadership, Hamas, they have responsibilities and should be held accountable under international law, equally the Israelis and the international community itself. So the political leaderships everywhere now have to take action. It is very clear to everybody the scale and nature of what is going on here, we have to cut to the chase and get it stopped. So now let's get action rather than words from all quarters and let's hold under international law everybody accountable for whether they act or don't act effectively.

[When asked what lies ahead]

More horror. More children, more innocent civilians dead or injured and then at the end we will get a political resolution somehow, it is inevitable but in the meantime it will be too late for all the poor people and the question is why - why? And I hope everyone will be held accountable under international law for their action or their inaction at all levels.

If you want empathy with the people here then don't eat, sleep or drink until you actually deliver your part of the solution because that is the way it is for women and children of Gaza for the past 11 days. They are just totally traumatised by this situation and living in real fear for their lives.

Scotland-wide Demonstration in Edinburgh Saturday 10 January 2009

Assemble 12:30pm East Market Street (behind Edinburgh Waverley Train Station)

March through the city centre and to the US Consulate.

Bring in-date medicine for Gaza, and spare shoes to throw at the consulate.

There will be an autonomous block - look for the red and black flags.

VIGIL FOR GAZA
A round the clock vigil every day in Parliament Square, London

Starting Thursday 8 January at 10.30am and continuing 24 hours a day...

STOP THE MASSACRE, ISRAEL OUT OF GAZA, END THE BLOCKADE

Supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign


Vigil for Gaza welcomes all who wish to peacefully protest against the blockade of Gaza and the current assault on its people by Israel. The vigil is a space to gather, speak, bear witness, pray, meditate, sing or otherwise demonstrate that we find this situation unacceptable.

Join the vigil at any time in Parliament Square, London for as short or as long a time as you can.

If you are able to attend the launch of the vigil on Thursday 8 January at 10.30am, please come along.

In order that as many people as possible feel able to participate in the vigil, it is covered by authorisation to demonstrate under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.

For further information on the vigil, contact  vigilforgaza@gmail.com or see www.vigilforgaza.net. For more campaign information see  http://www.palestinecampaign.org/

This evening Zionists counter-demonstrated against the picket of the Israeli embassy by anti-war demonstrators. There were hundreds on each side

Although there was minimal direct conflict between Zionist and anti-war protestors, after a couple of hours police forcibly broke up the anti-war protest, arresting at least 10 activists.

 http://thecommune.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/gaza-demo-7th-january-activists-arrested-after-zionist-counter-protest/

The BBC never repeated the interview with EJ showing the front of her ambulance and the damage done, but Sky later showed a sanitised cut down version showing her praise the ambulance medics as heroes.

I know you aren't meant to post mainstream TV here but it was presumably EJ giving the interviews away and since she would probably be posting it here in full herself if it was safe or she had time then I reckon it is fair use. It is followed by a clip of ambulance drivers being shot at trying to retrieve an injured man, which is fair use as this is a warcrime.

With temperatures below 15 celsius only 100 protested yesterday in Berlin, mainly migrants. Police arrested up to 10 youngsters 4 the offence of "allegdly calling Isreal a terror state".

Support by the left, especially the radical left is still very small.

 http://de.indymedia.org/2009/01/238681.shtml

Doctor Mads Gilbert in Gaza has stated on CBS News that judging by the casualties he has been seeing, Israel is deliberately attacking civilians:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6ojm62qwA

Today Israel has been directly accused of war-crimes by The Times newspaper for firing White Phosphorus shells at civilians. Instead of denying it the Israelis lied and claimed the shells were WP free, but Janes Defence say they are lying.

Gaza victims' burns increase concern over phosphorus
 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5470047.ece


I attach two audio files, one is todays follow-up interview for the transcript above, where John Ging of the UNRWA explains why they cannot run the gauntlet of a humanitarian aid corridor where tanks fire on aid trucks knowingly, and in cold blood . The second one covers the UN withdrawing from Gaza due to it's aid-drivers being shelled by IDF tanks during the ceasefire, people being run-over with tanks, the Red Cross withdrawing due to it's workers being obstructed with one case seeing children starving to death around the corpses of their adult family, which then provokes the first stringent criticism of an Israeli spokesperson sine 2006. I would love to edit a transcript out of it but can't just now so would appreciate if someone else does. They are both certainly worth a listen even if the transcipts don't appear.