Gaza Crisis

I have been closely following the situation in Palestine since the end of the ceasefire on Boxing Day.

The force used by Israel has, in my opinion been completely disproportionate to the threat. They have killed over 600 innocent and defenceless Palestinian civilians, compared to the 9 Israelis killed. The bombing of UN-run schools sheltering refugees, and of other civilian targets including Mosques in unacceptable.

Today, the Red Cross (Red Crescent in Palestine) have accused Israel of failing to fulfil its obligation to help wounded civilians in Gaza. Pierre Wettach - head of the ICRC in Israel & Palestine claimed Israel's military "must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded - neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestinian Red Crescent to assist the wounded." According to the BBC "One medical team found 12 bodies in a shelled house, and alongside them four very young children, too weak to stand, waiting by their dead mothers."

Someone I know is out in Gaza helping medics deal with the situation. Yesterday, one of the medics she had been working with was shot by an Israeli sniper and is now in hospital. Her blog can be found here.

I really hope the Franco-Egyptian Ceasefire Proposal can be accepted quickly and we can get back to finding the solution for everlasting peace in the region, which Israel and Hamas seem so intent on evading.