Palestinian children tortured, used as shields by Israel: U.N.

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Treatment is sought in U.S. for 3-year-old victim of white phosphorus attack in Gaza

One day human-rights-worker Fares Akram brought my group to a house in Beit Lahiya in the north of Gaza. He wanted to show us the hole in the roof made by a white phosphorus shell. It was smaller than a manhole, and throughout the apartment building the walls were still blackened and the studs charred.The matriarch in that house was Sabah Abu Halima, 45. Today she is a psychological wreck. In the few instants in which the long tentacles of white phosphorus were trapped in her house, she lost her husband, three sons, and her only daughter. Relief workers from the*Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund*say that Sabah is plagued by "nightmares and deep feelings of sadness."Sabah also lost a daughter-in-law. The woman, whose name I don’t know, died in Egypt, being treated for her burns after the war. When this woman whose name I don’t know died, her badly-burned daughter was alongside her: 3-year-old Farah Abu Halima. The Egyptian hospital sent the girl back to Gaza before long, not fully treated. Her picture is below. An uncle is holding her. Farah is also psychologically damaged. She can’t remove her fingers from her mouth when people come to visit, and she clings to her uncle.*Farah will need months of surgeries, and steady psychological assessment. Her grandmother would be the natural relative to accompany her, but the grandmother is a wreck. An aunt will come with her. (Farah is dependent on her uncle, but Sosebee’s fund has learned that they can’t bring Arab men into the U.S. for a number of reasons.) Treatment is sought in U.S. for 3-year-old victim of white phosphorus attack in Gaza | Mondoweiss.

 

[Coyote]

A little girl named Fera has burns all over her body and her mother died from burns and other family members died. And the deaths and injuries were caused when Israel used white phosphorous against civilians in ground operations during Cast Lead.

Why was this girl and mother outside and not taking shelter or did she live in the houses where Hamas forced the residents out at gunpoint in order for those residents to be again used as pawns in their campaign?

There was no clear shelter and civilians received contradictory information on safety. In addition, places that were supposed to be shelter ended up under attack.

There's no evidence that Hamas forced residents out at gunpoint.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

A little girl named Fera has burns all over her body and her mother died from burns and other family members died. And the deaths and injuries were caused when Israel used white phosphorous against civilians in ground operations during Cast Lead.

Why was this girl and mother outside and not taking shelter or did she live in the houses where Hamas forced the residents out at gunpoint in order for those residents to be again used as pawns in their campaign?

The civilian family were attacked in their civilian home with white phosphorous. This case is discussed by many human rights groups, to include Amnesty and Btselem and HRW.

 

[krych3k]

A little girl named Fera has burns all over her body and her mother died from burns and other family members died. And the deaths and injuries were caused when Israel used white phosphorous against civilians in ground operations during Cast Lead.

Why was this girl and mother outside and not taking shelter or did she live in the houses where Hamas forced the residents out at gunpoint in order for those residents to be again used as pawns in their campaign?

The civilian family were attacked in their civilian home with white phosphorous. This case is discussed by many human rights groups, to include Amnesty and Btselem and HRW.

WP cannot get into people's homes if they simply close their windows and doors.

 

[krych3k]

A little girl named Fera has burns all over her body and her mother died from burns and other family members died. And the deaths and injuries were caused when Israel used white phosphorous against civilians in ground operations during Cast Lead.

Why was this girl and mother outside and not taking shelter or did she live in the houses where Hamas forced the residents out at gunpoint in order for those residents to be again used as pawns in their campaign?

There was no clear shelter and civilians received contradictory information on safety. In addition, places that were supposed to be shelter ended up under attack.

There's no evidence that Hamas forced residents out at gunpoint.

A bedroom is sufficient shelter from WP. Do you know what WP is?

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Farah abu Halima, victim of white phosphorus attack, is on her way to California

Great news. Farah Abu Halima, a three-year-old who was badly injured by an Israeli white phosphorus attack that destroyed most of her family last January, has reportedly left Gaza and is in Egypt now with her grandmother. She has a visa to the U.S. and is to fly out on Saturday, headed for hospital treatment in San Diego. In the photo above, you can see the burns on her chin and throat. The burns across her abdomen and legs are far worse and have already affected her growth. Her hand is also damaged. Farah abu Halima, victim of white phosphorus attack, is on her way to California | Mondoweiss

 

[krych3k]

"WP destroyed most of her family"?

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

A family lost in white phosphorous shelling

Eman Mohammed*25 May 2009The Abu Halima family’s agony began when the family was taking shelter from Israeli missiles in the foyer of their two-floor home in the Jabaliya area of the northern Gaza Strip on 11 January when two white phosphorous bombs struck. The father of the family, Saad Ala Abu Halima was instantly killed along with his three sons, Abed Raheem (14), Zaid (10) and Hamza (8), along with his only daughter, one-year-old Shahed. A family lost in white phosphorous shelling | The Electronic Intifada

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Gaza phosphorus casualties relive Israel's three-week war. Investigation of the Halima family began in the burns unit at Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza. During its military operations Israel had denied using white phosphorus shells improperly, meaning it was not used against civilians or in civilian areas. But the case of Sabbah Abu Halima, 45, suggested otherwise.She had been brought into the hospital with what appeared to be mild burns to her right forearm, left lower leg and feet. Without experience of white phosphorus, the staff, led by the unit's director, Nafiz Abu Shabaan, wiped the wounds, bound them and sent her on her way. "But two days later she came back, complaining of pain and when we opened the bandages we found her wounds still smoking and much, much bigger. Her arm was down to the bone and tendons, that is all that is left," he said.Sitting on her hospital bed and wincing with pain when her bandages pinched, Mrs Halima gave an initial account of what happened. She described how her family had gathered to eat in a first-storey room at the family home in the village of Atatra. It lies on the northern edge of Gaza and while it was never likely to be a target during the air assault phase of Israel's operation Cast Lead, its proximity to the fence with Israel meant it was in the front line for the ground offensive."The first shells landed outside and we all stood up and went into the hall and a bedroom because we thought it was safe. That was when a shell came through the roof and exploded. My husband, Saadallah, was holding some of the children but his head was cut off. There was fire and smoke everywhere and the baby Shahed fell to the ground. I heard her cry 'mama, mama, mama', and then she stopped," Mrs Halima said. The house should be a 20-minute drive from Shifa but the conflict has turned roads into slow obstacle courses with cars having to slalom round craters, heaps of rubble and bloated carcasses of livestock. The Halima house lies just off a main road in Atatra up a muddy alley leading to fields of hothouses.Outside the house lay evidence of the shelling Mrs Halima described. Two white phosphorus shell cases, originally painted light green but burnt by detonations with the metal bent back like tulip petals, were on the ground. Gaza phosphorus casualties relive Israel's three-week war - Telegraph

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Testimony: Members of Abu Halima family killed and burned in army's bombing of their house, 3 January 2009

On 29 March, ten weeks after giving her testimony to B'Tselem, Ghada Abu Halima died in an Egyptian hospital from injuries she suffered when struck by the white phosphorous.Until last week, I lived with my husband, Muhammad, 24, and our two little daughters, Farah, 3, and Aya, 6 months, in the a-Sifa section of Beit Lahiya. We lived in the same house as Muhammad's parents, Sa'dallah Abu Halima, 44, and Sabah Abu Halima, 44, and his brothers and sisters: ‘Omar, 18, Yusef, 16, ‘Abd a-Rahim, 13, Zeid, 11, Hamzah, 10, ‘Ali, 4, and baby Shahd, 1.Our house had two floors. On the first floor were 250 square meters of storage rooms, and we lived on the second floor. We are farmers and have land next to the house.On Saturday night [3 January], Israeli jets dropped leaflets calling on residents of the area to leave their homes. The army did the same thing in previous incursions and we didn't leave the house, so this time, too, we decided not to leave.Around 4 P.M. the next day [4 January], when all the family was in the house, the army started to shell our area. A few minutes later, shells landed on our house. Fire broke out in the house and several members of the family burned to death: my father-in-law, his baby daughter Shahd, and three of his sons - ‘Abd a-Rahim, Zeid and Hamzah. Http://www.btselem.org/testimonies/20090104_abu_halima_home_set_on_fire_by_shelling

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

 

[MHunterB]

Sherri seems unable to remember the many previous discussions where the GC's were discussed and where it was determined that Israeli use of WP rounds in general did not appear to violate the GC's..... of course there are sometimes tragic errors and occasional wrong acts in the midst of a war, but those are exceptions and should not be mischaracterized as willful departure from GC protocols.

It is very sad indeed that children suffer, and that children in Gaza have suffered so because their HAMAS government chooses continually to permit rocket attacks upon Israeli children and other civilians. The children of Sderot and Ashkelon haven't done anything to excuse the attacks upon them.

And no, the amazing ineffectiveness of HAMAS terrorist attacks upon civilian Israelis in no way mitigates the act of launching a rocket INDISCRIMINATELY. Each one of those launches is a war crime, a crime against humanity, attempted murder of children.

There is absolutely no justification for those crimes by HAMAS. After a few THOUSAND such attempted murders, the Israelis chose to respond. The results are the responsibility of HAMAS.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

And still the rockets rain into Israel from Gaza.

 

[MHunterB]

A little girl named Fera has burns all over her body and her mother died from burns and other family members died. And the deaths and injuries were caused when Israel used white phosphorous against civilians in ground operations during Cast Lead.

Why was this girl and mother outside and not taking shelter or did she live in the houses where Hamas forced the residents out at gunpoint in order for those residents to be again used as pawns in their campaign?

There was no clear shelter and civilians received contradictory information on safety. In addition, places that were supposed to be shelter ended up under attack.

There's no evidence that Hamas forced residents out at gunpoint.

Don't you suppose it might be a bit difficult for anyone to get such evidence - considering HAMAS is so prone to dealing with criticism by tossing the critic off a 7 story building?

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Sherri seems unable to remember the many previous discussions where the GC's were discussed and where it was determined that Israeli use of WP rounds in general did not appear to violate the GC's..... of course there are sometimes tragic errors and occasional wrong acts in the midst of a war, but those are exceptions and should not be mischaracterized as willful departure from GC protocols.

It is very sad indeed that children suffer, and that children in Gaza have suffered so because their HAMAS government chooses continually to permit rocket attacks upon Israeli children and other civilians. The children of Sderot and Ashkelon haven't done anything to excuse the attacks upon them.

And no, the amazing ineffectiveness of HAMAS terrorist attacks upon civilian Israelis in no way mitigates the act of launching a rocket INDISCRIMINATELY. Each one of those launches is a war crime, a crime against humanity, attempted murder of children.

There is absolutely no justification for those crimes by HAMAS. After a few THOUSAND such attempted murders, the Israelis chose to respond. The results are the responsibility of HAMAS.

Your post is complete BS. No human rights groups have found Israels use of WP to be lawful. Stop with the lies.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

April 15, 2009*Cast Lead: Report on the Abu Halima family in Beit Lahiya[RAMALLAH, 15 April 2009] - On 4 January 2009, white phosphorus shells struck the house of the Abu Halima family in Beit Lahiya (northern Gaza) following Israel’s ground invasion during Operation Cast Lead.Four siblings, Shahd (1.5), Hamza (7), Zaid (10) and Abed al-Rahim (13) and their father were killed in the explosion and fire that ensued. Another female relative died from her injuries almost three months later in a hospital in Egypt. Several other family members, including their mother, two other siblings, Ali (5) and Yousef (15), and a 3-year-old niece suffered white phosphorus burns. The 3-year-old remains hospitalized in Egypt with life threatening third degree burns.As family members attempted to evacuate the injured, they came under gunfire from Israeli soldiers killing two cousins aged 16 and 17, and wounding yet another sibling aged 17, as well as an adult female relative.In total, eight members of the Abu Halima family were killed, including six children:Shahd Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (1.5)Hamza Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (7)Zaid Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (10)Abed al-Rahim Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (13)Mohammad Hekmat Matar Abu Halima (16)Matar Sa'd Matar Abu Halima (17)Seven family members were injured, including four children:Farah Mohammad Sa'dallah Abu Halima (3)Ali Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (5)Yousef Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (15)Omar Sa'dallah Matar Abu Halima (17) DCI/PS - Cast Lead: Report on the Abu Halima family in Beit Lahiya. This is a report from the childrens human rights group DCI Palestine.

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Outcry Erupts Over Reports That Israel Used Phosphorus Arms on Gazans

Published: January 21, 2009. In early January, a week into*Israel’s war in Gaza, the home of Sabah Abu Halima was hit by an Israeli shell. Ms. Abu Halima, the matriarch of a farming family in the northern Gaza area of Beit Lahiya, was caught in an inferno that burned her husband and four of their nine children to deathMeanwhile,*Amnesty International*said it found “indisputable evidence of widespread use of white phosphorus in densely populated residential areas in Gaza City and in the north.” In a statement, it said its investigators “saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still-burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli Army.” It called such use a likely war crime and demanded a full international investigation.The use of white phosphorus and other incendiary weapons is covered in one protocol of a 1980 international treaty,*the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, that bans making civilians “the object of attack” by such arms. More broadly, though, international officials have acknowledged that militaries can legitimately use the substance in some cases. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/world/middleeast/22phosphorus.html?_r=0

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

July 2nd, 2009 -*Operation ‘Cast Lead’: 22 Days of Death and Destruction

Report by Amnesty International

*

…] During Operation ‘Cast Lead’ Israeli forces made extensive use of white phosphorus, often launched from 155mm artillery shells, in residential areas, causing death and injuries to civilians. Homes, schools, medical facilities and UN buildings - all civilian objects - took direct hits. […]

*

“[…] In Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, in the south of Gaza, Amnesty International delegates found white phosphorus artillery shells, some whole and some in fragments, in several homes in a densely populated residential area. In one home, 47-year-old Hanan al-Najjar, a mother of four, was killed by one such shell. She and her family had fled their home further east and were staying with relatives in a more built-up residential area, thinking that they would be safer there. On the evening of 10 January 2009 the area was shelled with white phosphorus. Hanan’s husband and children told Amnesty International that one of the artillery shells, after having discharged the white phosphorus wedges, crashed through the roof of the house and travelled through two rooms and exploded in the hall. A large fragment hit Hanan in the chest, almost severing the upper part of her body. She was killed instantly, in front of her children and relatives, most of whom were injured. Her four children all sustained burns. Her seven-year-old daughter, Aya, also suffered a broken arm, and her cousin Ihsan, 26, lost her right eye. […]

*

“[…] White phosphorus continued to be used until the last day of Operation ‘Cast Lead’, on 17 January 2009. On that day a white phosphorus artillery shell exploded at about 6am in an UNRWA primary school in Beit Lahia, where more than 1,500 people were sheltering. Two children, Muhammad al-Ashqar and his brother Bilal, aged five and seven respectively, were killed in the classroom where they were sleeping with their parents, siblings and some 30 other relatives, several of whom were injured. The children’s mother, 28-year-old Anjud, sustained serious injuries to the head and other parts of the body. Her right hand had to be amputated. The children’s 18-year-old cousin Mona lost her left leg in the attack. […]

*

“[…] Artillery attacks in general and white phosphorus attacks in particular in densely populated areas were indiscriminate and as such unlawful. In addition to the deaths and injury caused, the situation was made worse by the Israeli authorities’ failure to disclose, and in fact their repeated denial, that white phosphorus was being used by their forces. This delayed adequate treatment for the victims of such attacks and caused them additional suffering, and in some cases victims who could have been saved died. […]” The War Profiteers - White Phosphorus Weapons in Gaza

 

[SherriMunnerlyn]

Rain of Fire: White Phosphorus in Gaza*March 25, 2009

During Israel's 22-day military operations in Gaza, from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, named Operation Cast Lead, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) repeatedly exploded white phosphorus munitions in the air over populated areas, killing and injuring civilians, and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital. Senior Military Analyst Marc Garlasco discusses Human Rights Watch's on the ground investigation and findings.NEWS RELEASE:*Israel: White Phosphorus Use Evidence of War Crimes. REPORT:*Rain of Fire. Rain of Fire: White Phosphorus in Gaza | Human Rights Watch