[Transcript]  War on Gaza: Day 18 - 1/13/09

Presenter, FEMALE #1:
The list of Israeli violations, which must be investigated, is long. During this war, an addition to this list is the alleged use of white phosphorous ammunition, which is extremely dangerous to civilians. The Israeli military denied this accusation, but the stories of the victims lying in the hospitals say otherwise. Katia Jameela.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
Day and night, these smoke clouds remain in the skies above Gaza. It has become a distinguished mark of the Israeli war on the Strip. These blue missiles are stamped with the trademark that indicates that they are American-manufactured weapons that are made of white phosphorous. It is an almost transparent material that lights easily but is hard to put out.

Guest, MALE #1:
When the 155 is exploded in mid-air, it emits light and smoke in the shape of a jellyfish. Fire comes out from the end of 116 filaments inside the shells. All of them burn anyone that it touches. The fire can burn for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the surrounding environment. It causes severe burns.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
International humanitarian law on hostile operations in armed conflicts with non-state actors, bans the use of fire weapons against civilians and civilian property. It is also banned to use them randomly. This is according to the law. But on the ground, it’s different.

Guest, MALE #2:
I was sitting with my family. All of a sudden, we saw fire bombs falling from the sky and emitting white smoke. As you can see. I was burned. Me and my cousin. It was a very red fire and white smoke was coming out of it. It was the first time I had seen such a thing.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
However, it was not the first time that the Israeli army has used banned weapons. There are many examples-- most recently--the war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006 when Israeli fighters planted internationally banned cluster bombs in southern Lebanon. Thus, committing this crime without being held accountable.

Presenter, Man # 1
Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in December 2003, there have been many attempts to mediate ceasefire agreements. However none of these mediation efforts have convinced Israel to stop the incursions or to open the crossings, not even partially. Israel also has never lifted the suffocating siege it has imposed on the residents of Gaza before and after operation “Cast Lead’ which continues to wreack havoc in Gaza.

Reporter, Man # 2
Israelis have viewed Gaza as a nightmare for the last 50 years. When they want to tell someone go to hell, they would tell him in Hebrew “Lekh L-Gaza” or go to Gaza. This small strip of land is only 360 kilometers square but it is inhabited by 1.5 million people. Most of its inhabitants are refugees who fled their homes in what is now Israel. Gaza became the home of a large number of Palestinian refugees during what the Palestinians refer to as the Nakba or the “Great Catastrophe”. Due to the high birth rate, the population in Gaza reached 1.5 million in 2008. 67% of them are refugees who trace their families back to Beir Sheva, Jaffa, Majdal, and Askalan. The history of Israeli incursions in Gaza goes back to 1954, when Palestinian resistance groups were established there and started launching armed operations against Israel. The Israeli war machine used this as a justification to carry out bloody operations against the residence of Gaza. Gaza was subjected to many occupations, but the Israeli occupation and massacres have been horrific and bloody as people can witness today. The Israeli army occupied Gaza and subjected it to a military administration in February 1967. In 1970, General Ariel Sharon, the head of the military administration, ordered merciless attacks on Gaza. He sent commando units to carry out attacks inside refugee camps. The residents of Gaza played a big role in the 1987 intifada, as well as the Aqsa intifada in 2002. Thousands of Gazans were killed, injured or imprisoned. According to different studies, 1000 martyrs from Gaza were killed during the first Intifada and 2000 others were martyrs during the Aqsa Intifada. 20,000 Palestinians from Gaza were injured including thousands who were left with permanent disabilities. History has shown that the people of Gaza are resilient in the face of Israeli military attacks. The population of Gaza is young; 50% of them are children. This explains why the residents have big family burdens to begin with, but the economic and demographic situation deteriorated due to the policies of the Israeli occupation between 1967 and 2008. The unemployment rate has reached 60% and two thirds of Gaza residents suffer from poverty. According to different studies, the living conditions inside the 8 refugee camps in Gaza are even worst due to the dense population there. Gaza’s infant mortality is among the highest in the world. Despite the Israeli withdrawal and the dismantling of the Zionist settlements in Gaza in 2005, the month of July in 2006 was the worst for the Palestinians. The departure of Israeli settlers from Gaza, freed the hands of Israeli generals there. They were able open fire on Gaza without jeopardizing the lives of Jewish settlers. This explains why the number of Palestinians who were killed in July 2006, was three times higher than those who were killed in July 2005. In addition the number of those who were injured rose by 220%. The Israeli army transformed Gaza into a big prison with 1.5 million Palestinians living in it. They are subjected to daily and systematic killing and destruction. Hunger and poverty have become a common phenomena in Gaza; more than two thirds of the population in Gaza suffers from poverty.

[Summary]

It has been a relatively quiet day in Sderot, Israel, although IDF soldiers continue to go deeper and deeper into Gaza. Twelve rockets fell, mostly in open areas. One of the missiles was a grad missile, there were no casualties reported.

IDF soldiers entered the suburbs of Gaza City on day 18 of operation “Cast Lead.”

Presenter, MALE #1:
Human rights groups accuse the Israeli occupation forces of directly targeting civilians and their homes. Strengthening these accusations are the eye-witness accounts of the survivors, who lost their loved ones. More details in this report by Heba Aqeela from Gaza.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
The Israeli forces carried out an incursion here in the Zaytoon neighborhood, east of Gaza City. These are some remnants of what they destroyed. A missile landed on these homes while the residents were inside. The residents’ steadfastness and insistence to remain in their homes does not lessen the grave violations committed by the Israeli war machine in the Gaza Strip.

Guest, FEMALE #2:
They destroyed us. They burned our homes. They burned us and they burned our neighbors. They destroyed everything. We don’t know how to go out and rescue anyone. God is our witness and He is the greatest.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
Intisar Hammouda was taking shelter within the walls of her home when she was injured and her only son was martyred in her arms. Meanwhile, one of her relatives was left bleeding to death in front of her eyes. Then, the Israeli army continued to demolish the home while they were still inside.

Guest, FEMALE #3:
The tanks started launching shell at us. My son Farris was in my lap. He was only 2 and a half years old. He was martyred in my lap.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
Your only son?

Guest, FEMALE #3:
My only son. God blessed me with him after 21 years.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
She is not older than 4 years old. However, her innocence does not heal her. Samar sustained severe injuries that kept from being able to move.

Guest, FEMALE #4:
We were hiding in the store. I didn’t see my mom. Then a bullet hit my hand, then a bullet went into my back and three more in my stomach.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
Israeli soldiers were only a few meters away from her when they fired their shots at her. They injured her and killed her two siblings in front of her eyes.

Guest, MALE #2:
My three daughters and my mother went out. All of a sudden the soldiers opened fire on them

Presenter, Male #1
The Qassam Brigades, the military wing for Hamas, has shown a video of an Israeli solider being gunned down. The Qassam Brigades did not disclose the location of the shooting. However, it announced in separate reports that an Israeli soldier had been shot in a clash with fighters of the resistance in Jabalia.

Guest, Male #2
Hut, hut---Fire. Once again…Fire.

Presenter, Male #1
The effects of the Israeli bombardments are haunting the Palestinians, even those living outside of the Gaza Strip. The feelings of fear and worry continue to haunt Palestinians in the West Bank, as they continue to follow the news of their families in the Gaza Strip. From Ramallah, Samir and other sons of Gaza continue to watch Israeli bombardments via television screens, targeting their neighborhoods and homes in the Gaza Strip. However, very little information is coming out of Gaza due to interruption of communication services there.

Reporter, Male #3
Gaza is bleeding on television screens. It’s also bleeding on the wall of this room, where Samir and his friend Islam are living. Samir and Islam are students from Gaza who are attending Beir Zeit University near Ramallah.

Guest, Male #4 (Islam)
I’m very worried about my family in Gaza. I’m always thinking about them. I study and live here in Ramallah. However, I can’t remain focused at school or pay attention to any thing that is happening here. I don’t know anything about the classes I have enrolled in because my mind is always preoccupied with the developments in Gaza. I can’t help it. We are now amidst final examinations. What can I do? I need to follow-up the events in Gaza.

Reporter, Male #3
Samir and Islam spend the whole day sitting in front of television screens, switching from one channel to another in search of good news. However, good news is hard to come by, as incoming reports from Gaza have confirmed that Israeli bombardment is intensifying in the the Tufah neighborhood. This is bad news to Samir, whose family lives in the Tufah neighborhood, where they have miraculously escaped death after an Israeli missile hit their home.

Guest, Male #4 (Samir)
My mother and family were sitting in my sisters’ room when a shell fell over the house. My mother and father quickly carried my sisters out of the house. Should they have waited a little longer, no one knows what would have happened to them, as Israeli shells began raining down over the house.

Reporter, Male #3
Almost every minute, Samir attempts to call his family in Gaza to check on them, and occasionally he gets lucky and establishes contact. When he fails to make contact with his family, Samir raises his hands to the sky and prays to God to look after his family and the people of Gaza and help alleviate their suffering. Israeli bombs, which are falling on the Tufah neighbored in the Gaza Strip, are being felt here in the West Bank, specifically in this room. The suffering of Gaza is felt here in Ramallah, where the sons of Gaza may have left it physically but not spiritually.

Presenter, Man # 1
The Egyptian Minister of Health, Dr Hatem Al Jabali said that the ministry continues to exert efforts to ease the suffering in Gaza and to ensure that humanitarian aid and medical aid reache the Palestinians. The ministry is also working to ensure the safety of relief units in coordination with Arabs and other countries.

Presenter, Woman # 1
In a press conference, Al Jabali denied news reports that the Egyptian government has prevented doctors from entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing, saying that Israel is the one that prevented the doctors from entering.

Reporter, Woman # 2
The Egyptian government demanded that safe routs be established to Gaza so ambulances and rescue teams can enter Gaza under the auspices of the International Red Cross. These are some of the efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to provide the inured in Gaza with medical relieve.

Guest, Man #2
The demand was submitted to the Red Cross and the Israeli government. Israel prevents vehicles from entering and it refuses to provide safe passages. Now we are waiting for an Israeli response on this issue. The deputy of the International Red Cross will arrive to Cairo in the next hours to meet with the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent to coordinate humanitarian relief in the next period.

Reporter, Woman # 2
This comes as the Saudi Health ministry called for an emergency meeting for Arab health ministries to discuss ways to provide aid to Gaza especially after the military operations stop. The role of each country will be specified in order to avoid political competitions. Alsop there is a need to rebuild the infrastructure after the military operations ends. Meanwhile, the Egyptian minister of heath said that 29 injured people have arrived to Egypt thus raising the number of injure Palestinians being treated in Egypt to 180, 12 of whom have died.

Guest, Man #3
Recently, the injures are so sever, some of the inured can’t be saved. This shows that the delay in letting the injured leave Gaza prevents them from being treated on time and jeopardizes their lives.

Reporter, Woman # 2
The Ministry of health stressed that it will continue its efforts and intensive contacts to ease the suffering, and protect medical buildings and institution as was called for by the fourth Geneva Convention of the 1949 and international law. What concerns Egypt most now is the importance of coordinating efforts so the humanitarian aid can reach the injured and urging the other side to let he injured leave Gaza, and allow the doctors enter Gaza. Karema Al Halafawi, Nile News Channel.

Presenter, Female #1
A warm hello from the reporters in Lebanon to the reporters in Gaza. My co-worker, Christine Habeeb, presents this special report.

Reporter, Male #1
There are more than 3,000 injured with various kinds of injuries. This picture is a disaster, and very hard from all aspects. With the continuation of the air strikes this picture will become more of a disaster for the Palestinian civilians.

Reporter, Female #2
Tamer Al Mishal covers his stories between the shrapnel of war fronts and the moaning of the injured. An Al Jazeera reporter finds a story in every room and every corner of Al Shifaa hospital. He tells these stories to viewers who feel helpless about the Palestinian disaster.

Guest, Male #2
Listen to me Tamer, Listen to me Tamer. Listen to me my beloved brother.

Reporter, Female #2
It is not only the viewer that feels helpless in front of these images in Gaza. But a huge number of journalists and reporters feel guilty because they are far from the battle ground. They wish they were near their colleagues who throw their lives away in front of tanks.

Guest, Male #3
We stay in this place for 24 hours everyday, in the middle of the cold, the danger, the bombs, and the shells that have targeted the middle of the office we are in.

Reporter, Female #2
As for our coworker Nihal Saed, she finds it very hard to prioritize the profession over human emotions.

Guest, Female #3
When I want to deliver a story on New TV, I cry. Because there are children dying, women dying, elderly men dying, and adolescents dying that have nothing to do with the resistance, or Fatah, or Hamas. As a human being and a Palestinian I am very distressed, and I am crying over the innocent people who do not have anything to do with this. We are always exposed to death and we can die at any minute. But in the end this is a message and we have to deliver it. No matter the price. This is something that we want to do, because of the beautiful love we have for our country. I believe that there is no such thing called the world, and there is no such thing called the Arab world. We have been dying for several days now, and if they are really Arabs they need to see what’s happening.

Reporter, Female #2
They have two options, either to fulfill their duty or watch out for their own lives. The journalists choose their duty, because their microphone and their messages are the only things left to expose the criminal.

Guest, Male #4
We consider the camera and delivering the story in Gaza stronger than weapons. In the midst of these bloody events, the camera and the pen communicate more than a gun. I have been in the office for twelve days, without seeing my family. I try to stay in touch with them. The psychological problem we are having is because of the number of images of Israeli crimes that come to our office. They are disturbing pictures of the dead children, women and elderly. For example there was a very disturbing picture of a young girl that was buried under the rubble, you can only see her head. So I began imagining what if that was one of my kids, or my brothers’ kids.

Reporter, Female #2
The Lebanese journalists, the ones who were accustomed to wearing a helmet while covering events in Lebanon would like to violate the media blackout in Gaza to help their Palestinian counterparts. They are the ones who want to do this the most. They are still delivering the voice of the Palestinians, even though they are facing death.

Guest, Female #4
I give my appreciation, and I say may God help you to overcome this situation. And I hope that Gaza can live its life normally, where it can breathe and not suffocate to death.

Guest, Male # 5
As Lebanese journalists, with all the different tasks we have, and with our experience ofthe July 2006 war, we must cooperate with the journalists who are living in a situation similar to the one we experienced.

Guest, Female #5
May God be with you, you are heroes, you are the true battle. Part of a battle is the use of weapons. The other part is the use of cameras, microphones, and pens. Continue, because you are a main factor for victory.

Reporter, Male #6
Christine, what is your message to your colleagues in Gaza?

Reporter, Female #2
I want to say, that at a time when you are being injured, martyred, and arrested just to send us a true message from the occupied land. I wonder how some Arab and Lebanese channels are pre-occupied with songs and music mixes instead of covering your pain. I just want to say that every minute we wish to be next to you to help you. Christine Habeeb, New TV.