Red Cross accuses Israel of obstruction

The Red Cross has spoken out strongly against the Israeli army’s obstruction of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip after several emaciated children were found cowering near corpses in a row of houses in the Zeitoun district of Gaza City.

The Geneva-based humanitarian organisation said that Israel had "failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded".

International and Palestinian aid workers had been informed that there had been a bombing in the area, and had been trying to reach the houses since Saturday, but it wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon that the Israeli authorities allowed them to investigate the destruction, the Red Cross claims.

When medical workers did arrive at the houses, they found four malnourished children beside the dead bodies of their mothers, and immediately took them to hospital. In total, there were 15 dead and 18 wounded in three houses.

The Red Cross says it was forced to carry out this rescue operation using donkey carts, because barriers that Israeli forces had constructed in the area made it impossible for ambulances to get in and out. Red Cross officials also claimed that Israeli soldiers had tried to chase rescue workers away from the scene. The Israeli Defence Forces have so far refused to comment on this specific incident.

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 8, 2009