Gaza crisis: Rafah school strike 'criminal' - UN chief

NEW YORK: -- An attack that killed 10 people at a UN-run Gaza school was a "moral outrage and a criminal act", UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.

It constituted a "gross violation of international law", Mr Ban said.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was appalled by the "disgraceful" shelling.

Israel has declared a "humanitarian ceasefire" in most of Gaza for seven hours on Monday.

Brig Gen Yoav Mordechai said the ceasefire would apply to all of the Gaza Strip except eastern Rafah from 10:00 (07:00 GMT) to 19:00.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28632287


-- BBC 2014-08-04

Now perhaps the Zionists might just come to realise that their actions are actually endangering the Israeli cause.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

It's Genocide. Israelis plan is to take Gaza. It's clear now. Though of course they will deny it.

It's Genocide. Israelis plan is to take Gaza. It's clear now. Though of course they will deny it.

the only people that believe their cleverly scripted lies are the Israeli public.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

That would be pointless.

The United States has strongly condemned a deadly Israeli airstrike on a United Nations school sheltering about 3,000 displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, saying it is “appalled” by the “disgraceful” attack.

More than 1,850 Palestinians have been killed, including women and children, and over 9,300 others injured by the Israeli regime’s offensive against the coastal enclave despite pressure from the international community. The United Nations says over 80 percent of the fatalities in Gaza have been civilians.

At no time do its (BBC) correspondents explain that the Palestinians are a people under military occupation and that Israel is pursuing a relentless colonisation of the West Bank, which, under the 1993 Oslo accords, is supposed to be the site of an independent Palestinian state.

Now perhaps the Zionists might just come to realise that their actions are actually endangering the Israeli cause.

Yes, even Mark Regev is looking ever more tired trotting out the same spin ....we murder hundreds of innocent children but it's not our fault. Give us a break.

How low can Israel go? In the eyes of the world it has lost any moral high ground it ever had...thanks to the social media where people can now see first hand what monsters the IDF are.

This has been a PR disaster. So much for Israeli intelligence.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

'Stuff happens' Friendly Fire' 'Get over it'.

Pardon the pun, but it's obvious you're not a 'Rocket Scientist'

Posts with Nazi references have been deleted. They are off-topic and inflammatory. Chose your words and comparisons a little more carefully and stay on the topic please.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Of course. When a terrorist group shoots thousands of rockets at civilian areas in a sovereign country they are going to be stopped. Any country on earth would be doing the same thing.

Posts with Nazi references have been deleted. They are off-topic and inflammatory. Chose your words and comparisons a little more carefully and stay on the topic please.

Apologies, its just difficult to know what else to call them.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Of course. When a terrorist group shoots thousands of rockets at civilian areas in a sovereign country they are going to be stopped. Any country on earth would be doing the same thing.

Yes the Israeli civilian deaths are quite alarming compared to the Palestinians.

It seems very clear that this repulsive war criminal of a prime minister is happy to condone and justify the murder of how ever many innocent civilians for the head of a single terrorist.

Shameful. War criminals.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

No need to attack you. Your callous indifference to the premeditated deaths of innocents, and your use of the 'human shield' propoganda tells everyone everything they need to know about you. I hope it never happens to your loved ones, but with a heart like yours, you are unlikely to have any.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Of course. When a terrorist group shoots thousands of rockets at civilian areas in a sovereign country they are going to be stopped. Any country on earth would be doing the same thing.

Yes the Israeli civilian deaths are quite alarming compared to the Palestinians.

Not really. The Israelis have worked hard to protect their civilians by developing Iran Dome and providing bomb shelters to prevent casualties.

Hamas, on the other hand, used all their cement for terrorist tunnels to attack Israel and shelter terrorist leaders while they encourage civilians to stay in buildings that Israel has warned will be bombed for housing rockets or engaging in terrorist activity.

The terrorist tunnels could be used as bomb-shelters, but Hamas wants civilians casualties and as many as possible, so they are not.

Edited August 4, 201411 yr by Ulysses G.

With the increasing number of schools and hospitals and even the only power plant being destroyed, in some cases where the locations of civilians were repeatedly communicated to the IDF, it's clear that the intention is to create as much suffering as possible.

We can debate what the description of evil is, but for a quick answer, simply look at scenes of death and genocide in Gaza.

So the fact that Hamas used cement to create tunnels is an excuse to murder all those civilians is it? Atleast someone, has bought into Binyamin Netanyahu's bullshit.

btw, i also find the specially scripted replies and carefully worded responses of Regev and Lerner sickening too.

Avoiding certain words and phrases that might effect US/UK public opinion. Fact is, no words or lies being reported can cover up for these disgraceful actions.

Hopefully Netanyahu will one day be hauled into The Hague to answer for these crimes against humanity

Edited August 4, 201411 yr by carmine

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Under international law, Israel is distorting the definition of legitimate military targets and what constitutes a human shield. Using spin to give itself carte blanche to fire willy nilly where it likes.

In order to qualify as a military objective, the object must be used for a military purpose and its total or partial destruction would result in a definite military advantage. Only military objectives can be lawful or legitimate objects of an attack.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/what-not-target-israel-201472915346949642.html

If you can't precisely hit a militant firing a rocket or as in this case 3 IJ on riding on a motorbike near the school, then it is illegal under international law to fire heavy weaponry recklessly where you might hit a civilian target.Israel has repeatedly broken this law in the present conflict.

It is just spinning the use of the term Human Shield which has a precise definition also in international law which involves forcing civilians to directly assist in military operations. Children sleeping in a school that IDF had repeatedly been given the coordinates for do not fit this criterion.

Israel knows exactly the definition of human shields ...they have in the past used them often enough

http://www.dci-palestine.org/sites/default/files/bearingthebruntagain.pdf

Edited August 4, 201411 yr by dexterm

So the fact that Hamas used cement to create tunnels is an excuse to murder all those civilians is it?

No. Is is the reason that so many are dying along with Hamas shooting rockets from civilian areas and encouraging civilians to stay in areas that have already received warning that they will be bombed.

No country on earth would allow these terrorists to keep shooting rockets at them and Israel not going to either.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Listened to a radio interview with an Israeli military spokeman. He said they were tracking, from the air, some Hamas people on motorbikes & they happened to fire when they were passing the school. I wouldn't call that using human shields, but a terrible error of judgement by whoever opened fire.

When you look at photos of the Rafah area, apartment blocks have been destroyed, with the resultant civilian casualities. Reporters claim artillery fire was used, I have to question the neccessity for this level of killings of civilians.

Under international law, Israel is distorting the definition of legitimate military targets and what constitutes a human shield.

You mean that Hamas asking civilians nicely to act as Human Shields does not count? Enough with the silly spin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ6S0-o3uFI

Edited August 4, 201411 yr by Ulysses G.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Of course. When a terrorist group shoots thousands of rockets at civilian areas in a sovereign country they are going to be stopped. Any country on earth would be doing the same thing.

Yes the Israeli civilian deaths are quite alarming compared to the Palestinians.

Not really. The Israelis have worked hard to protect their civilians by developing Iran Dome and providing bomb shelters to prevent casualties.

Israel gets $3.5 billion in US aid to help them build their shelters and Congress just increased funds to pay for Iron Dome . It's easy to be philanthropic, when you have a rich uncle with blood on his hands too.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/01/politics/congress-israel-iron-dome/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Washington (CNN) -- Divided on other issues, U.S. lawmakers united in support of Israel on Friday with the Senate approving another $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The House followed Friday night by voting 395-8 in favor of the measure.

Edited August 4, 201411 yr by dexterm

Washington (CNN) -- Divided on other issues, U.S. lawmakers united in support of Israel on Friday with the Senate approving another $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The House followed Friday night by voting 395-8 in favor of the measure.

Good for them. America is united against Islamic terrorism.

Under international law, Israel is distorting the definition of legitimate military targets and what constitutes a human shield.

You mean that Hamas asking civilians nicely to act as Human Shields does not count? Enough with the silly spin.

Again you dishonestly distort the truth and fail to address Mark Regev's repeated lie that sleeping children in a school designated as a refuge are somehow human shields...they clearly don't fit the definition, but it's good enough for you and Mark to make the victims responsible for their own murders at the hands of the iDF.

Washington (CNN) -- Divided on other issues, U.S. lawmakers united in support of Israel on Friday with the Senate approving another $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The House followed Friday night by voting 395-8 in favor of the measure.

Good for them. America is united against Islamic terrorism.

Well, maybe they should not be so surprised then when the next 911 comes. Congress is totally irresponsible spending US taxpayers money putting US citizens in harm's way.

Amazing how blatant one sided repoting is going on here, when Hamas broke the humanitarian truce barely

2 hours after it started, killed 2 soldiers and kidnapped one to the condemnation of every one around the world,

nothing was mentioned in these forums, and new, when 10 people die after an incident that is still being

disputed, that get a mention... wow..

Washington (CNN) -- Divided on other issues, U.S. lawmakers united in support of Israel on Friday with the Senate approving another $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The House followed Friday night by voting 395-8 in favor of the measure.

Good for them. America is united against Islamic terrorism.

Actually America is far from united in support of the Israeli perpetrated atrocities. The New York jewish support will never wain no matter how appalling the slaughter goes on but go public has a moral conscience.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Why are Hamas terrorists . They are fighting against the illegal occcupation of thier land. Just like the French resistance fought the Nazi occuption.

When you use women and children as human shields, civilians die. No more criminal than Friendly Fire. Stuff happens. Get over it. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, a terrorist organization. OK, you can attack me now.

Interesting. I thought that history tells us that the (people of Israel) sent their women and children in front when they landed in British controlled Palestine all those years ago, when the British army had orders not to let them ashore.

That sounds more like something that you made up,but the British had no orders to kill them, so what is your point?

The kindly Terrorists of Hamas working diligently teaching the children of Palestine.