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Four exhausted children have been discovered cowering in a house next to the bodies of their mothers by staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which today accused the Israeli military of "unacceptable" delays in allowing medics safe access to injured Gazans.
The Red Cross workers found the small children, who were so weak they could not stand, sheltering next to the bodies of their mothers in a house in Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City. Another man was found alive, but again too weak to stand. At least 12 bodies were lying on mattresses.
In another house nearby they found 15 survivors, several of whom were wounded. There were three more bodies in a third house. On Wednesday, a Palestinian volunteer with the Red Crescent who was in the same convoy described seeing dozens of dead bodies. Among those killed when the houses were shelled on Monday were three small boys, all from the Samouni family.
The Red Cross said Israeli soldiers were posted just 80 metres away and had several positions nearby, including two tanks.
It was a "shocking incident," said Pierre Wettach, head of the Red Cross delegation for Israel and the Palestinian territories. "The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded," he said.
The Red Cross had been asking the Israeli military to allow them access to Zeitoun since Israel's ground invasion began on Saturday, but only a three-hour lull in the fighting on Wednesday allowed them to make the dangerous journey.
The Red Cross said Israel had breached international humanitarian law by not allowing access to the wounded and said it "considers the delay in allowing rescue services access unacceptable".
The mounting criticism of Israel's operation comes as the UN, which gives food and aid to around 750,000 Gazans, announced it was suspending all its aid work in the Gaza strip after its staff and compounds came under attack by the Israeli military.
Two drivers in a clearly marked UN convoy were killed today by an Israeli tank shell. The Israeli military has attacked two UN schools, killing more than 46 Palestinians who were sheltering inside.
Another 35 bodies were pulled from the rubble in several areas across Gaza City today during a three-hour lull in the fighting. The Palestinian death toll after nearly two weeks of Israeli bombing, shelling and ground combat now stands at close to 750, with around 3,000 injured, and the figure is rising rapidly as more buried bodies are uncovered. |