News from Jenny Linnell in Gaza, 15.01.09

By PRSD, on Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lou Brown spoke to South Devon peace worker Jenny Linnell, who is in the Gaza Strip. This is the report of their conversation:

“Yesterday they went to a rural area nearby where she worked last time she was in Gaza. There was an incursion there on Tuesday, troups entered and left again. They started bulldozing her friend’s house while she and her family were still inside.

“When she and another group of women and old people tried to escape the area troops proceeded to directly attack and nearly kill them four times in one day. OJ documented the remains of a white phospherous flare and did interviews. Fida is currently writing a piece about it for the Guardian Weekend. Jenny is writing a short factual report out soon on ‘palsolidarity’ (website).

“Then they went to the hospital in Kahn Younis and interviewed one of the doctors who has been seeing injuries that are made by weapons he’s never encountered before, including bullets that create 50cm wide exit wounds. OJ said that she hadn’t slept for a couple of nights, or eaten that day, and collapsed when she saw the intensive care ward. I mention this because I doubt she will in her report. But she says she was so knackered last night she slept through the shelling, and today they have some electricity so are getting on with phone interviews to Russia and other places, and report writing.”

• The emailed message included some graphic pictures of killed and injured children, as Jenny said: “Very shocking photos of children at the end. The type you’re not likely to see in mainstream media. The type that show the truth.” We have not reproduced them.

• Is the media guilty of skewed reporting of the attacks on Gaza?