The Conflict Between Gaza And Israel Is So Serious That It's Visible From Outer Space

A German astronaut has captured a striking photograph of rocket fire and explosions above the conflict zone. Flight engineer Alexander Gerst, who is currently in the middle of a six-month stay on the ISS, took the image from 200 miles above Earth.

The 38-year-old shared the image with his 85,000 Twitter followers yesterday evening, calling it his “saddest photo yet”.

mic.com

"The photo is oriented such that north is to the right and south to the left; that dark area at the top is the Mediterranean Sea and the brightest spot, on the coast, is Tel Aviv. To the left of Tel Aviv, just 44 miles to the south, is Gaza City, the largest city in Gaza and the location of a lot of the worst fighting."

vox.com

The United Nations has said Israel’s military actions in Gaza “could amount to war crimes”.

The blast from the missile was so powerful and the child’s body so light and delicate that the two-year-old girl was thrown high into the air. One moment, Naama Abu Al-Foul was playing outside her home in Gaza City; the next she was a helpless object in the grip of an explosion. By malign chance, when Naama fell back to earth, she landed squarely on her face.

Her father, Fadi, was himself thrown off his feet by the blast of the Israeli missile detonating in open ground near his home. Then he saw what had happened to his daughter. “Naama just flew up into the air and then hit the ground hard,” remembered Mr Foul. “Her face was covered in blood and I thought ‘I have lost my daughter. Naama is dead’.”

In fact, Naama had suffered severe concussion and both of her eyes were terribly bruised, but she was alive. Later, when she recovered consciousness, her first words were a weak “ya Allah”, or “oh God”.

mashable.com

When Mr Foul’s wife, Donia, saw the bloodied face of her daughter, she fainted from shock. The woman is expecting another child and, for a moment, Mr Foul feared for her safety. “After what had happened to Naama, I feared my wife would have a miscarriage,” he said. “She was so nervous, she passed out.” In the moments that followed, Mr Foul, who had suffered minor shrapnel wounds in his legs and shoulder, tried to save his family. His wife was stricken and Naama was lying unconscious. He quickly found his other daughter, one-year-old Habiba, who was terrified but unharmed.

Neighbours came to help and frantic calls were made for an ambulance. But this area of Gaza City was under such heavy bombardment that it was too dangerous for the emergency services to enter. No ambulance came. Eventually Mr Foul, 32, ran along the street and flagged down a passing car. Naama was then rushed to Shifa Hospital in this ordinary vehicle without receiving any treatment before arrival. She now lies in a paediatric ward where she weeps with pain. At first, Naama was unable to open her eyes and this sudden blindness clearly bewildered and terrified the little girl.

Mr Foul and his wife keep vigil by Naama’s bed and the little girl is expected to make a full recovery. On Thursday, four days after being injured, she opened her eyes for the first time. Mr Foul’s grief over his daughter’s injury has merged with righteous anger. Israel’s offensive in Gaza is designed to stop Hamas, the radical Islamist movement, from launching rocket attacks.

mashable.com

“Was my child firing rockets at Israel?” asked Mr Foul. “I’m asking you: what has my daughter done to be injured like this?”

So far, at least more than 700 Palestinians have been caught in the middle of the fighting and died. Many international flights to and from Israel have now been halted due to concerns that planes could be fired upon amidst the fighting. The ongoing ground war in Gaza has also sent the UN into crisis mode and the brewing political fallout has barely even begun.

mic.com