It is reported that Israelis are, in the main, behind what the military has been doing in Gaza. Then again, it is also reported that Israelis have not been provided with the full picture of the deaths, destruction and devastation which has been wrought in Gaza.
One can only hope that what Israelis witnessed on their TV news brings home to them, in the clearest of terms, the lawlessness of the actions their Government has sanctioned. This article in the LA Times [republished in The Age] is both hard-wrenching and poignant:
"It was a voice of anguish that pierced a nation. Israeli TV broadcast a father's heartbreak on Friday night when a Hebrew-speaking Palestinian doctor living in Gaza made a frantic phone call saying an Israeli tank had shelled his home, killing three of his daughters and injuring other family members.
Dr Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish had worked as a gynaecologist in an Israeli hospital. Even though the crossings between Gaza and Israel had often been closed in recent months, he had travelled frequently between the two.
But he had remained in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began 22 days ago. He gave interviews to the Israeli media on living conditions in the seaside enclave. He spoke of having tanks around his house and of passing through checkpoints; he told Israelis in their own tongue what it was like to be Palestinian.
Minutes away from a scheduled phone interview on Israeli TV 10 with newsreader Shlomi Eldar, Dr Aboul Aish called Eldar's mobile, screaming and weeping in Arabic and Hebrew.
The doctor's home had been struck by shells: "Oh God, oh my God, my daughters have been killed. They've killed my children. Could somebody please come to us?"
He said: "I want to know why my daughters were harmed. This should haunt (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert his entire life."
Sitting at his news desk for one of Israel's main evening news broadcasts, Eldar held his phone up. For three minutes and 26 seconds, Dr Aboul Aish's wailing was broadcast across the country.
Eldar welled up. He put his head down. He looked at the camera. He looked at his phone. He made pleas for help and the doctor kept crying, until Eldar took out his earpiece and walked off the set.
The newsreader's bewildered face seemed to capture a pause in a nation that has largely supported its military campaign and prefers not to question its course.
News reports said there had been shooting in the area of the doctor's house before the shelling. An Israeli Defence Forces spokesman had no immediate comment. "We're still looking into the matter," he said.
Israeli officials permitted ambulances carrying wounded members of the doctor's family to cross the border. They were taken to hospital in Israel.
Dr Aboul Aish is a single father. His wife died of cancer.
He made his daughters sleep close to the walls of their home in the hope that would keep them safe if air strikes or artillery collapsed the ceiling."
One can only hope that what Israelis witnessed on their TV news brings home to them, in the clearest of terms, the lawlessness of the actions their Government has sanctioned. This article in the LA Times [republished in The Age] is both hard-wrenching and poignant:
"It was a voice of anguish that pierced a nation. Israeli TV broadcast a father's heartbreak on Friday night when a Hebrew-speaking Palestinian doctor living in Gaza made a frantic phone call saying an Israeli tank had shelled his home, killing three of his daughters and injuring other family members.
Dr Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish had worked as a gynaecologist in an Israeli hospital. Even though the crossings between Gaza and Israel had often been closed in recent months, he had travelled frequently between the two.
But he had remained in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began 22 days ago. He gave interviews to the Israeli media on living conditions in the seaside enclave. He spoke of having tanks around his house and of passing through checkpoints; he told Israelis in their own tongue what it was like to be Palestinian.
Minutes away from a scheduled phone interview on Israeli TV 10 with newsreader Shlomi Eldar, Dr Aboul Aish called Eldar's mobile, screaming and weeping in Arabic and Hebrew.
The doctor's home had been struck by shells: "Oh God, oh my God, my daughters have been killed. They've killed my children. Could somebody please come to us?"
He said: "I want to know why my daughters were harmed. This should haunt (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert his entire life."
Sitting at his news desk for one of Israel's main evening news broadcasts, Eldar held his phone up. For three minutes and 26 seconds, Dr Aboul Aish's wailing was broadcast across the country.
Eldar welled up. He put his head down. He looked at the camera. He looked at his phone. He made pleas for help and the doctor kept crying, until Eldar took out his earpiece and walked off the set.
The newsreader's bewildered face seemed to capture a pause in a nation that has largely supported its military campaign and prefers not to question its course.
News reports said there had been shooting in the area of the doctor's house before the shelling. An Israeli Defence Forces spokesman had no immediate comment. "We're still looking into the matter," he said.
Israeli officials permitted ambulances carrying wounded members of the doctor's family to cross the border. They were taken to hospital in Israel.
Dr Aboul Aish is a single father. His wife died of cancer.
He made his daughters sleep close to the walls of their home in the hope that would keep them safe if air strikes or artillery collapsed the ceiling."
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