The Onion is supposed to be a satire magazine. Just yesterday it headlined:
Israel: Palestinians Given Ample Time To Evacuate To Nearby Bombing Sites:
“Giving Palestinian civilians the chance to seek safety in the home of a family member or friend that will be shelled to rubble in the next 48 hours is a gesture we deserve praise for, not condemnation. In fact, this initiative has been a major success in this campaign.” Ya’alon added that since there were numerous bombing sites Palestinians could take shelter in, he was not responsible for whatever happened to people who chose to stay home.
Yesterday's satire is today's news.
The Israeli military sometimes warns people of certain regions in Gaza to move away from their homes before it bombs or attacks. Some Palestinians have, if at all, just seconds to leave before an attack but many do leave and flee to the school buildings that under control of the United Nations. The schools are opened especially for this and the UN personal is taking care of the refugees and keeps militants and weapons out of its buildings.
It also provides the Israeli military with the exact coordinates of the schools. So guess what happens next:
Israeli shells hit UN shelter in Gaza:
As many as 30 people have been reported killed and 100 injured in the Israeli shelling of a UN school in Gaza that was being used as an emergency shelter.
Al Jazeera's correspondent Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said the school in Beit Hanoun came under shelling on Thursday. She said sources had told Al Jazeera that up up to 30 people had been killed in the bombardment.
The AFP reported a UN official as confirming "multiple dead and injured".
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Robert Turner, the director for UNRWA, the UN's refugee organisation in Gaza, said there was no warning from the Israelis before the shells landed. He confirmed there were casualties.
He said the UNRWA were in contact with Israeli forces about a window to evacuate the school before the attack happened
"This is a designated emergency shelter," he said. "The location was conveyed to the Israelis.
"This is the fourth strike on our installations in three days."
Four attacks on well known refugee centers within three days. Does anyone still believe that such attacks are some random accidents? I don't. Such shelling is pure intentional murder of obvious non-combatants. It is definitely an intentional war crime.
But the U.S still covers for Israel. It was the only country that voted "No" at the UN Human Rights Commission yesterday over an investigation of such Israeli war crimes in Gaza. One killer covering for the other.