 Palestinians gather around a crater caused by an Israeli strike on a house in which Hamas Interior Minister Saeed Siyam was present. |
Hamas Interior Minister Saeed Siyam has been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Palestinian sources have confirmed.
The Thursday blitz also took the life of Siyam's brother and his son; six other Hamas fighters have been wounded.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and heavy guns advanced further into Gaza City than ever before, while Israeli warplanes continued to pound the Palestinian territory.
Israeli forces on Thursday also targeted a hospital in the blockaded Gaza City, setting fire to one of its wings.
The strike took place in the vicinity of Al-Quds Hospital in the southwestern Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood. Hospital officials say the fire was the result of an attack that involves a "phosphorous shell".
White phosphorus, classified as a 'chemical weapon' by the US intelligence, is an inflammable material that causes horrific burns, severe injuries and sometimes death when it comes in contact with human skin.
Under the Geneva Treaty of 1980, the use of white phosphorous as a weapon is prohibited.
On Sunday, Human Rights Watch warned against the use of white phosphorus in Gaza, saying its researchers had observed the use of the chemical weapon by the Israeli military in Gaza City and Jabaliya on Saturday and Sunday.
The Israeli military denies using the weapon against civilians, saying it is using white phosphorus shells only to create smokescreens to allow its ground forces to operate.
Since its December 27 launch of air and sea operations against Gaza, Israel has killed at least 1,100 Palestinians and wounded more than 4,700 others -- a large number of whom are civilians.
Tel Aviv says it launched the aggression against Gaza to put an end to rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns.
Hamas, the democratically-elected ruler of the coastal sliver, demands a cessation of an 18-month Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip before its fighters suspend the rocket attacks.
PressTV http://samotalis.blogspot.com/ |
No comments:
Post a Comment