Israel murders four young footballers on Gazan beach

Civilians rushed to help after explosions hit a beach where children were playing in Gaza City. Four Palestinian boys died | Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Israel renewed its ongoing murderous assault on the Palestinian people on July 15 after the scam of its so-called “humanitarian ceasefire.” By Wednesday evening, at least 214 had been killed and over 1,000 people injured. A running count kept by United Nations officials shows that  about 75 per cent have been civilians, including more than three dozen children.

Two “surgical” missile strikes killed four young Palestinian boys from a fisher’s family playing football in Gaza when two explosions hit a jetty and beach where they were playing, according to the New York Times. Israel had identified them as so-called “terrorists.”

This massacre is justified by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper whom, in a personal statement issued on Sunday, cynically declared that the Palestinian government of Gaza headed by Hamas was “deliberately using human shields.”

“Witnesses and officials said the cause was an Israeli naval or aerial attack. The boys were cousins in an extended family of fishermen who kept their boats at the fishing port of Gaza City. The first explosion left a small shack burning on the jetty. Several boys could be seen fleeing along the beach. A second blast came about 30 seconds later. When the dust cleared, three figures lay motionless on the sand. A fourth was found in the charred ruins of the shack on the jetty.”

The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged that it had struck the area. “Based on preliminary results, the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives,” the I.D.F. said in a statement.

Israel bombed 60 targets, most of them in northern Gaza, after warning 100,000 residents to evacuate their homes by 8 a.m. via leaflets, text messages, and automated telephone calls. Residents are given 55 seconds to evacuate.

CiLLi via Twitter Report.
4 Kids Killed in #Gaza while playing football near beach by #Israel Missiles today. Ameen http://pic.twitter.com/aAxDLGo9cZ