8 Gazans killed, 7 of them members of the Al-Hayyah family, as Israeli jets target a hall belonging to the family
Eight Palestinians were killed including 7 members of the Al-Hayyah family as a result of an Israeli air strike which targeted the family's meeting hall on Sunday evening. The raid came in an attempt to assassinate the Hamas leader, Khalil Al-Hayyah, in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City.
Palestinian medical sources stated that 8 people were killed and more than ten were injured. The bodies of the victims arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City torn into pieces.
the Israeli raid came minutes after the Hamas and Fatah movements agreed to end the state of tension. The agreement was read by Khalil Al-Hayyah representing Hamas and Majid Abu Shamala representing Fatah.
Sources in Hamas confirmed that Dr Khalil Al-Hayyah was safe.
The Israeli attack was conducted hours after the Israeli security cabinet decided to intensify military action against the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in an attempt to halt the intensified launching of Palestinian homemade projectiles from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli targets.
For his part, the spokesperson of the Hamas bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Salah Bardaweel, affirmed that the Israeli attempt to assassinate a Hamas political figure, who was elected by the Palestinian people, was a very dangerous sign. He affirmed that Hamas would not remain with their hands tied.
Bardaweel added, "The Israeli conduct is a new kind of criminality aimed to end Hamas politically." The Israeli occupation is trying to deliver a message that they will not recognize any political existence of Hamas."
Dr Khalil Al-Hayyah is the former speaker of the Hamas bloc in the PLC, and a member of the Hamas delegation in the political partnership talks, the Cairo dialogues, and the Hamas-Fatah talks.
In Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli artillery shell hit the home of Amin Al-Masri, injuring 3 children under the age of 8 years. They were evacuated to hospital, and one of them was reported seriously injured.
Israeli air strikes continue, destroying the property and taking the lives of Palestinians
On Sunday morning, Israeli fighter jets launched numerous raids over Gaza City.
A group of the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades was assassinated when Israeli fighter planes targeted their car on Sahaba Street, in the centre of the city.
Palestinian medical sources said that the rockets hit the car of the eminent Al-Qassam leader, Muhyi Addin Saraheen, and two others, Jamal Manna' and 'Imad 'Ashoor, all from the Zaytoun neighbourhood. They were killed instantly and their bodies were transferred to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Earlier a Palestinian boy, Hatim Hameed, was killed in a similar raid against a group of resistance fighters in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli air forces also launched a raid on a blacksmith's workshop in the Zaytoun neighbourhood, another in Palestine Square and a third in Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza Strip. The shelling resulted in huge material damage to the workshops and the neighbouring residential homes. No casualties have been reported.
In Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Israel helicopters launched three strikes on a workshop near the Imam Ash-Shafi' mosque and destroyed the workshop completely.
The Israeli fighter jets continue to target several areas in the northern Gaza Strip.
The death toll of yesterday's air and artillery strikes was three Palestinians dead and several injured, in addition to the destruction of several workshops.
Funeral procession
Crowds of Gazan citizens took part in the funeral procession of the three Al-Qassam Brigades activists that were assassinated in the Israeli air strike.
The mourners cried out for revenge during the procession and affirmed that the Israeli occupation will not break the will of the Palestinian people. The Gazan citizens declared that they will continue their resistance until they achieve freedom.
The Al-Qassam Brigades pledged to retaliate severely to the Israeli atrocities through bombing operations in Israel.
The funeral procession started from Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and finished in the Zaytoun neighbourhood; the place of residence of the victims. In the neighbourhood the mourners bid their last farewell before the funeral prayer and the burial.
Israel continues to bombard Gaza; 12 killed since Thursday, 4 family-members injured in latest assault
Three Palestinian shepherds have been killed on Saturday, and several others have been left injured, as a result of Israeli artillery bombardment of the village of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The director of the ambulance and emergency department in the Palestinian ministry of health, Mu'awiya Hassanein, said that the corpse of a Palestinian citizen, identified as Sameer Mteir, 19, arrived at the Beit Hanoun Hospital, along with three injured people who were hit by shrapnel from an Israeli military tank shell.
Two of the injured were transferred to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and are in a critical condition. Medical authorities have since announced the death of Mahir Hasheish, aged 15, as a result of injuries incurred during the shelling of Beit Hanoun.
Palestinian medical sources later announced the death of 17-year-old Ahmad Mteir, who succumbed to wounds he sustained from the Israeli artillery shell that targeted the group of Palestinian shepherds in Beit Hanoun. His brother died earlier from the attack.
An Israeli tank has targeted a number of Gazan shepherds near the borders in the Sikka area of Beit Hanoun.
Advancing troops
Another four Palestinians from the same family have been injured; one critically, by Israeli gunfire east of Beit Hanoun. In addition a passerby was injured in the same attack.
The director of ambulance and emergency, Hassanein, said that four of the injured were evacuated to Kamal Udwan Hospital, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The patient in a critical condition was taken to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Eyewitnesses stated that the Israeli forces, which are stationed east of Beit Hanoun, are attempting to advance.
Aerial assault
Israeli fighter jets on Friday night and early Saturday morning continued their aerial assault on areas of Gaza City. Four raids were launched overnight at the Shuja'iya neighborhood, in the east of the city, and the Zaytoun neighborhood in the south. The strikes were launched at metal workers' and blacksmith's workshops.
A workshop on Salahiddin Street was hit by a rocket, destroying it completely, as well as causing damage to neighboring buildings.
Earlier in the afternoon, a workshop was hit in the Zaytoun neighborhood, yet the rocket did not explode, which led to the workshop being shelled again by the Israeli jets.
Israeli aircraft also bombarded the 'Al-Murabit' association, affiliated to the Fatah movement, on An Naser Street in Gaza City. The headquarters of the association was destroyed as a result of the shelling.
There have not yet been any casualties reported as a result of last nights' Israeli raids.
12 dead
Five members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed on Friday morning and several others were wounded in a series of raids by Israeli fighter jets. The strikes targeted several Palestinian military bases and metal workshops. The death toll as a result of the Israeli military escalation in Gaza - which commenced on Thursday morning - has now risen to eleven, in addition to dozens of injuries.
the Israeli F-16 fighters launched three rockets at an Al-Qassam base east of Gaza City, a blacksmith's workshop and a group of Palestinian fighters east of the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday morning. Five activists were killed as a result and their bodies were shattered and burnt.
According to the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian ministry of health, Mu'awiya Hassanein, five dead bodies arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Hassanein added that several injured citizens also arrived, all of them in critical conditions. Among the injured people were: Ayyoub Al-'Amareen, Harb Siyam, Luay Siyam, and Muhammad Al-Louh. Most of them were transferred to the intensive care unit.
the Fourth Brigade of the Palestinian national security service played a major role in rescuing the injured Al-Qassam fighters east of Gaza City.
“Dominating the skies”
Later on Friday, Israeli fighter jets launched a new strike at an Executive Force base south-west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported.
the Israeli fighter jets launched three rockets at an empty base, causing huge material damage to the base's building.
According to Mu'awiya Hassanein, "ambulances cannot reach many areas which have been bombarded, because the Israeli fighter planes continue to dominate the skies and target every moving object". He added that coordination with the Red Cross is ongoing because there are reports of greater numbers of dead in areas that have been struck.
On Thursday, four people were killed and at least 50 injured in five separate Israeli air strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip. In the first strike, the Israeli fighter jets bombarded a base of the Hamas-loyalist Executive Force in Gaza City, killing one and injuring dozens, in addition to destroying the building. Another air raid killed one and injured at least eight. Later on Thursday, Israeli jets struck a vehicle owned by Rafah municipality, killing two workers.
22 Hamas members dead as a result of recent violent confrontations
The Hamas movement said that 22 of its members were killed and more than 80 injured in the clashes between Hamas and Fatah over the past eight days in the Gaza Strip.
The death toll of the clashes reached 55, in addition to 240 injured, according to official statistics.
Hamas said most of their victims died as a result of "execution and direct shooting from zero range at the movement's supporters and men with beards. The rest fell in regrettable confrontations."
Among the dead are members of the Hamas-affiliated Executive Force and the Al-Qassam Brigades, in addition to three citizens who Hamas considered supporters of the movement.
A ceasefire agreement was reached on Saturday between the rivals in the presence of the Islamic Jihad movement and the Egyptian delegation in the Gaza Strip.
In compliance with the agreement, Hamas and Fatah withdrew their gunmen from the streets and rooftops of the buildings, exchanged abductees and halted the confrontations.
Yousef Alhelou
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza, and a contributor to several media outlets. He also presents Gaza's only live English program across radio stations in the Gaza Strip. He can be contacted at ydamadan@hotmail.com
Please also see:
Yousef Alhelou: Gaza Drowns in a Sea of Black Blood
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout5.php&id=3520&blz=1
Eight Palestinians were killed including 7 members of the Al-Hayyah family as a result of an Israeli air strike which targeted the family's meeting hall on Sunday evening. The raid came in an attempt to assassinate the Hamas leader, Khalil Al-Hayyah, in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City.
Palestinian medical sources stated that 8 people were killed and more than ten were injured. The bodies of the victims arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City torn into pieces.
the Israeli raid came minutes after the Hamas and Fatah movements agreed to end the state of tension. The agreement was read by Khalil Al-Hayyah representing Hamas and Majid Abu Shamala representing Fatah.
Sources in Hamas confirmed that Dr Khalil Al-Hayyah was safe.
The Israeli attack was conducted hours after the Israeli security cabinet decided to intensify military action against the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in an attempt to halt the intensified launching of Palestinian homemade projectiles from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli targets.
For his part, the spokesperson of the Hamas bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Salah Bardaweel, affirmed that the Israeli attempt to assassinate a Hamas political figure, who was elected by the Palestinian people, was a very dangerous sign. He affirmed that Hamas would not remain with their hands tied.
Bardaweel added, "The Israeli conduct is a new kind of criminality aimed to end Hamas politically." The Israeli occupation is trying to deliver a message that they will not recognize any political existence of Hamas."
Dr Khalil Al-Hayyah is the former speaker of the Hamas bloc in the PLC, and a member of the Hamas delegation in the political partnership talks, the Cairo dialogues, and the Hamas-Fatah talks.
In Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli artillery shell hit the home of Amin Al-Masri, injuring 3 children under the age of 8 years. They were evacuated to hospital, and one of them was reported seriously injured.
Israeli air strikes continue, destroying the property and taking the lives of Palestinians
On Sunday morning, Israeli fighter jets launched numerous raids over Gaza City.
A group of the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades was assassinated when Israeli fighter planes targeted their car on Sahaba Street, in the centre of the city.
Palestinian medical sources said that the rockets hit the car of the eminent Al-Qassam leader, Muhyi Addin Saraheen, and two others, Jamal Manna' and 'Imad 'Ashoor, all from the Zaytoun neighbourhood. They were killed instantly and their bodies were transferred to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Earlier a Palestinian boy, Hatim Hameed, was killed in a similar raid against a group of resistance fighters in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli air forces also launched a raid on a blacksmith's workshop in the Zaytoun neighbourhood, another in Palestine Square and a third in Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza Strip. The shelling resulted in huge material damage to the workshops and the neighbouring residential homes. No casualties have been reported.
In Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Israel helicopters launched three strikes on a workshop near the Imam Ash-Shafi' mosque and destroyed the workshop completely.
The Israeli fighter jets continue to target several areas in the northern Gaza Strip.
The death toll of yesterday's air and artillery strikes was three Palestinians dead and several injured, in addition to the destruction of several workshops.
Funeral procession
Crowds of Gazan citizens took part in the funeral procession of the three Al-Qassam Brigades activists that were assassinated in the Israeli air strike.
The mourners cried out for revenge during the procession and affirmed that the Israeli occupation will not break the will of the Palestinian people. The Gazan citizens declared that they will continue their resistance until they achieve freedom.
The Al-Qassam Brigades pledged to retaliate severely to the Israeli atrocities through bombing operations in Israel.
The funeral procession started from Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and finished in the Zaytoun neighbourhood; the place of residence of the victims. In the neighbourhood the mourners bid their last farewell before the funeral prayer and the burial.
Israel continues to bombard Gaza; 12 killed since Thursday, 4 family-members injured in latest assault
Three Palestinian shepherds have been killed on Saturday, and several others have been left injured, as a result of Israeli artillery bombardment of the village of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The director of the ambulance and emergency department in the Palestinian ministry of health, Mu'awiya Hassanein, said that the corpse of a Palestinian citizen, identified as Sameer Mteir, 19, arrived at the Beit Hanoun Hospital, along with three injured people who were hit by shrapnel from an Israeli military tank shell.
Two of the injured were transferred to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and are in a critical condition. Medical authorities have since announced the death of Mahir Hasheish, aged 15, as a result of injuries incurred during the shelling of Beit Hanoun.
Palestinian medical sources later announced the death of 17-year-old Ahmad Mteir, who succumbed to wounds he sustained from the Israeli artillery shell that targeted the group of Palestinian shepherds in Beit Hanoun. His brother died earlier from the attack.
An Israeli tank has targeted a number of Gazan shepherds near the borders in the Sikka area of Beit Hanoun.
Advancing troops
Another four Palestinians from the same family have been injured; one critically, by Israeli gunfire east of Beit Hanoun. In addition a passerby was injured in the same attack.
The director of ambulance and emergency, Hassanein, said that four of the injured were evacuated to Kamal Udwan Hospital, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The patient in a critical condition was taken to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Eyewitnesses stated that the Israeli forces, which are stationed east of Beit Hanoun, are attempting to advance.
Aerial assault
Israeli fighter jets on Friday night and early Saturday morning continued their aerial assault on areas of Gaza City. Four raids were launched overnight at the Shuja'iya neighborhood, in the east of the city, and the Zaytoun neighborhood in the south. The strikes were launched at metal workers' and blacksmith's workshops.
A workshop on Salahiddin Street was hit by a rocket, destroying it completely, as well as causing damage to neighboring buildings.
Earlier in the afternoon, a workshop was hit in the Zaytoun neighborhood, yet the rocket did not explode, which led to the workshop being shelled again by the Israeli jets.
Israeli aircraft also bombarded the 'Al-Murabit' association, affiliated to the Fatah movement, on An Naser Street in Gaza City. The headquarters of the association was destroyed as a result of the shelling.
There have not yet been any casualties reported as a result of last nights' Israeli raids.
12 dead
Five members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed on Friday morning and several others were wounded in a series of raids by Israeli fighter jets. The strikes targeted several Palestinian military bases and metal workshops. The death toll as a result of the Israeli military escalation in Gaza - which commenced on Thursday morning - has now risen to eleven, in addition to dozens of injuries.
the Israeli F-16 fighters launched three rockets at an Al-Qassam base east of Gaza City, a blacksmith's workshop and a group of Palestinian fighters east of the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday morning. Five activists were killed as a result and their bodies were shattered and burnt.
According to the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian ministry of health, Mu'awiya Hassanein, five dead bodies arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Hassanein added that several injured citizens also arrived, all of them in critical conditions. Among the injured people were: Ayyoub Al-'Amareen, Harb Siyam, Luay Siyam, and Muhammad Al-Louh. Most of them were transferred to the intensive care unit.
the Fourth Brigade of the Palestinian national security service played a major role in rescuing the injured Al-Qassam fighters east of Gaza City.
“Dominating the skies”
Later on Friday, Israeli fighter jets launched a new strike at an Executive Force base south-west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported.
the Israeli fighter jets launched three rockets at an empty base, causing huge material damage to the base's building.
According to Mu'awiya Hassanein, "ambulances cannot reach many areas which have been bombarded, because the Israeli fighter planes continue to dominate the skies and target every moving object". He added that coordination with the Red Cross is ongoing because there are reports of greater numbers of dead in areas that have been struck.
On Thursday, four people were killed and at least 50 injured in five separate Israeli air strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip. In the first strike, the Israeli fighter jets bombarded a base of the Hamas-loyalist Executive Force in Gaza City, killing one and injuring dozens, in addition to destroying the building. Another air raid killed one and injured at least eight. Later on Thursday, Israeli jets struck a vehicle owned by Rafah municipality, killing two workers.
22 Hamas members dead as a result of recent violent confrontations
The Hamas movement said that 22 of its members were killed and more than 80 injured in the clashes between Hamas and Fatah over the past eight days in the Gaza Strip.
The death toll of the clashes reached 55, in addition to 240 injured, according to official statistics.
Hamas said most of their victims died as a result of "execution and direct shooting from zero range at the movement's supporters and men with beards. The rest fell in regrettable confrontations."
Among the dead are members of the Hamas-affiliated Executive Force and the Al-Qassam Brigades, in addition to three citizens who Hamas considered supporters of the movement.
A ceasefire agreement was reached on Saturday between the rivals in the presence of the Islamic Jihad movement and the Egyptian delegation in the Gaza Strip.
In compliance with the agreement, Hamas and Fatah withdrew their gunmen from the streets and rooftops of the buildings, exchanged abductees and halted the confrontations.
Yousef Alhelou
Yousef Alhelou is a freelance Palestinian journalist based in Gaza, and a contributor to several media outlets. He also presents Gaza's only live English program across radio stations in the Gaza Strip. He can be contacted at ydamadan@hotmail.com
Please also see:
Yousef Alhelou: Gaza Drowns in a Sea of Black Blood
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout5.php&id=3520&blz=1