At Least 60 Killed In Al-Shuja'iya neighborhood of Gaza City, Hundreds Injured

Sunday July 20, 2014 13:22 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

In what Gazans have already begun to term 'the Al-Shuja'iya massacre', Israeli occupation forces strikes in the crowded Gaza City neighborhood Sunday morning have caused the deaths of at least 60 Palestinian civilians, 17 of them children and babies, according to medical sources, and led to a mass exodus of people walking, running and driving out of Al-Shuja'iya toward hospitals, schools or anywhere they thought they could be safe from the constant bombing.

The Israeli occupation army is continuing to surround Al-Shuja’iya neighborhood of Gaza city, firing hundreds of shells into homes, streets, hospitals and medical facilities, and targeted Palestinian ambulances killing medics, and at least two journalists.

Missiles have directly hit five ambulances, while several ambulances were fired at, and were rendered useless.
Eyewitnesses said the bodies are everywhere, injured people, homes turned into rubble, and that every person seen leaving Al-Shuja’iya, is directly targeted by the army.

While most of the Israeli strikes Sunday morning are focused on Al-Shuja’iya neighborhood, Israeli occupation forces have not let up on their bombardment of other parts of Gaza as well. Casualties have been reported Sunday in Khan Younis and Rafah, in southern Gaza, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

A woman and a young man have been killed after the army bombarded a home in Khan Younis, and twelve children were injured.

The Israeli occupation army deliberately fired missiles into homes, causing a large number of casualties, and even fired shells at dozens of families fleeing their homes.

Head of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza said the hospital cannot deal with this very large number of casualties, as they do not have enough supplies and equipment, and were forced to move dozens of patients to other hospitals.

Medics are unable to perform their duty as the army is firing missiles at them, rendering them unable to provide essential aid to the wounded, and retrieve the remains of slain Palestinians.

Around 25000 Palestinians have been displaced, and are seeking shelter in hospitals and medical centers, amidst ongoing Israeli bombardment.

Calls have been made to the Red Cross to send ambulances, but it was unable to do so, while the army threatened any person or vehicle that moved in the Al-Shuja’iya is a direct target for the army.

In an initial reported, the Ministry of Health said that at least 40 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Al-Shuja'iya in the early morning hours, and more than 400 wounded, and that the number of casualties is gradually escalating.

Talking al Al-Jazeera, spokesperson of the al-Quds Brigades of Hamas Abu Ahmad, said the large number of remains indicates that the number of killed Palestinians could be higher than 100.

In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that as Israel escalates its aggression against the civilians in their communities, in different parts of the Gaza Strip, it seems Saturday night and Sunday at dawn have been the most violent of the 12-day long assault on Gaza.