During Israel's attacks on Gaza in January 2009, bloggers and Twitter users took the place of the media, which had been banned from entering, reporting on each event well before mainstream publications. Tonight, Twitter users have again brought the news faster than the media. At approximately 11:30 GMT (1:30 a.m. local time), Ibrahim Saeed, who tweets as From_Gaza, reported:
Bombardment in Khan Yunis and Rafah: Now
Shortly afterward, he elaborated:
Blogger Political Theatrics has detailed the incident, stating:
The Israel Air Force struck smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border late Wednesday night, a day after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into the western Negev.
The IDF Spokesman’s Office reported that the IAF planes also attacked a nearby structure believed to have served as a weapons facility near the Gaza town of Khan Younis.
Palestinian sources said three people were hurt in the attack, which they claimed also targeted a military training compound.
The IDF report also indicated that strike was carried out in response to a Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, and which landed in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, in the Western Negev.
[Editor's note: The aforementioned blogger was actually quoting from this Haaretz article; our sincere apologies for the error.]
UPDATE (8:06 EST): The BBC has confirmed the attacks, and Palestinian officials claim no casualties.
Twitter user pakinamamer is hoping for more answers. She asks:
11 comments
So-called blogger Political Theatrics has only reposted an Haaretz article as his own: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1129296.html Therefore, it’s haaretz that has detailed the incident, not the so-called blogger, that copied from the mainstream media.
The blogger cites Haaretz under “Notes/Sources”. Pity you choose not to make that clear.
I didn’t notice it (it’s no excuse, but it was past midnight my time), I’m amending it now. Thank you.
Thanks to everyone who made it clear – I did cite Haaretz but did indeed neglect to link back to the page. My apologies.
Thank you for the mention Jillian.
Thank you George, I’ve amended it. My apologies; as the blogger did not link to the original article, I made the incorrect assumption that he had written the post and simply gotten his facts from Haaretz.
Hi Jill,
Look on the scenario, and tell if ther is justice in this case:
You mentioned:
“The Israel Air Force struck smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border late Wednesday night, a day after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into the western Negev”.
In that “Negev desert” live Israeli farmers, in Kibbutzim. The Palestinians fired on citizens, not on the “desert”. a couple of this citizens are the parants of my wife.
A day after, the IAF bombed semi-military structures (the tunnels that is used to transport munition).
What do you think about this situation? Can you tell me who is right here?
Cheers,
Tal
Hi Tal,
My job is not deciding who is right, my job is covering bloggers’ reports. At the time that I wrote this, only Haaretz had reported on the incident (and I wasn’t even aware of that, as you can see from the comments above). Should we act like Israel and not allow reporting on Gaza? To that, I say, absolutely not: Every voice deserves to be heard.
-Jillian
How about letting them get necessary food, water, treatment for medical conditions and stop the stealing of their land and the killing of their children. I bet that would go a long way to stopping the rockets. :)
Please keep reporting all the news. Restrictions seem to cause rockets. :)
My dear Tal, It’s elementary, no blockade, no tunnels. Oh, and no justice, no peace.
As long as Arabic countries are not united, then so be it!
dear brenna-how about knowing the real situation? year ago i remember the sound of bombs under my house, scared israeli people . My hasbant had to go and defence country so i had month without sleep.