House in which Hamas interior minister Siam died ADDS funeral
(16 Jan 2009) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of rubble littering ground from house where Israeli airstrike killed Said Siam, Hamas Interior Minister in Gaza 2. Various of debris where house stood, onlookers 3. Pan of rubble 4. Close of damage to house 5. Mid of people looking at the damage 6. People checking damage 7. Wide of people standing on debris 8. Wide of people gathered outside morgue 9. Wide of debris in street after Israeli ground offensive on Thursday 10. Mid of damage, wrecked ambulance in background 11. Pan of damaged ambulance 12. Smoke rising from apartment block 13. Flames inside house 14. Pan of damaged buildings 15. Close-up of burned wall 16. Mid of destroyed shop 17. People looking at destroyed car 18. Mid of smashed car pan to onlookers 19. Close up of paramedic vest left on ground 20. Burned window 21. Mid of two men with children walking by damage 22. Damaged United Nations car in street 23. People walking along destroyed road 24. Various of large crater in road ++NEW (FIRST RUN 0930 AMERICAS PRIME NEWS - 16 JANUARY, 2009) 25. The bodies of Said Siam and his brother being placed into ambulance, mourners crowding around vehicle and chanting 26. Body, wrapped in green Hamas flag, being carried by mourners 27. Close-up of mourner crying 28. Crowd of mourners marching in funeral procession 29. Chanting mourners carrying body in funeral procession towards mosque STORYLINE: Mourners carried the body of the Hamas Interior Minister in Gaza Said Siam in a funeral procession Friday, after he was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike Thursday. It was serious body blow for Hamas - Siam was the commander of the group's security forces including thousands of armed men and was widely feared in Gaza. He was seen as a main architect of Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, when Hamas fighters expelled forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Siam is the highest Hamas official killed in the Israeli onslaught against the militant group and the Gazan population. Fifty-year-old Siam was in his brother's house in a Gaza City suburb when an Israeli warplane dropped a bomb, flattening the building and leaving a deep crater in the sandy ground. One of Siam's sons, Siam's brother and the brother's family were also killed. Hundreds of chanting mourners accompanied the funeral procession, as it made it's way through the streets of Gaza City. Siam was the second of Hamas' top five Gaza leaders to be slain during the Israel offensive, now in its 21st day and the most senior Hamas figure to be killed by Israel since their assassination of the group's then top two leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantissi in 2004. On Friday, debris littered the streets after the Israeli assault on Gaza City, which also included shelling a UN compound. Israel said its action was aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire on southern Israel. The devastating military bombardment of Gaza has killed nearly 1,100 Palestinians, according to Palestinian medical officials. Thirteen Israelis have also died, according to Israeli sources. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
