Thursday, January 8, 2009

Zeitoun

From a Guardian report:

Four exhausted children have been discovered cowering in a house next to the bodies of their mothers by staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which today accused the Israeli military of "unacceptable" delays in allowing medics safe access to injured Gazans.

The Red Cross workers found the small children, who were so weak they could not stand, sheltering next to the bodies of their mothers in a house in Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City. Another man was found alive, but again too weak to stand. At least 12 bodies were lying on mattresses.

[...]

The Red Cross said Israeli soldiers were posted just 80 metres away and had several positions nearby, including two tanks.

It was a "shocking incident," said Pierre Wettach, head of the Red Cross delegation for Israel and the Palestinian territories. "The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded," he said.

The Red Cross had been asking the Israeli military to allow them access to Zeitoun since Israel's ground invasion began on Saturday, but only a three-hour lull in the fighting on Wednesday allowed them to make the dangerous journey.

The Red Cross said Israel had breached international humanitarian law by not allowing access to the wounded and said it "considers the delay in allowing rescue services access unacceptable".

[...]

Obama continues to ponder the situation and will have "plenty to say" after January 20th. What a dick.


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