The Assault on Gaza - 11 March 2012

Monday, 12 March 2012, 5:16 pm
Article: Mark P. Williams

This weekend has seen the bloodiest violence in Gaza for at least three years.
We will be keeping a record of the attacks and reports on them as events unfold as a rolling blog.

We also have a correspondent in Gaza, Julie Webb Pullman providing exclusive reports on the violence.

Latest: The Names of the Dead (Note: Shaheed means "Holy Martyr" there are women and children among the dead.)
From Gaza:

JWP: - Here is the updated list of the dead:

1. Shaheed Bassam el Ejla | 24 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
2. Shaheed Mohammed Dhaher | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
3. Shaheed Mohammed Al Hasoumi | 65 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
4. Shaheeda Fayza Al Hasoumi | 30 years old, Daughter of Mohammed | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
5. Shaheed Nayif Shaaban Qarmout | 17 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
6. Shaheed Raafat Jawad Abu Eid | 24 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
7. Shaheed Hamadeh Salman Abu Mutlaq | 24 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 12, 2012
8. Shaheed Adel Al Issi | 52 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 11, 2012
9. Shaheed Ayoub Useila | 12 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 11, 2012
10. Shaheed Ahmed Deeb Salem | 23 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 11, 2012
11. Shaheed Mahdi Abu Shahweesh | 24 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 10, 2012
12. Shaheed Mansour Abu Nusaira | 21 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 10, 2012
13. Shaheed Hussein Breik | 51 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 10, 2012
14. Shaheed Yahya Dahshan | 27 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
15. Shaheed Muhammad al-Ghamry | 26 years old | Assassinated by zionist forces | Died of wounds on March 10, 2012
16. Shaheed Ahmad Hajjaj | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
17. Shaheed Mohammed Al-Moghary | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
18. Shaheed Mahmoud Nejem | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
19. Shaheed Moatasem Hajjaj | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
20. Shaheed Fayeq Saad | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
21. Shaheed Shadi Al Ziqali | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
22. Shaheed Hazem Qraqe | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
23. Shaheed Muhammad Harara | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
24. Shaheed Obeid al-Ghirbali | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
25. Shaheed Mahmoud Ahmed Huneini | Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012
26. Shaheed Zuhair Qaisi |PRC secretary-general. Assassinated by zionist forces | March 9, 2012

• Press Release: Global March To Jerusalam Statement Zaher Al-Birawi, the official spokesman and member of the executive committee of the Global March to Jerusalem, addressed a Press Conference in Gaza City today. He spoke with me after the Press Conference. More>>
• Julie Webb-Pullman: Four Dead In Attacks On Gaza
  Four people have been killed today, Friday, in Israeli aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip. More>>
• Scoop Video: Israel Targets Heads In Latest Gaza Atrocities
  Today I went to my corner shop to get bread for my breakfast. It was closed - two members of the family had been killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight. Like every Gazan, they never know when they leave the house in the morning if they, their child, ... More>>

Digest: Reports on the Attacks So Far

By Mark P. Williams

Scoop will update this chronology regularly as further reports emerge.

• Tuesday 13 March 2012

Images and video foootage are beginning to emerge from reporters on the ground in Gaza.

If we need reminders of what the air strikes entail, there are plenty in evidence. The Telegraph has a short video of the aftermath of Israeli airstrickes here. While the BBC accompanies their commentary with footage of injured Palestinians here

Nicholas Hegel McClelland provides a stark photo essay, 'Violence in Gaza Escalates' for Time.

This Washington Post video shows footage of Palestinian rockets and the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes, including children collecting shrapnel.

The Guardian video footage begins with a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netenyahu, showing images from the Israeli Defence Force targeting buildings in Gaza.

• Monday 12th March, 2012

The first reports of the week are beginning to give a sense of the scale of this weekend's attacks.

As of this morning, 18 Palestinians have been killed and around 30 Palestinian civilians injured by Israeli air strikes. While at least eight people are believed to have been wounded in Israel by Palestinian rockets and mortar fire.

Reports suggest that between 100 and 130 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel between Friday night and Sunday in response to the killing of Zuhair al-Qaissi, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees whom Israel says was planning a large terrorist attack (The Times of Israel).

The Financial Times reported that at least 18 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli air strikes, adding that Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system had stopped 40 out of 49 missiles launched from Gaza as of 3.26pm GMT. However, Haaretz reports that the Iron Dome was subject to malfunctions during the rocket attacks, resulting in two rockets landing in the neighbourhood of Be'er Sheva and a school being struck. No students were injured.

This morning, at least 15 Palestinian militants are believed to have been killed. The Bangkok Post reported that 10 of those killed belonged to the Islamic Jihad group and five to the Popular Resistance Committees.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Mark P. Williams

Political Journalist and Independent Academic Researcher

Journalist and independent academic researcher with primary interests in politics and literature.

As a researcher I am a contributor to various academic publications, including Alluvium journal of 21st century literature, The Literary London Journal, The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, and Critical Engagements: Journal of the UK Network for Modern Fiction Studies (UKNMFS).

As a journalist, I have worked as Parliamentary reporter for Scoop Independent Media and International editor for the Scoop Review of Books.

Contact Mark P. Williams

• Website - MarkPWilliams
• Email - mark@scoop.co.nz