CARNAGE IN GAZA

Associated Press reporter Ibrahim Barzak writes in the Jerusalem Post about how bad the situation in Gaza really is - Eyewitness: Carnage in Gaza.

"Today I have seen people shot before my eyes, I heard the screams of terrified women and children in a burning building, and I argued with gunmen who wanted to take over my home.

I have seen a lot in my years as a journalist in Gaza, but this is the worst it's been."

Meanwhile, the plight of Palestinian journalists in the area goes from bad to worse according to Elder of Ziyon who quotes the Palestinian news outlet Ma'an news as follows:

Gaza – Ma'an – Journalists, correspondents and other employees at Arab and international news agencies and satellite TV stations are currently under siege in a tower building which hosts the offices of several press agencies.

Satellite TV stations are transmitting live images from the spot, and the sounds of gunshots and explosions can be clearly heard inside and outside the besieged building. Fear is apparent on the faces of the journalists at the Shawwa, Husary and Juwhara tower in central Gaza City.

Cross fire continues between rival gunmen who occupied the roof of the building, and others, who are currently shooting at the building where the journalists are besieged.

Wael Dahdouh, a reporter for Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV, said that more than 30 journalists are besieged in a small room, "where we are seeking refuge from the shelling and shooting inside our offices.".

He added, "Another building with journalists in has been shelled by anti-tank missiles, while gunshots and shrapnel penetrate the walls of the place, every now and then.".

The wise Elder very sagely comments that these same journalists "who have soft pedaled Palestinian Arab violence for years are now the main targets (and three have already been killed.) And now, on live TV, they are pleading for their lives from those who really don't care about human life."

And what does our own Melbourne Age write about the situation when it comes up for air after taking its mandatory swipes at Israel?

It takes another swipe at the Jewish State. Here is the Age reportage on the story, discovered hidden away in the “In Brief” Section, and I quote:

“MIDDLE EAST

Palestinians Killed

GAZA. At least 10 Palestinians were killed yesterday – eight members of the Presidential Guard in one incident – in the deadliest fighting between Hamas and Fatah since the rivals formed a unity government to end bloodshed threatening to spill into civil war.

For many Palestinians, the violence was particularly disturbing, coming on the “Nakba”, an annual day of national reflection over the shared suffering in the conflict with Israel.”

Particularly disturbing for many Palestinians indeed. Someone at the Age needs to be told that it's equally disturbing for Israelis when members of their families are murdered by the same thugs who are now terrorising their own in Gaza and parts of the West Bank but that's another story, isn't it?