Massacre in Shujaiya: Dozens Killed as Israel Shells Eastern Gaza City – Photos
A Palestinian boy wounded by Israeli shelling, receives treatment at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, 20 July.(Ali Jadallah / APA images)
Dozens of men, women and children were killed in the early hours of Sunday as Israel indiscriminately shelled the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiya.
Some sixty bodies have already been removed from the rubble of homes and apartment buildings, and the number of injured is more than two hundred, Palestinian health ministry spokesman Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra told local media.
Smoke rises after an Israeli missile hit the Shujaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, 20 July. (Ashraf Amra / APA images)
But the true death toll could be even higher. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it coordinated a two-hour “humanitarian truce” to allow the rescue of the injured and the removal of bodies.
Palestinian medics carries the body of girl killed during Israeli shelling, outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, 20 July.(Ashraf Amra / APA images)
The latest massacre brings to more than 420 the number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, now entering its second week. More than 3,000 people have been injured and tens of thousands have fled their homes, with many seeking shelter in UN-run schools.
Palestinians flee the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City during heavy Israeli shelling on 20 July. (Ezz al-Zanoun / APA images)
Gaza is a small territory, home to 1.8 million people, and no place in the territory has been safe from Israeli land, sea and air attacks. Egypt’s military dictatorship, closely allied with Israel, has kept the Rafah crossing tightly sealed.
The bodies of Palestinians lie on the ground of al-Shifa hospital morgue in Gaza City on 20 July following a massacre in the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiyeh. (Mohammed Asad / APA images)
Eyewitnesses to aftermath
Some journalists entered Shujaiya during the pause in the Israeli attack and tweeted images of what they saw. Others tweeted images from in or near Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital.
This is Shejaiyya in eastern #Gaza. Pounded all night until a short truce so Palestinian medics could remove bodies. pic.twitter.com/MvVkI8c5Lk
— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisctv) July 20, 2014
What we saw: wholesale destruction, women running, headless man. Here, a medic calls out for survivors. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/zMhozQ0DZi
— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisctv) July 20, 2014
We did not stay long in Shejaiyya. For good reason. Gunfire meant the ceasefire wouldn’t last. More families fled. pic.twitter.com/QdJW6pjA9W
— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisctv) July 20, 2014
#Gaza health ministry says 60 killed overnight in Shejaiyya. Toll bound to rise as medics able to reach more bodies. pic.twitter.com/TXfWpRfaa2
— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisctv) July 20, 2014
Shejaiya, during a brief ceasefire. Horrendous scenes of destruction. pic.twitter.com/J1nXiumfVq
— Paul Adams (@BBCPaulAdams) July 20, 2014
Pulling an injured woman from the rubble in Shejaiya. She was alive. Just. Explosions nearby. pic.twitter.com/UFCKSxl4Mm
— Paul Adams (@BBCPaulAdams) July 20, 2014
Palestinians flee their homes in Gaza’s eastern Shejaiya district. Photo by Mohammed Abed #AFP pic.twitter.com/KotGYjrVN3
— AFP Photo Department (@AFPphoto) July 20, 2014
In #Gaza Shifa hospital the morgue is full, the emergency ward packed. #Shujayah pic.twitter.com/SGhePiTPCg
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 20, 2014
5 girls lost their mother 28 yr old Israa, Nihad lost his wife..fainted when he heard the news #Gaza pic.twitter.com/6bF4t84hdF
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 20, 2014
Pulling bodies from the rubble Shujayah. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/WItrgH936S
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 20, 2014
Constant shelling Shujayah this morning, clouds of smoke, terrified families on the run. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/tJfkthDr22
— lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 20, 2014
Just back from #Shejaiya, horrible scenes. Burnt bodies in the streets, buildings destroyed. Ceasefire a joke. Shelling, gunfire throughout — Sara Hussein (@sarahussein) July 20, 2014
Shaken children who survived Shujaiyah seize. We saw two broken bodies of dead children being taken to the morgue. pic.twitter.com/0Mhi3rRfJh — Tamer El-Ghobashy (@TamerELG) July 20, 2014
The remains of an ambulance hit during the shelling of Shaja’ia, #Gazapic.twitter.com/kbpa4vWTKk — benwedeman (@bencnn) July 20, 2014
Among the dozens killed were cameraman Khaled Hammad and paramedic Fuad Jaber, in a strike on an ambulance, while they were trying to evacuate the wounded from Shujaiya.
My close friend, 3m pregnant, lost her husband,a journalist killed while covering news last night eastren #Gaza pic.twitter.com/PAJjljfrEk — Allah akbar (@leilanazzar) July 20, 2014
NBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin posted these images on his Instagram account today from the morgue at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, where many of the massacre victims have been brought: