30 December, 2008

Press Release

The Israeli shelling caused massive damage in GCMHP Headquarters in Gaza

At about 1:50 am of Tuesday December 30th, 2008, the Israeli F16 Airplanes shelled a Palestinian police site in Gaza, which is 70 meters away from GCMHP’s Main Building in Sheikh Ejleen on Gaza Beach. The shelling was part of the vicious military attacks that the Israeli Army launched over Gaza since December 27th, 2008.

This harsh shelling caused massive destruction in the main building of GCMHP, where walls and fore ceilings cracked completely and partially. Extreme damage reached the furniture, equipments, electrical and electronic devices as well as the files and documents that were in the four floors building, which contains offices, training halls, main library, and financial and administrative departments.

Luckily, the guard, who was in the premises, was not harmed. However, he was in a state of panic due to the strength of explosions.

As a result, the tremendous destruction to the building and its contents and equipments will force GCMHP to suspend its operations for some time, due to necessity for renovation, before resumption of work.

A number of management staff and Board of Directors visited the Programme to evaluate the damages and make arrangements that ensures the protection of the building in these difficult times that Gaza is going through.

Gaza Community Mental Health Programme denounces this brutal action and the attacks that target everything in Gaza. We, call upon the international community to urgently intervene and make all their efforts to protect Palestinian civilians and institutions in Gaza, which are under real danger of death and destruction.