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"It was before dawn," the Gaza resident recalls, through an interpreter. "I went out on my balcony to have a glass of water and get a breath of fresh air."
There were explosions in the distance, but nothing that worried him.
And then, a rocket hit the bedroom where his daughters usually sleep.
Luckily, they had stayed in the living room last night. No one was hurt. Everyone in the house all 40 extended family members rushed downstairs and outside.
"We divided people up and sent them different places. Some went to another neighborhood," he says. "The men and boys stayed outside. We sent most of the kids down the street to our cousins' house."
Israeli army flares illuminate the sky above the Gaza Strip on Friday. At least three people, including two children, ages 4 and 7, were killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza, medics said.
Abu Tawila was still on the street when more Israeli rockets hit his home. And he was there when something bigger hit the home where he'd sent the children.
"They were shooting flares to light up the area. And the kids were wearing their pajamas, which are very bright red, pink, yellow," he says. "So they knew kids left my house and went to my cousins' house. They knew there were women and children there."
Israel says it is trying to minimize civilian casualties and has warned civilians to leave certain areas. In this incident, 14 people were injured, including 22-year-old Momin Abu Tawila...
...But a temporary intensive care ward down the hall is like a different world: cool, quiet and with nurses in attendance. Madleen Abu Tawila, 12, lies alone, her right arm and stomach bandaged. She was home when her cousins rushed there for safety in the morning. Her father, Majed Abu Tawila, says he prayed that morning with his young son.
"He wanted to pray fast and finish, and didn't wait for his daughter. She said, 'You prayed without me, why did you do that?' So he said 'OK, don't worry, take the [prayer carpet] and go pray.' So she took it and started prayed. So he walked all the way down to the garden, to the yard of the house."
That's where he was when his house was hit. He found his daughter just where he'd left her to pray.
His daughter's stomach was blown open; her intestines and other inner parts tumbled out. Majed Abu Tawila tells the interpreter that his daughter "took her stomach back with her hand," and he took her to the hospital.
A nurse says the 12-year-old is stable. Family members thought they were far enough from the border that they'd be safe. But the military is still bombing buildings in Gaza City, too.
Even if the Israelis would open the crossings and let women and kids leave, first of all for the security of Israel they'd have to do something along the lines of strip-search everyone : (( That wouldn't go over well, I'm sure. But I fear it would be necessary because there are simply too many 'loose cannon' fanatics in the area.
And then, the refugees would have to be placed in secure settings - which I'm sure every HR agency would be rushing to 'inspect' (just so they could accuse the Israelis of 'abuses')....... and that in itself would be a further problem. And we can add to that the resentment of some Israelis for whatever funds it'd cost for the entire operation (if you want to condemn those Israelis - about 90% of folks in MASS were *against* taking in less than a thousand child refugees from Latin America. And we're not at war with them)
And of course, HAMAS would most likely label anyone who left as a 'traitor' - so who knows if they'd ever be allowed back to Gaza? What would HAMAS do to the men left in Gaza? I can see the HAMAS 'leaders' telling a guy "If you do this suicide mission, we'll forgive you for allowing your family to leave...." or some such.
And what about their husbands and fathers and brothers? And their sons when they grow up? Would that many more families be split apart ?
Sadly, there isn't much of a chance the Egyptians would consider opening the gates at Rafah and allowing non-combatants to take refuge there : (( Aside from the continual headache those smuggling tunnels have been - there's the matter than Sinai is basically like 'Indian territory' from some 'Western' movie. So the refugees wouldn't be safe unless there were a heavy Egyptian military presence......and see again all the 'logistics' problems.
If some HR or relief agency tried to set up camps - who would be able to protect those camps? And which nations would be willing to fund such an undertaking?
I don't think there's anything much IN that border area - so what good would it be to send people there to sit out the hostilities?
There'd still be vehicles and such going back and forth - and you don't want to have potential hostiles where they can spot convoys or something.
I don't know about anyone else - but if I were a Gazan and I was sent to a camp on the border, I'd be using whatever I had to dig a tunnel just to get somewhere else.
Even if the Israelis would open the crossings and let women and kids leave, first of all for the security of Israel they'd have to do something along the lines of strip-search everyone : (( That wouldn't go over well, I'm sure. But I fear it would be necessary because there are simply too many 'loose cannon' fanatics in the area.
And then, the refugees would have to be placed in secure settings - which I'm sure every HR agency would be rushing to 'inspect' (just so they could accuse the Israelis of 'abuses')....... and that in itself would be a further problem. And we can add to that the resentment of some Israelis for whatever funds it'd cost for the entire operation (if you want to condemn those Israelis - about 90% of folks in MASS were *against* taking in less than a thousand child refugees from Latin America. And we're not at war with them)
And of course, HAMAS would most likely label anyone who left as a 'traitor' - so who knows if they'd ever be allowed back to Gaza? What would HAMAS do to the men left in Gaza? I can see the HAMAS 'leaders' telling a guy "If you do this suicide mission, we'll forgive you for allowing your family to leave...." or some such.
And what about their husbands and fathers and brothers? And their sons when they grow up? Would that many more families be split apart ?
Sadly, there isn't much of a chance the Egyptians would consider opening the gates at Rafah and allowing non-combatants to take refuge there : (( Aside from the continual headache those smuggling tunnels have been - there's the matter than Sinai is basically like 'Indian territory' from some 'Western' movie. So the refugees wouldn't be safe unless there were a heavy Egyptian military presence......and see again all the 'logistics' problems.
If some HR or relief agency tried to set up camps - who would be able to protect those camps? And which nations would be willing to fund such an undertaking?
I know this is gonna sound stupid but what the heck. There is a rather wide buffer zone on the Gaza border..
A lot has been given back to Gaza.. Enough to support 10,000 farmers. If there was a WILL to create infrastructure there for evacuations, it could be staffed by International Aid agencies and/or Israel whenever the fighting occurred. Whether INTERNAL fighting or between Israel and Hamas. As Marge notes though, with Hamas in charge, those evacuating would be as likely to have their homes damaged for fleeing by Hamas as by the IDF...
Moving to open spaces, of course! The so-called "humanitarians" and UNRWA could've had a medal for organizing that, but, since palistanians look good dead on TV (it's, like, their politically correct state) and said "humanitarians" and the UNRWA (the largest UN agency, tailor-made to "serve" palistanians only) make a living off and thrive on palistanian artificial "misery", they wouldn't and won't, of course.So what can they do?
Sounds like they should have left the area and gotten far from the advancing Israelis, immediately after receiving the Israeli warnings, while they still had the chance.So what can they do? Nothing. Nowhere is safe and they can't leave.
It truly sucks for the Palestinians who want to make a better life for themselves and their children. When Hamas gets wind of them, they camp in their yard and launch missiles from there. Hamas needs to be destroyed, they don't give a rats pitootey about the Palestinians. Not one little bit.
How is the IDF a 'bastard'?It truly sucks for the Palestinians who want to make a better life for themselves and their children. When Hamas gets wind of them, they camp in their yard and launch missiles from there. Hamas needs to be destroyed, they don't give a rats pitootey about the Palestinians. Not one little bit.
Hamas are a bunch of bloody idiots, but that hardly excuses Israel's bastard IDF.
In hilarious words of Paul Treanor "[Human Rights Watch] ... is certainly not an association of "concerned private citizens." HRW board members include present and past government employees, and overlapping directorates link it to the major foreign policy lobbies in the US. Cynically summarised, Human Rights Watch is a joint venture of George Soros and the State Department."Israel/Palestine: Unlawful Israeli Airstrikes Kill Civilians | Human Rights Watch
Inside Gaza And Under Israeli Fire, A Family Tries To Stay Safe : Parallels : NPR"It was before dawn," the Gaza resident recalls, through an interpreter. "I went out on my balcony to have a glass of water and get a breath of fresh air."
There were explosions in the distance, but nothing that worried him.
And then, a rocket hit the bedroom where his daughters usually sleep.
Luckily, they had stayed in the living room last night. No one was hurt. Everyone in the house all 40 extended family members rushed downstairs and outside.
"We divided people up and sent them different places. Some went to another neighborhood," he says. "The men and boys stayed outside. We sent most of the kids down the street to our cousins' house."
Israeli army flares illuminate the sky above the Gaza Strip on Friday. At least three people, including two children, ages 4 and 7, were killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza, medics said.
Abu Tawila was still on the street when more Israeli rockets hit his home. And he was there when something bigger hit the home where he'd sent the children.
"They were shooting flares to light up the area. And the kids were wearing their pajamas, which are very bright red, pink, yellow," he says. "So they knew kids left my house and went to my cousins' house. They knew there were women and children there."
Israel says it is trying to minimize civilian casualties and has warned civilians to leave certain areas. In this incident, 14 people were injured, including 22-year-old Momin Abu Tawila...
...But a temporary intensive care ward down the hall is like a different world: cool, quiet and with nurses in attendance. Madleen Abu Tawila, 12, lies alone, her right arm and stomach bandaged. She was home when her cousins rushed there for safety in the morning. Her father, Majed Abu Tawila, says he prayed that morning with his young son.
"He wanted to pray fast and finish, and didn't wait for his daughter. She said, 'You prayed without me, why did you do that?' So he said 'OK, don't worry, take the [prayer carpet] and go pray.' So she took it and started prayed. So he walked all the way down to the garden, to the yard of the house."
That's where he was when his house was hit. He found his daughter just where he'd left her to pray.
His daughter's stomach was blown open; her intestines and other inner parts tumbled out. Majed Abu Tawila tells the interpreter that his daughter "took her stomach back with her hand," and he took her to the hospital.
A nurse says the 12-year-old is stable. Family members thought they were far enough from the border that they'd be safe. But the military is still bombing buildings in Gaza City, too.
So what can they do? Nothing. Nowhere is safe and they can't leave
Did hamass idiots think they wouldn't be shot up because they're bloody idiots?Hamas are a bunch of bloody idiots, but that hardly excuses Israel's bastard IDF.
