.
Human Rights Watch Expert Disagrees
GAZA CITY (BBC News) June 13 — An expert working for the Human Rights Watch said the Palestinians’ injuries were not consistent with a blast taking place beneath them. “It has been suggested by some that the family was killed by a land mine, and this is patently not the case,” Mark Garlasco¹ said.
“All of the evidence is pointing to a 155mm shell as having killed and injured the Palestinians here on the beach,” he said. “My assessment [is] that it’s likely that this was incoming artillery fire that landed on the beach and was fired by the Israelis from the north of Gaza.”
Eyewitness: Gaza beach shelling
Reacting to earlier reports that the Israeli inquiry would blame the blast on a mine planted by Hamas, a Hamas spokesman accused Israel of “shying away from its responsibilities over this atrocious crime”.
“These Israeli allegations are false and lack any credibility,” Ghazi Hamad said.
¹ Mark Garlasco is a senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch (HRW), and is HRW’s resident expert on battle damage assessment, military operations, and interrogations. Marc also leads HRW’s work on Abu Ghurayb, civilian military contractors, and non-lethal weapons.
See my recent diary :: No News for America
NORTH GAZA (BBC News) June 13 — The BBC’s Alan Johnston in Gaza says although Israeli strikes on vehicles travelling through the territory have become familiar, today’s attack resulted in one of the heaviest death tolls.
The dead were reported to include two brothers, four-year-old Hisham al-Mugrabi and eight-year-old Shaher, and their father Ashraf.
Palestinian medics wheel an injured child after an Israeli missile strike on a vehicle in Gaza City Reuters
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of engaging in “state terrorism”.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said Israel had so far been showing restraint, but would no longer do so. Israel says about 100 rockets have been fired from across the Gaza border in the past few days.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
