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100 Rescued From Area Blocked by Israel

More still trapped under rubble, aid groups say

By Sarah Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 9, 2009 8:46 AM CST

(Newser) – Emergency workers in Gaza have rescued 100 more people from a residential block that for days had been blocked off by Israeli forces. Dozens of corpses also were found in the neighborhood's heavily shelled buildings, the Washington Post reports. Aid groups say more people remain trapped in demolished houses in the Zaytoun area, "but without water or electricity, we are sure they will die."

The Red Cross and other groups say Israel kept aid workers away from the neighborhood for four days, even though "this wasn't some remote area" and soldiers knew there were injured people there. The military "failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded," the Red Cross said. The Israeli military says it is investigating the complaints.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Palestinians walk in front of a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City today. (AP Photo/AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

A Palestinian boy stops his bicycle to look at buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip today. (AP Photo/Khaled Omar)

An Israeli soldier sits atop an armored vehicle on the Israel- Gaza border today. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A Palestinian woman weeps during the funeral of Palestinian journalist Ehab Waheidi in Gaza City today. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

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100 Rescued From Area Blocked by Israel