Hot Blood in the Cold Darkness
Israeli War Crimes in Gaza
The 10th day of war
Reem Wishah, Jan. 5th, 2009
Bureij refugee camp, located in Middle Gaza, is an overpopulated camp of mostly very old houses crammed next to each other. The zigzag streets that separate some of these houses at most allow one large-size person to pass alone. Although relative calm prevails in the camp, the sound of the Israeli war planes and bombardment interrupts people talking and chatting and the live broadcasts of battery-charged radios. Some people light fires to warm themselves and make some tea in front of their houses, while children play after getting permission from parents.
Suddenly, the scene comes under fire and a terrified panic overcomes everyone. Shouts of rage mixed with fear fill the air. Houses are not shelters anymore since everyone knows that civilian houses have become targets of the indiscriminate Israeli fire.
The Abu Jbarah family was asleep inside their old, small house. Three of them are now asleep forever after an Israeli Apache helicopter fired nine missiles at it. Neighbors rush to rescue them from under the rubble. The father and two of his sons were ripped in pieces. In the neighboring houses, a 28-year old man, a boy and his father were seriously injured. The boy dies soon after.
Pieces of fresh flesh and a big pool of warm blood mark the cold, dark scene. People depend on torches and cars lights to illuminate the carnage, since electricity is completely cut off in the entire middle Gaza.
Shrapnel is everywhere, the injured are covered with dust and do not even know that they are injured. Fathers try to get to their children, who then cling to their necks. Women rush to help, trying their best to calm down the crying and panicky children even though they themselves are traumatized and terrified. The children hysterically clutch their mothers’ and sisters’ clothes, since their chests and arms are occupied by babies who do not know what the chaos is about.
Every one is still panic-stricken. What was a house a few seconds ago is now rubble, a new memorial. Eyes have no time to go astray, but focus on the streets to collect the body parts scattered here and there. Hearts are dreadfully broken, but still have courage enough to endure the bloody scene. It is a new panorama of the daily Israeli massacres committed against my Palestinian people, whenever they are and whatever they do.
Reem Wishah is a graduate student at Al Azhar University in Gaza City and our contact for a university pen pals project between UW-Madison students and Palestinian students in Gaza. She can be contacted at reem_wishah (at) yahoo.com.
