Israeli air force pilots, soar through the sky unhindered, unopposed, their lethal, precision-guided ordnance primed to be unleashed against Gazan targets far below. The child, the mother, the brother, sister could not be so precise. They were at home unaware that precision was so precisely to strike them down. But that’s OK, they were not the targets. They were ‘collateral damage’ ones that of course could not have been predicted even though the targets – leaders of Islamic Jihad – were living in their family home with, well, their families. But this is standard operating procedure for the IAF. As, Ayed Abu Eqtaish of Defence of Children International – Palestine says:
‘Israeli forces routinely use explosive weapons in densely populated civilian areas with complete disregard for the indiscriminate effects. There is no safe space in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian children and their families…’
Back on the ground
Bernard Spiegal 
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