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Limited safe passage hampers aid agencies

3 August 2006


Despite being granted safe passage by Israel for some of their humanitarian convoys, relief agencies say limited security clearances, bombed access routes and intensified fighting between Hezbollah militants and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are hampering their aid efforts. The current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on 12 July after Hezbollah captured two IDF soldiers. Israel says its aerial bombardment of parts of Lebanon is aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s “terror infrastructure”. Hezbollah has responded by firing thousands of rockets into northern Israel and has demanded the release of hundreds of Lebanese from Israeli jails and Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territory. 

Young Jews stage "die-in" in Boston to protest Israeli war

Marjorie Dove 3 August 2006


A group of young American Jews staged a “Die In” on Tuesday August 1, 2006 in downtown Boston. “We want to break the false consensus of unequivocal support for Israel and make it known that many American Jews disagree with our government’s support of Israeli aggression. We also want to call attention to the human rights crisis occurring in Gaza and Lebanon,” commented group member Matt Soycher of Jamaica Plain. “As young American Jews, we are outraged and frightened. Recent rallies called by Jewish organizations in support of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza have not spoken for us. Now, we are speaking for ourselves.” 

UN Agencies: Deeply alarmed by continuing violence in Gaza

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Food Programme, World Health Organization, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) 3 August 2006


The United Nations humanitarian agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territory are deeply alarmed by the impact continuing violence is having on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, which has resulted in a sharp decline in the humanitarian situation facing 1.4 million people, more than half of them children. We are concerned that with international attention focusing on Lebanon, the tragedy in Gaza is being forgotten. We estimate that since 28 June, 175 Palestinians have been killed, including approximately 40 children and eight women, and over 620 injured in the Gaza Strip. 

Is Israel any safer now?

Am Johal 3 August 2006


In the narrative which has transpired following the escalation of events the past three weeks, Israel has continued to make the claim to its domestic audience that they would be safer as a result of the IDF military response. In a country which has mandatory military service, its citizens have largely supported the war effort. Except for a few demonstrations in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the broader public largely endorsed the actions of the Israeli government. Many in Israel were saying things like, “Hezbollah started this, now we will finish it. We have lived like this for too long.” 

Beauty and Destruction in Beirut

George Bisharat 3 August 2006


It had always taken my breath away, cresting the ridge from the Beka’a Valley, and descending toward the sea, when I caught the first glimpse of the city of Beirut, framed like a cluster of lustrous pearls against the stunning blue of the Mediterranean. I had traveled that route many times, while studying at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the early seventies, before the madness of the Lebanese civil war made travel there imprudent. Anything seemed possible in the Beirut of the seventies - one could meet people from all over the world, buy books in any language, swim in the sea in the morning, escape to the mountains and ski in the afternoon. 

Israel, not Hizbullah, is putting civilians in danger on both sides of the border

Jonathan Cook 3 August 2006


Here are some interesting points raised this week by a leading commentator and published in a respected daily newspaper: “The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert embeds his soldiers in Israeli communities, next to schools, beside hospitals, close to welfare centres, ensuring that any Israeli target is also a civilian target. This is the practice the UN’s Jan Egeland had in mind when he lambasted Israel’s ‘cowardly blending … among women and children’.” You probably did not read far before realising that I have switched “Israel” for “Hizbullah” and “Ehud Olmert” for “Hassan Nasrallah”. 

Fatal strikes: Israel's indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Lebanon

3 August 2006


This report documents serious violations of international humanitarian law (the laws of war) by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Lebanon between July 12 and July 27, 2006, as well as the July 30 attack in Qana. During this period, the IDF killed an estimated 400 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and that number climbed to over 500 by the time this report went to print. The Israeli government claims it is taking all possible measures to minimize civilian harm, but the cases documented here reveal a systematic failure by the IDF to distinguish between combatants and civilians. 

UN reports increase in Israeli shells fired into Gaza

3 August 2006


There has been a significant rise in the number of artillery shells fired by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) into Gaza, which remains tense, a United Nations spokesman reported today. With at least 1,050 shells fired in the last week, the UN remains “remain very concerned about the threat this poses to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Ahmad Fawzi told reporters in New York. The IDF shelling of the northern Gaza strip continues to bring more fatalities and increased internal displacement, he said. In the latest round of violence a 24-year old woman and a 14-year old boy were killed east of Beit Lahiya by an artillery shell. Four other people were reported injured. 

Amnesty International: IDF inquiry into Qana a whitewash

3 August 2006


The investigation carried out by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) into the air-missile attack on Qana was clearly inadequate and reinforces the need for the urgent dispatch of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC). “We cannot allow any investigation into the events in Qana to be a whitewash. What is needed here is an independent investigation which can look at all credible reports of serious violations of international humanitarian law taking place in this conflict. Any investigation needs the capacity to cross borders and talk to survivors of the attack as well as to the forces involved,” said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International. 

Beirut will never die

Zena El-Khalil Beirut 3 August 2006


Despite the threats of Beirut being blown up today, here were people working … here were everyday people, coming together to help in any way they could. I was filled with so much love, being around such passionate people. Something changed tonight. I guess when you are looking at death, straight in the eyes, you find a new kind of courage. You realize how important it is to hang on to what you have. You fight for life with a new kind of passion. I have spent the last three weeks mourning the loss of Beirut … mourning the loss of my dreams and my work. Now, it’s time to accept what is happening and take charge of the situation. Beirut, she will never die.