Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., April 23, 2009 Nisan 29, 5769 | | Israel Time: 21:18 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File TLV 100

Penetrating the laws of war By Amira Hass Tags: Israel News, Gaza, IDF GAZA - The tall young man walked into the room slowly and sat down slowly. Two nails that have penetrated his body force him to walk rigidly and carefully; one is in the upper-right part of his chest, the other in his right thigh. The man is Nahaz Abdel Daym, 25, who was wounded by two flechette shells fired by the Israel Defense Forces on January 5 during Operation Cast Lead. When a flechette projectile explodes, it scatters between 5,000 and 8,000 nails or small darts, each about four centimeters long. They stick into anything they hit: people, trees, cement, metal. Two of Abdel Daym's brothers and three cousins were killed by darts from those two shells. About another 20 people were wounded, including one of his brothers. The doctors decided not to operate to remove the nails, fearing they would cause irreversible damage. "I feel all the time as though needles are stuck in my body," he says. He has difficulty breathing, wakes up many times during the night and feels constant pain, which worsens on cold days. The wound suffered by his brother Mazen is not as serious: A dart hit his arm near the elbow. The doctors say that after rehabilitation, he will regain full function. Advertisement Jamal Abdel Daym, the father who lost two sons, formerly an Egged bus driver, wants to send his son Nahaz for tests and treatment outside Gaza. Maybe other doctors with more sophisticated equipment will be able to rescue his son from a fate of perpetual pain and disability. But even if the border crossings were not closed, who can pay for tests and treatment? His son is one of about 5,600 people wounded during the IDF's most recent attack on the Gaza Strip. According to the health authorities there, about 2,000 are children and 800 are women. Of the wounded, 520 have been sent for treatment abroad - most of them to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, others to Turkey and Belgium. Six died while being treated abroad. Only a few patients remain in Gaza's hospitals. In thousands of homes families are coping with the effects of their injuries: disability, pain, extra expenses and a lack of confidence in the medical care they receive. For them, the offensive did not end on January 18. According to Amnesty International, the IDF fired flechette shells at four residential neighborhoods in five separate barrages during Operation Cast Lead: at Beit Lahia; the Bedouin village Umm al-Nasser in northern Gaza; twice at the neighborhood of Izbet Beit Hanun (west of Beit Hanun); and at the village of Mughraqa, southeast of what used to be the settlement of Netzarim. Eleven people were killed in these attacks; they include a 2-year-old, a pregnant 21-year-old woman, a 13-year-old boy, two 16-year-olds, a member of the medical team rescuing the wounded, and one of the badly wounded who had been taken to an ambulance. About 30 were wounded. Nahaz Abdel Daym was wounded near the home of Arafa Abdel Daym - his cousin and the rescue-team member who was killed. Arafa Abdel Daym and his team went to treat those wounded by the missile on January 4 at about 10 A.M. These were the first hours of the ground attack, when the IDF used artillery in addition to its fire from helicopters, drones and planes. A flechette shell landed on the ambulance, and a wounded man on a stretcher was killed by the shell. Three members of the medical team were wounded by the darts, and Abdel Daym died shortly after being hit. The next day a mourners' tent was set up in Arafa Abdel Daym's neighborhood - Izbet Beit Hanun. A few dozen men were sitting on a sandy area beneath a four-story house, opposite the home of the deceased. About 20 women were sitting on the other side of the street. "Had there been [Palestinian] fighters in the area, we would not have been sitting together outside at that hour of the morning, with the father of the deceased with us," said at Jamal Abdel Daym's house. Shots could be heard in the background. While the group was still sitting and sipping coffee, an "ordinary" shell hit the house's top floor. A few cement blocks loosened and fell on their heads. Hani, the father of Arafa Abdel Daym, was wounded and rushed to a nearby clinic. The mourners began to realize how dangerous it was to sit together outside, so they split up. A few young men carried chairs back into the house on the other side - a one-story concrete structure with a yard and garden, surrounded by a concrete wall. Nahaz and his brothers Said, 28, Nafez, 23, and Mazen were among the young men who brought back chairs and went to find out how the bereaved father was doing. Said and Nafez were inside the yard, while Nahaz and Mazen were still in the street, next to the iron gate. A shell exploded at 8:30 A.M. Suddenly, "I felt something in my chest, as though something was moving," said Nahaz in his father's house about three months later. "I looked around and saw two men thrown to the ground. People ran toward us, and then the second shell exploded." Perhaps a minute and a half passed between the first and second shells, recalls the father, Jamal, who was four or five meters away from his sons. "During the first shell I remained standing. When the second one exploded, I sat down and blood began to drip from my mouth and nose," Nahaz said. He didn't know at the time that his two brothers had been killed, along with their cousins: Arafat, 16, and Maher, 30. Islam Jabar, 16, died from his wounds on January 7. About an hour later several flechette shells landed on residential buildings down the same street in Izbet Beit Hanun. Wafa Abu Jarad, 21, was standing with her husband, Mohammed, outside the house, when they heard a noise, and then shouts. They rushed into the house, but a flechette exploded. The young woman was killed immediately. Her 2-year-old son inside the house was wounded by a dart that stuck in his right knee. Mohammed and his father Khalil were wounded by the darts. A similar dart remained in Mohammed Abu Jarad's spinal cord. Meanwhile, the ground attack continued. Thousands of people who live on the Strip's agricultural outskirts fled because of the incessant shellings of their homes. But Ata Azzam, 44, was afraid that if he left his home in the village of Mograqa the soldiers would demolish it. He and his family stayed. On January 7 at 8:30 A.M. a flechette hit the house. The father, his infant son Hassan and his 13-year-old son Mohammed were killed. A few days later dozens of darts were still embedded in the bloodstained wall. Similar darts were also found in the walls of Arafa Abdel Daym's low concrete house and in other houses in the neighborhood. Jamal Abdel Daym keeps two nails removed from the head of his dead son in an envelope. The IDF Spokesman's Office replied: "The activity of the IDF in the Gaza Strip was carried out in accordance with international laws of war. In this context, the IDF makes sure to use only legal weapons, subject to the relevant restrictions in laws of war. These laws include no specific prohibition against the use of the flechette, and therefore the means of combat is legal in itself - as was even determined at the time by the High Court of Justice (Supreme Court case 8990/02 Physicians for Human Rights v. the OC Southern Command), as follows: "Needless to say, the respondents have eased our minds that the scope of use of this ammunition is determined by the IDF according to rules that are binding on the commanders of forces acting in the field. The decision regarding whether the conditions in the arena of combat, in every given case, justify use of the flechette, is determined by the authorized commander, who is formulating it, is ordered to act according to professional guidelines. These guidelines are in principle intended to prevent harm to residents not involved in activities that endanger IDF soldiers or Israeli citizens." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Two peoples, two states Poll: Three-quarters of both Israelis and Palestinians want a two-state solution. IDF's wartime ethics Internal army probe finds no proof of war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead.

Read & React Barak: Gaza probe shows IDF among world's most moral armies Responses: 114 Amos Harel: IDF's idea of 'proportionate' is a matter of interpretation Responses: 53 Netanyahu's Mideast policy damaging EU ties Responses: 50 Yad Vashem fires employee who compared Holocaust to Nakba Responses: 61 More Headlines 20:42 Obama: It is our duty to prevent another Holocaust 17:42 Mubarak to Hezbollah: Beware of Egypt's wrath 19:33 Clinton: Any Palestinian gov't must recognize Israel 15:51 UN kicks Jewish, Iranian groups out of Durban II 17:03 Gaza's hobbled power plant makes millions despite turmoil 19:55 Livni urges EU: Don't halt EU-Israel relations upgrade 16:20 3,000-year-old arms storehouse uncovered in Sinai 22:31 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel 17:44 Lieberman won't accompany Netanyahu to Egypt, says Mubarak 15:20 Lebanon charges ex-general with spying for Israel 14:15 Peres: China key to struggle against Iran nuclear ambitions 14:41 Netanyahu, Steinitz unveil economic rescue plan 13:33 Worshippers find Swastikas spray-painted on Joseph's Tomb Previous Editions Select Day 22 apr 21 apr 20 apr 19 apr 17 apr 16 apr 15 apr 14 apr 13 apr 12 apr 10 apr 09 apr

Special Offers Advertisement Spring Specials-Dan Hotels Jerusalem from 179$. Tel-Aviv from 223$. Herzliya from 336$ The Meier on Rothschild Tower Masterpiece Residence in the Heart of Tel Aviv Dead Sea Skin Care Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off! Camp Kimama Israel 2009 The best place for your children this summer Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | | Israel 2009 election results

Site rules | Makom: Engaging on Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved