"The bodies of the children who died outside the United Nations school here were laid out in a long row on the ground. Some were wrapped in the vivid green flag of Hamas, some were in white shrouds and some were in the yellow flag of Fatah, which is rarely seen these days in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hundreds of Gazans crowded around, staring at the little faces, some of them with dark eyes still open, but dulled. Abdel Minaim Hasan, 37, kneeled, weeping, next to the body of his eldest daughter, Lina, 11, who was wrapped in a Hamas flag. 'From now on I am Hamas!' he cried. 'I choose resistance!' But then he cursed other Arab nations for ignoring the plight of the Gazans. 'The Arabs are doing nothing to protect us!' he shouted.

The streets were crowded Tuesday evening when the mortars struck, Mr. Hasan said. 'We were in a United Nations school; we were so far from the tanks.' There were many children around, and he gave Lina a shekel to run to a nearby grocery store. She was hit by shrapnel and died."

(Excerpts from Grief and Rage at Stricken Gaza School, New York Times, January 7, 2009. Photo: Getty Images via NYT)

( Post Date: 18:07 01/07/2009 )