Israel continues its war in Gaza today, and continues to hammer refugee centers at an alarming rate, hitting the seventh UN-run school of the current war this morning with a drone strike.
The drone strike landed in the street immediately in front of the school gates, killing 10 civilians and wounding dozens of others, including children who were clustered around the gate playing.
It was, as mentioned, the seventh school hit so far in the war, and the third in the past 10 days. The UN has been using the schools as shelters for refugees, and gave the Israeli military exact coordinates, in theory to avoid them being mistakenly targeted.
Instead the attacks are becoming so common that Israeli military claims of “accidental” strikes are no longer credible, and while Israeli politicians have tried to present the shelters as legitimate military targets, their constant targeting is fueling international outrage.
The United Nations termed the attack a “moral outrage” and a “criminal act,” and the usual Israeli Lobby expressions of fury at UN criticism are no longer as quick to follow up, nor as shrill.
Even the United States, normally up for whatever Israel feels like doing, is no longer dancing around such incidents, with the State Department statement lashing the Israeli attack as “disgraceful” and reiterating that Israel has to stop attacking civilians.
UNRWA head Pierre Krahenbuhl, whose agency runs the schools in question, pointed out again today that the attacks are a violation of international law, a fact Israel no longer seems to be seriously trying to dispute, even if it isn’t stopping them from such attacks.
For the civilians chased out of their homes by the Israeli invasion and crammed into a handful of UN shelters, only to find the shelters themselves targeted, the international outcry is unlikely to be much comfort, especially so long as Israel remains content to keep pounding them and shrug off the criticism.
Clearly the IDF & IAF are trying to drive out UN and assorted agencies from Gaza so that under the guise of humanitarian aid they can offer the same services to the Palestinians.
This would enable them to round up anyone associated in any way with Hamas and exert total control over the area. The Israeli's have spent billions with USA assistance planning for this day with an agenda which is still not clear. One doesn't bomb UN shelters multiple times because of mistakes. If so then how many other mistakes are there?
There must come a time when UN must weigh up the risks to its staff. Ban Ki Moon on the other hand is doing nothing to actually protect UN workers.
To kaltrava: clearly IDF & IAF are trying to drive out UN and assorted agencies from Gaza so that under the unisex if humanitarian they can offer the same services to the Palestinians?
Why is it that Israel needs to kill over a thousand Palestinians before they can offer their "generosity" when they can do it by lifting the Gaza embargo. In the other hand what Israel is after is to kill as many as Palestinian as possible forcing the people of Gaza to accept being ruled by Israel fascism. Israel is simply looking to expend its territory as ISIS, the Saudi barbarians are doing in Syria and Iraq, all that is thanks to Barack Hussein Obama and EU Neo fascism regime.
In Ukraine the Neo fascism regime in Kiev trying to clean the Russian speaking from eastern Ukraine, Israel is doing the same. All this is about a bigger war planed by EU and USG where Israeli will be participating when the invasion of Russia starts. Putting it mildly, every buddy needs to go home or to be ruled by what Neo fascism, religious or otherwise, order of the day is about.
How much longer is the world going to put up with Israel's shenanigans?
Its "MURDER BUB"
Nothing like killing unarmed kids out playing to show how humanitarian you are…or will be, once that pesky UN gets lost and gives you the chance to do so.
Remember if this was any other African or Asian dictatorship, we'd be hearing about the war crimes tribunal being prepared for the perps of such crimes.
For tin pot dictators only. Real murderers that commit genocide, crimes against humanity have no place at the Hague.
Israeli targeting of UN schools and other facilities in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon etc is hardly a new phenomenon. It's integral to its longterm strategy to drive the Other off the land. It is never held to account, thanks to the protection it receive from the US. No one should be surprised by its attacks on UN facilities. They wont stop until the Zionists are purged from Washington.
Israel is at war with the world, Israeli government don't care about human life's, international laws or the UN and its responsibility. UN doesn't have the power, militarily or otherwise to confront Israel and Israeli government knows that, but USG and EU both have the military means and all other options are open to them and they can implement whatever it is within few hours, the question is if they have the will or courage to stand against the worse then Saudis and Qatari regime Israel, if there is a will they need to start boycotting Israel by yesterday.
The U.S. needs to break free of control of the Zionist lobby and do the right thing: blow Israel back into the stone age and eradicate this cancer from the planet.
Don’t see Obama showing his mug on TV condemning Israel for targeting civilians, but is quick to blame Hamas for the death of an Israeli soldier killed on the battlefield.
Two things the UN must do to retain any credibility as a global peacemaker:
1. The United Nations headquarters needs to move out of New York City and into a neutral country (Switzerland, perhaps?) to escape the heavy handed influence of the U.S. Government and the Israeli lobbyists who secure Washington political votes with bribes in exchange for legislation that benefits the Zionist agenda in the Middle East.
2. The majority of the member States of the General Assembly must vote to expel Israel from the UN for crimes against humanity.
Before #2 could be implemented, the Charter, giving the permanent 5 of the Security Council power of the veto over any action by the members must be changed. Take away the power of the veto and then the members, 1 member, 1 vote, will be able to bring action against the Israelis – and probably the US also.
But if either of your suggestions are attempted, the UN must be prepared for a major change in culture. The US currently funds approximately 22% of the UN budget and I'm sure that amount would be greatly reduced almost immediately out of spite by the same people who brought you "freedom fries" – another high point of American Exceptionalism.
Start purging!
Maybe the UN should prevent Hamas from storing and stock pillig their missiles in the school houses
Another lie from the Israeli machine propaganda.
It is past time for the world community of nations to step up to the plate and not only condemn Israel's barbaric actions, but to impose an arms embargo and a blockade of this vicious apartheid state. America, if it wants to retain a shred of respect and honor, must stop all support for this criminal regime or America will find itself also isolated from the world. No decent human being can support this intentional carnage Israel is inflicting on innocent men, women and children. Nastyahoo and everyone in his government should be arrested, hauled before the World Court at the Hague and charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, where they would all be found guilty and then hung by the necks for their mass murder of innocent civilians. Each one of the lives they have ended were precious and loved by others, yet these vicious Zionist criminals believe they are justified in this slaughter on the specious grounds of a "right to defend Israel" from rockets that land harmlessly in the desert or are completely stopped by their Iron Dome defense system. One single jew settler, camped out in an illegal outpost close to Gaza has been killed by these rockets, compared to over 1,700 innocent civilians in Gaza butchered by the Zionists with heavy military armaments used against an unarmed and defenseless civilian population packed into the world's largest prison and unable to escape the carnage. These civilians are not even safe in clearly designated U.N. hospitals and shelters. This is genocide and the American government should condemn it and demand that Israel immediately cease the slaughter, withdraw from Palestine or face an American assault on Israel. That may be the only thing that might put an end to these crimes against humanity by Israel. Everyone should demand that America start living up to the international conventions and treaties it has signed and act to put an end to Israel's war crimes.
"…America…retain a shred of respect and honor…find itself also isolated from the world. No decent…can support this intentional carnage…on innocent men, women and children…"
First, if you haven't traveled outside the US lately – and I don't mean Canada – you will find that the US has little respect and honor left to speak of…our in-your-face American Exceptionalism has pretty much erased that.
As for "decent" human beings, it will fall upon the American people, not the government to demand that the government change it's blanket support of Israel because the USG on it's own will not, for whatever reason, stop. The American people will have to convince their elected representatives to listen to them instead of the AIPACs and other American and International lobbyists who influence the USG decision-makers.
The differentiation between the American "government" and the American "people" must be made exceptionally clear. The people we've elected do not necessarily represent the American people – and THAT must be changed.
Israel: A trolling experience you will never forget!
It's time for the west to divorce Israel and put UN troops in Palestine to forcibly end Israeli occupation/blockade. Europe should (if it had morals and a back bone, that is) drag US along with this scheme by threatening to expel US forces in europe and leaving Nato.
"…Europe should…"
I don't think you understand who holds the leash…
Ban Ki Moon IS A US PUPPET..EXPECT NOTHING OF ANY VALUE FROM THE UN TO STOP THE GENOCIDE..
Max Rosenthal and other reliable reporters have told us of the coarsening of the Israeli man-in-the-street's attitude toward and prescriptions for Palestinians. These, increasingly, include early death for Palestinian children as a way to solve tomorrow's problem today. It's not much of a stretch to conclude that these genocidal thoughts find homes in the brains of Israeli battery commanders.
Outraged and sends more weapons to Israel – give me a break…
Israel always says that such attacks were either accidents, or that rockets were situated on or near the targets. Accident? Doubtful. I wish writers like Mr. Ditz would address the other accusation. I'm getting tired of searching the internet for some concrete evidence of firing from hospitals, mosques, and schools and finding nothing but accusations, no evidence, but no denials either.
Ron,
Nearly 100 years after the fact, the exact cargo manifest of RMS Lusitania remains an open and unsettled question.
Just because we have the Internet now, that doesn't mean we can know everything, let alone immediately. Sometimes it just ends up coming down to whom you find more believable. My personal perception is that both sides lie quite often.
Then the only thing left is, who lost or who is losing the information (propaganda) war? It doesn't matter whether we believe the Israeli-controlled American press or…whatever Hamas has that brings us all these wonderful pics of their dead kids – most of the dead are civilians, that much we know for sure:
http://tinyurl.com/kmsgz8q
Maybe Palestinians are killing their own kids, like JMSM says they are, and after all, we've never caught the Zionist crowd lying before. Repeatedly.
Yes, the Zionist crowd lies like rugs.
So does the anti-Zionist crowd.
The U.S. Congress are now complicit to war crimes. Any other leaders from other countries on this planet would have already been brought up on war crimes for doing 1/100th of what Israel has done to the civilian population in Gaza. Hell, the Ukraine Rebels may or may not have shot down that airliner (still waiting on evidence) and the regime changers in DC were already blaming Putin for war crimes against 298 civilians. Already over 1700 civilians in Gaza have been slaughtered and all we here are crickets.
America makes believe it cares about this.
Israel's response to earlier criticism about bombing UN schools is to bomb another one. That goes to show you what they think of everyone's complaints.
Force might be the only thing they understand.
USA outraged ? This is just part of the game they did plan by themself. It is the USA plan of the new midlle east with new borders in the whole region.
Also smashing civil infrastructure is typical US Army strategy, carried out by their proxy killers and otherwise called "collateral damage".
Death to Israel and his supporters.
"Yes, Mister Netanyahu, we're outraged- you have to stop this senseless slaughter NOW. Oh, you are still blowing up UN schools and safe havens in Gaza? I'm sorry, how many more bombs and artillery shells did you need this week?"
The proof is in the pudding- until the US ceases all military sales to Israel, and refuses to interceded on their behalf in the UN, Israel knows it can do pretty much anything it wants. Break the Israeli Lobby in Washington and sit back and watch Israel reap the whirlwind it has sown in the Middle East by manhandling its neighbors over the last half-century.
Again, manipulative politics by Barack Hussein Obama is fooling people when he plays the good guy acting as if he do care about people in Gaza or els where. There in Gaza, there is no business to be made by Joe Biden, Vice President, or a member of his family nor Barack Hussein Obama or all and every far right "democratic" politician that are member of the us Democratic Party are interested to understand the situation Gaza people live under, they are all in it, they all have a hand or two when Israeli fascism regime killing children, mothers, fathers and grand parents living children with no place to go. These entity of vulture capitalism/Zionism simply acting as def, blind and mutes as if the reality on the ground and what is happening with Palestinians life is a god act, experiencing how much and for how long a nation can suffer. If they dud care they would have boycotting Israel decade ago and stop giving free American made weapon which Israel killed Palestinians with.
The US also told Israel to stop building settlements. That worked out really well, didn't it ? What good is "outrage" without the fangs to go with it ? The US keeps bending over, crawling, genuflecting, and sending money. Yesterday's outrage ? And the day before that. The "outrage" pile is leaning heavily. Stay tuned for another outrage. The US Government is a pipsqueak when it comes to controlling the rabid pet skunk. Afraid it might go for the jugular if the money demands are not met ? Cut Israel off at the pass like the old cowboys used to. Where are our heroes ? Boot Hill ?