Hard-hit Gaza neighborhood still trying to recover from war

[webfact]

Hard-hit Gaza neighborhood still trying to recover from war
DALTON BENNETT, Associated Press
FARES AKRAM, Associated Press

SHIJAIYAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — After weeks of sharing cramped quarters with relatives during last year's war between Hamas and Israel, 39-year-old Mohammed al-Selek thought nothing of it when he heard the incoming roar of two mortar shells. But once a suffocating cloud of acrid smoke filled the stairwell, his heart sank — the family's home had been struck by Israeli fire.

Moments before, he had been enjoying a rare break, relaxing with a cup of tea and cookies as he marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The house was filled with his children, nieces and nephews, and al-Selek's father had taken the restless kids to play up on the rooftop, where the family kept rabbits and chickens.

After the explosion, al-Selek and his wife ran up the five flights of stairs to the roof and found a sight he still struggles to comprehend.

"We found an unbelievable scene — my children along with my father lying on the ground," said al-Selek, recounting the horror to an Associated Press crew that revisited the neighborhood recently.

Caught in a living nightmare, he saw the bloodied, mangled bodies of all three of his children, his 71-year-old father, Abdul-Kareem, and six other relatives lying next to the chicken coup and rabbit cages. Feathers and fur from the animals the children had begged their grandfather to see shortly before were strewn everywhere.

Al-Selek's life changed forever that July 30.

The Israeli strike on his home in Gaza's Shijaiyah neighborhood, just along the border with Israel, came at the height of the fighting and was one of the deadliest single incidents during the entire conflict. Two AP reporters arrived in Shijaiyah after the final barrage of mortar strikes subsided, leaving a scene of carnage and bloodshed.

During the 50 days of war, which started July 8, more than 2,200 Palestinians, including more than 1,400 civilians, were killed, according to U.N. figures. Seventy-three people, including six civilians, were killed on the Israeli side.

Because of the heavy casualty toll, Israel's Military Advocate General launched an investigation into the Shijaiyah incident.

The report found that Israeli forces had come under mortar fire from Palestinian militants in the area. Without air surveillance available, they responded to the source of fire, launching a total of 15 mortar shells over an 18-minute period, according to the report. The probe cleared the military personnel of any wrongdoing, finding no evidence of criminal misconduct.

Amid the chaos on that Shijaiyah rooftop, al-Selek said he first found his 5-year-old son, Abdul-Haleem, still breathing among what he described as "piles of flesh with open skulls." He rushed Abdul-Haleem downstairs and outside to an ambulance, then he ran back to the roof and repeated the grim task, carrying the lifeless body of his youngest son, Abdul-Aziz. Grief overcame him when he saw the remains of his 8-year-old daughter, Omeneya, but he could not carry her down.

As he stepped out of the ambulance for a second time to get back to the roof, a white flash signaled a new barrage of shelling. He was knocked down and the explosion severed his right leg below the knee. He thought he would die and he professed his faith before he cried out for help.

By the time the shelling stopped, at least 30 people were dead, including 10 members of al-Selek's extended family — eight of them children.

There is strong evidence Hamas had used residential areas like Shijaiyah for cover throughout the fighting, and AP reporters witnessed rockets flying out of populated neighborhoods at times. The Israeli army says six militants were among those killed in that airstrike, a claim denied by local residents.

"This is one of the most horrible crimes in Gaza," said Mohammed Al-Alami, a lawyer at the independent Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

In a recent report on the war, the U.N. Human Rights Council accused both Israel and Hamas of possible war crimes, claiming attacks by both sides had endangered civilians.

Nearly a year later, the people of Shijaiyah, one of Gaza's most densely populated and impoverished neighborhoods, are still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, especially in hard-hit areas near the Israeli border.

Families like the al-Seleks had thought they would be spared from the fighting — and even sheltered relatives from across Gaza because their block's narrow alleyways were far from the front lines.

"Nobody ever thought this neighborhood would be hit and I just don't know how it happened," said Bilal Hmaid, who lost his 55-year-old father, Rajab, in the Shijaiyah shelling.

Bilal, 22, chokes up, remembering that day. Once his father heard the shells hit, he rushed out to help his neighbors, only to be wounded himself by another incoming shell, minutes later.

Gasping for air, Rajab lay among other victims, waiting for help. An AP reporter tied a tourniquet around his leg as water from a rooftop tank pierced by shrapnel pooled around them.

The smell of rust filled the air as blood mixed with petrol and dirt. The wounded cried out for help. Medics with stretchers struggled to navigate the uneven pavement, carrying out triage, selecting those who still had a chance and leaving those who were beyond help.

Rajab was taken to a hospital where he survived for five more days before he died of his wounds.

"People were coming to stay here, saying this is a safe neighborhood," Bilal said. "But for months after the strike, the spirit of the community was gone."

At the al-Selek home, the rabbit cages have since been replaced on the roof but the shrapnel marks on the walls have yet to be covered. A poster with the faces of the 10 al-Selek's family members who died welcomes visitors into the narrow street.

Al-Selek is still struggling to start a new life. For the first six months, he barely slept. He sold his other apartment in Gaza City and moved into his father's bedroom in the Shijaiyah family home.

His once solid frame is now sapped, his muscles atrophied after months in hospital. The new prosthetic leg he was given is too heavy for him, he says, preferring to make his way to and from work in his brother's computer shop on his squeaky crutches.

He seems resigned to his fate.

"It was the darkest day of our life," said al-Selek. "But life goes on. This is the fate of God. Life will not stop despite the loss of my leg and my children."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-06

[Thorgal]

Quote from OP :

"The report found that Israeli forces had come under mortar fire from Palestinian militants in the area. Without air surveillance available, they responded to the source of fire, launching a total of 15 mortar shells over an 18-minute period, according to the report. The probe cleared the military personnel of any wrongdoing, finding no evidence of criminal misconduct."

The Dahiya Doctrine was applied by IDF forces when they started the ground invasion on 20th of July with huge IDF casualties in Shuyihia.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahiya_doctrine

The IDF ground invasion never succeeded.

Quote from link :

"...according to Pentagon reports of the IDF's actions on the 21st, some 258 artillery pieces deployed by 11 Israeli artillery battalions fired around 7,000 high explosive shells into Shuja'iyya, including 4,800 shells in a 7-hour period."

"...The IAF dropped about 100 one-ton bombs..."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya

Sounds a little bit more than the 15 mortar shells fired in 18 minutes as mentioned in OP...

Edited July 6, 2015 by Thorgal

[Ulysses G.]

Very sad. Blame Hamas.

There is strong evidence Hamas had used residential areas like Shijaiyah for cover throughout the fighting, and AP reporters witnessed rockets flying out of populated neighborhoods at times.

[Thorgal]

7) Hamas has never stopped firing rockets into Israel

Jewish Daily Forward: "Hamas hadn't fired a single rocket since [2012 Gaza conflict], and had largely suppressed fire by smaller jihadi groups. Rocket firings, averaging 240 per month in 2007, dropped to five per month in 2013." International Crisis Group: "Fewer rockets were fired from Gaza in 2013 than in any year since 2001, and nearly all those that were fired between the November 2012 ceasefire and the current crisis were launched by groups other than Hamas; the Israeli security establishment testified to the aggressive anti-rocket efforts made by the new police force Hamas established specifically for that purpose.. As Israel (and Egypt) rolled back the 2012 understandings - some of which were implemented spottily at best - so too did Hamas roll back its anti rocket efforts."

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html

[Ulysses G.]

Did you read the OP? That a direct quote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel

Edited July 6, 2015 by Ulysses G.

[Thorgal]

Very sad. Blame Hamas.

There is strong evidence Hamas had used residential areas like Shijaiyah for cover throughout the fighting, and AP reporters witnessed rockets flying out of populated neighborhoods at times.

Can you provide some credible links to your statements ?

[Thorgal]

The OP is about last year when Hamas was firing rockets. Israel used force and put a stop to it.

6) This current Gaza conflict began with Hamas rocket fire on 30 June 2014

Times of Israel: "Hamas operatives were behind a large volley of rockets which slammed into Israel Monday morning, the first time in years the Islamist group has directly challenged the Jewish state, according to Israeli defense officials.. The security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, assessed that Hamas had probably launched the barrage in revenge for an Israeli airstrike several hours earlier which killed one person and injured three more.. Hamas hasn't fired rockets into Israel since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in November 2012."

The Nation: "During ten days of Operation Brother's Keeper in the West Bank [before the start of the Gaza conflict], Israel arrested approximately 800 Palestinians without charge or trial, killed nine civilians and raided nearly 1,300 residential, commercial and public buildings. Its military operation targeted Hamas members released during the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011."

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html

[Ulysses G.]

Very sad. Blame Hamas.

There is strong evidence Hamas had used residential areas like Shijaiyah for cover throughout the fighting, and AP reporters witnessed rockets flying out of populated neighborhoods at times.

Can you provide some credible links to your statements ?

Did you read the OP? That a direct quote.

https://en.wikipedia...tacks_on_Israel

[Thorgal]

Very sad. Blame Hamas.

There is strong evidence Hamas had used residential areas like Shijaiyah for cover throughout the fighting, and AP reporters witnessed rockets flying out of populated neighborhoods at times.

Can you provide some credible links to your statements ?

Did you read the OP? That a direct quote.

https://en.wikipedia...tacks_on_Israel

Wikipedia is really a credible source :

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups

Edited July 6, 2015 by Thorgal

[Ulysses G.]

I'm sure Wikipedia just make up those rocket attacks, but you seemed to think they were "credible" enough when you linked to them a few posts back.

[url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya

Edited July 6, 2015 by Ulysses G.

[Thorgal]

I'm sure Wikipedia just make up those rocket attacks, but you seemed to think they were "credible" enough when you linked to them a few posts back.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya

What happens if my Wikipedia links are edited after I've posted them...

Just take the one that edited your and my threads...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Averysoda

Some special editors are full time editing more than 1200 threads in just 7 months...

I'm not surprised to see a lot of threads on Wikipedia linked to the story of OP to be changed in a short time :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:History/Battle_of_Shuja%27iyya

Edited July 6, 2015 by Thorgal

[Jingthing]

I'm sure Wikipedia just make up those rocket attacks, but you seemed to think they were "credible" enough when you linked to them a few posts back.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shuja'iyya

What happens if my Wikipedia links are edited after I've posted them...

Just take the one that edited your and my threads...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Averysoda

Some special editors are full time editing more than 1200 threads in just 7 months...

Seems to be a good editor who knows his stuff. From your link:

Gay Palestinians are often arrested and tortured. According to Shaul Ganon of the Israeli based gay rights group, Aguda, "The P.A. 's usual excuse for persecuting gays is to label them collaborators--though I know of two cases in the last three years where people were tried explicitly for being homosexuals...It's now [since the intifada, when police increasingly began enforcing Islamic law] impossible to be an open gay in the P.A."

[ezzra]

There is a bunch of people who think that it's a good idea waging war against Israel every

couple of years or so incurring massive losses in lives and properties and the world will foot

the bill to rebuild... well, so far it worked, not so much wit the last war, as the world start to

realize that this thing has no ends and no solutions....

[winstonc]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

[ABCer]

For as long as

- Gaza Arabs are ruled by HAMAS

- Gaza Arabs leaders are paid by the West and other Arabs to keep the War going

- Gaza Arabs are egged on by their Religious leaders to fight to the death

- Gaza Arabs will maintain as their main occupation launching rockets, digging tunnels and educating hate into their kids

Gazans will keep dying.

Condolences to those posters who are unhappy by the ratio of dead on each side.

But the dictates of War are simple:

Hurt your enemy but do not let him hurt you.

Kill more of enemy than the enemy kill of your people.

If the enemy is hiding among the civilians - death of civilians is on the enemy's conscience.

Back to OP:

A very touching and emotional article. Definitely feel sorry for Al-Selek.

<snip> "During the 50 days of war, which started July 8, more than 2,200 Palestinians, including more than 1,400 civilians, were killed, according to U.N. figures. Seventy-three people, including six civilians, were killed on the Israeli side.

Because of the heavy casualty toll, Israel's Military Advocate General launched an investigation into the Shijaiyah incident.

The report found that Israeli forces had come under mortar fire from Palestinian militants in the area. Without air surveillance available, they responded to the source of fire, launching a total of 15 mortar shells over an 18-minute period, according to the report. The probe cleared the military personnel of any wrongdoing, finding no evidence of criminal misconduct."

Message to Thorgal. If you refuse to read the OP, read the snip from it. If you have read it than stop this parrot-like repeating of one only thought. Try to think outside a square box.

I like your Avatar. It looks like the Scandinavian god of war - Thor. I even accept you are the Most Wanted. But even Thor didn't advise people to start a fight they cannot win.

Edited July 7, 2015 by ABCer

[ABCer]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

Like all sweeping statements this is Bullsheet.

A more likely statement is: "Israel and winstonc come from different sides of Humanity".

But do not despair. Both sides exist. Both sides have the right to exist. How long - is another matter.

I am prepared to accept your own judgement, - How long do you hope to exist?

[winstonc]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

Like all sweeping statements this is Bullsheet.

A more likely statement is: "Israel and winstonc come from different sides of Humanity".

But do not despair. Both sides exist. Both sides have the right to exist. How long - is another matter.

I am prepared to accept your own judgement, - How long do you hope to exist?

grow up..im more humane than some kike in israel..you have not mentioned the 6 million yet come on boy get with it.....

Edited July 7, 2015 by winstonc

[Jingthing]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

Like all sweeping statements this is Bullsheet.

A more likely statement is: "Israel and winstonc come from different sides of Humanity".

But do not despair. Both sides exist. Both sides have the right to exist. How long - is another matter.

I am prepared to accept your own judgement, - How long do you hope to exist?

grow up..im more humane than some kike in israel..you have not mentioned the 6 million yet come on boy get with it.....

When someone states something so hateful and ignorant as the one and only Jewish majority nation in the world is a "disgrace to humanity" the logical reaction is to strongly suspect the writer is a rabid Jew hater. At least you have now fully come out with it. I prefer that Jew haters come out of the closet. Easier to deal with than the slippery ones who act like they're not and hide behind only "anti-Zionist" rhetoric.

Edited July 7, 2015 by Jingthing

[Lissos]

The Dahiya Doctrine was applied by IDF forces when....

Don't know if Israel actually uses this doctrine or not, but it is a smart one.

World War II wasn't won with the presence of some kind of moderating panel ensuring 'proportionate responses'. Overwhelming defeat is what ended WWII.

Grim, but true and grounded in reality - not idealism.

Granted, Islamist Jihad is clearly a tenacious SOB though.

One thing for sure though, softly softly doesn't dissuade their will to Jihad.

[ggold]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

Hamas are a disgrace to humanity.

It is they who are holding back the rebuilding of homes for the rebuilding of tunnels into Israel. Hamas take materials transported to Gaza via Israel, slaps a huge tax on it and then sells it on to Gazans.

The PA is supposed to send funds to Gaza to rebuild, But because Hamas controls Gaza the PA will not send funds. Even other Arab countries who promised funds have not sent them because Hamas is in control.

Maybe you share the same level of humanity Hamas has for it's own people to make such a statement?

[chuckd]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

Like all sweeping statements this is Bullsheet.

A more likely statement is: "Israel and winstonc come from different sides of Humanity".

But do not despair. Both sides exist. Both sides have the right to exist. How long - is another matter.

I am prepared to accept your own judgement, - How long do you hope to exist?

grow up..im more humane than some kike in israel..you have not mentioned the 6 million yet come on boy get with it.....

"grow up..im more humane than some kike in israel

My nomination for dumbest post of the year by outing one's self.

Crawl back under your rock, winstonc.

[Seastallion]

israel an utter disgrace to humanity ....

Like all sweeping statements this is Bullsheet.

A more likely statement is: "Israel and winstonc come from different sides of Humanity".

But do not despair. Both sides exist. Both sides have the right to exist. How long - is another matter.

I am prepared to accept your own judgement, - How long do you hope to exist?

grow up..im more humane than some kike in israel..you have not mentioned the 6 million yet come on boy get with it.....

When someone states something so hateful and ignorant as the one and only Jewish majority nation in the world is a "disgrace to humanity" the logical reaction is to strongly suspect the writer is a rabid Jew hater. At least you have now fully come out with it. I prefer that Jew haters come out of the closet. Easier to deal with than the slippery ones who act like they're not and hide behind only "anti-Zionist" rhetoric.

Noooo, it's not logical, it's emotional.

It's not logical, either, to jump from "strongly suspect" to full-on assumption; "at least you've fully come out with it".

This is how the demonisers of the "pro-humanity to Palestinians" crowd work: they call emotive things "logic", and they leap to the "antisemite" label at the drop of a hat, or the mere questioning of Israel's "right to attack civilians".

[nithisa78]

It is not the strongest of the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent;
It is the one that is most adaptable to change.
Charles Darwin

[Lissos]

It is not the strongest of the species that survives,

nor the most intelligent;

It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

Charles Darwin

By that token, the Arabs during the British Mandate era made a fundamental error by outright rejecting the post Ottoman area direction and kicking off murderous riots against Jews there in the 20s and 30s. Adaption was not on the agenda of the hardcore Arab nationalists there who wielded enormous influence over Arabs, leading to a more hardcore mindset among Jews as things moved into the 40s. Just saying. If adaption is the key, then it was lacking among many in that arena.

[ABCer]

The Dahiya Doctrine was applied by IDF forces when....

Don't know if Israel actually uses this doctrine or not, but it is a smart one.

World War II wasn't won with the presence of some kind of moderating panel ensuring 'proportionate responses'. Overwhelming defeat is what ended WWII.

Grim, but true and grounded in reality - not idealism.

Granted, Islamist Jihad is clearly a tenacious SOB though.

One thing for sure though, softly softly doesn't dissuade their will to Jihad.

Agreed. I think many Israel's problems are maintained and exacerbated by their politicians pussyfooted stand. They are trying to be Politically Correct like their European vis-a-vis. Hundreds of pointless senseless cruel morbid killings are committed by ISIS around two continents. People mildly protest and condemn these acts but they are getting desensitized. Israel's Government does not take a firm and rigid enough stand against terrorists. Thus encouraging protests of the European PC groups and continuation of the Arabs terrorism.

I believe a definite hard declared policy of retribution for aggression and terror denying all responsibility for any casualties and collateral damage would encourage Arabs to seek a diplomatic solution. It is time Israelis openly assured Arabs that they have no hope of winning militarily.