Gaza on the Ground In Gaza, There's Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide

Gaza on the Ground In Gaza, There's Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide By Mohammed Omer uruknet.info

Onlookers inspect the wreckage of the car carrying Ahmad Al-Jabari and Mohammed Al-Hums, assassinated in an Israeli missile strike, Nov. 14, 2012. (Photo M. Omer) January 21, 2013 Wednesday, Nov. 14, started out as a normal day in Gaza City, with the usual traffic, and the same traffic policeman at the Al Sarayya junction—a common sight when the traffic lights go dark due to electrical outages. Families rushed about collecting supplies and shopkeepers tidied up. A mother urged her children, distracted by something tantalizing, to move faster. In the late afternoon, as the sun began to set, a soft Mediterranean breeze scented the air with the smells of salt and seaweed as the residents of Gaza prepared for their evening meal. Boom! I was in a shop with a group of my journalist colleagues selecting an invitation card for my upcoming wedding. As the saleslady started to show me the cards, a missile exploded across the street and the mostly residential street of Al-Khidma Al-Ammah turned black. A fireball the size of a small car shot down the middle of the street, dissipating nearly 100 feet away. Dust, grease and concrete rained down as residents of the area rushed toward any shelter they could find. But there was none. As the breeze separated the black cloud, an ominous sight was revealed. The vehicle was a bonfire of grey paint, its Kia logo barely visible, liquefied by the heat. Inside the occupants burned. The smoke, fueled by oil, petrol and rubber, blackened and grew denser. The putrid smell of burning tar mixed with flesh was nauseating and vile, making it hard to breathe and even more difficult to see. One heard, but could not see, glass shattering. Women fled their homes wearing whatever clothes they had on. Bystanders, their ears ringing from the blast, froze, shocked and terrified. Others headed toward the burning car to help any survivors. As they neared, they were greeted by a macabre patchwork of severed limbs and disemboweled entrails. Moving closer, they spied a portion of someone's head. The missile's power, its boast of bravado, was confirmed by the remnants of human beings clinging to surrounding walls four stories above ground. A young boy sits with a wounded relative. (Photo M. Omer) Men rushed into their homes, grabbing buckets of water, while women ran away, carrying their children away from the terror. The first ambulance arrived, but the Kia continued to burn. Nothing could be done for the victims inside. Within minutes, more emergency vehicles arrived. No one knew how many passengers were in the car. Since only pieces of their bodies remained, identifying the victims would be difficult. As the fire and ambulance crews worked, a witness thought he recognized the license plate. Weeping, he told the police investigator he thought it was "Abu Mohammed" ("father of Mohammed"). Firemen continued to battle the fire as paramedics sifted through the wreckage. From two deep, narrow holes driven into the asphalt by the missile, one pulled out fragments of fingers clutching a blood-soaked white satchel. Neighbors and witnesses solemnly helped the emergency workers with the grim task of collecting body parts and charred flesh, many murmuring in disbelief, "It's Abu Mohammed…" The target of the Israeli missile strike was indeed later identified as Ahmad Al-Jabari, considered the senior, highest-ranking leader of the Izzadin Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. His assistant, Mohammed Al-Hums was also killed. But the twice-married Jabari and father of 14 children was more than just Hamas' military leader: he was Israel's inside man. So this assassination was unusual—or was it? Haaretz, Israel's leading English-language newspaper, quoted Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin, who had worked with Al-Jabari in negotiating the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, as saying that Al-Jabari was assassinated just three hours after having received the draft of a permanent truce agreement with Israel, which included mechanisms for maintaining the cease-fire. Israel thus assassinated the very man it was indirectly working with to obtain peace, after an agreement had been reached—but before it could be implemented. Born in 1960 east of Gaza City, Al-Jabari had the final say and control over all the armed militias in Gaza. Egyptian intelligence considered him the person to contact about negotiating and implementing cease-fires. He was considered an influential Hamas moderate. "Al-Jabari was interested in a long-term cease-fire; he was not interested in these repeated rounds of attacks with Israel," Baskin noted. Egyptian officials expressed anger at his assassination, describing Al-Jabari as a man who was responsible for saving the lives of many Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas responded by accusing Israel of opening the "gates of hell" by instigating yet another episode in the war which Israeli leaders seem to not want to end, if their constant airstrikes on Gaza are any indication. A child’s toy lies amid the rubble of a destroyed home. (Photo M. Omer) A week before Al-Jabari's assassination, an Israeli airstrike killed a 12-year-old boy playing soccer in a Gaza street. The child's murder broke a two-week lull in violence. An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire went into effect, but lasted only two days. As the missile struck Al-Jabari's car, Israel announced its Operation "Pillar of Smoke." Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza retaliated by firing homemade rockets into Israel, some of them reaching Tel Aviv for the first time. Three Israelis were killed and several injured, according to Israeli sources. The Israeli military responded with high-tech guided missiles fired from F16 fighter jets, bombing building after building in civilian areas of Gaza. The next day, the White House threw its full support behind Israel's military attack. On Friday, Nov. 16, it released a memo entitled "Updates for the American Jewish Community." The memo reiterated the Obama administration's support of the Israeli position, but made no mention of Palestinian casualties, the timeline and cause of the escalating conflict, or the significance of Al-Jabari's assassination, given his involvement in brokering a truce. For many Gazans, this latest Israeli attack brought back painful memories of Israel's 2008-9 Operation Cast Lead, which also occurred between Barack Obama's election and inauguration. Although he had not yet taken the oath of office, Obama was silent during that deadly period when Israel killed 1,500 Palestinian men, women and children, injured thousands more, and destroyed an enormous amount of Gaza's infrastructure, much of which has yet to be repaired. The day after the White House issued its memo, the skies above Gaza were filled with Israeli fighter jets, attack helicopters and unmanned drones armed with high tech missiles, which every few minutes struck an area about the size of Manhattan Island. On the ground, Israeli artillery tanks fired shells on the captive people living in the besieged enclave, firing on East Rafah, Khan Younis, Gaza City and the north of Gaza. From the sea, Israeli warships pounded the Gaza coast. In its eight-day war on Gaza, Israel killed 178 Palestinians, 45 of whom were children and women, the youngest being a 10-month-old baby. The oldest person killed was 82 years old. The injured numbered 1,399 people, of whom 719 are children and women. According to doctors at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, 90 percent of the casualties were civilians. The de facto government here in Gaza gave a preliminary estimate of the damage from Israeli attacks at $750 million. This figure includes 200 houses completely demolished and 8,000 partially demolished. Also bombed were 42 civic organizations, including sports clubs, health centers and banks, and 32 schools and colleges. Israeli weapons targeted 14 media organizations, killing three cameramen and injuring nine media crew members. Other targets included 90 commercial buildings and shops. Seventy security compounds and police stations were completely demolished, and another 11 partially damaged. Once again the people of Gaza, who have neither an army, navy or air force—or, apparently, "the right to defend themselves"—were forced to endure many sleepless nights, with trapped and terrifed families huddling together as the sky filled with the sounds of death. Unlike during Operation Cast Lead, when Israel prevented journalists from traveling to Gaza, reporters from around the world were live on the ground—often cringing themselves at the nearby explosions. This time the whole world was watching—but will anything be done? Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports on the Gaza Strip, and maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>;. Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza. Source