Dear Tim,
13 days into the conflict, the death toll has risen to more than 680, with thousands more injured. 1.5 million people, 56% of them children, are trapped inside Gaza -- an area about 6 miles wide and 27 miles long -- by the Israeli blockade.1
With the UN reporting that 750,00 Gazans are without access to water and 1 million do not have electricity, how are Gazans supposed to endure the daily assault?
Meanwhile, armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, continue bombarding Israel with indiscriminate rocket fire, firing over a dozen rockets Thursday.2
What can be done to prevent Hamas from firing at civilians?
What are the responsibilities of the warring parties in this conflict?
How can refugees be protected?
Ask these and other questions today for our online chat on Monday, January 12th, at 12 noon EST.
Talk to our researcher near Gaza
Take Action Now!
Submit a question to our researcher today and check back on Monday, January 12th, at noon EST for answers. © AFP
Our researcher Donatella Rovera will answer your questions directly from southern Israel where she is currently stationed. Donatella is pushing to enter Gaza, monitoring the crisis from southern Israel, and conducting first-hand interviews with affected individuals and organizations.
Donatella’s research will supplement the recent report AI co-authored in March 2008, The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion.3 That research exposed the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza: over 80% live in absolute poverty, unemployment is close to 40%, households spend over 60% on food and power outages keep hospitals from treating the critically ill.4
As the violence escalates, AI continues to demand the following:
* All parties to the conflict - i.e. Israel and Palestinian armed groups such as Hamas - should cease attacks on civilians.
* The humanitarian crisis in Gaza should be ameliorated. A three hour daily truce is not enough.
* The United States should cease military transfers to Israel and should investigate whether any U.S. weapons were used in attacks against civilians.
* The United States should condemn all sides with equal vigor - including Israel for its vastly disproportionate response.
Globally, Amnesty International sections are pressuring their individual stakeholders. As an Amnesty supporter in the U.S. section, we’re asking you to urge Secretary Rice to protect civilians and end all unlawful attacks.
Next week our advocacy strategy will enter phase two. Stay tuned as we roll out the next part of our campaign to make sure we protect civilians and ameliorate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
For daily updates on Gaza, visit our blog, Human Rights Now where our advocacy team and country specialists are monitoring and responding to the crisis.
Sincerely,
Curt Goering
Senior Deputy Executive Director
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