GAZA WAR NEWS

Jewish Voice for Peace

U.S. Jewish group condemns attacks on Gaza

(Dec. 28) Jewish Voice for Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. We call for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.

» View the whole statement of the U.S. Jewish group condemns attacks on Gaza here

 Refugees International

With borders closed, Gazans are trapped

(Jan. 5) In similar situations around the world, civilians caught in the midst of conflict would have the option of seeking safety in neighboring countries as refugees. Gazans have no such option, as both Israel and Egypt restrict access for Palestinians to their territory. They are trapped….

Some 300 babies are born every day in Gaza, but pregnant women are being forced to deliver outside hospitals as all available beds are reserved for war injuries and other emergency cases….

Refugees International is calling for the following five measures to immediately enhance the protection of civilians in Gaza:

• Israel and Hamas must do everything possible to avoid injuring or killing civilians;
• Israel and Hamas must respect the civilian nature of basic infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals, clinics, and other public buildings, avoiding destructive attacks and the use of these facilities for military operations;
• Israel and Egypt must open all border crossing points into Gaza to enable the delivery of humanitarian supplies, with an emphasis on food and medicine, gas for cooking, and fuel for the central power plant;
• Israel must grant freedom of movement to Gazan civilians to access humanitarian distribution points and hospitals safely;
• Israel must speed the granting of permission for international medical personnel to access Gaza.

» View the whole statement here 

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CODEPINK

Petition urges Sec. Rice to “change U.S. policy”

(Jan. 3) CODEPINK has collected over 3,000 signatures on a petition to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging the U.S. government to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and “to change U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine [and] support human rights, international law, and equality.”

» View or sign the petition here 

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Human Rights Watch

Ground offensive raises “law of war” concerns

(Jan. 3) As an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza gets underway, both Israeli and Palestinian forces must address heightened civilian protection concerns because of likely combat in densely populated urban areas, Human Rights Watch said today. Both sides must stringently abide by the laws of war, including taking all feasible measures to avoid harm to civilians and facilitating access for humanitarian workers and medical personnel.

Human Rights Watch investigations of previous ground operations in Gaza and the West Bank by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found evidence of unlawful killings by Israeli forces. In addition, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired rockets or conducted other military operations from densely populated areas, placing civilians at risk of serious harm.

» Latest statements from Human Rights Watch 
» Q&A on Israel, Hamas, and the laws of war

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Amnesty International

Sec. Rice urged to stand up for civilians

© Amnesty International USA(Jan. 2) Amnesty International calls on Israeli forces to immediately halt the unlawful attacks carried out as part of the escalation of violence which has caused over 400 Palestinian deaths and 2000 injuries since Dec. 27. Amnesty International also condemns the rocket fire by armed Palestinian groups including Hamas which resulted in 4 Israeli deaths with several dozen injured.

This is the highest level of Palestinian fatalities and casualties in four decades of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Scores of unarmed civilians, as well as police personnel who were not directly participating in the hostilities, are among the Palestinian victims of the Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip….

Amnesty International submitted an urgent letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today, appealing to the U.S. government to vigorously pressure all parties to the current Gaza conflict to immediately cease indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks which cause civilian deaths and casualties, allow necessary humanitarian aid and workers into the region, and suspend the transfer of U.S. weapons to Israel.

“Amnesty International USA is particularly dismayed at the lopsided response by the U.S. government to the recent violence and its lackadaisical efforts to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” the human rights organization states in its letter to Secretary Rice.

» Call on Secretary Rice to urge all parties to protect civilians and end unlawful attacks 
» Read Amnesty International’s press release
» Read the letter to Secretary Rice

 

Institute for Policy Studies

U.S. complicit in Israeli violations of international law; timing of attacks politically motivated

(Dec. 28) The death toll in Gaza continues to rise. The carnage is everywhere — city streets, a mosque, hospitals, police stations, a jail, a university bus stop, a plastics factory, a television station. It seems impossible, unacceptable, to step back to analyze the situation while bodies remain buried under the rubble, while parents continue to search for their missing children, while doctors continue to labor to stitch burned and broken bodies back together without sufficient medicine or equipment. The hospitals are running short even of electricity — the Israeli blockade has denied them fuel to run the generators….

But if we are serious about ending this carnage, this time, we have no choice but to try to analyze, try to figure out what caused this most recent massacre, how to stop it, and then how to continue our work to end the occupation, end Israel’s apartheid policies, and change U.S. policy to one of justice and equality for all.

• The Israeli airstrikes represent serious violations of international law — including the Geneva Conventions and a range of international humanitarian law.
• The U.S. is complicit in the Israeli violations — directly and indirectly.
• The timing of the air strikes has far more to do with U.S. and Israeli politics than with protecting Israeli civilians.
• This serious escalation will push back any chance of serious negotiations between the parties that might have been part of the Obama administration’s plans.
• There is much work to be done.

» View the entire analysis here

Latest News from OneWorld

• Aid Groups Demand Gaza Ceasefire

» OneWorld’s Full Coverage on Palestinian issues 

Groups Responding in Gaza

Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps distributes food for 2,000 for a week, plans distribution of living supplies to 100 newly displaced families; temporarily halts employment, youth programs to focus on emergency relief

(Jan. 8) Despite many obstacles and bureaucratic procedures presented by the Israeli authorities, Mercy Corps successfully delivered emergency relief food items to Gaza on Thursday. The organization delivered a truckload of vegetable cooking oil, rice and canned tuna fish in sufficient quantities to feed 2,000 extremely vulnerable people for a week….

Mercy Corps plans to distribute blankets, mattresses, pillows, and powdered milk to 100 families newly displaced to UN refugee camps in Jabaliya and Rafah tomorrow. Field staff says items were bought within Gaza on credit (there’s a shortage of cash). Prices are high because of low supply. Mercy Corps staff will oversee the distribution, which they hope to be able to do during tomorrow’s three-hour ceasefire (1 p.m. – 4 p.m. local time). 

 

(Jan. 5) Mercy Corps has distributed blankets to dozens of families in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis and awaits permission to deliver truckloads of food staples for 1,800 people. Four tons worth of rice, canned tuna, dates, and soy oil have been secured. Mercy Corps is negotiating with Israeli officials to gain access to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Israel.

Your donation to our Gaza Crisis Fund will help us expand distributions of humanitarian relief items for families besieged by the military action in Gaza.

Mercy Corps is monitoring evolving humanitarian needs in the embattled Gaza Strip as our programs there — which offer psychosocial assistance to children and provide vulnerable residents with short-term jobs such as sewing hospital linens and baking for kindergartens — are on hold as Israel continues its military offensive.

» Support Mercy Corps’ Gaza Crisis Fund

 

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CHF International

Distributing food to 500 families a day during 3-hour ceasefire; ready to deliver thousands of blankets, plastic sheeting, and tape to cover windows once safe passage assured

(Jan. 7) CHF’s team members continued delivery of food aid today, distributing standard food packages to 500 families in the Al Zaiton Zone of Gaza City. The distribution took place during the planned ceasefire between 1:00-4:00 pm. CHF International is the second largest food distributing agency in the Gaza Strip after UNRWA and continues to provide immediate, life-saving, humanitarian assistance for the civilian population in Gaza. Our team plans to distribute an additional 500 packages in the same location tomorrow during the planned ceasefire.

The CHF team is coordinating closely with our partner Local Action Committees to facilitate the distribution of food and non food items to the most vulnerable families in each neighborhood. The Local Action Committees currently take the lead role in informing the beneficiaries about the location and time of distributions through word of mouth. CHF is also coordinating with Internews to provide approximately 1,000 hand-cranked radios for households without power or spare batteries for their radios. A Hebron-based radio station will be used to broadcast humanitarian announcements including the locations and times of planned aid distributions.

(Jan. 5) With the support of USAID, CHF is ready to deliver 30,000 blankets, 26 tons of plastic sheeting and 2,500 units of tape to cover broken windows, protecting households from the winter weather and provide basic shelter. We are coordinating with the United Nations and Israeli authorities to secure passage of the goods into Gaza and have 18 warehouses in Gaza ready to receive the supplies once access is given. Additional emergency supplies are urgently needed to expand distributions of humanitarian relief.

» Support CHF International’s Humanitarian Efforts in Gaza

 

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MADRE

Directing aid through one of Gaza’s longest-serving, most respected healthcare organizations

© MADRE

Editor’s note: MADRE Executive Director Vivian Stromberg sent the following note.

(Jan. 6) MADRE’s sister organization in Gaza, The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), has issued a call for desperately needed funds and supplies and I am asking you to join us today in an immediate response. We need money for emergency medical equipment, including every type of blood, sterilization kits, needles, anesthetics, catheters, oxygen, and more…

MADRE can be certain that the support we provide goes directly to women and families in need, through the grassroots network developed by one of Gaza’s longest-serving, most respected healthcare organizations and MADRE’s local partner. The PMRS maintains four primary healthcare centers, two ambulances, and two mobile clinics in Gaza. PMRS healthworkers are now providing emergency medical attention by going to sites that have been bombed and caring for people waiting to be taken to hospitals. Our partners are literally saving lives and they need your support to continue.

» Support MADRE’s Emergency & Disaster Relief Fund for Gaza

 

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Grassroots International

Drawing on longstanding relationships to get resources where they’re needed most

(Jan. 5) Grassroots International has longstanding relationships with progressive community organizations in the region  and can help get resources — such as medical supplies, food, and water — where they are most needed as soon as possible.

» Support Grassroots International’s emergency relief efforts in Gaza

 

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American Friends Service Committee

Staff in Gaza are identifying critical unmet needs

(Jan. 5) AFSC’s staff in Gaza is unharmed by the violence that has so far taken more than 500 lives and left thousands injured. AFSC’s staff in Gaza and the West Bank, in coordination with local partners and other international organizations, are identifying critical unmet needs in Gaza for a humanitarian response.

» Support AFSC’s relief and peacebuilding work in Gaza

 

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Oxfam International

Oxfam programs on hold; local partners responding in Gaza

(Dec. 28) Oxfam International has already been forced to temporarily suspend most of its humanitarian work in Gaza because of the bombing, and a program that will feed 25,000 people has also been put on hold. Oxfam’s local health partners are actively helping people injured in the current bombing.

» Support Oxfam America’s Global Emergencies Fund 

© Mercy Corps

Groups Responding Worldwide

Crisis Action

European Coalition demands ‘real’ pressure from EU to stop attacks

Editor’s note: Crisis Action is a coalition of 20 organizations from over 10 European countries, including CAFOD, Oxfam International, World Vision, and Muslim Aid. The following are excerpts from a statement published on CAFOD’s Web site.

(Jan. 7) “It is inconceivable that we should extend further benefits of European partnership to a government that violates international humanitarian law and refuses negotiation in favour of continued violence. It is time for robust EU action to bring about an immediate ceasefire and end the violence on all sides,” said Daleep Mukarji, Director of Christian Aid UK and Ireland….

“This is not the time to be awarding benefits to a party to the conflict. The civilian casualties and destruction of homes, schools and basic infrastructure in Gaza are shocking and increasing every day. The EU cannot proceed with upgrading our relations with Israel while such violations are talking place,” said Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH.

The coalition calls on the EU to uphold fundamental European principles by:

• Suspending the EU-Israel upgrade process until a full, complete and permanent ceasefire has been agreed by all parties and Israel provides unimpeded humanitarian access;
• Making publicly clear that partnership with the EU should be linked to respect for human rights and international law;
• Securing action in the United Nations Security Council to adopt a binding resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire, and includes effective monitoring to ensure adherence to it by both sides.

» View the whole statement here 

SOURCE OF ALL THE ABOVE FROM_

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SOURCE OF ALL ABOVE FROM