In what Gazans have already begun to term ‘the Shuja’eyya massacre’, Israeli strikes in the crowded Gaza City neighborhood, Sunday morning, have caused the deaths of at least 60 Palestinian civilians, 17 of them children and babies, according to medical sources, and led to a mass exodus of people walking, running and driving out of Shuja’eyya toward hospitals, schools or anywhere they thought they could be safe from the constant bombing.The Israeli army is continuing to surround the Shuja’eyya neighborhood of Gaza city, firing hundreds of shells into homes, streets, hospitals and medical facilities, and targeting Palestinian ambulances killing medics, and at least two journalists.
Missiles have directly hit five ambulances, while several ambulances were fired at, and were rendered useless.
Eyewitnesses said the bodies are everywhere, injured people, homes turned into rubble, and that every person seen leaving the Shuja’eyya, is directly targeted by the army.
While most of the Israeli strikes Sunday morning are focused on Shuja’eyya neighborhood, Israeli troops have not let up on their bombardment of other parts of Gaza as well. Casualties have been reported Sunday in Khan Younis and Rafah, in southern Gaza, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
A woman and a young man have been killed after the army bombarded a home in Khan Younis, and twelve children were injured.
The army deliberately fired missiles into homes, causing a large number of casualties, and even fired shells at dozens of families fleeing their homes.
Head of the Shifa Hospital in Gaza said the hospital cannot deal with this very large number of casualties, as they do not have enough supplies and equipment, and were forced to move dozens of patients to other hospitals.
Medics are unable to perform their duty as the army is firing missiles at them, rendering them unable to provide essential aid to the wounded, and retrieve the remains of slain Palestinians.
Around 25,000 Palestinians have been displaced, and are seeking shelter in hospitals and medical centers, amidst ongoing Israeli bombardment.
Calls have been made to the Red Cross to send ambulances, but it was unable to do so, while the army threatened any person or vehicle that moved in the Shuja’eyya as a direct target for the army.
In an initial report, the Ministry of Health said that at least 40 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Shuja’eyya in the early morning hours, and more than 400 wounded, and that the number of casualties is gradually escalating.
Talking al Al-Jazeera, spokesperson of the al-Quds Brigades of Hamas Abu Ahmad, said the large number of remains indicates that the number of killed Palestinians could be higher than 100.
In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that as Israel escalates its aggression against the civilians in their communities, in different parts of the Gaza Strip, it seems Saturday night and Sunday, at dawn, have been the most violent of the 12-day long assaults on Gaza.
Some of the slain Palestinians have been identified as:
1. Ahmad Ishaq Ramlawy.
2. Raed Mansour Nayfa.
3. Osama Rebhy Ayyad.
4. ‘Ahed Mousa Sarsak.
5. Marwa Suleiman Sarsawy.
6. Fuad Jaber, Medic.
7. Khaled Hamed, Journalist.
8. Fahmi Abdul-Aziz Abu Sa’id, 29.
Additional casualties from Shuja’eyya, still awaiting confirmation and names:
Helo family: 11 killed
Skafi family: 12 killed
Sukkar family: 30 killed
Earlier Sunday At Dawn
Six Palestinians Killed In Recent Shelling Of Gaza, Khan Younis
http://www.imemc.org/article/68540
