Sabra, Shatila: A Heinous Massacre

Dozens of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon participated in commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre at the shrine of the victims of the massacre in the Palestine Martyrs Cemetery near Shatila camp, south Beirut.

The event was held at the invitation of the “Popular Conference of Palestinians Abroad” (an independent international body) and Palestinian institutions in Lebanon to commemorate the anniversary of the bloody massacre that was committed on the 16-17-18, 1982 September, under the supervision of the Israeli occupation army.

In his speech, Yasser Ali, a member of the General Secretariat of the PCPA, stressed the “necessity of holding the Israeli occupation entity and all countries that provide support to the killing machine accountable for committing massacres against the Palestinian people and bringing them to justice.”

“We must all, as Palestinian refugees, mobilize all energies to support and back the Palestinian people inside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with all available means and capabilities,” he said.

In turn, Sami Hamoud, director of the “Thabit for the Right of Return” organization (civil society) and a member of the PCPA, called for “the necessity of holding the occupation accountable in international forums to achieve justice for the victims of the Palestinian people who are still being subjected to the crimes of the occupation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.”

He called for “mobilizing international energies and supporting the case filed by the State of South Africa at the International Court of Justice to achieve some justice for the Palestinian people who have been suffering the scourge of wars for more than 76 years.”

Hamoud said that “the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation entity on a daily basis will not deter the Palestinian people from continuing their just and legitimate resistance to seize their rights guaranteed by international laws and charters to liberation and self-determination,” according to Quds Press.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army has continued its aggression on the Gaza Strip for 345 days, with American and European support, as its warplanes bomb the vicinity of hospitals, buildings, towers and homes of Palestinian civilians and destroy them over the heads of their residents, and prevent the entry of water, food, medicine and fuel.

The ongoing aggression by the occupation on Gaza has led to the martyrdom of more than 41,206 martyrs, the injury of 95,337 others, and the displacement of 90% of the population of the Strip, according to data from the United Nations.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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40 Million Tons of Rubble: Gaza Ministry Faces Challenges in Removing it

Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing confirmed that Israel’s ongoing targeting of tents and shelters of displaced people in the enclave is a systematic policy of destroying the basic necessities of life. It noted the amount of rubble that has piled up in the various regions of the Strip has exceeded 40 million tons.

Ministry spokesman Najla Hammad told the Sanad News Agency, Monday, the ministry is facing unprecedented challenges in removing the rubble because of the severe shortage of heavy machinery due to the Israeli-imposed blockade and the closure of crossings.

Hammad pointed out that the recent Israeli aggression has displaced more than 80 families, leaving them homeless and exposed, noting the ministry received widespread appeals to replace the tents that have been damaged and/or completely destroyed.

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She added what is making things worse is that the Israeli occupation is preventing the entry of tents, tarpaulins, and shelter supplies and the reduction of usable land in the Gaza Strip to less than 30%.

Hammad explained that crews are continuing to work on opening main roads and providing alternative spaces for service facilities and educational centers but tough going. However, she announced the completion of the removal of the rubble at the site of the Hijazi Clinic in northern Gaza, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and its handover to the Ministry of Health for reconstruction.

She indicated that the demolition and clearing of rubble is currently limited to only 4 out of the 10 sites previously identified, due to security restrictions and a lack of heavy equipment. The teams are operating with only one excavator and a very limited number of trucks.

Hammad noted the use of local alternatives and solutions, such as recycling crushed rubble to level roads and areas threatened by flooding, and melting plastic and aluminum to recycle supplies for health units in the camps is also moving.

UN reports confirm that the scale of destruction and rubble in the Gaza Strip surpasses that of major wars and conflicts in modern history. International organizations warn that preventing the entry of machinery, engineering equipment, and shelter materials exacerbates the humanitarian, environmental, and health catastrophe, hindering the provision of even the most basic services to more than two million displaced people lacking safe shelter.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza previously warned in August of the severe deterioration in the housing sector due to the widespread presence of tons of rubble. It emphasized that the aid and tents permitted entry by the Israeli occupation amount to no more than 5% of the actual needs of the displaced, given the strict restrictions at the crossings and the repeated forced displacement.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing launched an emergency program to repair and renovate partially damaged homes in the Gaza Strip, a step aimed at persuading and facilitating the return of displaced families to their homes and original areas.

Last June, Hammad, announced a comprehensive plan for managing, storing, and crushing rubble for reuse, as part of the ongoing efforts to address the issue of debris resulting from the conflict.

Hammad said that the Ministry is presently working with the UNDP and have to-date  constructed more than 15 shelters that have accommodated over 1,700 displaced families in the Gaza Strip, including five centers in the south that alone have housed approximately 700 families.

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