31 Palestinians, 9 of them children, including a baby, killed in the last 24 hours

Just continuing from yesterday..

I sat down to write this about an hour ago, but because of the continuous airstrikes I kept getting up to check on the news. It is now just after 11pm local time, with 5 Palestinians killed in the hour since I first began writing.

The day began as yesterday ended, with nonstop airstrikes targeting Palestinian resistance fighters and civilians alike. The first strike took place at 9:30am, targeting a group of Palestinian fighters east of Gaza City and killing two.


The next attack hit a group of boys playing soccer just outside Jabalya. Four of the boys were killed instantly-Palestinian soccer is apparently an official security threat to the state of Israel. 11 year old Deib Darduna and his little brother Ali, 8, were killed along with their cousin Omar, 14, and their friend Mohammad Hamuda, 7. TV images revealed the gruesome nature of the attack, with the four boys torn to bits. Omar's mother was seen looking at her son's destroyed body without recognizing his disfigured corpse.



Later, the body of 12 year old Amjad Al-Sakani was found east of Gaza City after another attack. Talat Armaleet, a shepherd, was targeted by another missile as he was herding his flock. Meanwhile, policeman Mohammad Alhilo was killed on duty when another airstrike targeted a police station in the Shati refugee camp.


Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, the attacks were relentless, with the dead falling all over the Strip. Fate smiled on the people of Gaza briefly when a 500 pound Israeli missile failed to detonate when fired at a residential building, but the killing did not stop, becoming more frequent as the day went on. Residents report that the sky has been full of fighter helicopters and unmanned drones for two days. The terror inflicted by their presence cannot be overstated. There is no place in Gaza that is safe from the air strikes, and their drone is heard everywhere.

At around 10:30pm, two workers from the Gaza Electricity Company were killed after fixing a damaged electrical line just outside my grandparent's home in Khan Younis. After finishing their job, the Bahi Farra and Baha' Shamiyah were attacked by another airstrike seconds after getting into their car. So is maintenance work now detrimental to Israeli security too?


Israeli TV broadcast reports of a 4 step plan that the Israeli government has begun implementing in Gaza with the goal of destroying Hamas and handing Gaza back to Abbasshole. Wait...destroying Gaza's economy, going on rampage against its civillians, banning the entry of medicine, supplies, paper, even chlorine for the water, sealing the borders, cutting off electricity...all of this ISN'T designed to free the captured Israeli soldier and stop the 'rockets'? Utterly shocking.

Speaking of Abbassholelicker, two more militants who'd entered his clemency deal with Israel were assassinated today in Nablus after completing the terms set out for them in the deal. Looks like a trend...

And Riyad Malki, already unhappy with Palestinians engaging in non-violent resistance, today condemned those who engage in violent resistance too. See, if only we'd give in, the PA will be able to negotiate in peace. Negotiating while Palestinian children are being ripped apart by Israeli attacks is such an annoyance.