There are reports that Israeli forces fired three white phosphorus rounds at the UN headquarters in the Gaza Strip. From CBC News:
Israel shelled the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, engulfing the compound and a warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.
UN workers and Palestinian firefighters, some wearing bulletproof jackets, struggled to douse the flames and pull bags of food aid from the debris.
Israeli officials say their forces were fired on from the compound by Hamas guerrillas.
UN officials at the scene dismissed the Israeli claim as "nonsense."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region to end the devastating offensive in Gaza, demanded a "full explanation" for the attack, which also wounded three people.
He said the Israeli defence minister told him there had been a "grave mistake."
However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the military fired artillery shells at the UN compound after Hamas opened fire from the location.
Israel shelled the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, engulfing the compound and a warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.
UN workers and Palestinian firefighters, some wearing bulletproof jackets, struggled to douse the flames and pull bags of food aid from the debris.
Israeli officials say their forces were fired on from the compound by Hamas guerrillas.
UN officials at the scene dismissed the Israeli claim as "nonsense."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region to end the devastating offensive in Gaza, demanded a "full explanation" for the attack, which also wounded three people.
He said the Israeli defence minister told him there had been a "grave mistake."
However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the military fired artillery shells at the UN compound after Hamas opened fire from the location.
7 comments:
Any links that actually mention the white phosphorus?
MoS: but hey - "Israel has a right to defend itself", eh?
Ah, yes - the perennial excuse to do anything and everything you want ... violently.
Just like the Bush Doctrine.
(Incompetence, anyone?)
Yeah, Steve, let me dig that out for you. I think it was from The Guardian or The Independent. I'll try to go back and find it this p.m. It does explain why the place - warehouses, etc. - were swept with fires.
You can find it easily enough by Googling "UN + Gaza" It's also available on Reuters. The Times of London has this;
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5521925.ece
Isn't phosphorous the stuff, when exposed to air, that burns?
Yes, SD, it certainly is that. When it hits flesh it tends to burn right in and just keep on going. It's also a highly effective incendiary which may explain the extensive fires at the UN compound. I read somewhere they had five loaded fuel trucks among their stores and supplies.
That being said white phosphorous does have legitimate uses, at at least according to the red cross there is not evidence that Israel is using the stuff inappropriately, though certainly a proper explanation (and perhaps investigation) is in order after this attack.
See this link for more info:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/01/white-phosphoru.html
Post a Comment