Dr. Ehab Jasir al-Shaer, a physician specializing in dermatology, a graduate of a university in Ukraine, has not been at his clinic since 27 December 2008. On that day, Ehab, his brother Raja, Ehab’s uncle Yasir and Ehab’s cousins Haitham and Tamer, all went to the Rafah governorate local administration building in Rafah City in the south of the Gaza Strip where they live. Rami Almeghari reports from the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about Dr. Ehab isn't there anymore
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israel has committed war crimes and should be prosecuted in an international court, says Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza. “The repeated bombing of clearly marked civilian buildings, where civilians were sheltering, crosses several red lines in regard to international law,” Sourani told IPS. Read more about Israel may face charges for war crimes
GAZACITY/RAMALLAH, Occupied Palestinian Territory (IRIN) - Civilians are finding it increasingly difficult to find food in Gaza. Markets opened briefly in Gaza City on 5 January, but they had little to offer, according to residents. Queues for bread formed, with buyers limited to five shekels worth per person — about 35 flat breads — not enough for families with an average of six children. Read more about Gaza short of food
I was outside trying to fix my car radio on a calm, sunny day around 11:30am. It was 27 December 2008. Suddenly there were loud booms overhead. Pillars of smoke began rising up in the sky. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about A dad, a refugee and a reporter in Gaza
In early December the European Parliament postponed a vote on the proposal by the EU Commission and Council for a draft recommendation to conclude a Protocol to the EU-Israel Association Agreement, including general principles governing the State of Israel’s participation in Community programs. This vote would have been an important step in the process of upgrading EU-Israel relations, requested by Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, during her hearing in the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs. Adri Nieuwhof and Daniel Machover comment. Read more about Czech EU presidency misses the mark on Gaza
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - At least 42 Palestinians sheltering in a UN school in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City were killed Tuesday afternoon after two Israeli tank shells exploded outside the school. Hundreds of terrified Palestinians, desperately trying to escape the bombing, had sought shelter there assuming that a clearly marked school would not be targeted. Palestinian sources reported that the school was one of 26 residential buildings hit Tuesday. Read more about Israel attacks schools, ambulances
A good, kind, brave and very funny man was killed on 4 January as he loaded the body of a young civilian killed by the Israeli occupation forces into an ambulance. Emergency medical workers, Arafa Hani Abed al-Dayem (35), and Alaa Ossama Sarhan (21), answered the call to retrieve two friends: Thaer Abed Hammad (19), who was wounded, and his friend Ali (19), who was killed while fleeing shelling by Israeli tanks. Eva Bartlett writes from the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about I will tell you how Arafa died
Israel claims to have attacked 1,000 of what it calls “Hamas targets.” Independent media, UN aid officials and human rights organizations have documented that most of these attacks struck private homes, mosques, universities, schools, government buildings, police stations and charities. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about Witnesses to Israel's war crimes
UNITEDNATIONS (IPS) - Disappointed with the Security Council’s inaction regarding the worsening situation in Gaza, diplomats from numerous nations of the global South are close to taking the case of Israeli aggression to the United Nations General Assembly. “It seems like they will wait for another day or two about what happens at the Security Council. If the Council does not take any action, they will be going to the General Assembly soon,” a diplomatic source told IPS on condition of anonymity. Read more about UN diplomats frustrated at Gaza impasse
Thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to protest the continuing Israeli aggression against Gaza and the participation of the Egyptian regime in the isolation of its population. Last Wednesday, the state responded with a major crackdown in which tens of protestors and journalists were assaulted and arrested. Per Bjorklund reports from Cairo. Read more about Egypt government feels its people's ire
