Seeing Hedaya slowly regain her smile and her strength is so comforting. At every visit, her beautiful facial features appear more visible and distinct. Um Nayef, her elder sister who accompanied her from Gaza to Cairo, in turn embraces me warmly when I come in and with the Palestinian dialect says ishtanalik, we miss you. I grin and hug her back. We sit down, share a few jokes about Hedaya’s health and exchange hellos with whoever is in the room. Dina Makram-Ebeid writes from Cairo. Read more about Surviving in the "Palestinian Wing"
Wael Selmi displayed a surprising kindness and welcome — you are welcome any time — given that his life’s work had just been leveled by the invading Israeli army. Even more surprising, given that the brothers’ furniture factory in northern Gaza was destroyed by the Israeli army four years ago, causing $300,000 in damage and losses. They’d had it just two years at the time. Along with that ruined factory, the family owns agricultural land which they cannot access near the Erez crossing. Eva Bartlett writes from the Gaza Strip. Read more about No honeymoons in Gaza
Blood is everywhere. Hospital orderlies hose down the floors of operating rooms, bloodied bandages lie discarded in corners, and the injured continue to pour in: bodies lacerated by shrapnel, burns, bullet wounds. Medical workers, exhausted and under siege, work day and night and each life saved is seen as a victory over the predominance of death. Caoimhe Butterly writes from the occupied Gaza Strip. Read more about Still breathing in Gaza
When I’d met the extended Abed Rabu family, before the ground invasion began, they had just had their house bombed by an F-16. Their area has been occupied by Israeli tanks and soldiers since the ground invasion began. Medical workers cannot reach the injured there, and those who have managed to escape testify to imprisonment in their houses, abuse, point-blank shooting (to death), and a number of dead not yet known. Eva Bartlett writes from the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about "Twenty years of a life erased"
“If this thing doesn’t stop in another week, some of them will die. And they know it,” Alberto said about the war on Gaza, as we looked at a photo I’d taken today of Saber, one of the emergency medics in Gaza who risks his life each day. I’d thought the same thing earlier, when I said “yatiek al-afia” (have strength) to each medic climbing into their ambulances. Eva Bartlett writes from the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about Gaza's medics: "They know they are going to die"
Since last night from about 8pm until a little while ago, there have been heavy battles in Tel al-Hawa. They were hitting from the sea, from the air. Tanks were shooting. There were thick clouds of white phosphorus filling the area and filling up houses. They bombed the Red Crescent building and many cars in the street were destroyed. An apartment near me was hit and burned and one on the other side. A number of tall buildings were hit. All the windows and doors are broken and shattered. There were maybe 10 bombs falling every minute. Read more about It was like "The Day After"
“The UNRWA headquarters are in the al-Rimal district in the center of Gaza City. The location is well known to the Israeli authorities as is the fact that they enjoy UN immunity. The damage is great. Although we do not know the exact extent yet, we have lost many trucks, cars and food aid supplies.” UNRWA spokesman Sami Mushasha explains the damage to the UN headquarters in Gaza City following an Israeli strike there. Read more about Israel bombs UN agency headquarters in Gaza City
BRUSSELS (IPS) - Senior European Union figures have signaled that they could push ahead with plans to strengthen formal ties with Israel, even though more than 1,000 have now been killed by the bombardment of Gaza. Two conflicting statements about EU-Israeli relations were delivered 14 January, as the number of Palestinians, about one-third of them children, killed in Gaza continued to climb. Read more about Thousand deaths do not put off EU
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - A number of armed attacks have taken place on Israel’s borders with Palestinian territories in the last six days as Arab public anger over the death and destruction wrought on Gaza spills over from massive street demonstrations. Israeli security officials have voiced concern that the Gaza violence could affect Israel’s borders and that Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Palestinian West Bank could be targeted by armed Palestinians. Read more about Anger begins to knock at Israel's borders
The only three Arab parties represented in the Israeli parliament vowed yesterday to fight a decision by the Central Elections Committee to bar them from running in next month’s general election. In an unprecedented move signaling a further breakdown in Jewish-Arab relations inside Israel, all the main Jewish parties voted on Monday for the blanket disqualification. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about Israel bars Arab parties from election
