Gaza: proeflab voor Israels wapen-research?

[Bart Meerdink]

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1924524,00.html

Gaza doctors say patients suffering mystery injuries after Israeli attacks

Rory McCarthy in Gaza City
Tuesday October 17, 2006 4.45pm

Doctors in Gaza have reported previously unseen injuries from Israeli
weapons that cause severe burning and deep internal wounds often
resulting in amputations or death.

The injuries were first seen in July, when the Israeli military launched
a series of operations in Gaza following the capture of an Israeli
soldier by Palestinian militants.

Doctors said that, unlike traditional combat injuries from shells or
bullets, there were no large shrapnel pieces found in the patients'
bodies and there appeared to be a "dusting" on severely damaged internal
organs.

"Bodies arrived severely fragmented, melted and disfigured," said Jumaa
Saqa'a, a doctor at Shifa hospital, the main casualty hospital in Gaza
City. "We found internal burning of organs, while externally there were
minute pieces of shrapnel. When we opened many of the injured people we
found dusting on the internal organs."

It is not clear whether the injuries come from a new weapon. The Israeli
military declined to detail the weapons in its arsenal, but denied
reports that the injuries came from a Dense Inert Metal Explosive
(Dime), a new experimental weapon that causes a powerful blast but in a
localised area. The Dime, while causing severe injuries to its target,
is intended to limit what the defence industry calls "collateral damage."

In Gaza, Dr Saqa'a said the small pieces of shrapnel found in patients'
bodies did not show up under x-ray. "We are used to seeing shrapnel
penetrate the body making localised damage. Now we didn't see shrapnel,
but we found the destruction," he said.

Most of the injuries were around the abdomen, nearly a metre up from the
ground, he said. The doctors also found that an injured patient who had
been stabilised after one or two days, might suddenly die. "The patient
dies without any apparent scientific cause," he said. "So far we don't
know why."

At the Kamal Odwan Hospital, in Beit Lahiya, deputy director Saied
Jouda, said he had found similar injuries. "We don't know what it means
- new weapons or something new added to a previous weapon," he said. "We
had patients who died after stabilisation and that is very unusual."

He too found patients with severe internal injuries without signs of any
large shrapnel pieces. Often there was severe burning. "There was
burning, big raw areas of charred flesh," he said. "This must be related
to the type of explosive material."

Photographs of some of the dead from Shifa hospital showed bodies that
had been melted and blackened beyond recognition. Others showed internal
bleeding without signs of shrapnel wounds. In several cases doctors
amputated badly burnt limbs.

At least 250 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the latest military
operations began and hundreds more have been injured. Neither of the
doctors could give exact figures for the numbers of patients suffering
the new injuries, although both said that most of those brought in
during July showed signs of these injuries.

Dr Saqa'a of the Shifa hospital said the injuries occurred over a
six-week period beginning in late June and running until early August,
while Dr Jouda from Kamal Odwan hospital said he believed patients
admitted even in recent days still showed signs of these unusual injuries.

The health ministry in Gaza has reported these injuries came from an
"unprecedented type of projectile," and also noted severe burning and
badly damaged internal organs, often around the abdomen. It called for
an investigation into the cause of the wounds.

"You have complete burns that lead to amputation. You find shrapnel
entering the body and leaving very, very small holes. We have never seen
this before," said Khalid Radi, a spokesman at the health ministry.

Tissue samples from patients in Gaza were given to journalists from the
Italian television channel RAI. In a documentary shown last week, the
channel said the injuries appeared similar to the effects of the Dime.
An Italian laboratory that analysed the samples reportedly said its
results were "compatible with the hypothesis" that a Dime weapon was
involved.

The weapon is new and in the US is still in the early stages of
development. It has a carbon-fibre casing and contains fine tungsten
particles rather than ordinary metal shrapnel. It causes a very powerful
blast, but with a much more limited radius than other explosives.

However, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) denies the use of Dime weapons.

"The defence establishment is investing considerable effort to develop
weaponry in order to minimise the risk of injury to innocent civilians.
With regard to allegations of the use of Dime weaponry, the IDF denies
the possession or use of such weapons," the military said in a statement.

"Due to operational reasons, the IDF cannot specify the types and use of
weapons in its possession. In addition it should be emphasised that the
IDF only uses weapons in accordance with the international law."

Some Israeli military experts have also dismissed the suggestion that a
Dime weapon is involved. Isaac Ben-Israel, a professor at Tel Aviv
University and a retired Israel air force general who was involved in
weapons development, had seen some of the photographs of the dead and
injured and said he believed the wounds came from ordinary explosives.
"I can tell you surely that no one in Israel ever developed such a Dime
weapon. It doesn't exist at all," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which monitors
weapons used in conflicts, said it had heard reports of similar injuries
from Gaza and was collecting information on the case. "We haven't come
to any sort of conclusion about what kind of weapon it was," said
Bernard Barrett, an ICRC spokesman.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006

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