Two new reports tell more of the horror stories of the war in Gaza and its devastating damage. First, a great report from Anjali Kamat for Democracy Now entitled "Land of Ruins: A Special Report on Gaza’s Economy."
And Jewish Peace News had a post yesterday on a new report on the war from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS). The report consists of Gazan testimonies from the war. From the report:
One of the testimonies in the report describes the aftermath of an
attack. Muhammad Saad Abu Halima had lost two brothers and a young
sister; his wife and daughter were wounded. He told the delegation his
experience of evacuation:"…We were going down the street Kamal
Adwan, and we had almost reached the school when the soldiers halted
us. A tank appeared on the street and stopped close to the school. The
soldiers were occupying the second floor of a building which was only
20 meters away from the street. They could see that we were all wounded
and dirty from the explosions, because the tractor was open at the
back. They shot at us, killing my cousins Matar Saad Abu Halima and
Muhammad Hikma Abu Halima, who were driving us to the hospital. The
soldiers ordered us to get out of the tractor, and they asked me to
take off my clothes. I did it and they checked all my body. I think
they were looking for explosives, but we were all injured and in
pitiful conditions. How could we think of carrying explosives when my
younger siblings and my own children were dying? Then, when I was
almost expecting death, they shouted at me: "you can get dressed and
go". They did not allow us to use the tractor. I held my sister
Shahed in my arms … but the soldiers said that the baby was already
dead, so they forced me to leave her in the car. I tried to help my
wife Ghada, who was completely burned, and they forced us to walk to
the hospital. For about 300 meters the soldiers were shooting at our
feet as we walked, raising so much dust that the wounds of my wife
became full of dirt. After a while we saw a lorry on the road. It was
overcrowded with people going to the hospital after the heavy attacks,
but they made us room and we arrived at Shifa' Hospital…."Another
testimony in the report tells the story of the Abed Rabbo family. Souad
Abed Rabbo, 54, told the team that the soldiers called to the family to
exit their house. She, her daughter-in-law and her three granddaughters
exited the house holding white flags:"Outside the house there
was an Israeli tank. It had come from the west towards the house that
was facing north. It was 11.30 – 12.00. The tank was in the garden
about ten meters from her, when she stopped to receive permission to
leave unharmed. On her right side were the three girls; behind her was
the daughter-in-law close to the door of the house. The soldier on the
tank never replied. They were looking into each others' eyes for 7-10
minutes, when suddenly a soldier opened fire and shot the granddaughter
of the witness, Souad, in the neck and chest. She died immediately.
They also shot Amal. She was hit in the chest and abdomen, and the
interviewee saw her intestines come out. Amal died a little later. The
daughter in law ran immediately into the house and was not hurt. The
witness Souad Abed Rabbo was hit twice, as she turned around in a
clockwise movement. She was hit in the left arm and in the left
buttock. She did not see who shot. She assumed that the shots were
fired from gun(s) not from the tank, but she was not certain. She
saw three soldiers on top of the tanks holding weapons…Samar was hit in
the chest with the bullet coming out of the back…at the time of the
interview she was in a hospital in Belgium suffering paralysis."
Jewish Peace News notes that the report concludes with the observation,"The underlying meaning of the attack on the Gaza Strip, or at least its final consequence, appears to be one of creating terror without mercy to anyone."
