Peter Beaumont is Jerusalem correspondent of the Guardian and the Observer. This is what he experienced in Gaza today:
Today was a personal low point – giving first aid with colleagues to two children wounded by shrapnel on Gaza beach on terrace of our hotel
Four kids with them were killed in same incident all from same extended family
1st shell hit the harbour wall. It's been hit before so I assume its on a prerecorded grid. Gunner appears to have adjusted to hit survivors
who were an adult and three boys
Earlier he wrote:
no warning shot. kids killed by first round, then gunner adjusted and bracketed the survivors. i was 200m away
His longer report is now online. The kids were helping their father/uncle fixing fishing nets. The targeted artillery rounds came from an Israeli warship. Killed were Ahed Atef Bakr 10, Zakaria Ahed Bakr 10, Mohamed Ramez Bakr 11, Ismael Mohamed Bakr 9. An "Israel Activist and media monitor" responded to the news of the four killed children by writing:
At least they wont breed
Today Israel also intentionally hit the Wafa Hospital in Gaza with a smaller missile. The hospital is completely crowded with patients and the missile was considered a "warning shot" that might be followed up with a bigger attack. There is no place for the the people in the hospital to flee to.
The Israeli press now confirms what we wrote yesterday: Secret call between Netanyahu, al-Sissi led to cease-fire plan
Haaretz has learned that the PM spoke to the Egyptian president in a secret phone call prompted by Quartet envoy Tony Blair.
It was Tony Blair who arranged the scam cease-fire which Hamas rejected. Neither Hamas nor anyone else in Gaza was ever consulted about it and they learned of it only through the media. Peace between two parties can obviously not be achieved by only talking to one of them.
Instead of that stop-the-guns-but-don't-consent-on-anything-else scam by Tony Blair Hamas today offered a real and reasonable deal for a long term truce:
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have submitted a list of 10 demands to Egypt to establish a 10-year truce with Israel, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported Wednesday.
…
The first demand, according to Maariv, is the withdrawal of Israeli military tanks from the border fence area to a distance that enables Gaza farmers to access their fields and tend them freely.In addition, Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners detained after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the southern West Bank including those who were freed as part of Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. This precondition also includes softening procedures against all prisoners in Israeli custody.
A third demand stipulates that Israel ends the crippling siege on the coastal enclave, which means reopening all border crossings and allowing the entry of construction materials and all requirements needed to run the Gaza Strip’s power station.
The fourth demand stipulates the opening of an international seaport and international airport in the Gaza Strip to be run and monitored by the United Nations.
…
All these demands are reasonable and fair and would give Israel, should it be itself reasonable and willing to stick to a truce, 10 years of peace at its southern front.
But to expect reasonablity from Israel when it is killing children for sport may just be a step too far.