Israel won’t apologize for killing daughters of Gaza doctor
Ten years after the tragedy, an Israeli court has dismissed a lawsuit by a Palestinian doctor whose three daughters and niece were killed during Operation Cast Lead.
The Beersheba District Court has thrown out a lawsuit brought by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish against the State of Israel. He was suing the government for killing his three daughters and niece 10 years ago, during Operation Cast Lead. The girls were killed when two tank shells hit his home in the town of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip.
It happened on Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. I was sitting in the TV studio at Channel 10 when my phone began to ring. When I answered, I could hear Abuelaish scream: “They killed my daughters.” I immediately decided to hit the speaker button, so that his screams could be heard live on air. As a result of the broadcast, the IDF allowed him to transfer other members of his family injured in the attack to hospitals in Israel. The audience was shocked. Statistics about the casualties in Gaza suddenly had real faces and voices. In just 24 hours, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced a unilateral cease-fire.
