Palestine Today 011509

Death toll in Gaza reaches 1,078 as Israeli troops shell residential areas and UN Centers in the Coastal Region, these stories and more coming up stay tuned.

The News Cast

Palestinian medical sources said that 37 Palestinians have been killed on Thursday due to the ongoing Israeli attack. The Ministry of Health in Gaza, announced that the death toll in Gaza by Thursday morning stands at 1,078 Palestinians, among them 335 children. In addition the number of those injured has reached a total of 4,900 today, including 400 in critical condition.

Thousands of Gazans left their homes and fled from Gaza City on Thursday as Israeli military tanks stormed the city. Israeli tanks moved into the city centre, near a United Nations relief compound. The tanks randomly shelled residential areas forcing thousands to leave their homes. While others were trapped inside their homes, Mohamed Al Hadad talked to IMEMC while tanks were shelling the building he lives in along with his wife and 4month old daughter:



"There is two tanks under the building where I live and they are shooting at anything that moves, we have had no electricity since last night, there is also no water, now we do not think about food or water, our concern is just to stay alive, because they shoot at anything"

Among the targets also attacked today, was the headquarters of media agencies in Gaza City; two journalists were injured. For the third time in less than two week the Israeli army attacked the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA main headquarters in Gaza City. Three civilians where injured and fire destroyed some of the aid supplies stored there. Sami Al Mishashi, the Spokesman of the UNRWA talked to IMEMC:



"This is not the first or second time they have attacked us, in the past 48 hours they continue to shell our centers, the latest was the main headquarters, where our main aid and fuel supplies were, they shelled it, there are also 750 civilians hiding inside, we have lost a lot of our food supply due to the fire, we are now trying to put out the fire and trying to get the center working again."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is providing 700, 000 Palestinian refugees living in Gaza with their daily food requirements. Since the Israeli attack on Gaza began, UNRWA schools became a shelter for those people that fled the shelling.

On Tuesday of last week, a UN run school was attacked. At least 43 civilians were killed and 100 others wounded, when the Israeli troops launched an attack on the school in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya. On Thursday of the same week the military attacked an aid convoy for the UNRWA killing a driver and injuring another. The Israeli Army embarked on its military offensive on Saturday, December 27th, 2008. In the West Bank today, the Israeli military has kidnapped at least 20 Palestinian civilians during predawn invasions targeting a number of West Bank cities and towns.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Jane Smith and Ghassan Bannoura.