US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says it is "hard" for Israeli troops to spare civilian lives in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.
"It is very difficult in circumstances like Gaza, which is a very densely populated area," Rice told reporters when asked if Israel is living up to its humanitarian obligations during its massive military offensive in blood soaked and battered Gaza.
As night fell on Gaza on 01/10/2009 (Saturday), the army continued its illegal offensive for the 15th day killing 854 Palestinians, including 230 children, 93 women, 92 elderly, 14 medics and three journalists. At least 3681 Palestinians, 50% of them children and women, were wounded, 500 seriously, Dr. Moawiya Hassanen of the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.
On 01/09, the Israel cabinet rejected a UN Security Council Resolution 1860 which calls for an immediate halt to the ongoing onslaught against Gaza.
UN aid agencies and the Red Cross have halted their activities in the impoverished strip after Israeli forces attacked a number of humanitarian convoys in the region.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said Thursday that Israel's actions in Gaza are "shocking" violations of the laws of war, putting more than 20,000 people in a critical state of emergency.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is spiraling to a critical state as water and sewage systems are collapsing, hospitals are running on backup generators and access to the wounded remains very restricted.
On 01/08, the International Committee of the Red Cross was distraught after its medics found four emaciated children lying beside their dead mothers in a house containing 12 bodies in the Zaytun district of Gaza City.
"This is a shocking incident… 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," said Pierre Wettach, head of the aid agency's delegation for Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
An Israeli military official claimed that Israel could not always be concerned about the welfare of Palestinian civilians and that its soldiers remained its priority.
No comments:
Post a Comment