Palestinian Massacre Disguised as Rescue

By Dr Marwan Asmar  

It’s a criminal act under the eyes of the world. Israel’s Nusseirat massacre with the active cooperation of American help is grotesque by any standard for the 250 Israeli strikes made on the camp during this flagrant military operation.

The number of innocent Palestinians killed kept climbing up on the day of the massacre, Saturday, with the final death toll reaching 274 martyrs. These included 64 children, 57 women and 37 elderly people. Shameful is the fact, the massacre was carried out by Israeli soldiers, Shabak agents and members of the police who had been planning this for weeks.

The number of injuries was equally horrific as 698 people were injured during this killing spree that was backed from the air, sea and with ground tanks helping the infiltrators who went into the camp camouflaged in an aid truck and a car with Israeli tanks behind. Among the injured were 153 children, 161 women 54 elderly people according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

The shooting begun after the disguised aid lorry and a vehicle stopped in the middle of the housing area just outside the central market and begun the bloody mayhem. The lorry was at first thought to carry displaced people with their belongings but soon got out their machine guns and started shooting.  According to the Media Office soldiers were disguised in civilian clothing in ambulances with medical and health signals.

Hostages

The massacre was all made to rescue four Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October when they pushed through the barrier fence that blocked Gaza from the so-called Israeli territories. The four hostages, three men and a woman, were part of the 250 Israelis and foreigners that were taken back to Gaza by members of the Islamic organization on the fateful month and day.

Their rescue was seen as a major victory by Israel after 245 days of war destroying the Gaza Strip and killing its civilian population, earmarked at over 36,000 dead. The Israeli media was jubilant, ignoring the fact the operation was nearly botched with a major fight in getting to the four captives resulting in at least one Israeli soldier and at least three other captives getting killed, one of them an American citizen, though massive Israeli gunfire.

This fact is not yet receiving much attention in the media because it is given by a credible source from Hamas but it has become known the Nusseirat “rescue” operation was a heinous, diabolical affair for the Israeli occupation army bombed 89 houses and residential buildings inhabited by residents in the early hours of committing this massacre.

Eye witness reports say many of the houses were bombed over the heads of their residents without prior warning. Residents were shocked at the sudden bombs and missiles stuck from the air. These were made simultaneously to distract civilians from the underground operation to get to the four hostages reportedly held in different building and flats.

Women, children, men and old people, passerby were all in the line of fire for this was a busy area in between houses and the central market in West Nusseirat.

It is being described as another area genocide with a great impact on central Gaza and executed with dozens of warplanes, quadcopters, helicopters and drones with espionage and intelligence purposes, and tanks in more than four axes and directions, the Gaza Media office stated.

At the time of writing the Government Media office said it is yet to confirm which soldiers from different countries were used in the mass attacks on the camp but there is already confirmation that thousands of American soldiers have been stationed in Israel shortly after 7 October and are providing technical and logistical advice to the Israeli army.

Disturbing however, and as reported is the fact that the aid truck that was used to enter the Nusseirat camp was from the recently constructed American pier where US officials previously said they made this construct to make it easier to bring food to the starving Gazans imposed by Israel.

Social media commentators couldn’t but help make the comparison of the treatment between the Israeli hostages and those “limp” Palestinians coming out of Israeli prisons, spotlighting Noa Argamani with her father in a happy state.

One blogger commented on how Noa was treate and how Israelis treat Palestinians in their  prisons. The latter are old and haggard because they are denied basic things, are beaten, tortured and denied food.

Dr Marwan Asmar is a writer based in Amman covering Middle East affairs