Gaza under fire — six months on
Martin Khor
The Star

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are still homeless or live in the rubble of the 20,000 houses that were destroyed and 80,000 others damaged by Israeli bombs and artillery fire.

A United Nations official estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people are in homes that are completely uninhabitable or very badly damaged.

Although US$5.4 billion was pledged by donor countries, very little of that aid has arrived. Moreover, very few building materials are allowed into Gaza, due to the continuing Israeli blockade.

In a BBC-TV report on February 25, journalist Lyse Doucet showed shots of people barely surviving in the ruins of their bombed-out homes, with signs put up on top of piles of rubble to indicate the names of the families who lived there, in the hope that one day someone would help them reclaim and rebuild their houses.

The most horrifying, and most pitiful, shot of that report was that of the baby Dapida, who had frozen to death in January amidst the ruins of what had been the family home because there was no heating in the present winter.

The baby had been born just before the ceasefire began on August 26. He survived the war but not the homelessness and the winter cold.

Everyone likes to talk about the children but in fact no one helps the children in Gaza, said his grief-stricken mother, lamenting the non-arrival of the promised aid.

Leaders of dozens of countries, including US State Secretary John Kerry, attended a reconstruction conference on October 12 in Cairo and pledged $5.4 billion for rebuilding Gaza and other Palestinian areas. The Palestinians had estimated that $4 billion is needed for Gaza’s reconstruction.

But only a tiny bit of the pledged funds arrived. That, and the blockade restricting the inflow of materials, is why most homes are not rebuilt.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said the region was in dire need and that countries that tried to link aid to demilitarisation in Gaza were in danger of enforcing collective punishment on Palestinians.

Full story: http://www.asianewsnet.net/news-72308.html

-- ANN 2015-03-02

Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Ulysses G.

The people there are going to have to find a way to change their government. How, I don't know and dissent would mean death. The world wants to give much more humanitarian help but when it is known most of the help goes to their Islamic Jihadist terrorist government that is just working on rearming for their insane antisemitic goal of overrunning Israel, the money doesn't come.

It seems even their fellow "Palestinian" Arabs in the west bank are keeping their distance from Gaza ... described elsewhere as a dirty diaper nobody wants to touch.

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Jingthing

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Going by those principle Britain would have been with their rights to carpet bomb West Belfast while bombs were going off in London. What Israel is doing is Barbaric . If Hamas had tanks and F18s there would be a war , but they don't have that all they have is 2 bob rockets to fire across their own border

Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Now get ready for the barrage of blame everything on Israel brigade.

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Going by those principle Britain would have been with their rights to carpet bomb West Belfast while bombs were going off in London. What Israel is doing is Barbaric . If Hamas had tanks and F18s there would be a war , but they don't have that all they have is 2 bob rockets to fire across their own border

Israel is barbaric, is it? Do you realize the genocidal intentions of Hamas against Jews? What Israel did was a pin prick compared to Hamas intentions. Israel is supposed to wait around until Hamas gets strong enough to seriously have a chance? Why should they? Your comparison is daft. I'm not saying Israel didn't make tragic mistakes of course they did, but the idea was to crush Hamas, and sadly they didn't do that yet.

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Jingthing

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Now get ready for the barrage of blame everything on Israel brigade.

Thats right Israel have no choice but to kill thousands of civilians when a rocket is fired at them

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Now get ready for the barrage of blame everything on Israel brigade.

Thats right Israel have no choice but to kill thousands of civilians when a rocket is fired at them

One rocket? Who can take your POV seriously. Where is the blame for Hamas for locating operations in dense civilian areas. That has been documented.

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Jingthing

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Going by those principle Britain would have been with their rights to carpet bomb West Belfast while bombs were going off in London. What Israel is doing is Barbaric . If Hamas had tanks and F18s there would be a war , but they don't have that all they have is 2 bob rockets to fire across their own border

Israel is barbaric, is it? Do you realize the genocidal intentions of Hamas against Jews? What Israel did was a pin prick compared to Hamas intentions. Israel is supposed to wait around until Hamas gets strong enough to seriously have a chance? Why should they? Your comparison is daft.

Yes and by doing so are increasing the hatred felt for them, What works in the end is the moderates come to an agreement , unfortunately launching a land and air assault against what is nothing more than a refugee camp isn't going to win many hearts and minds

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Now get ready for the barrage of blame everything on Israel brigade.

Thats right Israel have no choice but to kill thousands of civilians when a rocket is fired at them

One rocket? Who can take your POV seriously. Where is the blame for Hamas for locating operations in dense civilian areas. That has been documented.

How many casualties 1 or 2 wasn't it ? even it was 10 they had no need to kill thousands

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by ExPratt

Propaganda...

Don't think for a minute this is true

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Propaganda...

Don't think for a minute this is true

Really , so there all living in Luxury are they , with their Villas and Yachts . People call it lies because it doesn't suit their agenda

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Now get ready for the barrage of blame everything on Israel brigade.

Thats right Israel have no choice but to kill thousands of civilians when a rocket is fired at them

They have a choice and it's the right choice. Don't let terrorists get strong enough to overwhelm you.

I don't understand something. People get it when Islamic terrorists hit Sydney or Paris or Copenhagen, but they don't get the same when Islamic terrorists hit Israel.

Islamic terrorists aren't worth apologizing for.

<

Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Going by those principle Britain would have been with their rights to carpet bomb West Belfast while bombs were going off in London.

I never heard that the IRA were the elected government of West Belfast and that they were shooting rockets from there into England. That is probably because it never happened. It is ridiculous spin.

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Now get ready for the barrage of blame everything on Israel brigade.

Thats right Israel have no choice but to kill thousands of civilians when a rocket is fired at them

They have a choice and it's the right choice. Don't let terrorists get strong enough to overwhelm you.

I don't understand something. People get it when Islamic terrorists hit Sydney or Paris or Copenhagen, but they don't get the same when Islamic terrorists hit Israel.

Islamic terrorists aren't worth apologizing for.

My opinion is that is 2 different issues ISIL , Al Qaeda just appear to want to kill all Kafirs , Hamas and Israel is basically a land dispute on Steroids. What the Sunni Terrorists are fighting for is a perverted form of their own religion where every non Muslim must die. If you gave the Palestinians the occupied territory back and west Jerusalem It would be almost all over

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by ExPratt

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Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Going by those principle Britain would have been with their rights to carpet bomb West Belfast while bombs were going off in London. What Israel is doing is Barbaric . If Hamas had tanks and F18s there would be a war , but they don't have that all they have is 2 bob rockets to fire across their own border

Israel is barbaric, is it? Do you realize the genocidal intentions of Hamas against Jews? What Israel did was a pin prick compared to Hamas intentions. Israel is supposed to wait around until Hamas gets strong enough to seriously have a chance? Why should they? Your comparison is daft. I'm not saying Israel didn't make tragic mistakes of course they did, but the idea was to crush Hamas, and sadly they didn't do that yet.

Hamas' genocidal intentions are as far from reality as are your intentions having daily sex with an ugly woman

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<

Very sad. It is too bad that the Hamas terrorists caused it and refused to stop shooting rockets into Israel. It was a big mistake electing war criminals to run the Palestinian government.

Going by those principle Britain would have been with their rights to carpet bomb West Belfast while bombs were going off in London.

I never heard that the IRA were the elected government of West Belfast and that they were shooting rockets from there into England. That is probably because it never happened. It is ridiculous spin.

Sinn fein the political wing off the IRA at the time were a powerful political party in the Catholic part of Belfast, also had MPs , though they wouldnt sit in Westminster I believe

Hamas' genocidal intentions are as far from reality as are your intentions having daily sex with an ugly woman

Hamas' genocidal intentions are made quite clear in their Charter.

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Propaganda...

Don't think for a minute this is true

Really , so there all living in Luxury are they , with their Villas and Yachts . People call it lies because it doesn't suit their agenda

Pratt,

Propanda, is propaganda. When you send us a selfie from Gaza, then we will believe you, until then, you are another British or French stooge:

Hamas's New Army of Children

[Khaled Abu Toameh]

Summary ... Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar declared that some of the boys would be recruited to fire mortars and rockets at Israel. And of course, he reiterated Hamas's true goal, namely the destruction of Israel. When Hamas talks about "liberation," it means it wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and replace it with an Islamic state.

For the past several months, Hamas leaders have been complaining that they do not have enough money to rebuild the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the last war with Israel.

However, it appears that Hamas does have enough funds to train, arm, and indoctrinate thousands of young Palestinian [sic] men and boys.

While thousands of Palestinian families who lost their houses during the war continue to live in public shelters throughout the Gaza Strip, Hamas recently established 18 camps for military training.

The Hamas military training camps, under the motto "Vanguards of Liberation,"have attracted some 17,000 Palestinian males [translated to English ] aged 15-21. The young recruits were trained [translated to English ] how to use various types of weapons, including pistols, rifles, and mortars. They were also "educated" about the need to eliminate Israel and "restore Palestinian rights."

Samir Abu Aitah, a 15-year-old boy who joined the Hamas-run militia [translated to English ], said: "I now feel very happy because they trained me how to use weapons so that I could fight against the soldiers of the 'occupation'. The Jews have killed thousands of innocent people and that's why I decided to join the path of jihad (holy war) and fight against them with weapons. We want to expel the Jews from our 'occupied' country."

Another 15-year-old boy, Mahmoud al-Kurd, said he really enjoyed being trained with weapons at Hamas's camps. "Our enemy understands only one language — the language of swords."

Al-Kurd's friend, Ismail Elayan, who is also 15, told reporters who visited the training camps: "I decided to join the camp because this will pave the way for liberating all of our country. This is our major goal."

Mohamed al-Najjar, 16, said he joined the training camps because he "loves martyrdom." He added: "I want to pursue the path of resistance until I'm martyred."

Hamas later held a "graduation ceremony" for the young recruits who are expected to serve in its future "Liberation Army." And when Hamas talks about "liberation," it means it wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and replace it with an Islamic state.

Hamas is even boasting that the young Palestinians who have just been brainwashed and trained [translated to English ] on weapons will participate in the next war with Israel.

Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar speaking at Hamas summer camp graduation

Speaking at one of the graduation ceremonies, Hamas co-founder and senior official Mahmoud Zahar declared[translated to English ] that some of the boys would be recruited to fire mortars and rockets at Israel. And, of course, he reiterated Hamas's true goal, namely the destruction of Israel.

"These young men will soon be standing behind the rockets, which they will fire at every inch of Palestine until it is completely liberated," Zahar said. "These boys will liberate Palestine and the Aqsa Mosque. Hamas will continue to support the training camps and provide them with as much funds and weapons as they need. This will continue until we achieve our goal — the liberation of Palestine."

So Zahar is actually admitting that Hamas is not facing a financial crisis, as it has no problem funding any program designed to poison the hearts and minds of Palestinian youths. Nor does Hamas have any problem supplying the youths with weapons, according to the Hamas leader.

If Hamas has the resources to fund and arm a new "Liberation Army" consisting of 17,000 fighters, why does it continue to demand that the international community allocate billions of dollars for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip? The money that was spent on the "Vanguards of Liberation" training camps could have [and were meant to have] solved the problems facing thousands of Palestinian families who lost their homes during last summer's war (Operation Protective Edge).

But Hamas, which is first and foremost responsible for the tragedy of these families, is not interested in taking any part in the efforts to rebuild destroyed homes. Instead, Hamas seems to be more determined than ever to continue raising new generations of Palestinians on jihad and hatred.

Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip into a huge training camp for jihadis and militiamen affiliated not only with it but also with the Islamic State. By forming a new army that consists mostly of teenagers, Hamas is committing a crime against Palestinians in general and young people in particular.

This is all happening at a time when the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank [sic] continues with its threats to file "war crimes" charges against Israel. Obviously, the PA and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, do not see Hamas's cynical exploitation and abuse of Palestinian children as a war crime.

Hamas has made it clear that it plans to send the teenagers to launch rockets and mortars at Israel, with the hope that they would achieve "martyrdom." But this does not seem to bother Abbas or the Palestinian Authority, or even the international community.

If and when the International Criminal Court convenes to consider "war crimes" in the Middle East, the first thing the judges should look into is how Hamas sent thousands of Palestinian teenagers to their deaths and, as that was happening, how Abbas and the Palestinian Authority looked the other way.

Hamas' genocidal intentions are as far from reality as are your intentions having daily sex with an ugly woman

Why project your personal fantasies on someone else?

Pratt,

Propanda, is propaganda. When you send us a selfie from Gaza, then we will believe you, until then, you are another British or French stooge:

I cant be cutting and pasting all of that, so I'll reply down here. Lets give it the benefit of the doubt and say what you posted was factual . For what reason do you think that 17,000 Palestinian young men signed up to be trained to fight Israel ? Could it be they are somewhat desperate because of there treatment under and they are under Israel ? Its not normal is it for that amount of people to be prepared to die because they have nothing left . Israel is breeding these people by their actions the would totally undermine Hamas if they made some concessions . The Palestinians will continue to vote for Hamas as long as they feel they are being persecuted by Israel

By the way , only my Missus calls me Pratt , quite often actually

As if they will ever have a free election under Hamas. Dissent there is fatal.

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For what reason do you think that 17,000 Palestinian young men signed up to be trained to fight Israel ?

Plenty of Palestinians were attacking Jews at the turn of last century - when they way outnumbered the Jews - and plenty joined the war in 1948 when they refused the UN deal for their own country and attacked Israel. The Palestinians started fighting long before they had any reason to blame Israel for the troubles they have mostly brought on themselves. .

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Ulysses G.

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Plenty of Palestinians were attacking Jews at the turn of last century - when they outnumbered the Jew - and plenty joined the war in 1948 when they refused the UN deal for their own country and attacked Israel. The Palestinians started fighting long before they had any reason to blame Israel.

I believe they knew the writing was on the wall, however its still wrong but does not justify bombing a refugee camp killing 2000 people

If you are referring to Gaza, stopping the thousands of rockets being fired from there is plenty of justification and pretty much any country on earth would have done the same.

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Ulysses G.

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If yo are referring to Gaza, stopping the thousand of rockets being fired from there is plenty of justification and pretty much any country on earth would have done the same.

I doubt that very much actually, Half a dozen of your citizens killed so you go on a bombing campaign of a refugee camp for a months killing 2000 ? I don't think many civilized countries would do that and don't do that

Well you are wrong. No country of earth would allow thousands of rockets to be shot at towns and cities on their sovereign territory. Stopping it would always be a top priority and Israel did the same thing that almost anyone would do. It is just lucky that the Israelis are smart enough to prevent more of their own citizens from dying, because it certainly is not because of lack of trying on the Palestinians' part.

Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Ulysses G.

Well you are wrong. No country of earth would allow thousands of rockets to be shot at towns and cities on their sovereign territory. Stopping it would always be a top priority and Israel did the same thing that almost anyone would do. It is just lucky that the Israelis are smart enough to prevent more of their own citizens from dying, because it certainly is not because of lack of trying on the Palestinians' part.

The Israel demonizers think Jews should just accept their fate as was largely the situation before state power was achieved with the founding of Israel. Funny how they think Jews with a state should have "morals" that their own nations wouldn't when facing an enemy with clear intentions to destroy their state.

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Edited March 2, 201511 yr by Jingthing

Well you are wrong. No country of earth would allow thousands of rockets to be shot at towns and cities on their sovereign territory. Stopping it would always be a top priority and Israel did the same thing that almost anyone would do. It is just lucky that the Israelis are smart enough to prevent more of their own citizens from dying, because it certainly is not because of lack of trying on the Palestinians' part.

The stop the 1000s of rockets pretext for the Gaza war is a complete myth.

Members please read the link below and judge for yourselves who is telling the truth and who is trying to muddy the timeline of events

In the 6 weeks prior to Operation Brothers Keeper which began the last years Gaza War 5 rockets fell harmlessly...that’s less than one per week!

And 3 mortar rounds fired at a military target IDF forces on the Gaza border (see below what provocations the IDF had been up to during this same period)

Here’s the real timeline of events, not your dishonest myth about a fictitious IDF response to 1000s of rockets pretext in the 6 weeks prior to Operation Brothers Keeper. When you read what actually happened prior to Netanyahu launching his murderous provocation, you can see that Hamas had in fact shown considerable restraint...5 harmless rockets in response to the IDF’s 5 assassinations plus several injuries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2014

May 1 A rocket hit an open area in Eshkol. No one were hurt, no damage was reported.

May 21 Several [3] mortar rounds were fired at IDF forces on the Gaza border. No injuries, damages in attack.

May 23 A rocket exploded in open field in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. No reports of damages or injuries.

June 1 A rocket was fired early Sunday morning at the Eshkol region. The rocket landed in a field and no casualties were reported.

June 11 A rocket fired from Gaza narrowly missed a main artery in southern Israel as it landed in a nearby dirt field without causing any injuries.

While in that same period here’s what the IDF had been up to...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_assassinations

May 15 In Beitunia in cold blood 2 students shot dead one in the back, and a 3^rd injured after a demonstration. “The Nakba Day shooting sums up the crime of occupation, which has turned the IDF from the people’s army into a hothouse of violence.The report in Haaretz that a non-combat soldier attached to the Border Police force fired, contrary to regulations, at Palestinian protesters during the riots in Beitunia – apparently because of “boredom” http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.596219

May 24 The Military Police has opened investigations into the circumstances of the deaths of at least 18 Palestinians in the West Bank in the last two years, but has completed only three of these probes. In only one case was an Israeli soldier charged and convicted.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.592588

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Well you are wrong. No country of earth would allow thousands of rockets to be shot at towns and cities on their sovereign territory. Stopping it would always be a top priority and Israel did the same thing that almost anyone would do. It is just lucky that the Israelis are smart enough to prevent more of their own citizens from dying, because it certainly is not because of lack of trying on the Palestinians' part.

The Israel demonizers think Jews should just accept their fate as was largely the situation before state power was achieved with the founding of Israel. Funny how they think Jews with a state should have "morals" that their own nations wouldn't when facing an enemy with clear intentions to destroy their state.

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I'm not demonizing anyone Jews or Arabs ,I dont agree with any of the kiling each other , But Israel is behaving like an irresponsible Mong The way they are proceeding is wrong. And the" thousand of Rockets" well they've killed about half a dozen people in 5 years, so the "Thousands Of Rockets" are a pathetic attempt at fighting back it does not deserve a prolonged slaughter of women and children in bombing raids and "Precision Rocket strikes". Hamas don't give a shit about their own people I would think , but Israels actions add fuel to Hamas's fire