Alive in Gaza

[Editor's Note: The following is an audio interview with Alive in Gaza Correspondent Sameh Habeeb and Small World News Editor Brian Conley. Recorded this morning around 7am Gaza local time, Sameh gives us an update on what's happening in his area, as well as answering your listener questions. The disconnect at the end is from telecommunication issues. ]

Download Interview with Sameh Habeeb

BC:  Ok, I’m recording on the phone with Sameh Habeeb who is Alive in Gaza right now.  Sameh what is the situation like there?

SH:  Ok, thank you and I’m happy to be like one of the first to start Alive in Gaza.  I’m based now in Gaza City officially in the Eastern part of Gaza City we’re one of the [points of?] the military [?] situation taking place.  Now I could hear easily and I could see easily the F-16 and easily the Apache hovering in the sky and [lodus tanks?] and shooting and firing at many targets, I don’t know the exact targets being bombed at the moment, after that we have the artillery machines are being firing into some areas and farms in the Eastern part of Gaza City.  Also we have fire from the Northern part of Gaza City, Alatra area and [al-Subbia?] area and many people who are injured in the last 20 minutes the situation is getting hot at the moment to go back to go [in?] Rafah, the Israelis have bombed Rafah City especially the borders with Egypt with around 100 tanks, from the F-16’s, in Han Yunes and [Han Hozaha?] town mid of Gaza Strip.  There was [?] which more than 15 people were killed and many accounts and many witnesses appeared on the [cruelty?] and the brutality of this Army that has unleashed dogs on people, that has stolen the medical stuff,  medical ambulances and occupied them and they tried to act like medical staff in order to try to kidnap some people.  This is what has happened today at the Gaz…

[Cut in recording]

BC:  Ok  [CUT]

SH: Yeah.  Well the situation is always like intensive, the situation is always since the early morning is full of action, is full of Israeli F-16 and Apaches they’re hovering, and now you could hear the bombings from the artillery shells.  The early morning the F-16, Apaches and Israeli tanks start to shell in the early morning while the Israeli troops at the moment and especially in the morning try to get into the Gaza City, but still they are into the outskirts of Gaza they are not able to get into Gaza City still due too the heavy fighting with the Palestinian fighters and the resistance who are using many tactics they are not being approachable they have many tactics to fight the Israeli Army and Israeli soldiers who are being trying to get into Gaza City for around ten days and until now they haven’t succeeded at all.  This is what the Israelis are trying to do at this moment.  As for me I have just told you what has happened.  And at this moment the escalation is going on east of Gaza north of Gaza City.  This is what I try to report on I just have the news from Rafah [?] the Israelis F16 totally bombed the [town’s?] area resulting in destroying about 30 houses for civilians and injuring many people.  Today there was a massacre in [Hozahn?] middle of Han Yunes as the Israeli Army occupied the area east of Han Yunes totally and killed many people and they have used the phosphorus bombs they have used [Cut?] Yes, yes, yes!  If you just tune to any radio, sorry, just tune to any, sorry, if you just go and just open the TV from the outside of Gaza you can see the phosphorus bombs, but I have seen these bombs by my eyes and they have used them in they was in my area they was like a bomb that being bombed from the air or from an artillery shell I don’t know the targeting the way they have used but when it goes in the sky it explodes and make like small [balls?] fly like, I don’t know how to describe it I’ve never seen something like that.  And many cases arrived into the hospital and I was making some photos and [news reports?] about that about the phosphorus bombs and I met some doctors who told me about that many cases arrived with heavy burns that completely destroyed the bodies and the tissues of the body and it will be just very hard to go even with time many people died from such [?] The human rights watch criticized Israel for that then Amnesty criticized Israel for that and said Israel is using private weapons against civilians.  Of course as you know Israel was saying that the aim of this military operation is designed to kill civilians, but what we have seen, sorry, to target militants but what we have seen on the ground they have targeted all the civilians and this was so clear in all the past day.

BC:  Ok, okay, sure.  Can you tell me some people they’re saying that Hamas is using human shields and is using civilians to protect themselves.  What can you say about this?.

SH:  Well, we’ve heard many accounts and it’s propaganda outside.  There’s no way that Hamas and other fighters use people here as human shields.  Everyone is committed to his house basically and no one has left his house except those who were kicked out by the Israelis from the Northern area.  And those who were kicked got to the UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip and one of the schools was bombed by the Israeli Army and at the end of the day Israelis were trying to justify what they had done and said that there was rocket fired from the area where the school was taking place and this is a mere lie and they have bombed many mosques and said that they are being used for weapons despite some of the mosques were like a shelter for some civilians.  This is not true, people are here safe and no one can be using them as human shields this is completely false and this is a mere Israeli propaganda to hit the target the civilians and if a big number of civilians will died as what has happened in the death schools and then at the end of the day Israelis will say, “Oh Hamas was using them as human shields.” This is not true, all of those who died they are all civilians.  And one of the accounts that we heard, the [Samoni?] family.  There was no fighters, nothing from Hamas, nothing from other factions and they have gathered them in one house then they have bombed them despite no militants to take them and like how you say to take them and like [?]

BC:  Can you tell us how is your family and is everyone okay with you?  You know, how is everything going just for you personally and your family?

SH:  You know, I am one of one million and a half families, I suffer what they suffer, I live and experience what they do.  We are in bad status.  It contains not only the military operation, we are under psychological pressure, we are being trapped and committed to our houses since the start of this war, add to that we have a very problematic situation inside my house in terms of water in terms of food, [beds?] gas, fuel, power communications and everything.  Everything in my house as well as hundreds of thousands is like [?] situation.  When they need to get some bread they need to wait around 6 or 7 hours in some of the bakeries and unfortunately at the end of the day I would not be able to maybe bring some bread for my family.  Even if I need water the water here is contaminated due to lack of chlorine materials to treat this water.  Even the [generators?] are not able to [bum?] water for civilians who are living in far and remote areas in the [desert or religious?] areas.  Not having water they are forced to buy water and the irony here even if will buy water they will not be able to leave their houses sometimes because it is too dangerous, too hazardous to go outside especially in the daylight.  Even those who are being like moved and moving from their houses to bring something in the [night?] they are being exposed to big danger which is being hit from the drones.  So we have three main problems, the problem of the ongoing shelling from the air force from the naval force from the ground force, one another problem we have is the problem of psychological fear and trauma and the third problem is the humanitarian crisis.  This is applicable for all Palestinian houses and every individual living here in the Gaza Strip.  Ok … this is Sameh Habeeb for … Now you can hear the bombings!  Now these are the military operations I mean these are the military air force taking place and hitting many areas in the Gaza City specifically in the Eastern part of Gaza City the situation is turning hot again and it seems that we would have an endless fighting this night in which many kind of weapons will be used and I can also hear also the naval forces [intervening?] and some bombs are from the Naval forces are being used with the [distinguished holes?]  I hoped this night will be like very light with normal [tending?]  On the Palestinian side, this is Sameh Habeeb for Alive in Gaza, Palestine.

[Ed. Submit your questions for Sameh and our other correspondents in the comments below, ask us on twitter, or email us at aliveingaza at gmail dot com]

Tags: audio, citizen, dispatch, gaza, habeeb, interview, sameh

Posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 11:21 pm Tagged: OnTheGround. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.