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.In the final days of attacks, Caoimhe and Ewa decided severaltimes to move without permission (or  co-ordination as the Red Crosscalls it) along with a couple of intrepid medics.So around the same timeas my hospital was on fire, they were going to some houses where fivemen had tried to go outside to get bread for their children.The men sbodies were now in pieces on their doorsteps, within view of hystericalwives and children.Ewa and Caoimhe went in with stretchers, collectedthe body pieces, and evacuated the families.JANUARY 27Yesterday Eva and I went back to see Amer at his Zaytoun house.Hetold us his brother Abdullah is back home from the Egyptian hospital,and showed us his hospital records; his wounds (two shots to abdomen,134 GAZA  JANUARY 17 FEBRUARY 2, 2009DIME munitionsRumours of brutal new weaponry spread like wildfire in war zones.Amongstthe suspicions that emerged from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead were theuse of depleted uranium (DU) weapons and Dense Inert Metal Explosives(DIME) munitions.However, according to investigations and tests carried out by Human RightsWatch (HRW) and information from NGOs accumulated by the InternationalCoalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW), it seems unlikely that eitherof these munitions were used in Gaza, although other modified weaponryprobably was.A statement released by ICBUW in July 2009, reads:To date, we believe that there is still no compelling evidence to supportthe claim that Israel used uranium weapons in the attack.This is likely toremain the case until independent sampling is undertaken and the resultspublished.ICBUW concluded that rumours of DU use resulted from suspicions thatBoeing s GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs had been used to collapse tunnels onthe border between Gaza and Egypt.However, HRW investigations suggested itwas unlikely that GBU-39s had been used, as the sandy soil and un-reinforcedstructures of the tunnels made specialist munitions unnecessary.Boeing alsostated that although it had received an Israeli order for GBU-39 bombs, ithad yet to deliver them, and although DU was included on the patent list ofpossible materials for use in GBU-39s, its manufacturing plant did not havea licence to use it.After liaising with HRW and specialists from the Mines Advisory Group,ICBUW also determined that allegations that Israeli tanks fired DU roundsprobably referred to High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds.Rumours that Israeli forces had been using DIME munitions initiallyseemed more convincing.These are missiles with warheads packed withhigh explosives and powdered tungsten, designed to produce a very intensebut localised blast.uðAFTERMATH 135According to ICBUW:The first reliable reports that something was amiss came from doctorsworking for the Norwegian humanitarian NGO NORWAC.They wereobserving unusual injuries in the survivors of attacks by drones.The injurieswere massive and unlike any they had come across in their years of experienceworking in combat zones& Subsequent testing of fragments by Human RightsWatch and NORWAC, analysis of blast patterns and eyewitness reports ledthem to conclude that what they were seeing was the use of fragmentationsleeves on drone-launched missiles.Rather than DIME weapons, therefore, HRW considered that the Israelimilitary was adding a sleeve made from tiny tungsten cubes onto Spike missiles,turning them  into an effective anti-personnel weapon.The cubes spreadoutward from the blast site and act as micro-shrapnel.ICBUW ended its July statement by calling for  the long-term monitoring ofcivilians with embedded tungsten micro-shrapnel from Israeli missiles due toconcerns over the carcinogenicity of tungsten.References: ICBUW,  July statement on the alleged use of uranium weapons in Gaza inJanuary 2009 ; HRW,  Precisely wrong: Gaza civilians killed by Israeli drone-launchedmissiles, June 2009.one to arm) are healing ok.He was worried about Saja, his 6 year old,though, as he thought the gunshot wound to her arm wasn t healingproperly, and he wasn t sure if he could get an overworked doctor sattention under current circumstances.Eva had links with doctors at AlWafa hospital in Shuja iyya, where the Helou family are staying withShireen s sister s family, so she called Dr Tariq and asked if he wouldsee Saja the next day.Amer has a lot of friends dropping by when he is at his Zaytounhouse; they don t want him to be alone.One of the young men herelost his brother, as Amer lost Mohammed.Amer told us Mohammed swife is four months pregnant.136 GAZA  JANUARY 17 FEBRUARY 2, 2009One of the friends made us a wonderful makluba dish for lunch,with virtually no facilities.Eva told us how she thought this was solelythe name of this chicken and rice dish, and couldn t understand whatit meant when someone said his room was all makluba.It just means upside down.Luckily while we ate, the wind was blowing the rightway.When it s blowing the wrong way, everyone still trying to live in asemi-rural area like this has to deal with the aroma of rotting chickens,cows, and sheep, killed or starved during the attacks.Today Eva and I met Amer and Saja in the Shuja iyya market to goto Al Wafa rehabilitation hospital.Saja is a finely boned child with asolemn face, who kept close to her dad, sitting as far forward on thetaxi s back seat as she could in order to be near him in the front seat.When you remember that she saw her grandad and baby sister killed,it s not surprising.She was sucking a lollipop and wasn t willing toopen her mouth to say a word for some time.When we got back toher home later and she was with her relatives and her little brotherMohammed (her other brother Foad was at kindergarten) she relaxedand drew some pictures for us.Dr Tariq is a kind man, but Saja was suspicious, and she had reason,as the examination of her arm unavoidably had her crying with pain.The wound has healed on the outside, but there may be some internalproblems, and a further operation might be required.I learnt in my early visits to Palestine not to show admiration foranything that Palestinians have that they could physically give to you,because they will [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]