"an apparently errant... shell"

In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, thousands of Palestinians mourned the death of most of the Ghaliya family. Many in the crowd wept as Huda Ghaliya, 7, kneeled to kiss her dead father before he, her mother and four siblings were buried.

Ali Ghaliya, 49, his wife, Raisa, 35, and their children Ilham, 15, Sabreen, 7, Hanadi, 1, and Haihsam, 4 months, were among the eight killed when the Israeli shell struck the beach where they were having a picnic. Huda had been playing away from them.

The Ghaliya family lost four members less than two years ago when an Israeli army shell hit their farm in Beit Lahiya. Then, as now, the army was shelling to try to stop the Palestinians from firing rockets into Israel.

On Saturday, Huda asked mourners, "Please do not leave me alone." The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniya of Hamas, who called the incident "a war crime," said he would adopt the girl. Later, Abbas, who called the incident "a dangerous, horrible, ugly crime against civilians," issued a presidential order adopting her.

Israeli officials said they regretted any casualties among the innocent.
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Andrew Sullivan on poor Mary's Turn.

(Isn't that how this has been marketed? "Poor Mary gives us 'her side'" ? And why book form and not just a follow-up magazine article or blog interview? But the life of Mary Cheney bound in book form ... who's going to be taking that one off the shelves in a few decades?)