Gaza: Four Palestinians die due to sound-bombs

Four Palestinians die due to sound-bombs and shelling in Gaza Strip

December 18, 2005

The General Director of Reception and Emergency in the Palestinian Health Ministry, Dr Mauia Hassanin, declared that four sick Palestinians died on Sunday 18the December due to Israeli sound-bombs and shelling in Southern Gaza.

Dr Hassinin said that many people suffering from long-term illnesses such as blood pressure, diabetes, and heart conditions died suddenly on Sunday after being struck by deafening sound-bombs launched by low-flying Israeli airplanes.

Some 77 people, especially children and elderly women, rushed to the hospital after the attack, suffering from nausea and confusion, some of whom were transferred to a specialist care centre for treatment of the nervous system. Some of the more serious cases involved internal bleeding in the brain and five pregnant women lost their babies as a direct result of the sound-bomb attack – a new Israeli tactic known to traumatize and induce miscarriages.

Further consequences of the attacks left damage to house, buildings and shops, as well as power cuts resulting from a targeted rocket attack on an electricity generator in Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza.

The Israeli army also fired at ambulance teams and policemen trying to reach the injured. Dr Hassani calls for international intervention to help Palestinian people as they are being deprived of basic humanitarian aid.