Corriere della Sera reported today that Palestinian civilians are accusing Hamas of having prevented civilians from fleeing areas under attack. The article also quote a Gazan physician who argues that the casualty numbers are inflated and that many more of the dead were likely Hamas fighters than has been admitted. Here is the relevant quotation from the Italian paper; read Ha'aretz for an English summary.
Chi racconta una versione diversa dalla narrativa imposta dalla «muhamawa» (la resistenza) è automaticamente un «amil», un collaborazionista e rischia la vita. Aiuta però il recente scontro fratricida tra Hamas e Olp. Se Israele o l’Egitto avessero permesso ai giornalisti stranieri di entrare subito sarebbe stato più facile. Quelli locali sono spesso minacciati da Hamas. «Non è un fatto nuovo, in Medio Oriente tra le società arabe manca la tradizione culturale dei diritti umani. Avveniva sotto il regime di Arafat che la stampa venisse perseguitata e censurata. Con Hamas è anche peggio», sostiene Eyad Sarraj, noto psichiatra di Gaza city. E c’è un altro dato che sta emergendo sempre più evidente visitando cliniche, ospedali e le famiglie delle vittime del fuoco israeliano. In verità il loro numero appare molto più basso dei quasi 1.300 morti, oltre a circa 5.000 feriti, riportati dagli uomini di Hamas e ripetuti da ufficiali Onu e della Croce Rossa locale. «I morti potrebbero essere non più di 500 o 600. Per lo più ragazzi tra i 17 e 23 anni reclutati tra le fila di Hamas che li ha mandati letteralmente al massacro», ci dice un medico dell’ospedale Shifah che non vuole assolutamente essere citato, è a rischio la sua vita. Un dato però confermato anche dai giornalisti locali: «Lo abbiamo già segnalato ai capi di Hamas. Perché insistono nel gonfiare le cifre delle vittime? Strano tra l’altro che le organizzazioni non governative, anche occidentali, le riportino senza verifica. Alla fine la verità potrebbe venire a galla. E potrebbe essere come a Jenin nel 2002. Inizialmente si parlò di 1.500 morti. Poi venne fuori che erano solo 54, di cui almeno 45 guerriglieri caduti combattendo».
6 comments:
I don't know about the overall death toll, but it's obvious that the ratio of their military casualties to civilian ones is very different than they are trying to present. Jihad and the Resistance Committees said that they lost about 100 men together, Hamas casualties should be at least several times higher. I bet the death toll is something like 1000 people and 50% of them are militants.
Why would Hamas understate the number of their casualties. Doesn't that just make them look cowardly, i.e., they were hiding in the basement while the people, the ones they are supposed to be leading, were dying up above? How can they expect to have the trust of the Gazans if they led them and then left them to die?
there is enough evidence that the mighty brave IDF targeted the civillian population. now israel will justify the war crimes it committed and the jewish people will accept the blantant lies.
Zionazis are so predictable. We knew you would start questioning the numbers of human beings slaughtered by the terrorist state of Israel. You massacred 1300 people, all unarmed defenseless civilians. The resistance groups including Hamas, Jihad, and the others lost a total of 150 fighters who are brave guys from the neighborhood doing the best they can to defend their land and people.
The cowards and criminals were dropping bombs on innocent civilians for weeks and now they want question the numbers. Typical zionist tactic trying to distract attention from a murderous onslaught by dragging people into tedious details about numbers or laws.
You can murder innocent civilians, and you can lie about it, but you cannot escape punishment. Zionism is doomed and with every new massacre the inevitable comes even closer. Time is running out on the chosen Nazis. Tick tock tick tock.
Hi Amos. Take a look
. . .
If “shock and awe” was the Israelis’ intention, it worked—to the extent that the trauma is plainly visible in people’s faces. Three nights after the truce was announced on January 18th, Gaza City’s streets are still empty. People flinch at the sound of sudden noise. A recent declaration by Hamas’s prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, that the movement has won a great victory draws mirthless smiles.
But many faithfully stick to the official version. “The resistance did very well,” says Assad al-Hartani, a municipal worker as he shops for cigarettes in the market. “They stopped the invasion. Without them the Israelis would have destroyed all of Gaza.” The fact that Hamas has not been ousted from power is itself considered a fine achievement. “Israel’s war didn’t change anything,” Mr Hartani goes on. People in the crowd around him nod in agreement, albeit aware of two uniformed guards watching and listening.
In the streets you hear only support for Hamas. In more secluded conversations, views are more nuanced, with expressions of anger, fear and exhaustion. “People are furious with Hamas for bringing this on us,” says a taxi driver from Jabaliya, a big refugee camp in the north of the strip, after first making sure that the car windows were closed and no one was eavesdropping. “But they are too afraid to speak out. They know that if they say the truth about this war they may disappear.”
. . .
Source: The Economist
Maybe we'll hear more about this. As you've said several times, the full impact of this war will not be felt for a few more weeks, if not months. It will be obscured by the usual bombastic rhetoric of the rejectionist Arab countries and terrorist groups.
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