Gaza UN shelter attack 'totally unacceptable' - White House

[kayecy]

Gaza UN shelter attack 'totally unacceptable' - White House


Gaza UN shelter attack 'totally unacceptable' - White HouseBreaking news
The US has said the shelling of a UN shelter in Gaza is "totally unacceptable and totally indefensible".

In its strongest criticism yet of Israel's offensive in Gaza, the US also said the civilian casualties were "too high", and called on Israel to do more to protect civilian life.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28594155
31 July 2014 Last updated at 18:18

[kayecy]

1. Is the White House coming off the fence at last?.......n/t

[Scootaloo]

2. "But here, have some more shells to make up for the ones you fired at the UN shelter..."

[HooptieWagon]

3. Maybe in the next shipment...

... of artillery shells and morter rounds Obama will attach a strongly-written letter.

[bemildred]

4. Palestinians Mull War Crime Charges Against Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking written pledges of support from all political factions, including rival Hamas, before making any attempt to press for possible war crimes charges against Israel, senior officials said today.

Abbas hesitated in the past because such a step would transform his relations with Israel from tense to openly hostile and could put him on a collision course with the United States.

But with nearly 1,400 Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza in the past 24 days, according to health officials, Abbas is under growing domestic pressure to turn to the International Criminal Court to try to make a case against Israel.

Israeli officials have said Israel is acting in self-defense by targeting Hamas' military arsenal and rocking launching sites and have accused Hamas of using Gaza civilians as human shields.

http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/Palestinians-Mull-War-Crime-Charges-Against-Israel/852538

[bemildred]

5. Israel soon responsible for displaced Palestinians in Gaza -UN

UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Reuters) - As Israel warns more Gaza neighborhoods to evacuate, a top U.N. envoy told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel would be required under international law to take responsibility for helping Palestinians civilians in any further large-scale displacements.

The United Nations is struggling to cope with a flood of some 220,000 Palestinian civilians into shelters. They have come under fire during three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants who dominate Gaza.

Speaking from Gaza City, Pierre Krähenbühl, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said the impoverished enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians was facing a precipice. Krähenbühl said he was alarmed to hear that Israel had warned more neighborhoods in Gaza to evacuate ahead of military action.

"Should further large-scale displacement indeed occur, the occupying power, according to international humanitarian law, will have to assume direct responsibility to assist these people," he told the 15-member Security Council.

http://www.trust.org/item/20140731173908-bhwwo/

[bemildred]

6. Gaza civilian death toll raises questions about Israeli military training

The persistently high civilian death toll in Gaza has raised questions among military analysts and humanitarian law experts over the quality of training of Israeli gunners and their rules of engagement in such heavily populated areas.

The questions were given new urgency after a UN-run school was hit by five artillery shells on Wednesday, killing 16 civilians and injuring 100 more, mostly women and children, and the deaths of 17 others in a crowded market, as the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) Operation Protective Edge against Hamas entered its 24th day. The IDF has repeatedly cited targeting errors, and blamed Hamas for operating in civilian areas.

However, Andrew Exum, a former US army officer who has studied Israel's military campaigns, said the IDF had a long history of mistakes causing many civilian casualties.

"Errant artillery and air strikes have unfortunately been something of a theme in Israel's conflicts in both southern Lebanon and Gaza over the past two decades. There are good strategic reasons to avoid using air power and artillery in these conflicts: they tend to be pretty indiscriminate in their effects and make it difficult for the population under fire to figure out what they're supposed to do to be safe," said Exum, who was a defence department special adviser on the Middle East.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/gaza-civilian-death-toll-military-training-experts

[bemildred]

7. EU Condemns UN Shelter Shelling, Netanyahu Vows Tunnel Destruction

crowded market in Gaza, as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy underground tunnels in the coastal enclave regardless of any possible ceasefire agreement.

The conflict in Gaza has killed 1,363 Palestinians since it began 24 days ago, Xinhua reported.

"It is unacceptable that innocent displaced civilians, who were taking shelter in designated UN areas after being called on by the Israeli military to evacuate their homes, have been killed," the EU's European External Action Services said in a statement Thursday.

The EU also called for an immediate investigation into "unacceptable" deaths of civilians in Gaza.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/EU-Condemns-UN-Shelter-Shelling-Netanyahu-Vows-Tunnel-Destruction/2014/08/01/article2358229.ece

[bemildred]

8. US rebukes Israel, says ‘little doubt’ it shelled school

The United States said Thursday there was little doubt Israeli artillery was the source of a “totally indefensible” strike that killed 16 people at a UN school in Gaza.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest noted that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had said all available evidence pointed to Israeli artillery and that the Israeli government had acknowledged its forces were firing in the area in response to Hamas fire near the school.

“So while we underscore the importance of a full and prompt investigation of this tragic incident, as well as a shelling of other UN facilities and schools that have been hit, it does not appear there’s a lot of doubt about whose artillery was involved in this incident,” he said.

“That is why we have continued to urge Israeli military officials to live up to their high standards that they have set for the protection of innocent civilians. There is clearly more that can and should be done to ensure the safety of innocent civilians.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/white-house-says-little-doubt-israel-shelled-un-school/

[bemildred]

9. 11 Palestinians killed, 45 injured in airstrike on Gaza home

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Eleven Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a home in the central Gaza Strip, a health ministry spokesman said.

Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement that an Israeli airstrike hit the al-Bayoumi family home in al-Nusairat refugee camp, killing at least 11 and injuring at least 45.

It was not immediately clear what the target of the strike was, and an Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an she was looking into the incident.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=717265