By Maya Davis
The battered strip of land known as the Gaza Strip has seen much blood in its streets, which is for sure. The count of dead and wounded, however, still cannot be agreed upon. After three weeks of fighting the Israeli troops repositioned along the border. In their wake an estimate of 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 4,336 wounded. Who can be trusted to survey the dead is the main issue at hand.
Israel’s military has been accused of using excess force by the United Nations’ secretary general Ban Ki-Moon. The attack was “outrageous” and asked for a thorough investigation. The United Nations building had been under fire and was badly damaged. Within the investigation of Israel’s military force is their weaponry. White phosphorous weapons are prohibited under international law. It has been compared to napalm, for it burns the flesh. Israel has denied any usage of the substance. Gazan residents reported that naval gunfire persisted though the Israeli army retreated.
To add to the haze surrounding
military actions, the count of casualties and Hamas killed in the fighting has
not been settled, especially the ratio of military and civilians. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights is
trying to sort the situation out. Yasser Abdel Ghafar is working to count the
dead. So far the vast majority has been
recorded as civilians. Israel countered
saying that Hamas is inflating the numbers. The center is controlled by Hamas, a
government agency. Israeli air strikes
hit various ministries such as the Health ministry. The ministry has been conducting its own count
and arrived at 1,324 dead and 5,400 wounded, more than the Palestinian Center
for Human Rights. Discrepancies between two
Hamas controlled organizations is not settled.
Ibtissam
Zakout, head of the center’s research team, believes there has been double
counting between the two agencies and other probable mishaps. The Gaza Health Ministry official, Dr.
Moawiya Hassanain thinks it is possible that the Israeli militants buried some
of their own dead. Whether these
propositions prove to have any merit, it is clear that the Gazan conflict is
seeding the fruit of contradiction.
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