A pause in the bombing by Israeli forces – and the ruins of Gaza are laid bare

 

 "What happened here in Beit Hanoun, and in other neighbourhoods of Gaza hardest hit by the Israeli assault, will inevitably demand an explanation: whether the extremity of violence unleashed in these residential areas in recent days was proportionate, or if the destruction amounts to a war crime.

Although in places there is evidence fighting has taken place, what is hard to comprehend is the Israeli justification for the scale of the destruction, save destruction for its own sake in pursuit of a policy of collective punishment.

"There is no proof that any kind of gratuitous damage is being inflicted," said Israeli legislator Ofer Shelah of the centrist Yesh Atid party."

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A pause in the bombing by Israeli forces – and the ruins of Gaza are laid bare | World news | The Observer

Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP