Horror day in Gaza: Boys playing hide and seek on beach when missile struck
Video in Above Link
July 17, 2014: 9NEWS reporter Peter Stefanovic and cameraman Luke Wilson have entered Gaza via the Erez crossing following a horror day of Israeli attacks.
The father and brother of two of the boys who were killed in the beach airstrike.
It's an image that cuts through even the toughest souls. Grieving mothers who've dropped to their knees and are wailing in despair. Their children had been killed by a missile launched from a naval war ship. The boys, aged 9 to 11, had been playing hide and seek on the beach when the missiles were fired.
Israel had dropped flyers on northern Gaza earlier in the day to warn residents to evacuate, because Hamas targets would be destroyed. It claims it thought the children were fleeing terrorists, and is now investigating the incident.
I watched as the women were told the news. Two of them screamed, passed out, and then had to be stretchered away. This may be the tragic defining event of this horrific conflict so far.
Israel has announced a five hour "humanitarian ceasefire" that will take place later today. It has been called to allow medical supplies in to treat the wounded. It's a relief, but it's only temporary. When the five hours is up, the bombs will return.
There doesn't appear to be much of a diplomatic track being run here. The US is leading talks at this stage, but getting Israel and Hamas together has been, and will continue to be, the toughest challenge.
Yes, I imagine 9-11 year old kids look about the right size of midget terrorists. I suppose they had guns in their hands too.
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Israel, Hamas agree to humanitarian truce
Israel has agreed to a UN request to halt its bombardment of Gaza for five hours on humanitarian grounds, after its naval strikes killed four children on a beach.
The punishing strikes aimed at halting cross-border rocket fire by Hamas militants had resumed after Egyptian-brokered truce efforts collapsed Tuesday.
Israel's campaign, which entered its 10th day on Thursday, has killed 223 Palestinians so far, with a Gaza-based human rights group saying over 80 per cent of them were civilians.
In the same period, militants have fired more than 1200 rockets at Israel. They claimed their first Israeli life on Tuesday.
The army said early on Thursday that 82 rockets had hit Israel during the course of Wednesday and more than 30 were intercepted by Israel's missile defences.
The Israeli army announced it would halt its bombardment of Gaza between 10.00am and 3.00pm (1700 and 2200 AEST) on Thursday, following a UN request for a humanitarian truce.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process Robert Serry earlier told Israel's Channel Two television, that he had asked the military for a "humanitarian pause" in its Gaza offensive and that, if it agreed, he would ask Gaza militants to follow suit.
Hamas on Thursday agreed to honour the temporary Gaza ceasefire.
"The group agrees to a ceasefire for five hours," starting from 10.00am, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri said in a statement.
"The Palestinian factions agreed to accept the offer from the United Nations for a cooling-down on the ground for five hours starting from 10 in the morning," he told AFP.
As part of the peace initiative, a Hamas official met Egyptian leaders while Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived in Cairo to join the diplomatic efforts.
In addition to the four children who died, several people were also wounded in an apparent Israeli naval bombardment of a beach in Gaza City Wednesday, medics said.
The first strike scattered terrified children and adults on the beach. A second and third struck as they ran, setting fire to huts on the beach.
The strikes appeared to be the result of shelling by the Israeli navy against an area with small shacks used by fishermen.
Several children ran inside a hotel where at least three had shrapnel injuries.
Several hours after the strikes, the Israeli military described the deaths as "tragic" and said it was investigating the incident.
"Based on preliminary results, the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives," the military said in a statement.
"The reported civilian casualties from this strike are a tragic outcome."
And people wonder why militants are firing off rockets towards Israel?
Kill a bunch of children and innocent civilians and I'd probably be a little PO'd and want to fire back too.
Oh but Israel dropped leaflets telling civilians to flee as they're going to flatten the place, how nice of them.
Exactly where are they going to flee to? They're blowing everything up and if you run, you look like a fleeing terrorist regardless if you look like a little kid or not.
These kids were on a beach so you'd think that'd be a semi-safe place to play and not worry too much about getting killed.... Nope. They looked like terrorists so shell the snot out of them & kill some fishermen too while we're at it.
These "Militants" are only further encouraged and gain more recruits and more hatred towards Israel by having these sorts of things constantly happening. I'm sure everybody there has had at least one family member or loved one killed by Israelis over the last few years (not including since all of this began) and have a lot of anger.... and yet the only thing they can do to vent any of this is to lob some make-shift rockets randomly towards Israel while Israel carpet bombs and shells the crap out of these people.... the same Israelis who've used white phosphorous & cluster bombs in civilian populated areas in the past and who have no care about anybody else but themselves and their self-righteous & omnipotent attitude of them owning all the lands there and everybody else is a lower class human if they're not Jewish.
The same people who have already had politicians calling for the genocide and wiping out of Palestinians and who at the same time complain when these same people won't recognize Israel as a real country and have the same level of hatred towards them.
So who is worse?
The people who are completely out matched and continually oppressed and has its civilians murdered, whom have had their lands taken away and locked into a land where they're left to live in horrible conditions due to blockades, etc..... or the people who have taken those lands due to greed and entitlement and feel they're superior and above international law?
Oh but poor Israel is surrounded by enemies who all want to destroy them and have to act tough?
With actions like these, it's no wonder their neighbors all hate them.
But they're a so-called Democracy and western nations are obligated to back them up in everything they do, otherwise they're antisemitic and Jew-Haters..... meanwhile Palestinians are dirty Muslims who don't mind being killed anyways cuz they're sub-human by out wonderful Western Values.
Video in Above Link
July 17, 2014: 9NEWS reporter Peter Stefanovic and cameraman Luke Wilson have entered Gaza via the Erez crossing following a horror day of Israeli attacks.
The father and brother of two of the boys who were killed in the beach airstrike.
It's an image that cuts through even the toughest souls. Grieving mothers who've dropped to their knees and are wailing in despair. Their children had been killed by a missile launched from a naval war ship. The boys, aged 9 to 11, had been playing hide and seek on the beach when the missiles were fired.
Israel had dropped flyers on northern Gaza earlier in the day to warn residents to evacuate, because Hamas targets would be destroyed. It claims it thought the children were fleeing terrorists, and is now investigating the incident.
I watched as the women were told the news. Two of them screamed, passed out, and then had to be stretchered away. This may be the tragic defining event of this horrific conflict so far.
Israel has announced a five hour "humanitarian ceasefire" that will take place later today. It has been called to allow medical supplies in to treat the wounded. It's a relief, but it's only temporary. When the five hours is up, the bombs will return.
There doesn't appear to be much of a diplomatic track being run here. The US is leading talks at this stage, but getting Israel and Hamas together has been, and will continue to be, the toughest challenge.
Yes, I imagine 9-11 year old kids look about the right size of midget terrorists. I suppose they had guns in their hands too.
----------------------------------------------------------
Israel, Hamas agree to humanitarian truce
Israel has agreed to a UN request to halt its bombardment of Gaza for five hours on humanitarian grounds, after its naval strikes killed four children on a beach.
The punishing strikes aimed at halting cross-border rocket fire by Hamas militants had resumed after Egyptian-brokered truce efforts collapsed Tuesday.
Israel's campaign, which entered its 10th day on Thursday, has killed 223 Palestinians so far, with a Gaza-based human rights group saying over 80 per cent of them were civilians.
In the same period, militants have fired more than 1200 rockets at Israel. They claimed their first Israeli life on Tuesday.
The army said early on Thursday that 82 rockets had hit Israel during the course of Wednesday and more than 30 were intercepted by Israel's missile defences.
The Israeli army announced it would halt its bombardment of Gaza between 10.00am and 3.00pm (1700 and 2200 AEST) on Thursday, following a UN request for a humanitarian truce.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process Robert Serry earlier told Israel's Channel Two television, that he had asked the military for a "humanitarian pause" in its Gaza offensive and that, if it agreed, he would ask Gaza militants to follow suit.
Hamas on Thursday agreed to honour the temporary Gaza ceasefire.
"The group agrees to a ceasefire for five hours," starting from 10.00am, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri said in a statement.
"The Palestinian factions agreed to accept the offer from the United Nations for a cooling-down on the ground for five hours starting from 10 in the morning," he told AFP.
As part of the peace initiative, a Hamas official met Egyptian leaders while Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived in Cairo to join the diplomatic efforts.
In addition to the four children who died, several people were also wounded in an apparent Israeli naval bombardment of a beach in Gaza City Wednesday, medics said.
The first strike scattered terrified children and adults on the beach. A second and third struck as they ran, setting fire to huts on the beach.
The strikes appeared to be the result of shelling by the Israeli navy against an area with small shacks used by fishermen.
Several children ran inside a hotel where at least three had shrapnel injuries.
Several hours after the strikes, the Israeli military described the deaths as "tragic" and said it was investigating the incident.
"Based on preliminary results, the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives," the military said in a statement.
"The reported civilian casualties from this strike are a tragic outcome."
And people wonder why militants are firing off rockets towards Israel?
Kill a bunch of children and innocent civilians and I'd probably be a little PO'd and want to fire back too.
Oh but Israel dropped leaflets telling civilians to flee as they're going to flatten the place, how nice of them.
Exactly where are they going to flee to? They're blowing everything up and if you run, you look like a fleeing terrorist regardless if you look like a little kid or not.
These kids were on a beach so you'd think that'd be a semi-safe place to play and not worry too much about getting killed.... Nope. They looked like terrorists so shell the snot out of them & kill some fishermen too while we're at it.
These "Militants" are only further encouraged and gain more recruits and more hatred towards Israel by having these sorts of things constantly happening. I'm sure everybody there has had at least one family member or loved one killed by Israelis over the last few years (not including since all of this began) and have a lot of anger.... and yet the only thing they can do to vent any of this is to lob some make-shift rockets randomly towards Israel while Israel carpet bombs and shells the crap out of these people.... the same Israelis who've used white phosphorous & cluster bombs in civilian populated areas in the past and who have no care about anybody else but themselves and their self-righteous & omnipotent attitude of them owning all the lands there and everybody else is a lower class human if they're not Jewish.
The same people who have already had politicians calling for the genocide and wiping out of Palestinians and who at the same time complain when these same people won't recognize Israel as a real country and have the same level of hatred towards them.
So who is worse?
The people who are completely out matched and continually oppressed and has its civilians murdered, whom have had their lands taken away and locked into a land where they're left to live in horrible conditions due to blockades, etc..... or the people who have taken those lands due to greed and entitlement and feel they're superior and above international law?
Oh but poor Israel is surrounded by enemies who all want to destroy them and have to act tough?
With actions like these, it's no wonder their neighbors all hate them.
But they're a so-called Democracy and western nations are obligated to back them up in everything they do, otherwise they're antisemitic and Jew-Haters..... meanwhile Palestinians are dirty Muslims who don't mind being killed anyways cuz they're sub-human by out wonderful Western Values.
