Israel kills American activist, terrorizes prisoners, as Biden admin shrugs – Day 335
CNN reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday was as clear as he has ever been that he does not believe a ceasefire and hostage deal is likely in Gaza in a sharp rebuke to the Biden administration’s insistence it’s close at hand. “There’s not a deal in the making,” Netanyahu told Fox News. “Unfortunately, it’s not close.” His comments stand in stark contrast to the relentlessly hopeful messaging from the Biden administration over the past months. On Sunday, President Joe Biden claimed that the parties were on the verge of a deal, and on Wednesday, a senior administration official claimed 90% of the agreement had been completed. That, Netanyahu said, is “exactly inaccurate.” UN Humanitarian Affairs: Israel is blocking entrance of explosive ordnance disposal equipment OCHA reports: The ongoing escalation of hostilities is resulting in widespread contamination by Explosive Ordnance (EO). While the exact number of EO-related casualties is unknown, there have been cases of people who died due to the explosion of EO, according to humanitarian partners. On 3 September, a Palestinian girl was reportedly critically injured by the explosion of an EO in southwestern Khan Younis and succumbed to her wounds on 4 September. Children face a heightened risk of being exposed to EO, as they usually play outside, tend to search for scraps amongst rubbish and rubble, and lack an awareness on the dangers of EO. Despite ongoing efforts by humanitarian partners to conduct in-person and digital Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) campaigns, educational material as well as minimum standard Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) equipment are refused entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities, therefore limiting the capacity of the mine action response. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster is concerned with the staggering increase in the cost of basic hygiene items. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in July, the price of soap has increased 1,177 per cent and shampoo has increased 490 per cent across the Strip, compared to July 2023. Israeli army kills Palestinian girl in West Bank: Health Ministry Al Jazeera reports: A 13-year-old girl succumbed to her wounds after being shot by Israeli forces in Qaryout, a village south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. The village was reportedly attacked by Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces when Bana Amjad Bakr was shot in the chest by an Israeli soldier. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its teams dealt with the “serious” injury after confrontations broke out in the village. Amjad Bakr was shot while she was in her bedroom, her father said. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she died. Settler attacks are common in the West Bank and have increased in scale and intensity since October 7. The Israeli army and settlers have displaced more than 1,200 Palestinians and destroyed hundreds of structures, according to UN figures. Israel pulls out of Jenin, but denies end of West Bank offensive Middle East Eye reports: Israeli forces have pulled out of Jenin after a 10-day assault, but the military has denied it is ending its operation in the occupied West Bank. The offensive, which has so far left at least 39 Palestinians dead, saw soldiers backed by armored vehicles and bulldozers targeting the city and its adjacent refugee camp, forcing the flight of many of the residents. Palestinians started returning to their Jenin homes on Friday, while those who had been trapped by the offensive were able to venture outside for the first time in more than a week. Israel said on Friday that it would continue its operation in Jenin until its “objectives are achieved”. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says at least 40 people (6 of them youths) have been killed in the West Bank since August 28 when Israeli forces launched a large-scale incursion into several towns and cities: 21 Palestinians were killed in Jenin; 8 in Tubas; 8 in Tulkarem; and 3 in Hebron. Footage originally shared by Israel’s Channel 14 correspondent showed Israeli soldiers detaining Palestinian children, women and men in Jenin, occupied West Bank, and forcing them to walk in one line. This is not Gaza. This is in the West Bank Israeli soldiers share footage with Netenyahu’s channel 14 depicting them humiliating young Palestinian girls, women and elderly in Jenin during their invasion to the city pic.twitter.com/y2DZz1rImP — Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) September 6, 2024 France arrests nurse who volunteered in Gaza Middle East Monitor reports: France yesterday arrested then released nurse Imane Maarifi who spent 15 days volunteering as a medic in the Gaza Strip. Notably, the arrest took place at a time when French soldiers who fight in Gaza enjoy total impunity. Thomas Portes, a lawmaker from the La France Insoumise, or France Unbowed (LFI) party, wrote that Maarifi has been released from custody. “The search of the home in front of the family leaves no doubt about the desire to intimidate the voices that are raised to support the Palestinian people and demand an immediate ceasefire,” he wrote on X. Maarifi attended pro-Palestinian rallies in France to share her testimony about the crippling situation in Gaza. She has also expressed her demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a boycott of companies supporting Israel.
[email protected] September 7, 2024 Ayşenur Eygi, btselem, ceasefire, international solidarity movement, israeli settler violence, palestinian prisoners, Tally Gotliv, unexploded ordnance, west bank death, white phosphorus, Yuli Novak
Photos and videos obtained by Haaretz show dozens of detainees lying on their stomachs while handcuffed, some without clothes, as a guard dog barks over their heads. The Prison Service described this as a "routine exercise." (screenshot)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

Israeli army kills American International Solidarity Movement volunteer during demonstration in West Bank

Various sources report:

During the weekly demonstration in Beita, Palestine, on the morning of September 6th, 2024, the Israeli army intentionally shot and killed an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) human rights activist named Ayşenur Eygi. The demonstration, which primarily involved men and children praying, was met with force from the Israeli army stationed on a hill. Initially, the army fired a large amount of tear gas and then began using live ammunition.

Ayşenur, who we (ISM) consider a martyr in the struggle, was the 18th demonstrator to be killed in Beita since 2020. She was an American citizen of Turkish descent.

She was involved with the Faz’a campaign, an organization that aims to support and protect Palestinian farmers from violations by illegal Jewish settlers and military forces.

The Israeli forces fired two rounds. One hit a Palestinian man in the leg, injuring him. The other round was fired at international human rights activists who were observing the demonstration from a distance, striking the human rights activist in the head.

Neither Ezgi nor the other wounded person posed any threat to the soldiers stationed on the hills adjacent to the site of the weekly march.

Eygi died shortly after being transported to a local hospital in Nablus.

The Israeli military admitted to firing at the demonstrators and said it was looking into reports that a foreign national was killed. The Israel Defense Forces said it “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them”.

The US has not said whether Eygi had been shot by Israeli troops. “We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death, and will have more to say as we learn more,” Matthew Miller, a state department spokesperson, said.

Asked if the US would take action against Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “First things first – let’s find out exactly what happened and we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences from that.”

Eygi’s family released a statement declaring, “A US citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter,” adding, “Given the circumstances of Aysenur’s killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate.”

“We call on President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary of State Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability.”

Ayşenur Eygi, 26, ‘was not a naive traveler – this experience was, according to one of her professors, the culmination of all her years of activism. Her friends say she was a longtime activist “bearing witness to oppression.”

She was remembered by friends and former professors as a dedicated organizer who felt a strong moral obligation to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians.

Eygi, who is also a Turkish citizen and leaves behind her husband, graduated from UW earlier this year with a major in psychology and minor in Middle Eastern languages and culture, Fani said. She walked the stage with a large “Free Palestine” flag during the ceremony, Fani said.

Ezgi is the third ISM volunteer to be killed by the Israeli forces in occupied Palestine. Rachel Corrie was killed in Gaza’s Rafah in 2003 after an Israeli soldier crushed her with a bulldozer. Tom Hurndall was killed in Gaza in 2004 by an Israeli sniper. An Israeli soldier shot Brian Avery in the face in Jenin in 2003. He survived the attack but was permanently maimed. The bullet ripped through his cheek and smashed his eye socket and jaw bones.

RECOMMENDED READING: Instead of Taylor Force Act, Congress should consider Rachel Corrie Act, Orwah Hammad Act




Israeli Prison Guards Filmed Abusing Detainees; Prison Service Says It’s a ‘Routine Exercise’

Ha’aretz reports:

Israeli Prison Service personnel in the security wing of Megiddo Prison handcuffed and humiliated detainees on Friday morning, despite no unusual incident occurring in the prison.

Photos and videos obtained by Haaretz show dozens of detainees lying on their stomachs while handcuffed, some without clothes, as a guard dog barks over their heads. The Prison Service described this as a “routine exercise.”

The Prison Service said in response that it “maintains an operational routine for the safety of the prison inmates and the public. In this case, too, in an operation that includes intelligence [gathering], soldiers of the ‘Nachshon’ unit…raided terrorist cells, searched them and seized assault weapons and prohibited materials.” The service failed to present any of the assault weapons allegedly seized.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) has urged the United Nations to open an independent investigation.

The group has also said that the Israeli authorities are “deliberately” leaking images and footage of the torture of Palestinian detainees, explaining in a statement that this was “part of the competition between the ministers of the current government over who tortures and kills Palestinians more”.


UNICEF says Israelis refusing to facilitate polio vaccine campaign

Al Jazeera reports:

UNICEF says it is making every effort to distribute the polio vaccine in Gaza during the agreed-upon pauses in fighting.

However, it reported that Israel continues to deny medical teams access to communities in certain areas of southern Gaza.

Nearly 355,000 children have received the vaccine in spite of Israel’s lack of cooperation.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reports from Khan Younis:



Israeli legislator calls on police to probe B’Tselem activist for ‘aiding the enemy’

Middle East Monitor reports:

Israel’s Likud Party Knesset Member Tally Gotliv called for the execution or life imprisonment of human rights activist Yuli Novak following her speech at the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Novak, the executive director or Israeli rights group B’Tselem, told the UNSC: “Since Israel was founded, its guiding logic has been to promote Jewish supremacy over the entire territory under its control.”

She added that the far-right Israeli government has been “cynically exploiting” its citizens’ “collective trauma” since the 7 October 2023 infiltration of Israel by Palestinian resistance fighters.

It is doing this, she explained, “to violently advance its project of cementing Israel[i] control over the entire land … committing war crimes almost daily.”

Gotliv called for Novak to be probed by Israel Police “for the suspected serious crime of assistance to the enemy in war.”

She said that such a crime was an offense under the penal law, “which carries the death penalty or a life sentence”.

“Novak has shamefully put the state of Israel, currently engaged in a war for survival, at risk and assisted Israel’s enemies on various fronts,” the lawmaker wrote, accusing the activist of telling lies about Israel committing war crimes.

Gotliv was among the legislators that joined Israeli crowds to protest the arrest of soldiers accused of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee from Gaza held in the Israeli Sde Teiman prison.

NOTE: B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories strives for a future in which human rights, liberty and equality are guaranteed to all people, Palestinian and Jewish alike, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Such a future will only be possible when the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime end. That is the future we are working towards.

B’Tselem (in Hebrew literally: in the image of), the name chosen for the organization by the late Member of Knesset Yossi Sarid, is an allusion to Genesis 1:27: “And God created humankind in His image. In the image of God did He create them.” The name expresses the universal and Jewish moral edict to respect and uphold the human rights of all people.



Netanyahu is unequivocal about ceasefire and hostage agreement with Hamas: ‘There’s not a deal in the making’


Israel shells Lebanon with white phosphorus bombs, performs ground invasion drills

The Cradle reports:

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), Israel targeted southern Lebanon with white phosphorus on Friday. “The area between Tal Nahas and Al-Hamams towards the Marjayoun plain is being subjected to artillery shelling with phosphorus shells, which caused fires to break out,” NNA said.

Israeli threats against Lebanon have escalated once again. The Israeli military said on 6 September that its Yiftah Brigade carried out drills this week simulating a ground invasion of Lebanon, moving along a “mountainous route” and “complex terrain.”

NOTE: Use of white phosphorus in civilian areas is considered a war crime due to its extremely dangerous effects on the human body.

White phosphorus ignites instantly when in contact with oxygen. It can burn through the human body, including through bone, causing severe, excruciating damage.

It can also cause extreme harm when inhaled, with risks of suffocation, cardiovascular failure, coma, death, and other lifelong effects. The substance burns at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

The Cradle: Israel’s energy insecurity: How blackouts could paralyze the occupation state

+972 Magazine: Under cover of war, Israel is demolishing home after home in Silwan

Middle East Monitor: ‘Game of demographics’: How Israel aims to wipe out Palestinians from Occupied East Jerusalem

Middle East Eye: ‘I recognized her by her roller skate’: Israeli strike on Gaza kills children playing in the street

The New Arab: Is Israel using Gaza’s ‘mowing the lawn’ strategy in the West Bank?





STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 5:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 5, 2024: at least 41,546* (40,878 in Gaza* – 11,308 women (28%), 16,715 children (41%) as of September 5. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 691 in the West Bank (~148 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 23 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition (at least 37 of them children)**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – September 5: at least 100,098 (including at least 94,454 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 5, 2024: ~1,452 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 288*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.

**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
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Are US officials’ investments of public funds in Israeli bonds ethical? How much is too much?
Honoring the memory of a Gazan Olympic hero: Majed Abu Maraheel
An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered.
Understanding what motivates ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on West Bank Palestinians
Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
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More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children

https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-kills-american-activist-terrorizes-prisoners-as-biden-admin-shrugs-day-335/

https://donshafi911iamthefaceoftruth.blogspot.com/2024/09/israel-kills-american-activist.html

Israeli-inflicted Palestinian injuries in Gaza, West Bank surpass 100,000 – Day 332
[email protected] September 4, 2024 arms sales to israel, columbia university, david cameron, David Friedman, Gaza, hamas, Merrick Garland, palestine erased, Palestinian journalists, West Bank
Israeli forces organize a raid with bulldozers on Jenin in the West Bank on September 01, 2024. [ Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

‘3,000 operatives’: Hamas regains capabilities in northern Gaza – report

Jerusalem Post reports:

Hamas has managed to regain some of its capabilities in the northern Gaza Strip, according to a Monday Channel 12 report, citing a security source.

The report specified that Hamas had enlisted some 3,000 new operatives into its ranks in that area of Gaza.

Additionally, the resistance group reportedly provided them with weapons, ammunition, and payment.

According to the Channel 12 report, while some Israeli forces remain in northern Gaza, the absence of large troop deployments has allowed Hamas to operate more freely in that area.

At the beginning of the war with Gaza, Israeli forces invaded northern Gaza, reportedly destroying much of the Hamas infrastructure there.

In mid-July, the IDF ended a re-invasion of northern Gaza to concentrate on the central Gaza Strip.



Israel to classify West Bank as ‘combat zone’ amid dramatic escalation

Israel Hayom reports:

Recent events have triggered a major policy shift in Israel’s approach to the West Bank, Israel Hayom has learned. Previously designated as a “secondary arena” requiring stable maintenance, the Israeli military now operates under a new paradigm, viewing the West Bank as the second most critical front, immediately after Gaza.

A series of operations across the West Bank are imminent. “The Jenin operation is just the beginning,” security officials emphasize.

Security officials recommend launching extensive operations. One security source described it as “not just mowing the lawn, but uprooting the problem at its source.”

NOTE: In reality, International law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, even to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the racist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people, exiled them to Gaza and other locations, and continues to oppress and ethnically cleanse their population.

Israeli forces carry the dead body of a Palestinian after an operation in Hebron, West Bank on September 1, 2024. [Mamoun Wazwaz – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli forces carry the dead body of a Palestinian after an operation in Hebron, West Bank on September 1, 2024. [Mamoun Wazwaz – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Some West Bank updates: Israel continues killing spree

various media outlets report:

The Israeli aggression, since dawn last Wednesday, on the West Bank until now, has killed at least 32 Palestinians: 19 in Jenin, 6 in Tulkarem, 4 in Tubas, and 3 in Hebron, bringing the number of slain Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, to at least 685.

The total number of injuries in the West Bank and Gaza combined has surpassed 100,000 (94,398 in Gaza, 5,700 in the West Bank) – even as healthcare facilities in both areas remain under siege.

JENIN AREA: Israeli forces today directly targeted four journalists in the town of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, as they covered the Israeli aggression in the town.

The occupation forces fired live bullets directly at the vehicle of the two photojournalists while they were trying to reach the location of the other journalists in the village of Kafr Dan.

“We narrowly escaped death,” one of the victims explained. “If we hadn’t sped up a bit in our car, they would have killed us. It was a direct assassination attempt.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian teenage girl and prevented medics from reaching her until she succumbed to her wounds in Kafr Dan town, west of Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its medics moved the slain child, Lujain Osama Abdul-Rauf Mosleh, 16, to a hospital in Jenin.

TULKARM: A Palestinian minor was killed Tuesday dawn by Israeli occupation forces during the ongoing raid on Tulkarm camp.

Medical and local sources said that Mohammad Kanaan was killed after being shot in the head by the occupation forces’ snipers while he was with his father in one of the camp’s neighborhoods, while his father was shot in the abdomen by the occupation forces.

On Tuesday evening, two Palestinians were killed after the army surrounded a home and fired at it, in the Thannaba Suburb in Tulkarem.

Media sources said that the attack killed two young men inside the home before the soldiers took their corpses to an unknown destination. (More on Tulkarm here.)

HEBRON: After closing the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim Palestinian worshippers, the Israeli army allowed thousands of illegal settlers to hold a concert and perform their rituals at the site in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Mosque director Moataz Abu Sneineh said that the Israeli settlers held a concert in the mosque’s courtyards “in a blatant violation of the places of worship and the privacy of Muslims.”

Some of Tuesday's victims of Israeli attacks in the West Bank
Some of Tuesday’s victims of Israeli attacks in the West Bank (photos)
Unprecedented number of Palestinian journalists arrested by Israel since October 7th

The Committee To Protect Journalists reports:

Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, an unprecedented number of journalists and media workers have been arrested — often without charge — in what they and their attorneys say is retaliation for their journalism and commentary.

As of September 4, CPJ has documented a total of 54 arrests of journalists in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza and in the city of Jerusalem, claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians as a capital, since the war began on October 7, 2023. Israel arrested 51; Palestinian authorities arrested three.

Nineteen of these journalists, including the three held by Palestinian authorities, have since been released, while 35 remain under arrest.

At least 14 of the journalists arrested by Israel are being held under administrative detention, a policy under which a military commander may detain an individual without charge, typically for six months, on the grounds of preventing them from committing a future offense. Detention can be extended an unlimited number of times.

(Editor’s note: These numbers are being updated regularly as more information becomes available. The tally includes all arrests documented by CPJ. As is our global practice, journalists who request anonymity out of concern for their safety are not named in the list below.)

“Since October 7, Israel has been arresting Palestinian journalists in record numbers and using administrative detention to keep them behind bars, thus depriving the region not only of much needed information, but also of Palestinian voices on the conflict,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna in New York. “If Israel wants to live up to its self-styled reputation of being the only democracy in the Middle East, it needs to release detained Palestinian journalists and stop using military courts to hold them without evidence.”

CPJ ALSO REPORTS: Since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, journalists and media across the region have faced a hostile environment that has made reporting on the war exceptionally challenging.

In addition to documenting the growing tally of journalists killed and injured, CPJ’s research has found multiple kinds of incidents of journalists being targeted while carrying out their work in Israel and the two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank.

These include 54 arrests, as well as numerous assaults, threats and harassment, cyberattacks, and censorship.

(Find details and examples here. Find an up-to-date list of journalists killed here.)

RECOMMENDED READING: CNN staff say network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to ‘journalistic malpractice’

Int’l Criminal Court likely to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant ‘over coming days’

Ha’aretz reports:

Justice Ministry officials expect the International Criminal Court (ICC) to decide in the coming days on whether to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but are cautiously optimistic that the court will decide against the warrants.

The officials said the government’s refusal to set up a state commission of inquiry to investigate the events of the war, as recommended by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, along with the fact that Israel has been lagging in its own investigations of alleged war crimes – something that would preempt ICC action under the principle of complementarity – strengthen the likelihood that the court will accept Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for the warrants.

The officials said they expect the court to issue its decision within days, or at most a few weeks.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 13, 2023.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 13, 2023. (photo)
US Justice Department files criminal charges against Hamas

Al Jazeera reports:

The US announced criminal charges against Hamas’s top leadership, including the group’s chief Yahya Sinwar, accusing them of leading efforts to kill civilians and destroy the state of Israel.

“As outlined in our complaint, those defendants — armed with weapons, political support, and funding from the Government of Iran, and support from Hezbollah — have led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Other Hamas leaders charged include Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, a deputy of slain former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and a former leader of the group, Mohammed al-Masri and Ali Baraka.

NOTE: Garland’s nomination was endorsed by pro-Israel groups such as the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which advocates for Israel.

HA’ARETZ ADDS: U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged Tuesday that the events of the weekend will dictate U.S. actions moving forward.

“I’d be lying to you if I said the work going on in the days ahead are not going to be shaped or colored by our outrage about what Hamas did,” he said.

RECOMMENDED READING: US charges Hamas leaders over October 7, Gaza mediation role under question

Netanyahu once again erases Palestine during address

Middle East Monitor reports:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a map of Israel that erases the occupied West Bank, marking it as Israeli territory, in an address to the media yesterday.

The Israeli premier appeared standing in front of a wall-sized digital map that obliterated the West Bank. Palestinians decried the move as an explicit annexation of the occupied territory by Tel Aviv.

Speaking about the importance of the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt, Netanyahu used a map which showed the entirety of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as being annexed to Israel and only had the Gaza Strip outlined.

“Netanyahu’s map reveals the truth of the colonial and racist agendas of the extremist right-wing government,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Netanyahu continues and repeatedly uses a map that includes the West Bank as part of the occupation state, in clear and explicit recognition of this racist colonial crime, and disregard of international legitimacy and its resolutions, international will for peace and the signed agreements,” the ministry said.

NOTE: Israel’s supporters criticize the pro-Palestine slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,” because they claim it calls for the erasure of Israel. In reality, the phrase is, in the words of Palestinian American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.” Netanyahu’s map says, in essence, “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall not exist.”

RECOMMENDED READING: No more “shrinking map of Palestine” – it’s gone

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu used a map of Israel that erases the occupied West Bank to address the media [Screenshot/Anadolu]
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu used a map of Israel that erases the occupied West Bank to address the media [Screenshot/Anadolu] (photo)
Trump advisor pushes to divert Palestine aid funds for Israeli annexation of West Bank

The Cradle reports:

Former US ambassador to Israel and advisor to Donald Trump, David Friedman, proposed in his new book that Congress should redirect $1 billion allocated for Palestinian aid to support Israeli plans for an annexation of the occupied West Bank.

“Israel will need financial assistance to assert and maintain its sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” Friedman wrote in his new book, using the biblical term used by Israel to refer to the West Bank.

Friedman writes in his book, titled One Jewish State: The Last and Best Hope for Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, that the US could divert $1 billion in current aid to the Palestinians – which includes funds for Palestinian Authority (PA) security services – to fund the Israeli annexation plan.

Friedman also compares Palestinians living under Israeli occupation to Puerto Ricans, who live on an island considered US territory.

“Palestinians, like Puerto Ricans, will not vote in national elections. Palestinians will be free to enact their own governing documents as long as they do not conflict with those of Israel,” he wrote.

Friedman argues the US should support Israel’s annexation “based first and foremost on biblical prophecies and values”, saying that such a policy “hearkens back to basic Judeo-Christian values of kindness, human dignity, humility and prosperity”.

Friedman said he has not yet shared his idea for funding the annexation with Trump. “I hope to share it with him at the appropriate time.”

NOTE: “Biblical prophecies” do not speak anywhere of a modern Jewish state. Pro-Israel (and in many cases, antisemitic) interpretations of Biblical prophecies have twisted the words of the sacred text to imply that a modern Jewish state is a precursor to the endtimes and the return of Christ.

RECOMMENDED READING: Friedman drove the radical overhaul of US policy on Israel-Palestine and Trump Is Desperate for Miriam Adelson’s Cash. Her Condition: West Bank Annexation

President Donald J. Trump, joined by White House senior staff members, delivers a statement announcing the agreement of full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in the Oval Office of the White House (David Friedman, L).
President Donald J. Trump, joined by White House senior staff members, delivers a statement announcing the agreement of full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in the Oval Office of the White House (David Friedman, L). (photo)
U.S. Still Talking Up a Hostage Deal, but Privately Despair About Netanyahu

Ha’aretz reports:

The Biden administration continues to insist publicly that it is committed to negotiations on a hostage and cease-fire deal in Gaza Strip, but senior officials in the government are expressing despair and frustration about the state of the talks, especially after Israel’s security cabinet approved a resolution last week opposing withdrawal from the Philadelphi route in the context of an agreement.

The aim of the administration’s public messages, according to one of the officials, was to allow the talks to continue, in the hope that a breakthrough might occur nonetheless. “It has no real connection to reality,” he said.

President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security spokesman John Kirby repeat every few days that progress has been made in the talks, the gaps between Israel and Hamas can be bridged and an agreement is within reach, if both sides agree to compromise.

Behind the scenes, however, the administration is well aware that the talks have reached an impasse due to Netanyahu’s insistence on the issue of the Philadelphi route, and it seems that both the prime minister and Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas and the organization’s top official in Gaza, are refusing to take the necessary steps to reach a deal at this time. “We want this agreement more than they do,” the American official said.

HA’ARETZ ALSO REPORTS: A source inside the Netanyahu coalition who is closely involved in and a part of the government said, “Benjamin Netanyahu decided some weeks ago that he does not want a deal, and when it became possible, he got nervous and did all he could to torpedo it. He figured out that [he could use] the Philadelphi corridor” to stall the process.

“The media fell for this spin and is consumed all day long with the question of yes or no to the Philadelphi, when the real question is really the fate of the hostages versus the fate of the coalition,” the source added.

“Not one minister, including those who know that Netanyahu is sabotaging a deal, will do anything,” the source says. “They are bound to one another, their political survival depends on the government’s survival, and therefore this situation will continue. Netanyahu will pursue an endless war because that’s what is good for him.”

Netanyahu, centre, chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv
Netanyahu, center, chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv (photo)
David Cameron sat on advice that there was breach of law in Gaza, officials say

The Guardian reports:

As far back as February, UK’s former foreign secretary David Cameron sat on advice that arms export licenses to Israel should be banned.

The recommendation was based on clear evidence that Israel was violating international humanitarian law in Gaza, for which the UK risked being complicit, a former Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) adviser said.

The source, who contributed to the drafting of the advice, was speaking after the Labour government banned 30 of about 350 arms export licenses due to a clear risk cited in a government memorandum published on Monday that they might be used in serious breaches of international humanitarian law.

“The tragedy has to be considered: how many lives might have been saved if the arms export licenses had been stopped [in February and not in September, and what the potential ripple effect might have been on how other countries would have reacted in ceasing trade.”

NOTE: While the Biden administration has claimed often to be “working day and night” on a ceasefire, in reality, it has been working relentlessly to keep Israel armed – including through secret arms sales – to enable its genocidal war on the Palestinian people. American arms shipments to Israel since October 7th have surpassed 50,000 tons.

Most Americans are opposed to arms transfers to Israel.

RECOMMENDED READING: An arms embargo on Israel is not a radical idea — it’s the law

Then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State for a bilateral meeting and press conference at the US State Department in Washington D.C., December 2023
Then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State for a bilateral meeting and press conference at the US State Department in Washington D.C., December 2023 (photo)
Which countries have banned or restricted arms sales to Israel?


Britain is the latest country to shift its position on arms sales to Israel, which has been dependent on international weaponry for an 11-month assault on Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 people.

Here is how different countries have responded to Israel’s war:

Banned or restricted arms sales

Britain
Italy
Spain
Canada
Belgium
The Netherlands
No ban on arms sales

The US
Germany
Denmark
(For details on each country listed, go here.)



There Is No Argument For Supporting Israel That’s Both Logical And Moral

by Caitlyn Johnstone:

It’s wild when you realize that nobody can actually articulate a reason why Israel should be supported that is both logically coherent and morally defensible.

Westerners grow up being indoctrinated with the understanding that this tiny country in the middle east is super duper important and needs to be supported and defended at all cost, but if you examine the reasons given for why this is so as an adult, you find that none of them really hold water.

“Israel is the only place where Jews can be safe!”
“The Jews deserve a homeland!”
“Israel is the only liberal democracy in the middle east.”
“I support Israel’s existence but I oppose the mistreatment of Palestinians.”
“Israel is essential for protecting our interests in the region.”
(Read Caitlyn Johnstone’s rebuttal to each of these statements here.)

Palestinians remove whatever belongings they can salvage from the area as the devastation left by the Israeli army’s withdrawal comes to light in eastern Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 29, 2024. [Ali Jadallah – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians remove whatever belongings they can salvage from the area as the devastation left by the Israeli army’s withdrawal comes to light in eastern Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 29, 2024. [Ali Jadallah – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Columbia U students will not be silenced on Palestine

Palestine Chronicle reports:

The students at Columbia University in New York City inaugurated their first day of the fall semester on Tuesday by staging pro-Palestine demonstrations.

This resulted in the arrest of two students by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) outside of Barnard gates, as reported by the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.

The group live-streamed on the social media platform X parts of the protests, stating that the NYPD officers were “extremely aggressive with students, shoving protestors against the barricades”.

The student group stressed that as long as their university remains complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza “there is no business as usual during a genocide.”

“We refuse to live in a world where the mass murder of Palestinians is normal, acceptable, and profitable. Columbia University is complicit in genocide. Their investments in weapons manufacturers & defense contractors, companies such as Lockheed Martin, are fueling the genocide,” the students said on X.

The students also posted photos and footage of the statue of Alma Mater, on the steps of Columbia’s library, soaked in red as a sign of their university’s financial support for Israel and repression of pro-Palestine voices amid genocide, per the group.

The statue of Alma Mater, on the steps of Columbia’s library, was soaked in red as the protests resumed. (Photo: via NationalSJP TW Page)
The statue of Alma Mater, on the steps of Columbia’s library, was soaked in red as the protests resumed. (Photo: via NationalSJP TW Page) (photo)
MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

The Guardian: Australia’s security chief says person who likes tweet supporting 7 October attacks on Israel could fail visa security test

The Cradle: Amnesty blasts UK ‘gesture politics’ after suspension of less than 10 percent of arms export licenses to Israel

Caitlyn’s Newsletter: The West Truly Doesn’t See Palestinians As Human

Al Jazeera: Paralympics: Palestine’s Aldeeb sees himself as the voice of his people

+972 Magazine: ‘This is also America’s war’: Why the U.S. isn’t stopping Israel’s Gaza onslaught




STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 3:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 3, 2024: at least 41,546* (40,861 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 685 in the West Bank (~147 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 23 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – September 3: at least 100,098 (including at least 94,398 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 3, 2024: ~1,452 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 288*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.

**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Alison Weir trending on social media – what the buzz is about
Israeli media’s coverage of the rape of Palestinian detainees shows support for sexual violence in service of genocide
Inside Israel’s torture, rape, and dehumanization centers
I’m a pediatrician. The scars I saw on Gaza’s children will take generations to heal.
What Harris’s Jewish outreach director said at a private DNC afterparty
‘Strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship’: a look at Tim Walz’s votes on Palestine as a member of Congress
Nearly Two-Thirds of All Campaign Funds for Cori Bush Challenger Came From AIPAC
Israeli army probe covered up “friendly fire” killings on October 7
Are US officials’ investments of public funds in Israeli bonds ethical? How much is too much?
Honoring the memory of a Gazan Olympic hero: Majed Abu Maraheel
An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered.
Understanding what motivates ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on West Bank Palestinians
Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children

https://israelpalestinenews.org/israeli-inflicted-palestinian-injuries-gaza-west-bank-surpass-100000-day-332/

Israeli-inflicted Palestinian injuries in Gaza, West Bank surpass 100,000 – Day 332
[email protected] September 4, 2024 arms sales to israel, columbia university, david cameron, David Friedman, Gaza, hamas, Merrick Garland, palestine erased, Palestinian journalists, West Bank
Israeli forces organize a raid with bulldozers on Jenin in the West Bank on September 01, 2024. [ Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

‘3,000 operatives’: Hamas regains capabilities in northern Gaza – report

Jerusalem Post reports:

Hamas has managed to regain some of its capabilities in the northern Gaza Strip, according to a Monday Channel 12 report, citing a security source.

The report specified that Hamas had enlisted some 3,000 new operatives into its ranks in that area of Gaza.

Additionally, the resistance group reportedly provided them with weapons, ammunition, and payment.

According to the Channel 12 report, while some Israeli forces remain in northern Gaza, the absence of large troop deployments has allowed Hamas to operate more freely in that area.

At the beginning of the war with Gaza, Israeli forces invaded northern Gaza, reportedly destroying much of the Hamas infrastructure there.

In mid-July, the IDF ended a re-invasion of northern Gaza to concentrate on the central Gaza Strip.




Israel to classify West Bank as ‘combat zone’ amid dramatic escalation

Israel Hayom reports:

Recent events have triggered a major policy shift in Israel’s approach to the West Bank, Israel Hayom has learned. Previously designated as a “secondary arena” requiring stable maintenance, the Israeli military now operates under a new paradigm, viewing the West Bank as the second most critical front, immediately after Gaza.

A series of operations across the West Bank are imminent. “The Jenin operation is just the beginning,” security officials emphasize.

Security officials recommend launching extensive operations. One security source described it as “not just mowing the lawn, but uprooting the problem at its source.”

NOTE: In reality, International law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, even to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the racist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people, exiled them to Gaza and other locations, and continues to oppress and ethnically cleanse their population.

Israeli forces carry the dead body of a Palestinian after an operation in Hebron, West Bank on September 1, 2024. [Mamoun Wazwaz – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli forces carry the dead body of a Palestinian after an operation in Hebron, West Bank on September 1, 2024. [Mamoun Wazwaz – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Some West Bank updates: Israel continues killing spree

various media outlets report:

The Israeli aggression, since dawn last Wednesday, on the West Bank until now, has killed at least 32 Palestinians: 19 in Jenin, 6 in Tulkarem, 4 in Tubas, and 3 in Hebron, bringing the number of slain Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, to at least 685.

The total number of injuries in the West Bank and Gaza combined has surpassed 100,000 (94,398 in Gaza, 5,700 in the West Bank) – even as healthcare facilities in both areas remain under siege.

JENIN AREA: Israeli forces today directly targeted four journalists in the town of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, as they covered the Israeli aggression in the town.

The occupation forces fired live bullets directly at the vehicle of the two photojournalists while they were trying to reach the location of the other journalists in the village of Kafr Dan.

“We narrowly escaped death,” one of the victims explained. “If we hadn’t sped up a bit in our car, they would have killed us. It was a direct assassination attempt.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian teenage girl and prevented medics from reaching her until she succumbed to her wounds in Kafr Dan town, west of Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its medics moved the slain child, Lujain Osama Abdul-Rauf Mosleh, 16, to a hospital in Jenin.

TULKARM: A Palestinian minor was killed Tuesday dawn by Israeli occupation forces during the ongoing raid on Tulkarm camp.

Medical and local sources said that Mohammad Kanaan was killed after being shot in the head by the occupation forces’ snipers while he was with his father in one of the camp’s neighborhoods, while his father was shot in the abdomen by the occupation forces.

On Tuesday evening, two Palestinians were killed after the army surrounded a home and fired at it, in the Thannaba Suburb in Tulkarem.

Media sources said that the attack killed two young men inside the home before the soldiers took their corpses to an unknown destination. (More on Tulkarm here.)

HEBRON: After closing the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim Palestinian worshippers, the Israeli army allowed thousands of illegal settlers to hold a concert and perform their rituals at the site in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Mosque director Moataz Abu Sneineh said that the Israeli settlers held a concert in the mosque’s courtyards “in a blatant violation of the places of worship and the privacy of Muslims.”

Some of Tuesday's victims of Israeli attacks in the West Bank
Some of Tuesday’s victims of Israeli attacks in the West Bank (photos)
Unprecedented number of Palestinian journalists arrested by Israel since October 7th

The Committee To Protect Journalists reports:

Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, an unprecedented number of journalists and media workers have been arrested — often without charge — in what they and their attorneys say is retaliation for their journalism and commentary.

As of September 4, CPJ has documented a total of 54 arrests of journalists in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza and in the city of Jerusalem, claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians as a capital, since the war began on October 7, 2023. Israel arrested 51; Palestinian authorities arrested three.

Nineteen of these journalists, including the three held by Palestinian authorities, have since been released, while 35 remain under arrest.

At least 14 of the journalists arrested by Israel are being held under administrative detention, a policy under which a military commander may detain an individual without charge, typically for six months, on the grounds of preventing them from committing a future offense. Detention can be extended an unlimited number of times.

(Editor’s note: These numbers are being updated regularly as more information becomes available. The tally includes all arrests documented by CPJ. As is our global practice, journalists who request anonymity out of concern for their safety are not named in the list below.)

“Since October 7, Israel has been arresting Palestinian journalists in record numbers and using administrative detention to keep them behind bars, thus depriving the region not only of much needed information, but also of Palestinian voices on the conflict,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna in New York. “If Israel wants to live up to its self-styled reputation of being the only democracy in the Middle East, it needs to release detained Palestinian journalists and stop using military courts to hold them without evidence.”

CPJ ALSO REPORTS: Since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, journalists and media across the region have faced a hostile environment that has made reporting on the war exceptionally challenging.

In addition to documenting the growing tally of journalists killed and injured, CPJ’s research has found multiple kinds of incidents of journalists being targeted while carrying out their work in Israel and the two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank.

These include 54 arrests, as well as numerous assaults, threats and harassment, cyberattacks, and censorship.

(Find details and examples here. Find an up-to-date list of journalists killed here.)

RECOMMENDED READING: CNN staff say network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to ‘journalistic malpractice’

Int’l Criminal Court likely to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant ‘over coming days’

Ha’aretz reports:

Justice Ministry officials expect the International Criminal Court (ICC) to decide in the coming days on whether to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but are cautiously optimistic that the court will decide against the warrants.

The officials said the government’s refusal to set up a state commission of inquiry to investigate the events of the war, as recommended by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, along with the fact that Israel has been lagging in its own investigations of alleged war crimes – something that would preempt ICC action under the principle of complementarity – strengthen the likelihood that the court will accept Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for the warrants.

The officials said they expect the court to issue its decision within days, or at most a few weeks.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 13, 2023.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 13, 2023. (photo)
US Justice Department files criminal charges against Hamas

Al Jazeera reports:

The US announced criminal charges against Hamas’s top leadership, including the group’s chief Yahya Sinwar, accusing them of leading efforts to kill civilians and destroy the state of Israel.

“As outlined in our complaint, those defendants — armed with weapons, political support, and funding from the Government of Iran, and support from Hezbollah — have led Hamas’s efforts to destroy the State of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Other Hamas leaders charged include Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, a deputy of slain former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and a former leader of the group, Mohammed al-Masri and Ali Baraka.

NOTE: Garland’s nomination was endorsed by pro-Israel groups such as the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which advocates for Israel.

HA’ARETZ ADDS: U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged Tuesday that the events of the weekend will dictate U.S. actions moving forward.

“I’d be lying to you if I said the work going on in the days ahead are not going to be shaped or colored by our outrage about what Hamas did,” he said.

RECOMMENDED READING: US charges Hamas leaders over October 7, Gaza mediation role under question

Netanyahu once again erases Palestine during address

Middle East Monitor reports:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a map of Israel that erases the occupied West Bank, marking it as Israeli territory, in an address to the media yesterday.

The Israeli premier appeared standing in front of a wall-sized digital map that obliterated the West Bank. Palestinians decried the move as an explicit annexation of the occupied territory by Tel Aviv.

Speaking about the importance of the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt, Netanyahu used a map which showed the entirety of the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as being annexed to Israel and only had the Gaza Strip outlined.

“Netanyahu’s map reveals the truth of the colonial and racist agendas of the extremist right-wing government,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Netanyahu continues and repeatedly uses a map that includes the West Bank as part of the occupation state, in clear and explicit recognition of this racist colonial crime, and disregard of international legitimacy and its resolutions, international will for peace and the signed agreements,” the ministry said.

NOTE: Israel’s supporters criticize the pro-Palestine slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,” because they claim it calls for the erasure of Israel. In reality, the phrase is, in the words of Palestinian American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.” Netanyahu’s map says, in essence, “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall not exist.”

RECOMMENDED READING: No more “shrinking map of Palestine” – it’s gone

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu used a map of Israel that erases the occupied West Bank to address the media [Screenshot/Anadolu]
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu used a map of Israel that erases the occupied West Bank to address the media [Screenshot/Anadolu] (photo)
Trump advisor pushes to divert Palestine aid funds for Israeli annexation of West Bank

The Cradle reports:

Former US ambassador to Israel and advisor to Donald Trump, David Friedman, proposed in his new book that Congress should redirect $1 billion allocated for Palestinian aid to support Israeli plans for an annexation of the occupied West Bank.

“Israel will need financial assistance to assert and maintain its sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” Friedman wrote in his new book, using the biblical term used by Israel to refer to the West Bank.

Friedman writes in his book, titled One Jewish State: The Last and Best Hope for Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, that the US could divert $1 billion in current aid to the Palestinians – which includes funds for Palestinian Authority (PA) security services – to fund the Israeli annexation plan.

Friedman also compares Palestinians living under Israeli occupation to Puerto Ricans, who live on an island considered US territory.

“Palestinians, like Puerto Ricans, will not vote in national elections. Palestinians will be free to enact their own governing documents as long as they do not conflict with those of Israel,” he wrote.

Friedman argues the US should support Israel’s annexation “based first and foremost on biblical prophecies and values”, saying that such a policy “hearkens back to basic Judeo-Christian values of kindness, human dignity, humility and prosperity”.

Friedman said he has not yet shared his idea for funding the annexation with Trump. “I hope to share it with him at the appropriate time.”

NOTE: “Biblical prophecies” do not speak anywhere of a modern Jewish state. Pro-Israel (and in many cases, antisemitic) interpretations of Biblical prophecies have twisted the words of the sacred text to imply that a modern Jewish state is a precursor to the endtimes and the return of Christ.

RECOMMENDED READING: Friedman drove the radical overhaul of US policy on Israel-Palestine and Trump Is Desperate for Miriam Adelson’s Cash. Her Condition: West Bank Annexation

President Donald J. Trump, joined by White House senior staff members, delivers a statement announcing the agreement of full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in the Oval Office of the White House (David Friedman, L).
President Donald J. Trump, joined by White House senior staff members, delivers a statement announcing the agreement of full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in the Oval Office of the White House (David Friedman, L). (photo)
U.S. Still Talking Up a Hostage Deal, but Privately Despair About Netanyahu

Ha’aretz reports:

The Biden administration continues to insist publicly that it is committed to negotiations on a hostage and cease-fire deal in Gaza Strip, but senior officials in the government are expressing despair and frustration about the state of the talks, especially after Israel’s security cabinet approved a resolution last week opposing withdrawal from the Philadelphi route in the context of an agreement.

The aim of the administration’s public messages, according to one of the officials, was to allow the talks to continue, in the hope that a breakthrough might occur nonetheless. “It has no real connection to reality,” he said.

President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security spokesman John Kirby repeat every few days that progress has been made in the talks, the gaps between Israel and Hamas can be bridged and an agreement is within reach, if both sides agree to compromise.

Behind the scenes, however, the administration is well aware that the talks have reached an impasse due to Netanyahu’s insistence on the issue of the Philadelphi route, and it seems that both the prime minister and Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas and the organization’s top official in Gaza, are refusing to take the necessary steps to reach a deal at this time. “We want this agreement more than they do,” the American official said.

HA’ARETZ ALSO REPORTS: A source inside the Netanyahu coalition who is closely involved in and a part of the government said, “Benjamin Netanyahu decided some weeks ago that he does not want a deal, and when it became possible, he got nervous and did all he could to torpedo it. He figured out that [he could use] the Philadelphi corridor” to stall the process.

“The media fell for this spin and is consumed all day long with the question of yes or no to the Philadelphi, when the real question is really the fate of the hostages versus the fate of the coalition,” the source added.

“Not one minister, including those who know that Netanyahu is sabotaging a deal, will do anything,” the source says. “They are bound to one another, their political survival depends on the government’s survival, and therefore this situation will continue. Netanyahu will pursue an endless war because that’s what is good for him.”

Netanyahu, centre, chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv
Netanyahu, center, chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv (photo)
David Cameron sat on advice that there was breach of law in Gaza, officials say

The Guardian reports:

As far back as February, UK’s former foreign secretary David Cameron sat on advice that arms export licenses to Israel should be banned.

The recommendation was based on clear evidence that Israel was violating international humanitarian law in Gaza, for which the UK risked being complicit, a former Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) adviser said.

The source, who contributed to the drafting of the advice, was speaking after the Labour government banned 30 of about 350 arms export licenses due to a clear risk cited in a government memorandum published on Monday that they might be used in serious breaches of international humanitarian law.

“The tragedy has to be considered: how many lives might have been saved if the arms export licenses had been stopped [in February and not in September, and what the potential ripple effect might have been on how other countries would have reacted in ceasing trade.”

NOTE: While the Biden administration has claimed often to be “working day and night” on a ceasefire, in reality, it has been working relentlessly to keep Israel armed – including through secret arms sales – to enable its genocidal war on the Palestinian people. American arms shipments to Israel since October 7th have surpassed 50,000 tons.

Most Americans are opposed to arms transfers to Israel.

RECOMMENDED READING: An arms embargo on Israel is not a radical idea — it’s the law

Then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State for a bilateral meeting and press conference at the US State Department in Washington D.C., December 2023
Then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State for a bilateral meeting and press conference at the US State Department in Washington D.C., December 2023 (photo)
Which countries have banned or restricted arms sales to Israel?


Britain is the latest country to shift its position on arms sales to Israel, which has been dependent on international weaponry for an 11-month assault on Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 people.

Here is how different countries have responded to Israel’s war:

Banned or restricted arms sales

Britain
Italy
Spain
Canada
Belgium
The Netherlands
No ban on arms sales

The US
Germany
Denmark
(For details on each country listed, go here.)




There Is No Argument For Supporting Israel That’s Both Logical And Moral

by Caitlyn Johnstone:

It’s wild when you realize that nobody can actually articulate a reason why Israel should be supported that is both logically coherent and morally defensible.

Westerners grow up being indoctrinated with the understanding that this tiny country in the middle east is super duper important and needs to be supported and defended at all cost, but if you examine the reasons given for why this is so as an adult, you find that none of them really hold water.

“Israel is the only place where Jews can be safe!”
“The Jews deserve a homeland!”
“Israel is the only liberal democracy in the middle east.”
“I support Israel’s existence but I oppose the mistreatment of Palestinians.”
“Israel is essential for protecting our interests in the region.”
(Read Caitlyn Johnstone’s rebuttal to each of these statements here.)

Palestinians remove whatever belongings they can salvage from the area as the devastation left by the Israeli army’s withdrawal comes to light in eastern Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 29, 2024. [Ali Jadallah – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians remove whatever belongings they can salvage from the area as the devastation left by the Israeli army’s withdrawal comes to light in eastern Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 29, 2024. [Ali Jadallah – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Columbia U students will not be silenced on Palestine

Palestine Chronicle reports:

The students at Columbia University in New York City inaugurated their first day of the fall semester on Tuesday by staging pro-Palestine demonstrations.

This resulted in the arrest of two students by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) outside of Barnard gates, as reported by the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.

The group live-streamed on the social media platform X parts of the protests, stating that the NYPD officers were “extremely aggressive with students, shoving protestors against the barricades”.

The student group stressed that as long as their university remains complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza “there is no business as usual during a genocide.”

“We refuse to live in a world where the mass murder of Palestinians is normal, acceptable, and profitable. Columbia University is complicit in genocide. Their investments in weapons manufacturers & defense contractors, companies such as Lockheed Martin, are fueling the genocide,” the students said on X.

The students also posted photos and footage of the statue of Alma Mater, on the steps of Columbia’s library, soaked in red as a sign of their university’s financial support for Israel and repression of pro-Palestine voices amid genocide, per the group.

The statue of Alma Mater, on the steps of Columbia’s library, was soaked in red as the protests resumed. (Photo: via NationalSJP TW Page)
The statue of Alma Mater, on the steps of Columbia’s library, was soaked in red as the protests resumed. (Photo: via NationalSJP TW Page) (photo)
MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

The Guardian: Australia’s security chief says person who likes tweet supporting 7 October attacks on Israel could fail visa security test

The Cradle: Amnesty blasts UK ‘gesture politics’ after suspension of less than 10 percent of arms export licenses to Israel

Caitlyn’s Newsletter: The West Truly Doesn’t See Palestinians As Human

Al Jazeera: Paralympics: Palestine’s Aldeeb sees himself as the voice of his people

+972 Magazine: ‘This is also America’s war’: Why the U.S. isn’t stopping Israel’s Gaza onslaught

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 3:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 3, 2024: at least 41,546* (40,861 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 685 in the West Bank (~147 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 23 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – September 3: at least 100,098 (including at least 94,398 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 3, 2024: ~1,452 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 288*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.

**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Alison Weir trending on social media – what the buzz is about
Israeli media’s coverage of the rape of Palestinian detainees shows support for sexual violence in service of genocide
Inside Israel’s torture, rape, and dehumanization centers
I’m a pediatrician. The scars I saw on Gaza’s children will take generations to heal.
What Harris’s Jewish outreach director said at a private DNC afterparty
‘Strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship’: a look at Tim Walz’s votes on Palestine as a member of Congress
Nearly Two-Thirds of All Campaign Funds for Cori Bush Challenger Came From AIPAC
Israeli army probe covered up “friendly fire” killings on October 7
Are US officials’ investments of public funds in Israeli bonds ethical? How much is too much?
Honoring the memory of a Gazan Olympic hero: Majed Abu Maraheel
An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered.
Understanding what motivates ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on West Bank Palestinians
Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children

https://israelpalestinenews.org/israeli-inflicted-palestinian-injuries-gaza-west-bank-surpass-100000-day-332/

Gazans flee (again) as Israel, Hezbollah conflict heats up – Day 323
[email protected] August 26, 2024 ben gvir, child malnutrition, evacuation gaza, Hezbollah, polio vaccine, torture, west bank deaths
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing in Gaza (Photo credit: Amnesty International) (photo)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

Chaotic scenes as central Gaza residents evacuate after Israeli orders

Al Jazeera reports:

Palestinians have shared videos on Instagram documenting the displacement of residents from Deir el-Balah after Israeli evacuation orders.

The videos show residents carrying their belongings with some even transporting mattresses on their backs as they navigate crowded roads.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order in an area of eastern Deir el-Balah amid an expanding ground offensive.

The latest attacks between Israel and Hezbollah

Al Jazeera reports:

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged attacks across the Lebanon-Israel border in a marked escalation of the tit-for-tat engagement they have been undertaking since October 7.

Israeli jets attacked southern Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday morning, saying it was a preemptive strike against Hezbollah rocket launchers that were preparing to attack Israel……

Global fears of an all-out regional conflict multiplied after the assassination last month of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and of Shukr in Beirut, both blamed on Israel.

Here’s everything you need to know about what happened on Sunday morning… (Read the full article here.)

RECOMMENDED READING: Netanyahu says attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon ‘not the end of the story and Five key takeaways from Nasrallah’s speech after Hezbollah-Israel attacks

Report: US aided Israel with intelligence in attack on Hezbollah

Middle East Monitor reports:

The US provided intelligence assistance to Israel for its “pre-emptive strike” against Hezbollah, the Israeli state-run broadcasting authority reported on Sunday, citing an American official.

The official, who was not named, said that Washington “provided intelligence assistance to Israel in the (Sunday) pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon,” without providing further details.

As of yet, there has been no official response from Israel regarding the American official’s statement. However, the White House previously stated that President Joe Biden “is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”

Israel claimed to have launched preemptive strikes on southern Lebanon after detecting plans of an attack targeting Israeli soil. Hezbollah said it fired at least 340 rockets into Israel.
Israel claimed to have launched preemptive strikes on southern Lebanon after detecting plans of an attack targeting Israeli soil. Hezbollah said it fired at least 340 rockets into Israel. (photo)
WHO says nearly 15,000 Gaza children are acutely malnourished

The New Arab reports:

Nearly 15,000 children in Gaza have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition since early this year, according to the United Nations.

The UN humanitarian office OCHA has said that 239,580 children were checked since mid-January, leading to 14,750 diagnoses of malnutrition affecting children aged between six months to just under five years, including 3,288 cases of severe acute malnutrition.

Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safiya said that a quarter of these cases “were classified as malnutrition with complications”.

“The influx of cases with complications means that this is the stage – God forbid – that comes before death.”

Kamal Adwan Hospital is located in northern Gaza and has a malnutrition treatment center supported by WHO.

Palestinians in Jabalia Refugee Camp wait in line to receive food distributed by charitable organizations in Jabalia, Gaza on August 1, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians in Jabalia Refugee Camp wait in line to receive food distributed by charitable organizations in Jabalia, Gaza on August 1, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
First shipment of polio vaccine arrives in Gaza as disease resurfaces after 25 years


The National reports:

Unicef says aim is for 640,000 children to be vaccinated in the Palestinian enclave amid a high risk of the disease spreading

Gaza has received the first batch of polio vaccines needed for a mass immunisation drive among children, following its first confirmed case in a quarter of a century.

About 1.3 million doses were delivered to the Palestinian enclave by UN children’s fund Unicef through the Karam Abu Salem border crossing after the disease left a 10-month-old child paralysed, the Health Ministry said on Sunday evening. There are two other suspected cases.

Polio was eradicated from Palestine 25 years ago but returned amid a complete breakdown of sanitary infrastructure in Gaza. Its spread was exacerbated by overcrowding in Al Mawasi’s “humanitarian zone” where the population density is at least 30,000 people a square kilometre, with most living in tents….

The arrival of the vaccines – a rare piece of positive news in Gaza, where more than 40,400 people have been killed – comes as patients flee Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir Al Balah, putting even more strain on what remains of Gaza’s healthcare system.

The area surrounding the hospital has been declared a military zone, the Health Ministry announced on Sunday night, “causing panic” and prompting many to flee the hospital, currently home to 100 patients, including seven in intensive care. The medical centre currently remains open to patients, the ministry added, calling for the site to be protected.

Deir Al Balah is in central Gaza, currently the focus of intense Israeli air strikes and shelling along with the southern city of Khan Younis.

A worker unloads a shipment of polio vaccines provided with support from UNICEF to the Gaza Strip through the Karm Abu Salem crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, at a depot belonging to Gaza’s health ministry on August 25, 2024 [EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images]
A worker unloads a shipment of polio vaccines provided with support from UNICEF to the Gaza Strip through the Karm Abu Salem crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, at a depot belonging to Gaza’s health ministry on August 25, 2024 [EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images] (photo)
Israel’s military tortured Palestinian healthcare workers, HRW says

Middle East Eye reports:

In its latest report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that Israel has arbitrarily detained Palestinian healthcare workers since the war on Gaza began on 7 October, deported them to detention facilities in Israel, and allegedly tortured and ill-treated them.

“The detention of healthcare workers in the context of the Israeli military’s repeated attacks on hospitals in Gaza has contributed to the catastrophic degradation of the besieged territory’s healthcare system,” the report reads.

Released doctors, nurses and paramedics told the organisation of their mistreatment, which included “humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged cuffing and blindfolding, and denial of medical care”.

“They also reported torture, including rape and sexual abuse by Israeli forces, denial of medical care, and poor detention conditions for the general detainee population.”

Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said that “the torture and other ill-treatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics should be thoroughly investigated and appropriately punished, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC)”.

Palestinian youth succumbs to injuries sustained from Israeli gunfire near Jenin

WAFA reports:

JENIN, Sunday, August 25, 2024 (WAFA) – A young Palestinian man, identified as Ahmad Mohammad Khalil Al-Anteer, 18, succumbed this morning to injuries sustained from Israeli occupation forces’ gunfire near the Jalameh military checkpoint, north of Jenin.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces had opened fire earlier today on three young men who were in a vehicle near the checkpoint.

The sources added that the Israeli forces prevented ambulances from reaching the scene and detained the three individuals from the vehicle.

Later, Palestinian security sources confirmed that one of the three young men had died from his injuries, while the condition of the other two remains unclear.

With this latest murder in Jenin, the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 7 has risen to 644, including 147 children.

Shot Palestinian Youth, Used by Israel as Human Shield, Dies of Injuries in Israeli Custody

Palestine Chronicle reports:

Zahir Tahseen Raddad, 19, from the town of Saida, north of Tulkarm, died on Sunday morning, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a joint statement.

Raddad had sustained serious injuries on July 23, following a siege by Israeli forces on the house in the Azbat al-Jarad neighborhood east of Tulkarm.

An Israeli drone reportedly targeted the house, and Raddad was arrested along with three other young men, one of whom had moderate injuries.

The prisoner organizations confirmed Raddad’s death at the Israeli Meir Hospital.

Raddad was shot by Israeli forces and used as a human shield after he was placed on the front of an Israeli military vehicle, as documented in video footage of the military operation in Tulkarm, the organizations said.

The statement further said that Raddad had been held in hospital under critical and unstable health conditions, reliant on artificial respiration after undergoing several surgeries.

Despite his grave condition, the Israeli authorities continued his detention until his death, which amounts to medical neglect.

RECOMMENDED READING: Israel is torturing, abducting, and using children as human shields in Gaza – analysis

Israeli forces kill Two in occupied West Bank

IMEMC reports:

On Sunday evening, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of two Palestinians who were shot after Israeli soldiers opened fire at their car near the northern entrance of Salfit, in the central West Bank, and prevented Palestinian medics from approaching them.

The two were kidnapped by a paramilitary Israeli colonizer and managed to escape before the soldiers killed them when they accidentally entered Ariel illegal colony.

The Health Ministry said the soldiers killed Odai Nizar Nimir Abu Na’sa (Troush), 27, and Mos’ab Hassan Ali Moqasqas, 17, before taking their corpses to an unknown location.

The Israeli army claimed the two Palestinians drove a car into oncoming traffic, hitting vehicles while trying to ram into a military post.

Israeli National News claimed that the vehicle driven by the two Palestinians collided with other cars “and attempted to ram soldiers operating in the area, lightly wounding one,” before the soldiers “eliminated the two.”

It added that one soldier was mildly injured before he was taken to a medical center to receive medical treatment.

Ben-Gvir’s call to build synagogue at Al-Aqsa ‘to drag region into religious war’: Palestine

Andalou Agency reports:

Palestine denounced a call by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday to build a synagogue inside Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem as an attempt to drag the region into a “religious war.”

“The Palestinian people will not accept any harm to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a red line that cannot be crossed under any circumstances,” Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.

“These calls to alter the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque are attempts to drag the region into a religious war that will burn all,” he added.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry warned of grave consequences from Ben-Gvir’s call to build a synagogue at the flashpoint site.

“This is an explicit and public call to demolish Al-Aqsa and build the alleged temple in its place,” a ministry statement said.

Ben-Gvir claimed Monday that Jews have the right to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that he would build a synagogue at the flashpoint site.

It was the first time for the Israeli minister to openly speak about building a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (2nd L) forces his way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under police protection in East Jerusalem on 18 July 2024 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (2nd L) forces his way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under police protection in East Jerusalem on 18 July 2024 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Israel’s new police chief, a Ben-Gvir appointee, ‘brings a Zionist and Jewish agenda’

Ha’aretz reports:

The government approved the appointment of Danny Levy as the new Israel Police Commissioner on Sunday at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Levy “brings a Zionist and Jewish agenda and will lead the police according to the policy I have laid out for him,” Ben-Gvir said, following his approval.

At the appointment ceremony for Levy in Jerusalem, the incoming police commissioner stated, “We will strengthen governance and fight anyone who tries to undermine authority.” He added that “governance and sovereignty are the cornerstones of a well-functioning society.”

Ben-Gvir echoed this, saying, “We are the lord of this lands – it’s time for us to take control.”

The incoming police commissioner, closely linked with the far-right national security minister, saw rising crime and murder during his brief stint as Coastal District commander and led a harsh crackdown on anti-government and anti-war protesters.

A RECENT HA’ARETZ EDITORIAL ADDS: “Itamar Ben-Gvir supports Jewish terrorists. As national security minister, he uses the power, authority and resources that are at his disposal to protect them.

“Make no mistake: The Jewish terrorists are the military wing of the organization to which Ben-Gvir belongs and whose interests he represents as a cabinet minister. Ben-Gvir serves in the government, but he remains loyal to a bigger idea. And in a choice between his loyalty to the state and his loyalty to a Kahanist Greater Land of Israel, he will choose the latter.”



US to keep two aircraft carrier strike groups in Middle East: Pentagon

Al Jazeera reports:

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the presence of two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East, the Pentagon says as it strengthens the US military presence amid soaring regional tensions.

The announcement, made in a summary of a call between Austin and his Israeli counterpart, represents a shift. The Pentagon had initially deployed the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group into the region with a plan to replace the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group.

MORE NEWS:


IMEMC Daily Reports.

Common Dreams: Rashida Tlaib Says She Is ‘Ashamed of Our Country Looking Away’ as Gaza Faces Polio Crisis

Palestine Chronicle: Subsidizing Racism – end tax breaks for “charities” pushing genocide, to save kids

Middle East Eye: Gaza family accuses Israel of killing Palestinian with Down syndrome during incursion


STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 25:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 25, 2024: at least 41,079* (40,435 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 644 in the West Bank (~147 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 23 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 25: at least 98,954 (including at least 93,534 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 25, 2024: ~1,452 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 288*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.

**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Israeli media’s coverage of the rape of Palestinian detainees shows support for sexual violence in service of genocide
Inside Israel’s torture, rape, and dehumanization centers
I’m a pediatrician. The scars I saw on Gaza’s children will take generations to heal.
What Harris’s Jewish outreach director said at a private DNC afterparty
‘Strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship’: a look at Tim Walz’s votes on Palestine as a member of Congress
Nearly Two-Thirds of All Campaign Funds for Cori Bush Challenger Came From AIPAC
Israeli army probe covered up “friendly fire” killings on October 7
Are US officials’ investments of public funds in Israeli bonds ethical? How much is too much?
Honoring the memory of a Gazan Olympic hero: Majed Abu Maraheel
An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered.
Understanding what motivates ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on West Bank Palestinians
Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?

https://israelpalestinenews.org/gazans-flee-again-israel-hezbollah-conflict-heats-up-day-323/

Democratic Party’s total disregard for Palestinian lives – Day 320
[email protected] August 23, 2024 creeping annexation, deir al balah, DNC, gaza evacuation, gaza polio, kamala harris, Noa Argamani, tulkarem
DNC attendees cover their ears as the names of dead Palestinian children are read as they leave the convention (photo)
Compilation of news reports by IAK staff

DNC acceptance speech: what did Kamala say about Gaza?

Responsible Statecraft reports: This week’s protests, which saw thousands of antiwar demonstrators take to the streets (lined with scores of Chicago police) in and around the United Center pose a critical question to the Harris/Waltz ticket: Can they bridge the yawning gulf that divides the street and the establishment on the matter of Israel’s war on Palestine?

The answer is, probably not.

On Thursday night during her own showcase speech in which she formally accepted her party’s nomination, Harris appeared full-throated in favor of ending the war in Gaza. Here are her full (brief) remarks on the issue:

With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done. …. And let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the war that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence* and the massacre of young people at a music festival.**

At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating so many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again, the scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination.

*While Israel has made allegations of “systematic sexual violence” against Hamas on October 7th, it has yet to provide forensic evidence or witnesses. The allegations persist apparently because American mainstream media continue to ignore the facts, though numerous websites have reported about the deficiencies in the coverage.

**A number of the Israeli soldiers and civilians killed on October 7 were shown to have been killed by Israeli fire – a fact that is absent from the official Israeli narrative and Western mainstream media.

As antiwar activist and author Norman Solomon has noted, Harris “has toed President Biden’s war line, while at times voicing sympathy for the victims of the Gaza war that’s made possible by policies that she supports. Her words of compassion have yet to translate into opposing the pipeline of weapons and ammunition to the Israeli military as it keeps slaughtering Palestinian civilians.”






Supporters of Joe Biden use signs to cover up a “Stop Arming Israel” banner at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. Photo: Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Supporters of Joe Biden use signs to cover up a “Stop Arming Israel” banner at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. Photo: Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images (photo)
Israeli army announces new evacuation order in south

Al Jazeera reports:

The Israeli spokesperson for Arabic language media has announced a new evacuation order for the Gaza Strip.

Residents were warned to evacuate several areas in Khan Younis governorate in southern Gaza, including Bani Suheila, Sheikh Nasser, Barbakh and as-Satr al-Gharbi, Avichay Adraee posted on X.

The order comes after thousands of Palestinians fled parts of Deir el-Balah as the Israeli military issued an evacuation order and its forces advanced deeper into the overcrowded central Gaza city.

The Israeli military has targeted areas it had designated as safe zones on several occasions previously, killing Palestinians taking refuge there.


Gaza polio patient paralyzed, UN to begin vaccination soon

Middle East Eye reports:

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) says that it will begin vaccinating Gaza’s children for polio at the end of the month.

The news comes after the besieged enclave recorded its first case of polio last week, and as the WHO confirmed that a a 10-month-old baby was now paralyzed due to the disease.

“It is not enough to bring the vaccines into Gaza [and] protect the cold chain,” Phillippe Lazzarrini, commissioner general of Unrwa, said on X. “To have an impact, the vaccines must end up in the mouths of every child under the age of 10.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that a vaccination campaign alone will not prevent the spread of polio “in the absence of clean water, personal hygiene supplies, the spread of sewage among the tents of the displaced, and the absence of a healthy environment.”

It is not clear whether Israel has allowed WHO polio vaccines to enter Gaza.

The polio virus has been detected in Gaza's sewage, which flows through areas with displaced persons and residential zones due to infrastructure destruction, and “represents a new health crisis.”
The polio virus has been detected in Gaza’s sewage, which flows through areas with displaced persons and residential zones due to infrastructure destruction, and “represents a new health crisis.” (photo)
MSF says Israel’s new evacuation orders are ‘inhumane’

From Doctors Without Borders:

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said its staff are among the thousands of people who are having to flee central Gaza after Israel’s military issued new evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.

“The continuous forced displacement of people is inhumane,” MSF project coordinator Jacob Granger said in a statement.

“People have no belongings left, nowhere left to go. There is no room to put tents up. The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fuelling the spread of diseases. We are unable to keep up with the overwhelming needs.”



Israeli army invades ‘most crowded displacement camp in history,’ bombs Palestinians in shelters

Mondoweiss reports:

In a press release last Sunday, the Deir al-Balah municipality said that the waves of evacuation reaching Deir al-Balah were causing an unprecedented number of displaced people to cram into a tiny zone. According to the statement, Deir al-Balah’s total area is 42 square kilometers, and almost a million displaced people are now distributed across 200 displacement centers there.

“This makes Deir al-Balah the most crowded displacement camp in history,” the municipality said.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army bombed the local market in Deir al-Balah, killing 9 civilians. Several hours later, the army bombarded a school in Gaza City sheltering 700 people, killing 10 people, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.

Civil Defense teams were forced to cut up a martyr’s body to pull him out of the rubble, which had been stuck under three collapsed ceilings inside the school. Survivors say that it was one of the most horrific scenes they have witnessed since the start of the war.

(Read the full article here.)

Palestinians living in the area flee to the Al Mawasi district, the west part of the city with their belongings following the Israeli army’s evacuation warning at Hamad area in Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 11, 2024 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians living in the area flee to the Al Mawasi district, the west part of the city with their belongings following the Israeli army’s evacuation warning at Hamad area in Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 11, 2024 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Netanyahu’s goal is ‘creeping occupation’ of Gaza: Ha’aretz

From Ha’aretz:

Ha’aretz writer Aluf Benn said in an editorial that the Israeli prime minister is “torpedoing” ceasefire negotiations because he ultimately wants a “prolonged occupation of the Gaza Strip”.

“Caravan after caravan, outpost after outpost” Netanyahu is planning a “creeping occupation” of Gaza, Benn said, adding that the Israeli prime minister’s recent insistence on maintaining Israeli control of “defense and strategic assets”, such as the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors illustrates his intentions.

The editorial came as the families of Israeli captives held in Gaza criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the truce talks, saying the “full and direct responsibility for the fate of the negotiations is on the prime minister”.

POTUS tweet, October 18, 2023 "I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the situation on the ground, security assistance and humanitarian needs, and information on unaccounted Americans. I asked tough questions as a friend of Israel. We will continue to deter any actor wanting to widen this conflict."
POTUS tweet, October 18, 2023 “I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the situation on the ground, security assistance and humanitarian needs, and information on unaccounted Americans. I asked tough questions as a friend of Israel. We will continue to deter any actor wanting to widen this conflict.” (photo)
West Bank: Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on Tulkarem camp

Al Jazeera reports:

Three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air attack on a house in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says.

The aerial attack today came as the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said fighters from its Tulkarem Battalion clashed with Israeli soldiers in the camp and detonated explosive devices targeting military vehicles.

Reporting from Tulkarem, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said on Thursday that the raid was ongoing 12 hours later in the congested area, with sounds of explosives and gunfire heard and drones flying above.



Jewish terror is jeopardizing Israel’s existence: Shin Bet chief

Middle East Eye reports:

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, government ministers and the attorney general, Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet security service, warned that Jewish terrorism was endangering Israel’s existence.

Bar says that those he calls Jewish terrorists “want to cause the system to lose control, causing indescribable damage to Israel”.

He also said that police incompetence and “perhaps a sense of hidden support” is increasing.

(Read the full article here.)

A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on August 17, 2024. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on August 17, 2024. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
‘They Did Not Hit Me’ – Former Prisoner Argamani Challenges Israeli Media over Distorted Claims

Palestine Chronicle reports:

Former Israeli prisoner Noa Argamani has accused the Israeli media of taking her statements out of context and denied claims that she was beaten by members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

Through her Instagram page, Argamani clarified that the Qassam Brigades did not harm her physically or cut her hair, but she sustained injuries when a wall collapsed during an Israeli airstrike.

“I cannot stay silent about what the Israeli media has done to me over the past 24 hours, taking my words out of context,” she stated, adding: “I am a victim of the October 7 operation, and I refuse to be victimized again by the Israeli media.”

Argamani explained that Al-Qassam members “did not hit me while I was in captivity, nor did they cut my hair.”

“I was injured by the collapse of a wall caused by an Israeli airstrike,” she highlighted.

In June, the Israeli military announced that Argamani and three other Israeli prisoners were rescued during a military operation in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, which resulted in the killing and injuring of hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

Since her return, Argamani has expressed frustration over the distortion of her accounts, particularly concerning her treatment while in Gaza.

(Read the full article here.)

NOTE: In reality, many of the released Israeli captives have been in good health. They described their fear of being bombed by Israel, but did not report torture or rape (for which at least one was harassed). In the case of Noa Argamni, reportedly the worst complaints she had of her captors was that she “had to cook and wash dishes for the family,” and was not able to shower often. She was able to walk outside, but “was forced to dress like a Palestinian woman.”



Released Gaza captive declines Netanyahu ‘PR’ meeting

Al Jazeera reports:

Margalit Moses, a 77-year-old Israeli who was freed from captivity in Gaza in November, has declined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to meet him today, saying she believes it would be a publicity stunt.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I will not take part in the meeting for photography and public relations purposes while my friends are languishing in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza,” she wrote in a public statement.

“In light of the reports of another [hostage-ceasefire] deal being thwarted on your part to release the abductees, I see no reason to come to a meeting with someone who proves by his actions that releasing the hostages is not top of mind and abandons them to their deaths,” she added.

Moses was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her ex-husband Gadi Moshe Moses during the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7. Gadi remains in captivity in Gaza.

War will continue, even with a deal: Israeli official

From Times of Israel:

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that a ceasefire deal would not mean the end of the war in Gaza.

“So long as Hamas doesn’t agree to a deal, we will continue fighting,” the official was quoted as saying. “Even if they do, the war will continue. Of course, if there is a deal, there will be a lull in the fighting in the first stage. But we will continue fighting until we achieve all of our war aims.”

The insistence on the war continuing echoes the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has himself insisted that any ceasefire deal still allow the Israelis to continue to attack Gaza, despite the US insistence that a deal would lead to an end to the war.

Hamas has repeatedly stated that any deal to secure the release of captives held in Gaza lead to a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.


MORE NEWS:


IMEMC Daily Reports.

Electronic Intifada: “The sniper was shooting him for fun”

The Cradle: Israel’s cenbank chief urges PM to make ‘permanent’ budget changes as economy spirals

Common Dreams: If You’re Looking for Democracy in Chicago, You’ll Find It in the Streets

Al Jazeera: Germans protest at hearing on legality of phrase “from the river to the sea”



STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 22:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 22, 2024: at least 40,859* (40,265 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]
This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 637 in the West Bank (~147 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.
Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.
Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.
At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 22: at least 98,401 (including at least 93,144 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 22, 2024: ~1,457 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 293*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.
**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.
***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.
† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
What Harris’s Jewish outreach director said at a private DNC afterparty
‘Strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship’: a look at Tim Walz’s votes on Palestine as a member of Congress
Nearly Two-Thirds of All Campaign Funds for Cori Bush Challenger Came From AIPAC
Israeli army probe covered up “friendly fire” killings on October 7
Are US officials’ investments of public funds in Israeli bonds ethical? How much is too much?
Honoring the memory of a Gazan Olympic hero: Majed Abu Maraheel
An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered.
Understanding what motivates ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on West Bank Palestinians
Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war

https://israelpalestinenews.org/democratic-partys-total-disregard-for-palestinian-lives-day-320/

US approves “historic” $20B arms sale to Israel, as Gazans die – Day 311
[email protected] August 14, 2024 ben gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, ceasefire, free speech on campus, Iran, israeli gang rape, Josep Borrell, palestine olympics head, twins in gaza, weapons to israel
Destroyed buildings last month in Beit Lahia, one of the northernmost cities in the Gaza Strip.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images (photo)
More weapons for Israel; newborn twins killed in Gaza; Israel shoots American activist; two Palestinians killed in West Bank; Israel detains Palestine Olympic head; California mulls anti-free speech on campus bill; Ben Gvir leads provocative march on Temple Mount; EU leader calls for sanctions against Israeli Smotrich for calls to starve Gazans; house arrest for gang-rape suspects; yes, Netanyahu has been messing with ceasefire details;

Iran says Europe’s silence on “inhumane crimes” in Gaza encouraged Israel to continue atrocities while threatening global peace; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

US State Department Approves Over $20 Billion Arms Package for Israel

AntiWar reports: On Tuesday, the State Department approved a series of potential weapons sales to Israel worth over $20 billion that includes F-15 fighter jets and tank munitions. The approval comes as Israeli airstrikes continue to slaughter civilians in Gaza, including newborn twins who were killed hours before the State Department announced the new support for Israel.

Ha’aretz reports the transaction as “among the most significant arms sales to Israel in American history.”

In total, the US announced five new arms deals for Israel. The biggest is for 50 F-15 fighter jets and related equipment, worth $18.8 billion. Israel will also receive $102.5 million in advanced air-to-air missiles, about 33,000 120mm tank cartridges worth $774 million, 50,000 high-explosive 120mm mortar rounds worth $61.1 million, and $583.1 million worth of medium tactical vehicles.

It’s unclear how much of the massive weapons sale will be funded by US military aid. The announcement came a few days after the State Department said it was releasing $3.5 billion in military assistance for Israel in the form of Foreign Military Financing, a program that gives foreign governments money to buy US weapons.

It will take years before the F-15s and other weapons will be delivered to Israel, although, according to Reuters, the tank rounds would be almost immediately available for delivery. The notification begins a period where Congress could potentially block the sales, but it’s expected to breeze through since only a few dozen progressive Democrats are opposed to arming Israel.

The U.S. has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October, U.S. officials told Reuters in June.

RECOMMENDED READING: Rafah attack: Netanyahu’s lies expose the truth about Israel

An Israeli soldier carries a 155mm artillery shell near a self-propelled howitzer deployed at a position near the border with Lebanon in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel on October 18, 2023. (Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)
An Israeli soldier carries a 155mm artillery shell near a self-propelled howitzer deployed at a position near the border with Lebanon in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel on October 18, 2023. (Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images) (photo)
Newborn twins killed in Israeli strike in Gaza as father collects their birth certificates

Andalou Agency reports: Newborn twins were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday as their father went to collect their birth certificates.

The two babies were born on Saturday in the city of Deir al-Balah, but an Israeli strike on their apartment shattered the family’s joy of their newborns.

“I have just obtained the birth certificates for my newborn babies Aysel and Asser,” their father Mohammad Abu al-Qumsan told Anadolu as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“They were born on August 10. I was outside the house, finalizing the paperwork, and then I got the call… I didn’t expect to find them all gone.”



Israeli hardliner Ben-Gvir “put lives at risk” with Jerusalem prayer call

Reuters reports: Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound known to Jews as Temple Mount, and said Jews should be allowed to pray there, freshly challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly denied there would be any change to rules prohibiting Jews from praying at the site, which is holy to Muslims as well.

The Al-Aqsa compound, revered by Jews as a vestige of their two ancient temples, is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and under rules dating back decades, Jews are allowed to visit, but may not pray there.

“Our policy is to allow prayer,” Ben-Gvir said as he passed a line of Jewish visitors who prostrated themselves on the ground, while others sang and clapped their hands in celebration. The Waqf, the foundation that administers the site, said around 2,250 Jews entered the site on Tuesday.

The spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Ben-Gvir’s visit as a “provocation” and called on the U.S. to intervene “if it wants to prevent the region from exploding in an uncontrollable manner”.

HA’ARETZ ADDS: What happened on the Temple Mount Tuesday categorically puts lives at risk, and is further evidence of the chaos being caused by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and his irresponsible leadership.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and another minister ascended the Temple Mount (known as Al-Aqsa to Muslims), and dozens of Jewish visitors prayed on the compound in violation of the status quo. All this happened in front of the police who were stationed there, but they refrained from enforcing the ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.

The fact that Ben-Gvir oversees the police doubles the threat he poses, because the police exist in part to deal with criminals like him. But when the criminal is the very minister in charge of the police, who can you turn to? When the person endangering national security is the minister in charge of preserving it, what do you do?

And the helplessness becomes absolute when you realize the prime minister can’t be relied upon in this situation, since Netanyahu is the one who appointed Ben-Gvir despite very well knowing that he is dangerous.


An American was just shot in the West Bank. The American press can’t be bothered.

DropSite News reports: Last Friday, Amado Sison, an activist from New Jersey with the solidarity group Faz3a, joined fellow demonstrators near the West Bank village of Beita. In an interview with Drop Site after being discharged from the hospital, Sison said he was taking part in a “protective presence” exercise aimed at defending Palestinian citizens living in the West Bank from settler and military violence.

“The Palestinians were holding a rally and doing chants, when Israeli soldiers at a nearby outpost started shooting tear gas and aiming weapons at us,” said Sison. “

This was only my second demonstration, but some of the more experienced demonstrators shouted that live rounds were being fired and everyone began to run.”

Sison and others ran from the gunfire into a nearby olive grove. It was then that he felt a “blunt impact” in the back of his leg. He initially thought he had been hit by a tear gas canister.

It turned out to have been a live bullet, which entered his thigh and exited from the front of his leg.

In video of the incident taken by Anthony C., an activist with Faz3a, and provided to Drop Site, a group of protesters and local Palestinians can be seen screaming as they attempt to carry a wounded Sison to safety after the shooting.

(Read the full article here.)

West Bank: Two Palestinian young men killed by Israeli forces

WAFA reports: A Palestinian teenager succumbed to serious wounds he sustained earlier Tuesday after being shot by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Anata, east of occupied Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Governorate Media Department said in a statement that Shadi Wisam Shehada, 17, was shot by the Israeli occupation in the town of Anata while he was working at his privately-owned car wash shop in the area, for allegedly throwing stones at the occupation soldiers.

Another Palestinian young man, Moataz Sarsour, was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces during a raid on the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh at Tuesday dawn.

Shadi Wisam Shehada and Moataz Sarsour, killed by Israeli forces
Shadi Wisam Shehada and Moataz Sarsour, killed by Israeli forces (photo)
Israeli authorities detain head of the Palestine Olympic Committee

Middle East Eye reports: Jibril Rajoub, who is also a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, was reportedly detained by Israeli authorities upon his return from the Paris Olympics while en route to the occupied West Bank.

The 71-year-old was searched, had his passport confiscated, and was summoned for questioning at the Ofer military compound near Ramallah on Tuesday.

Rajoub has previously faced threats of imprisonment from some members of the Israeli government due to his efforts to have Israel barred from the Olympics and the football World Cup, citing violations of the Olympic Charter and FIFA regulations against apartheid in sports.

In May, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened to revoke Rajoub’s travel pass.

“We will work to thwart his plans, and if he doesn’t stop, we will imprison him in the Muqataa [presidential compound in Ramallah], where he will be left to play stanga by himself between the walls,” Katz said, referring to a popular Israeli street game involving a football.

Anti-free speech California bill inspired by opposition to pro-Palestine campus protest

The Intercept reports: A bill making its way through the California legislature would stifle free speech on public university and college campuses, specifically around protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and its occupation of Palestine, according to civil rights advocates.

The American Civil Liberties Union in California is ringing the alarm bell on Senate Bill 1287, saying that it will “set a dangerous precedent of chilling speech on campuses across the state.”

The bill, introduced in February by Democratic state Sen. Steve Glazer, would require schools to adopt and enforce rules against harassment, discrimination, or any behavior that “creates a hostile environment on campus.”

The bill’s supporters include a host of pro-Israel advocacy groups. [Glazer has made many trips to Israel and lived in Israel for six months working on a kibbutz.]

Among the bill’s most vocal detractors has been ACLU California Action, which said in a letter sent last week to Glazer’s office that the bill would suppress free speech. In the letter, obtained by The Intercept, the ACLU highlighted areas of the bill that are “overly broad” and vague, such as leaving terms like “harassment,” “discrimination,” and “hostile environment” with no clear definitions that may allow institutions to apply them in ways that prohibit students’ free speech.

Across the U.S., lawmakers on the state and federal level have introduced bills cracking down on campus protests. In Congress, Republican lawmakers proposed a slate of bills, including measures that would revoke visas and deport any international student convicted of a crime related to protests on campus; bar students convicted of a protest-related crime from receiving financial aid; make federal accreditation and funding for schools contingent on their policies toward protests; barring a student of faculty member from student loan forgiveness if they are expelled or fired due to protests; and withholding federal funds from schools that don’t clear encampments.

Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee who is behind several of the bills, also introduced one that would require a student convicted of a protest-related offense to do community service in Gaza for six months.

(Read the full article here.)

RECOMMENDED READING: Unmasking counterprotesters who attacked UCLA’s pro-Palestine encampment

In early May, police arrested around 200 protesters from the anti-war encampment at UCLA, with the campus police restricting access to the area, and police helicopters hovering overhead.
In early May, police arrested around 200 protesters from the anti-war encampment at UCLA, with the campus police restricting access to the area, and police helicopters hovering overhead. (photo)
Iran says silence of UK, France, Germany on “inhumane crimes” in Gaza encouraged Israel to continue atrocities while threatening global peace

The Cradle reports: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a phone call that the silence of the international community in the face of Israel’s “unprecedented and inhumane crimes” in Gaza encouraged it to continue committing atrocities while threatening regional and global peace and security, IRNA reported on 13 August.

Pezeshkian added that war in any part of the world is not in the interest of any country while emphasizing that a “punitive response to an aggressor is a legal right of states and a way to stop crime and aggression.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a similar message Tuesday, saying the Islamic Republic will defend its national security and sovereignty and does not ask for permission to exercise its rights.

Kanaani made the statement in response to a letter published by the UK, France, and Germany, urging Iran not to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 1 August.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that the three European countries have been indifferent to Israel’s continued “genocidal acts and war crimes against defenseless Palestinians.”

He stated that the European nations’ request that Iran not respond to the Hamas leader’s assassination would “encourage the criminals to continue massacre, genocide, and crime against humanity.”

The spokesman said if those mentioned countries were really after peace and stability in the region, they should stand against Israel and seek to end the war on Gaza and the killing of children and women.

Israeli troops accused of gang raping Palestinian detainee released on house arrest

The Cradle reports: The Israeli military attorney’s office and defense lawyers agreed on the release to house arrest of the five soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian man in the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp, Haaretz reported in Hebrew on 13 August.

The Israeli army spokesman said the five soldiers will be released to house arrest for 10 days during the investigation.

On 8 August, a leaked surveillance video from Sde Teiman was broadcast on Israeli news network Channel 12, showing the Israeli soldiers gang-raping the Palestinian man.

Members of the Knesset and Hebrew media have strongly criticized the military for detaining the soldiers, arguing that it is morally acceptable to do anything to Hamas fighters, including rape.

Military police officers who arrested the soldiers have faced death threats.

Israel’s military advocate general, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi responded to criticism over the arrests by saying they were crucial for shielding Israel from war crimes charges in international courts and ensuring continued weapons deliveries from the US and European nations.

RECOMMENDED READING: Hostages of Israeli revenge in the Gaza Strip: Testimonies of 100 released Palestinian detainees reveal crimes of torture, cruel treatment.



Documents confirm Netanyahu responsible for obstructing Gaza ceasefire

New York Times reports: For weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has denied that he is trying to block a cease-fire deal in Gaza by hardening Israel’s negotiating position.

Mr. Netanyahu has consistently placed all blame for the deadlocked negotiations on Hamas, even as senior members of the Israeli security establishment accused him of slowing the process himself.

But in private, Mr. Netanyahu has, in fact, added new conditions to Israel’s demands, additions that his own negotiators fear have created extra obstacles to a deal.

According to unpublished documents reviewed by The New York Times that detail Israel’s negotiating positions, Israel relayed a list of new stipulations in late July to American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators that added less flexible conditions to a set of principles it had made in late May.

The documents reviewed by The Times make clear that the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Netanyahu government has been extensive — and suggest that agreement may be elusive at the talks set to begin this week.

(Read more here.)

Israel defense ministry expects 100,000 disabled veterans by 2030, half to be related to mental health

Ha’aretz reports: A recent forecast by the rehabilitation division of Israel’s Defense Ministry expects there to be 100,000 disabled IDF veterans by the year 2030, with half being related to mental health.

According to the data, since October 7 the rehabilitation division has seen 10,056 wounded individuals. The Defense Ministry is now discussing a strategy to absorb and treat those wounded in the war, on top of approximately 62,000 disabled IDF veterans already being treated by the division before the war.

NOTE: Over 92,000 Gazans have been injured in just ten months – at least 3,000 children have had a limb amputated. Mental health issues are widespread, including nearly every child in Gaza.

Josep Borrell calls for sanctions against Israeli ministers for ‘incitement to war crimes’

The Cradle reports: EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell [from Spain] said on 11 August that the bloc must consider imposing sanctions against Israeli far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for “incitement to war crimes.”

Borrell urged the Israeli government to clearly dissociate itself from individuals who incite war crimes and to work seriously towards a ceasefire deal.

The high-ranking EU official also denounced Ben Gvir for urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt all humanitarian aid and fuel to the Gaza Strip amidst the ongoing genocide.

Finance Minister Smotrich’s comments about starving two million Gazans by withholding aid in exchange for Israeli captives as “sinister,” in stark contrast to the Israeli minister’s assertion that the approach is “justified and moral.”

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

The Guardian: Why should US troops pay the price for Biden’s failure to rein in Netanyahu?

Mondoweiss: The ICJ finds that BDS is not merely a right, but an obligation

+972 Magazine: In Jenin and Tulkarem, Israel’s war on Palestinian armed resistance is failing

CNN: Rep. Ilhan Omar will win primary in Minnesota, CNN projects, breaking ‘squad’ losing streak

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 13:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 13: at least 40,590* (39,965 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 625 in the West Bank (~145 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 13: at least 97,714 (including at least 92,294 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 13: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
Gaza genocide denial
Why the news media’s job is to groom us
‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children

https://israelpalestinenews.org/us-approves-historic-20b-arms-sale-to-israel-as-gazans-die-day-311/

Israel has killed 1.8% of Gaza’s population – using American weapons – Day 308
[email protected] August 11, 2024 american weapons in gaza, gaza school bombing, genocide, occupation, uncommitted movement
Relatives of Palestinian children, who lost their lives following the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp, mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
The staggering death toll Israel has imposed on Gaza; update on horrific school bombing that killed 100: American-made weapon, Israel issues fake “terrorist” list, accuses Hamas of inflating fatality numbers; Israeli leaders speak openly about permanent occupation of Palestinian territories, tell US to mind its own business, support rapists over law; Uncommitted Movement says “arms embargo now”; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Israel has killed 1.8% of Gaza’s population, official figures show

Andalou Agency reports: Israel has killed around 1.8% of Gaza’s population since 7 October amid a devastating war on the enclave, according to figures released by the Palestinian Center Bureau of Statistics.

In a statement, the center said more than 39,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

“This constitutes around 1.8% of the total population in the territory,” it added.

According to the center, around 24% of the Palestinian victims in Gaza were young people.

These figures do not include the approximately 10,000 buried under rubble and presumed dead.

Relatives of Palestinians killed by the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Relatives of Palestinians killed by the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images) (photo)
US weapon used in Gaza City school massacre that killed 100

Electronic Intifada reports: Israel killed at least 100 Palestinians at a school being used as a shelter for displaced people in central Gaza City on Saturday, according to Gaza officials.

Many of those killed were shredded or burned beyond recognition, as documented in horrific video and photos of the carnage. Others who were present at the school remained unaccounted for after the massacre.

Video broadcast by Al Jazeera showed what the broadcaster’s correspondent Anas al-Sharif said was an “indescribable” scene as a camera panned across a room containing countless bodies in pieces:


Ramy Abdu, director of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said that some of the supposed Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives that Israel claimed to have targeted at Tabaeen school on Saturday were known to be uninvolved civilians; some had in fact been killed in other locations in previous days:



The deadly attack destroying the bodies of dozens of Palestinians also came one day after the US State Department announced that Washington would provide Israel $3.5 billion for additional US weapons and military equipment.

Israel’s chief military spokesperson claimed without evidence that the number of fatalities given by Palestinian officials was inflated.

“This was verified by intelligence, and the strike was carried out using three small, precise munitions which cannot cause the scale of damage that the Palestinians are reporting,” the spokesperson said.

According to Al Jazeera, the spokesperson also claimed that “no women and children were present” in the area that was targeted by three bombs.

Israeli officials have told their American counterparts they used small munitions – as opposed to larger bombs – during the airstrike in Gaza specifically to mitigate civilian harm, a US official familiar with the matter said.

When asked about the strike, an Israeli military official earlier told CNN the Israel Defense Forces had used “three small and precise munitions that cannot cause the damage the Palestinians claim they have caused.”

CNN also reported earlier that Israel used at least one US-manufactured precision-guided bomb during the strike, according to weapons experts.


Footage of the aftermath filmed by CNN showed parts of an explosive device that Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, confirmed were from a GBU-39 small diameter bomb.

[NOTE: This “small diameter bomb” is housed in a 250-pound casing that is 6 feet long, with a 7.5-inch diameter. Its wingspan, when the wings are extended, is over 5 feet.

This is the same type of bomb that Israel used in its May attack on Rafah, which killed 45 mostly women and children in a location Israel had deemed safe. Again, the IDF spokesman claimed that care was taken to protect civilians, and precision bombs had been used. He added, “Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size,” implying that Palestinians themselves were responsible for the death toll.]

Here is what it looks like when this type of bomb explodes:



Netanyahu insists occupied West Bank is ‘part of our homeland’, saying Israel will not give it up


Middle East Monitor reports: Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that the occupation will not relinquish control of the West Bank to the Palestinians, putting the opportunity for a two-state solution further out of reach.

In an interview with TIME Magazine which was published this week, Netanyahu stated that the occupied Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank are “part of our homeland. We intend to stay there”.

The Israeli premier reiterated his opposition to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, saying he would only allow limited self-rule for the Palestinians in the occupied territories while Israel maintains security control, as is currently the case as the Palestinian Authority (PA) is limited to administrative duties and partial internal security.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation controls the territories’ security, airspace, ports of entry, planning policy, and partly its economy and tax collection, giving Tel Aviv overwhelming advantages and leverage in the dynamic.

“We don’t rule their land. We don’t run Ramallah. We don’t run Jenin”, Netanyahu claimed. “But we go in and take action when we have to prevent terrorism”, referring to the Palestinian resistance fighters and factions that inhabit the West Bank towns and cities.

NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the racist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations.

Ben Gvir calls for Gaza Strip to be under Israeli control ‘permanently’

Middle East Eye reports: Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted a message on X, calling for Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip permanently.

Ben Gvir voiced his opposition to US-backed ceasefire efforts, saying that Hamas must be “crushed” until it “completely surrenders”.

He proposed halting all humanitarian aid and fuel shipments into Gaza until all Israeli captives held by Hamas were released.

Ben Gvir also urged Israeli authorities to “encourage emigration” and advocated for permanent Israeli control over the Gaza Strip.

“Encourage emigration and occupy the territories of the Gaza Strip in order to keep them in our hands permanently. It’s in our hands,” he wrote.

Smotrich tells US to ‘respect Israeli democracy’

Middle East Eye reports: Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the US needs to “respect Israeli democracy” when it comes to matters of Israel’s security.

Smotrich’s comments were in response to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, who said the US would not allow “extremists” to push Gaza ceasefire negotiations off course.

“I respect the US’ position and thank it for its support for Israel in the face of regional threats, but I expect it to respect Israeli democracy and the position of Israel’s citizens and elected officials in relation to decisions that will affect the country’s security,” Smotrich said.

Israeli lawmaker calls for top Israeli military lawyer to stand trial, because she betrayed Israeli soldiers in rape case

Ha’aretz reports: Likud lawmaker Tali Gottlieb criticized the IDF’s Military Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, during a discussion in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and called for her to be put on trial.

Gottlieb accused Tomer-Yerushalmi of betraying Israel’s soldiers, referring to the case involving the abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman facility.

Another lawmaker also criticized the Military Advocate General, accusing her of “obsessive persecution of our soldiers,” adding “Everyone should ask themselves whether they stand with our soldiers or with an obsessive Military Advocate General and an obsessive Attorney General … History will judge them.”

A new investigation from Israeli human rights organization reports that Israel is carrying on a "systematic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel."
A new investigation from Israeli human rights organization reports that Israel is carrying on a “systematic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.” (screengrab)
Israeli army ‘still far from victory’ in Gaza: Army officers

Middle East Monitor reports: The Israeli army is “still far from victory” in the Gaza Strip as Tel Aviv continued its deadly offensive on the Palestinian enclave since 7 October, dozens of Israeli reserve officers said in a letter on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

“In the past few days, we have been astonished by repeated statements from senior army officials that victory is within reach and it is possible to move to the stage of pinpoint raids,” reads the letter signed by around 100 officers to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

“We, who came from the field, know very well that the situation is still far from victory.”

The army officers said that Palestinian resistance factions still have cross-border capabilities such as UAVs, explosive drones and mortars.

“This is not what victory looks like!”

In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News that “victory is within reach.”

Aftermath of an Israeli bombing of a tent near the al-Mazra’a School, east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, August 9.
Aftermath of an Israeli bombing of a tent near the al-Mazra’a School, east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, August 9. (screengrab)
UNICEF faces challenges getting ‘simple materials’ into the Gaza Strip

Al Jazeera reports: UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram tells Al Jazeera the agency continues to face challenges in transporting materials into the Palestinian enclave and her colleagues have reported the UN children’s agency is still unable to provide recreational and stationary kits to children so they can resume learning after 10 months of no school.

She said UNICEF is trying to get in vaccinations to fight against polio after the virus was detected in sewage. It is also trying to bring in supplies like medicines, hygiene kits and construction equipment to help rebuild toilets.

Ingram explained that UNICEF had been able to access the central and northern Gaza Strip recently and the teams there had reported “increasing outbreaks” of various diseases, including scabies.

“Parents are trying to do whatever they can to treat rashes by boiling water with lemon and putting that on their children in the absence of having the proper medicine from health care centers,” she said.

A Palestinian girl clings to her mother in Gaza City, June 2 [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu]
A Palestinian girl clings to her mother in Gaza City, June 2 [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu] (photo)
‘Arms embargo now’, says Uncommitted Movement after Harris speech

The Uncommitted Movement in the US that has been refusing to vote to show displeasure with Washington’s handling of the war on Gaza believes an arms embargo is the only way to show support for Palestinian civilians.

“Being pro-ceasefire must mean committing to not send another bomb dropped on Palestinians in Gaza,” the movement said in a post on X.

This comes after Kamala Harris told pro-Palestinian demonstrators in a rally speech that “now is the time” to achieve a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement amid the latest US push, as the administration prepares to send more funds to Israel to purchase weapons.


MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

Mondoweiss: Toronto ‘charity’ trains students to join the Israeli military

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 10:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 10: at least 40,406* (39,790 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 616 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 10: at least 97,422 (including at least 92,002 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 10: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
Gaza genocide denial
Why the news media’s job is to groom us
‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children
Hundreds of social media influencers attend Israel strategy summit in NYC
Supporting Israel Is Big Business in the U.S. for Israel partisans
Toys, spices, sewing machines: the items Israel banned from entering Gaza
Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli occupation, reactions, and take-aways

https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-has-killed-1-8-of-gazas-population-using-american-weapons-day-308/

Israeli strike on Gaza school kills more than 100 people as they pray – Day 307
[email protected] August 10, 2024 anti-boycott legislation, ben gvir, gaza school bombing, military aid to israel, netzah yehuda, palestinian journalists killed, polio, sexual violence, torture, war crime
Palestinians inspect the destroyed building after an Israeli attack at the Et-Tabiin school where displaced people took shelter in the Ed-Deraj neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Israel drops 6,000 pounds of bombs on Gaza school; US poised to send Israel $3.5 billion, including to extremist battalion; two more journalists killed; waiting for “inevitable” polio outbreak as Israel blocks vaccines; new possible war crime revealed; more displacement; water and sanitation systems in shambles; more on Israeli torture of Palestinian prisoners – as Biden admin shrugs; Israeli alleged rapist calls for support;

yet another anti-boycott bill introduced in Senate;

more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Israeli strike on Gaza school kills more than 100 people

Al Jazeera reports: More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to officials in the enclave.

Three Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school, located in the Daraj district, Gaza’s civil defense agency said of the attack on Saturday, which it described as a “horrific massacre”.

Women, children and the elderly are reported to be among the dead and the toll was expected to rise. The attack took place while people were performing morning prayers and triggered a fire that ripped through the building.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army used three bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907kg) each in its attack.

Without providing evidence, the Israeli military said that it had intelligence indicating there were 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including senior commanders, operating from the school.

Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked schools used as shelters in Gaza, claiming they are command centers for Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the territory, to hide fighters and manufacture weapons.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the civil defense agency, said: “The school area is strewn with dead bodies and body parts. It is very difficult for paramedics to identify a whole dead body. There’s an arm here, a leg there. Bodies are ripped to pieces.”

Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud said among those killed were survivors of attacks in different evacuation centers over the last 10 days.

MIDDLE EAST EYE ADDS: The civil defense said the strikes targeted two floors of the school, with the first striking an area inhabited by displaced women, and the second hitting the ground floor area which was used as a prayer hall.

As rape charges multiply, US to release $3.5 billion in military assistance for Israel

AntiWar reports: The State Department is set to release $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing to Israel. The massive transfer of funds comes as the White House is asking Israel to investigate claims of rape in its detention centers for Palestinians.

CNN reported speaking with multiple officials who confirmed the funds will be released. The money was allocated by Congress in the $95 billion foreign military aid bill that included $61 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.

Foreign Military Financing (FMF) is a State Department program that gives US taxpayer dollars to foreign governments to purchase weapons from American arms dealers. However, Tel Aviv is allowed to use some of the FMF funds on Israeli-made weapons.

As the funds are used to contract with arms deals, the weapons are typically not delivered immediately.

Israel is heavily dependent on the US to arm its military, giving Washington significant leverage over Tel Aviv. Over the ten-month Israeli onslaught in Gaza, the White House has resisted domestic pressure to condition arm sales to Israel.

The release of funds will likely be viewed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a green light for Israel to continue its brutal treatment of the Palestinians.

AL JAZEERA ADDS: The new funds for Israel to spend on US weapons and military supplies come from a supplemental funding bill of $14.5bn that was passed by Congress in April and has been announced as criticism of Israel grows over the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Part of the new military aid will also go to an Israeli army unit, which has been accused of carrying out serious human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and which had faced sanctions amid an investigation by US authorities into its abuses.

RECOMMENDED READING: To continue the Gaza genocide, Israel and the US must destroy the laws of war.

A Palestinian woman, Miada Abu Anza takes shelter with her five children in a UN school in Khan Younis on August 6, 2024 [Doaa Albaz/Anadolu]
A Palestinian woman, Miada Abu Anza takes shelter with her five children in a UN school in Khan Younis on August 6, 2024 [Doaa Albaz/Anadolu] (photo)
US declares controversial Israeli battalion eligible for assistance

Al Jazeera reports: The United States has announced that Netzah Yehuda, a controversial Israeli battalion notorious among Palestinians for repressive activities in the occupied West Bank, is eligible for US military assistance.

The administration of President Joe Biden had considered blocking the battalion from receiving US assistance amid reports of involvement in human rights violations, but Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Friday that such abuses had been “effectively remediated”.

Under federal regulations known as the Leahy Law, the US is required to cut off assistance to military units involved in gross violations of human rights, but critics say that the US has long failed to apply the rule to Israel.

In a column for the legal forum Just Security, Charles Blaha, who directed the office of the State Department tasked with enforcing the Leahy Law from 2016 to 2023, said, “The decision [to fund Netzah Yehuda] strongly suggests that the US position is likely a result, in significant part, of pressure by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

“Months ago, when news broke that the State Department was considering Netzah Yehuda for ineligibility, Netanyahu expressed outrage and vowed to oppose application of the law,” the column reads.

“Against that backdrop, the Secretary’s decision sends a terrible message to Israel and others: that pressure on US officials works, and that Israel is essentially de facto exempt from US law.”

ELSEWHERE: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the US secretary of state has “knowingly violated US law by backtracking” on plans to sanction the Netzah Yehuda battalion over rights abuse allegations.

The Israeli military unit “has clearly committed gross human rights violations using US weapons”, CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement.

“Secretary Blinken’s cowardly, morally reprehensible and blatantly illegal decision confirms what numerous State Department whistleblowers have said: he is disregarding the conclusions of career diplomats, as well as experts on federal and international law,” Mitchell said.

RECOMMENDED READING: Inside Netzah Yehuda Battalion, Israel’s army unit bracing for US sanctions

Israeli soldiers of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion hold morning prayers as they take part in their annual unit training in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, near the Syrian border, May 19, 2014. — MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion hold morning prayers as they take part in their annual unit training in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, near the Syrian border, May 19, 2014. — MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images (photo)
Two more journalists killed in Gaza

Al Jazeera reports: Gaza’s government media office has identified the latest journalist fatalities as:

Tamim Abu Muammar, who worked for Palestine TV.
Abdullah Maher al-Suwaisi, who worked for al-Aqsa news channel.
This brings the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s assault on the besieged enclave to 168, the office said.

“The media office strongly condemns the targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation,” it said in a statement. The number of journalists killed since October 7th is now 168.

Polio outbreak in Gaza ‘inevitable’ and a matter of ‘days or weeks’: Experts

Andalou Agency reports: Warnings of an imminent polio outbreak in Gaza are growing as Israel shows no signs of either ending its deadly assault on the devastated Palestinian enclave or lifting a crippling blockade on essential supplies.

Gaza’s Health Ministry declared the Palestinian territory a “polio epidemic zone” on July 30 after samples of the virus were detected in wastewater, triggering fears of a resurgence of a disease eradicated from the region over 25 years ago.

With millions of displaced Palestinians living in appalling conditions with no healthcare facilities or even basic medical supplies, experts see an outbreak of the viral disease as “inevitable.”

“We’re expecting a polio outbreak in the next number of days or weeks,” Francis Hughes, Gaza Response Director for global humanitarian agency CARE International, told Anadolu.

Polio is a particular threat to children under age 5 and especially infants less than 2 years old. The virus attacks the nervous system, leading to spinal and respiratory paralysis, and can prove fatal.

ELSEWHERE: The Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israel on 7 August of preventing the entry of over a million desperately needed polio vaccines into the Gaza Strip.

“The Gaza Strip needs 1.3 million doses of polio vaccine … Israel is still refusing to allow vaccines into the Strip,” said Musa Abed, Director of Health Care at the ministry.




HRW: Pregnant woman among seven killed in possible Israeli ‘war crime’


Human Rights Watch reports: In its latest report, Human Rights Watch documented an incident on 21 December in which Israeli forces stormed a home in Gaza City, “throwing grenades inside and opening fire on a room where a civilian family was sheltering”.

The organization said the attack killed seven people, including a pregnant woman, and severely injured two, including a five-year-old.

“Witnesses also allege that Israeli forces shot a blind 73-year-old man after securing the building and forcing all other family members out,” the report read.

“The incident should be investigated as a possible war crime, and forces involved should be held accountable.”

Belkis Wille, the associate crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch, said: “There is no excuse for soldiers storming into a home full of civilians and firing without precaution. They decimated a Palestinian family and orphaned a small child who may never be able to walk again.”

Wille added that “this incident highlights the deadly cost of Israeli forces’ failure to safeguard, and in some cases to apparently target civilian lives in Gaza, including children”.

Israel targets shelter schools in systematic forced evacuation of the displaced people of Gaza

Euro-Med Monitor reports: The Israeli army is increasingly targeting schools that provide shelter for the displaced population in Gaza City, killing and wounding hundreds of them in the process. It has also issued orders for the illegal forced evacuation of Gaza from the north to the south, in a systematic effort fueled by revenge to drive residents from their homes and places of displacement and rob them of any stability.

In just eight days, Israeli aircraft attacked nine schools in Gaza City that served as shelters for thousands of displaced people. They destroyed the schools above the heads of the occupants, killing 79 Palestinians and injuring 143 more—mostly women and children—in addition to several other victims who were buried beneath the rubble and could not be retrieved due to the lack of the necessary tools.

(Read the full article here.)

Palestinians mourn after an Israeli attack at the Et-Tabiin school where displaced people took shelter in the Ed-Deraj neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Dawoud Abo Alkas – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians mourn after an Israeli attack at the Et-Tabiin school where displaced people took shelter in the Ed-Deraj neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Dawoud Abo Alkas – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
As many as 70,000 Palestinians displaced from Khan Younis

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 people have been forced to flee the southern Gaza city towards al-Mawasi since Thursday.

“Displacement continues for thousands of families across Gaza,” UNRWA said.

“People in Gaza are exhausted, and they have nowhere to go.”

Aftermath of an Israeli bombing of a tent near the al-Mazra’a School, east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, August 9.
Aftermath of an Israeli bombing of a tent near the al-Mazra’a School, east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, August 9. (screengrab)
Gaza’s water, sanitation, and hygiene systems in shambles, at high risk of flooding

OCHA reports: Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) Cluster partners are ramping up preparedness actions for the winter season, with a particular focus on flood risks, amid severe shortages of essential WASH supplies and widespread damage to WASH infrastructure, including the stormwater drainage system.

Already before the war, approximately 180 locations across Gaza were identified as being at high-risk of flooding and the stormwater drainage network was deemed inadequate.

The situation is estimated to have significantly deteriorated due to extensive damage to wastewater networks, storm drainage and canals, combined with blockages caused by debris and rubbish.

In heavily affected areas such as Khan Younis, where over 80 per cent of infrastructure has been assessed as compromised, there is already significant clogging and flooding, and raw sewage is accumulating in streets and at IDP sites, particularly in areas where there is a high concentration of people such as Al Mawasi.

During the rainy season, this deterioration poses a dual threat of increased flooding and water source contamination, which could lead to serious public health risks, the WASH Cluster warned.

Water in Jabaliya is hard to come by and mixed with sewage. Here, people wait for hours and receive just one gallon of contaminated water.
Water in Jabaliya is hard to come by and mixed with sewage. Here, people wait for hours and receive just one gallon of contaminated water. (screenshot)
Israeli minister Ben-Gvir extends visitor ban for Palestinian prisoners

Al Jazeera reports: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has signed an order banning all visits to Palestinian prisoners for another month, extending a ban that has been in place since Israel launched its war on Gaza.

In a post on social media, Ben-Gvir said: “The damned terrorists deserve the minimum provided by law”.

“This is how I act and this is how I will continue to act,” he wrote.

Palestinian prisoners, thousands of whom are held without charge or trial, have not received visits since October 2023, according to reports, as Ben-Gvir has extended his ban on visits for 10 consecutive months.

Itamar Ben-Gvir was among the demonstrators at Sde Teiman protesting the detention of soldiers for allegedly raping a Palestinian prisoner. He called them the “best heroes” and described their arrests as “shameful”.

NOTE: Israel is currently holding nearly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in inhumane conditions where many are systematically tortured – 250 of them are children, 86 are women, and over 3,400 are administrative detainees – being held without charge or trial. Administrative detention is intended to be used only in “exceptional” circumstances, but Israel uses it widely. Read more here.

Video of sexual abuse at Israeli prison is just latest evidence that Sde Teiman is a torture site

The Intercept reports: As early as the first month of Israel’s war on Gaza, Sde Teiman, a secretive Israeli military prison in the Negev desert, had been raising alarm bells for Israeli human rights attorney Roni Pelli and other rights advocates.

Pelli and her colleagues started to hear reports from whistleblowers about poor conditions for Palestinians imprisoned inside Sde Teiman. They heard of instances of violence committed by soldiers against detained Palestinians, and, in one case, a Palestinian who died there.

Since then, media reports about the prison have mounted. A CNN investigation in May revealed that Palestinian detainees were restrained, beaten, and blindfolded; wounded Palestinians were strapped down onto beds, forced to wear diapers, and fed through straws; and prisoners’ limbs were amputated due to untreated wounds from restraints, and such operations took place without anesthesia.

Later in May, an Intercept investigation found that hundreds of Palestinian doctors have disappeared into Israeli detention. A month later, a separate report from Haaretz revealed the Israel Defense Forces were investigating 48 deaths of Palestinians from Gaza who were in Israeli custody, among them 36 who were detained at Sde Teiman. Israeli media began to refer to the prison as “Israel’s Guantánamo Bay.”

The U.S. State Department only commented on Sde Teiman when pressed by reporters after the release of the CNN report. In May, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the department, said “we’re looking into these and other allegations of abuse against Palestinians in detention.” He added that the U.S. had been “clear and consistent with any country, including Israel, that it must treat all detainees humanely, with dignity, in accordance with international law, and it must respect detainees’ human rights.”

He then claimed the U.S. had asked the Israeli government to investigate the claims itself.

(Read the full article here.)

NOTE: This US State Dept response is typical after allegations are made against Israel: framing the issue as a hypothetical while refusing to acknowledge the facts as presented by multiple human rights organizations – and ignoring the fact that Israel is incapable of investigating its own crimes.

Israel’s self-investigations consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators. Israeli sources, including the government itself, have a long track record of lying (for example, this and this and this.)

A leaked video showing Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza has emerged. (Photo: video grab)
A leaked video showing Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza has emerged. (Photo: video grab) (photo)
Israeli soldier, accused of raping a Palestinian prisoner, reveals his identity

A masked Israeli soldier, accused of participating in the rape of a Palestinian prisoner, revealed his identity in a video, appealing for support from the Israeli public.

Republican senators introduce bill banning boycotts of Israel

Middle East Eye reports: Twelve Republican US senators have introduced the Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors (Chai) Act, which would prohibit federal contracts with entities that boycott Israel.

The lead sponsor, Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, said in a press release that “businesses who boycott Israel only seek to normalise antisemitism”.

His move follows the same bill’s introduction in the House of Representatives in July of last year, sponsored by Republican Representative Claudia Tenney. The Chai bill remains in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, pending a vote.

Risch previously wrote an opinion article in The Washington Times arguing that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) should be disbanded.

In February this year, the House also passed the IGO Anti-Boycott Act, which prohibits US citizens from participating in boycotts organised by any “international governmental organisation” against US allies.

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

Mondoweiss: End Israel’s system of economic apartheid in Palestine

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 9:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 9: at least 40,406* (39,790 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 616 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 9: at least 97,422 (including at least 92,002 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 9: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
Gaza genocide denial
Why the news media’s job is to groom us
‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children
Hundreds of social media influencers attend Israel strategy summit in NYC
Supporting Israel Is Big Business in the U.S. for Israel partisans
Toys, spices, sewing machines: the items Israel banned from entering Gaza
Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli occupation, reactions, and take-aways


https://israelpalestinenews.org/israeli-strike-on-gaza-school-kills-more-than-100-people-as-they-pray-day-307/

As Gazans starve, Israeli rhetoric grows more and more radically anti-Palestinian – Day 306
[email protected] August 9, 2024 AIPAC, ceasefire, Cori Bush, ethnic cleansing, humanitarian aid gaza, kamala harris on palestine, polio in gaza, rape of palestinian prisoners, sanctions, tim walz on palestine, torture of Palestinian prisoners
A Palestinian girl clings to her mother in Gaza City, June 2 [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu] (photo)
In Gaza, airstrikes continue, food rations drop, polio threat grows; in Israel, calls to punish not the rapists, but the one who filmed them, to make rape of Palestinian prisoners official policy, to make Nablus in West Bank “look like Rafah,” to legalize Israeli settlement in Gaza, to end US sanctions on violent settlers; Biden administration ok’s more war after prisoner swap (risking ceasefire deal), condemns not AIPAC’s purchase of congressional candidates, but Cori Bush’s warnings against AIPAC; Kamala Harris indicates no tolerance for pro-Palestinian protesters or their message; Tim Walz’s track record on Palestine is not nearly as moral as Dems painted it; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

At least 15 killed in Israeli bombing of two Gaza schools

The New Arab reports: An Israeli attack on two schools in Gaza City left at least 15 people killed and dozens injured in the Tuffah district of the besieged enclave.

The schools targeted, Abdel Fattah Hamoud and al-Zahraa, were destroyed with many Palestinians still missing and trapped under the rubble, according to local civil defence teams who were still working to pull people out.

Displaced Palestinians were sheltering in the schools, which were reportedly targeted without any prior warning.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli forces stepped up airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing at least five Palestinians in a house in the heart of Gaza City.

Another airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed one person and wounded others, according to medics.

NOTE: Every single day, Gaza’s population endures many airstrikes, tank shells, and snipers’ bullets – too many to report on here. And every day, more Palestinians are lost under the rubble of bombed-out buildings. We acknowledge that these are important stories, even if we are unable to cover them all.

A view of the destruction after an Israeli attack on Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Tuesday [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
A view of the destruction after an Israeli attack on Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Tuesday [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu] (photo)
World Food Program forced to reduce rations in Gaza

Al Jazeera reports: The deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Farhan Haq, explained that the World Food Program has been forced to reduce rations for Palestinians in Gaza because of the continuing war on the enclave.

“WFP urgently needs fuel deliveries, increased flow of blood supplies and greater capacity to deliver hot meals, particularly in Gaza City and north Gaza,” Haq said.

“WFP warns that it will be unable to bring in the quantity of food required this month unless more border crossing points into Gaza open and aid workers are able to bring in half the quantity of food needed in July and in the West Bank.”


Without ceasefire for vaccines, polio could spread throughout region: WHO specialist

Al Jazeera reports: The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a ceasefire in Gaza to administer a mass polio vaccination campaign, including to 600,000 children under the age of eight, after samples of the disease were detected in the enclave’s wastewater.

Hamid Jafari, a polio specialist with the WHO, says that if such a ceasefire is not implemented and if healthcare workers are not granted enough freedom of movement to distribute all the vaccines, the risk of a polio outbreak both within Gaza and regionally is “very high”.

“This can spread very fast internationally and most importantly, it is a direct threat to the children of Gaza,” Jafari told Al Jazeera. “This can start paralysing children very very rapidly.”

He added: “If it [polio] spreads into Israel or the West Bank, it becomes a public health emergency there. Lebanon is at risk. Egypt is at risk. Jordan is at risk. And other countries of the region are at risk.

After Israel destroyed Gaza's water and sewage systems, filthy water runs or stands stagnant all over the enclave, carrying polio and other diseases.
After Israel destroyed Gaza’s water and sewage systems, filthy water runs or stands stagnant all over the enclave, carrying polio and other diseases. (collage)
Friendly Fire: Israeli Man Dies After Being Wounded by Malfunctioning Iron Dome Interceptor

Ha’aretz reports: The Israeli military said a preliminary investigation showed Samara was mistakenly struck by a malfunctioning interceptor rocket that was launched at a drone launched from Lebanon. The investigation showed that the rocket had fallen after failing to explode in the air as designed, it added.

Two others were wounded besides Samara: a woman who was hit by shrapnel from the explosion and a cyclist who was hit by a car during the alarm.

The hospital in the area said 19 people were admitted for treatment, including six soldiers – most of them requesting help for headaches, ringing in the ears and anxiety.

Israel bans imam Ekrima Sabri from Al-Aqsa Mosque for 6 more months

Al Jazeera reports: Israel has extended its ban on Al-Aqsa Mosque’s speaker Ekrima Sabri, restricting his access to the mosque and its courtyards for six more months, his lawyer tells Al Jazeera.

Sabri was detained on August 2 on suspicion of inciting “terrorism” after he mourned assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the mosque.

Sabri, 85, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and current head of its Supreme Islamic Council, called Haniyeh a “martyr” at the mosque in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, his lawyer Hamzeh Qutteineh said at the time.

At the time, he was also banned from entering the mosque until August 8.

Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories walks outside an Israeli police station after being summoned for interrogation, in Jerusalem on January 2, 2023. [Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories walks outside an Israeli police station after being summoned for interrogation, in Jerusalem on January 2, 2023. [Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto via Getty Images] (photo)
Smotrich demands punishment for person who filmed Sde Teiman rape video

Middle East Eye reports: Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for an investigation to find out who took the video that shows Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian in the Sde Teiman detention centre.

In a post on X, he demanded “an immediate criminal investigation to locate the leakers of the trending video that was intended to harm the reservists and that caused tremendous damage to Israel in the world and to exhaust the full severity of the law against them”.

NOTE: On Monday, Smotrich said that letting two million people in Gaza die from hunger is “justified and moral”.

Israeli journalist urges rape to become state policy for Palestinian prisoners

Andalou Agency reports: An Israeli journalist advocated rape Thursday as an official policy by the state for Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails.

“The only thing that is a problem for me here is that it is not a regulated policy of the state to abuse the (Palestinian) detainees,” journalist Yehuda Schlesinger said on a television program on Channel 12 when asked if raping prisoners is acceptable.

He justified his comments by claiming, “Because first of all, they deserve it, and it is great revenge that we need to give them.”

“And secondly, maybe it will also serve us a little more as a deterrent,” he said. “It is just a shame that we don’t do it in an institutionalized way as a part of regulations for torture of prisoners.”

The comments follow reports by media outlets that showed a video of Israeli soldier raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

A leaked video showing Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza has emerged. (Photo: video grab)
A leaked video showing Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza has emerged. (Photo: video grab) (photo)
Israeli lawmaker says ‘Nablus should look like Rafah’

Middle East Eye reports: Israeli member of parliament Zvi Sukkot, a member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, said Israel should act in the occupied West Bank the same way it is acting in the Gaza Strip.

“We still see processions of armed men,” he said. “Maybe we are waiting for them to try to shoot someone? This is a disturbing event, an unacceptable reality. Nablus should look like Rafah as long as it exports terror, Tulkarm like Khan Younis, Jenin like Jabalia.”

Israeli forces have killed at least 620 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.




Israeli lawmakers, settler leaders unite to legalize Gaza settlements: Report

The Cradle reports: Israel’s Channel 12 reported on 8 August that lawmakers from the Likud and Religious Zionism parties have formed a “civilian parliamentary working group” alongside settler leaders that seeks to legitimize the resettlement of Gaza by repealing the 2005 disengagement law.

The working group reportedly expects to present the draft bill at the opening of the next Knesset session.

Approved in 2005, the Gaza Disengagement Law led to the dismantling of the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the strip and four Jewish settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank. For several years preceding the current war, religious Zionist settlers in Israel called for a war to conquer Gaza, reverse the disengagement, and rebuild Gush Katif.


Israeli army responds to announcement of World Central Kitchen of Israel’s killing of staff

The US-based World Central Kitchen aid group had announced the killing of a Palestinian staff member, Nadi Sallout, near Gaza’s Deir el-Balah.

The Times of Israel newspaper reports that the Israeli military said it conducted a preliminary examination and held a conversation with the WCK about the reported killing.

It claimed that “there is no known incident of harm to an employee of the organization while working in the last few days,” adding, “The [army] examines each unusual incident individually.”

In early April, Israel killed seven people working with the United States-based NGO in an attack on the Gaza Strip.

NOTE: Israel’s self-investigations consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators. Israeli sources, including the government itself, have a long track record of lying (for example, this and this and this.)


US To Let Israel Restart Military Operations in Gaza After First Phase of Ceasefire Deal

As Ha’aretz reports ceasefire negotiations are nearly completed, AntiWar reports: The US is ready to guarantee that it would allow Israel to restart the genocidal war in Gaza after the first phase of any hostage and ceasefire deal that might be reached with Hamas, according to Israeli media reports.

The Israeli condition could make Hamas less likely to agree to a deal since one of its main demands has been a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

According to The Times of Israel, a proposal that’s been discussed would involve three phases where Israel would halt its military operations and Hamas would release hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a guarantee that he’ll be able to restart military operations after the first phase, which is when negotiations will be held on implementing the next two phases.

The US has not yet provided a written agreement that it would allow Israel to restart operations but has expressed its approval of the idea. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the US wouldn’t give the guarantee in writing until an agreement is reached with Hamas.


Israel ‘working to block’ sanctions on violent settlers: Netanyahu

Israeli government press release: The Israeli prime minister held a meeting Thursday in Tel Aviv with council heads from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to discuss their concerns about the effects of the Western sanctions imposed on a limited number of violent settlers and organizations.

Regarding the sanctions against the settlers and the organizations, Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that he views this with utmost gravity and said: “We are working to block this. It is an issue for the entire State of Israel, not just Judea and Samaria.”

RECOMMENDED READING: Israel revokes diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys

Netanyahu: Israel should have waged war against Hamas sooner

In an exclusive interview given to the US’s Time Magazine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he made a mistake not launching a full-scale war against the Palestinian group in the years leading up to its October 7 attacks on Israel.

He blamed the Israeli security establishment for its hesitation, and himself for acceding to their reluctance.

“October 7 showed that those who said that Hamas was deterred were wrong,” he said to Time during his interview. “If anything, I didn’t challenge enough the assumption that was common to all the security agencies.”

[In reality, Israel had frequently waged war on Gaza.]




White House denounces Cori Bush’s ‘inflammatory’ words to AIPAC after primary loss

The Hill reports: Asked for President Biden’s thoughts on Bush’s vow to challenge AIPAC, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president condemns that kind of “divisive” and “inflammatory” rhetoric.

Earlier this week, Cori Bush told supporters, “They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side…All they did was radicalize me, so now they need to be afraid,” and, “AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down.”

The White House press secretary said of this comment, “Look, the president has always been very clear — and very recently, after the assassination attempt of the last president — about lowering rhetoric, right? Lowering political rhetoric and the importance of doing that,” Jean-Pierre said Wednesday at the daily press briefing.

“It is important — important that we be very mindful of what we say. This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory and divisive and incredibly unhelpful.”

“We’re going to continue to condemn any type of political rhetoric in that way, in that vein,” she continued. “And so, it is important to be mindful in what we say and how we say it. But we cannot have this type of inflammatory, divisive language in our political discourse.”

NOTE: In what some analysts have called an attack on the democratic process, AIPAC spent over $17 million to topple Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., in June, and around $26 million to defeat Cori Bush. The administration’s position toward Bush’s comment indicates it is more worried about challenges to Israel’s primacy in US politics than the fact that Congressional seats are for sale.



Kamala’s husband, the US Second Gentleman, claims ‘We’re witnessing the worst wave of Jew-hatred since World War II’

Ha’aretz reports: Talking to the media while visiting Paris, U.S. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff said that “There is a ferocious surge of antisemitism occurring around the world, including here in France. It is a crisis.”

We are witnessing the worst wave of Jew-hatred the globe has experienced since World War II,” he added.

According to the second gentleman, “When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity, and when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism.”

NOTE: A large portion of alleged antisemitism is opposition to Zionism, a racist ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. The so-called “demonization” of Israel is in most cases a legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies of occupation, apartheid, and genocide, and other illegal practices.

Activists in Minnesota: ‘Governor Walz has refused to meet Palestinian families’

Middle East Eye reports: It’s been 10 months since Israel’s war on Gaza began, and Governor Tim Walz, the newly appointed vice-presidential nominee on Kamala Harris’ ticket, has yet to meet with Palestinian families from his home state of Minnesota, anti-war activists have told Middle East Eye.

The accusations are in stark contrast to the public image being conjured up by the Democratic Party establishment to present Walz, along with presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, as more sympathetic and empathetic towards the carnage suffered by Palestinians over the past 10 months.

But according to several activists in Minnesota, not only has the governor refused to meet with Palestinian families who have lost relatives in Israel’s war on Gaza, he has barely acknowledged their concerns and and demands.

Sana Wazwaz, spokesperson for the group, said the Palestinian community had been trying for months to arrange a meeting with the governor to talk about the devastating losses in Gaza and their demands for an arms embargo on Israel.

When they did manage to arrange a meeting with the governor for early July, it was abruptly cancelled when they explained to the governor’s staff that they had come to discuss “material solutions” with the governor and not merely to narrate “sob stories” about the loss of their loved ones.

When asked why the meeting had been cancelled, they were told that the governor “was prepared to listen to you tell your stories, but we weren’t prepared to talk about divestment”.

“Walz wanted us for the PR stunt and not for actual, genuine conversation about political change. He just wanted to check it off the list that he met with another marginalized group that he’s been ignoring for months upon months,” Wazwaz explained.

“We have been trying for months to arrange a meeting. Phone calls have been made, but Governor Walz has refused to show up for any of the Palestinian families; has refused to sit down and meet with them, has refused to, you know, visit a single mosque or a single Palestinian institution to check in on our families,” Wazwaz said.

Activists also point out that Walz’s nomination has also garnered praise from liberal pro-Israel lobbying groups in the US. J Street described the Harris-Walz team as “pro-Israel”; Mark Mellman, chair of Democratic Majority for Israel described Walz as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat with a strong record of supporting the US-Israel relationship”.

COUNTERPUNCH ADDS: Harris has offered sympathetic words on Gaza: “The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety – sometimes displaced for a second, third, or fourth time – we cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.”

Eman Abdelhadi of the University of Chicago finds such sentiments from Harris parch dry, arguing that a lack of “an actual commitment to stop killing the children of Gaza” invalidates any claims to empathy. “To be empathetic to someone that you’re shooting in the head is not exactly laudable. We don’t need empathy from these people. We need to stop providing the weapons and the money that is actively killing the people that they’re supposedly empathising with.”

[Also see Glenn Greenwald’s commentary.]


MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

The Intercept: The Outrageous Case of an NY Journalist Charged With a Hate Crime for Recording a Gaza Protest Action

Caitlin Johnson: US Policy: Let Israel Escalate Against Iran, Then Tell Iran Not To Escalate Back

Middle East Monitor: In Gaza, keeping the internet on can cost lives but also save them


STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 8:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 8: at least 40,315* (39,699 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 616 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 8: at least 97,142 (including at least 91,722 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 8: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
“Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
Welcome to Hell
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
Gaza genocide denial
Why the news media’s job is to groom us
‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children
Hundreds of social media influencers attend Israel strategy summit in NYC
Supporting Israel Is Big Business in the U.S. for Israel partisans
Toys, spices, sewing machines: the items Israel banned from entering Gaza
Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli occupation, reactions, and take-aways
Russia attacks hospitals in Ukraine; Israel does the same in Gaza. The US response couldn’t be more different.
‘I have the prison inside me’: The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel
Israel has manufactured an industrial-scale version of Jim Crow rape hoaxes
If Americans Knew Mobile Billboard Truck at Republican Convention
Col. Douglas MacGregor: US is under the control of Israel, likens Gaza to Warsaw Ghetto


https://israelpalestinenews.org/gazans-starve-israeli-rhetoric-more-radically-anti-palestinian-day-306/

History of Israeli War Crimes, “The Killing of Children has been Persistent”: “Surgical Strikes” against Palestinian Children in 2008-2009. Felicity Arbuthnot
The “International Community” Also Lies Buried


It was 15 years ago: Felicity Arbuthnot recalls the massacre of Palestinian children during the December 2008-January 2009 invasion of Gaza.

It did not start in 2023.

The killing of children by Israel has been persistent

Veteran War Correspondent Felicity Arbuthnot in solidarity with the Children of Palestine describes the underlying and evolving criminality as well as the Anglo-American complicity.

***

“Light the fire so I can see my tears, On the night of the massacre …” (Samih al-Qasim, b: 1939.)

It was that “pinpoint accuracy”, “surgical strike” stuff again, there were “unavoidable tragic errors”, “mistakes”, “scrupulous efforts made to avoid” etc., blah. And as Britain’s Colonel Richard Kemp declared of the fourteen hundred dead of the Christmas and New year onslaught on Gaza in 2008-2009: “Mistakes are not war crimes.” (i)

Colonel Kemp, with impeccable ties to British Intelligence Services, spoke to the BBC from Jerusalem in similar sanguine vein on 21st November(ii) of the then latest twenty four hour bombardment of the tiny, walled in Gaza Strip, where over half the population are children. But Colonel Kemp has seen a fair amount of carnage in his time, from Belfast to the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Seemingly after a while the dead and dismembered are just part of the day job.

The eight day blitz killed one hundred and sixty two Palestinians in what were merciless attacks on families with no where to hide. Nine hundred and ninety nine were injured. Eight hundred and sixty five houses are damaged or destroyed.

Six health centres are damaged, thirty schools, two universities, fifteen NGO offices, twenty seven mosques, fourteen media offices, eleven industrial plants, eighty one commercial stores and a UNRWA food distribution Centre.

In addition seven Ministry offices, fourteen police or security stations, five banks, and two youth clubs. The sports complex where the Palestinians athletes and paralympians trained for the 2012 London Olympics is reduced to rubble, as is the beautiful and most necessary Gaza Interior Ministry.

On Universal Children’s Day, 20th November, an air strike destroyed the Oxfam-supported Al Bajan kindergarten school and damaged the Al Housna kindergarten. (iii) Oxfam’s Sara Almer commented that more than one hundred and fifty children attended these kindergartens. “The children are safe, but the places where they learned and played are now in ruins.” This in an area: “where they already suffer a high level of trauma …”

The Oxfam project was as a result of the devastation caused by “Operation Cast Lead” between 27th December 2008-17th January 2009, when they also repaired the now re-fractured water and sanitation facilities.

There is a shortage of two hundred and thirty schools in Gaza, the Agency points out – and a ban on importing construction materials, which means the further thirty two damaged, the two universities and all else may well stay that way.

Ironically, on the day of the nurseries’ destruction, the UN Secretary General announced, that marking Universal Children’s Day, the launch of a major UN initiative: “Education First.” The day commemorates the adoption of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1959 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The 1989 Convention entered in to force on September 2nd 1990, under a month after the UN embargo on Iraq, with even baby milk formula importation denied.

“The child … needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection before as well as after birth” is included in the preamble to a fine document. (iv)

Four year old twins, Suhaib and Muhammed Hijazi will never learn of the “protection” they are entitled to by the United Nations. They were killed when their home was bombed as the dawn of Universal Children’s Day approached. Their parents, Fouad and Amna died in hospital.

Saraya, eighteen months, won’t grow to read the fine words either, she died of a heart attack, literally frightened to death by the bombardment.

As the lights went off in Gaza’s hospitals, and their generator fuel hovered on empty, Gilad Sharon – youngest son of eighty four year old former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who has benefited from Israel’s fine health services and been on life support systems since 2006 – stated: “We need to flatten entire neighbourhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki too.”

Israel’s Interior Minister Eli Yishai stated that the goal of the attacks were to: “ … send Gaza back to the Middle Ages.”
Palestine has no army, navy, air force, no heavy weaponry. Israel is an undeclared nuclear power, regarded as having the fourth strongest military on earth.

Gaza was, of course being bombed by American supplied F-16s and a variety of American weaponry. But as Gaza grieved, America had parades across the land, ate turkey, prayed over their festive dinners on Thanksgiving Day, 22nd November.

Reality would have had them burning, city to city, The UN Declaration and Convention on the Rights of the Child, The UN Declaration on Human Rights, The Geneva Convention, The Nuremberg Principles and making a pyre of all the fine, meaningless words which do not end or mask international lawlessness and inhumanity. A bonfire which might light the lie of the whole murderous hypocrisy of self proclaimed “democratic” nation states.

Notes

i. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kemp
ii. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9771000/9771507.stm
iii. http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m92857&hd=&size=1&l=e
iv. http://un.by/en/hr/doc/child/

Related Articles from our Archives

https://www.globalresearch.ca/israeli-war-crimes-surgical-strikes-against-palestinian-children/5312787

Israel has killed over 600 in West Bank since October 7th – Day 301
[email protected] August 4, 2024 Bram Settenbrino, hamas, home demolition, israeli attack west bank, israeli settlement, josh shapiro, netanyahu lying, neturei karta
One of the latest massacres to take place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. (photo)
Israel rains death and destruction on Gaza and West Bank; UNRWA gradually resumes educational activities; anti-Zionist rabbis attend Haniyeh’s funeral; Israeli-American soldier posted videos of Gaza homes, mosque being detonated; Kamala Harris VP contender Shapiro has ties to Israeli military; US aircraft carrier has eyes on Iran; US official says Biden figured out Netanyahu has been lying to him.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Israeli attack on school in Gaza kills at least 15 people

Al Jazeera reports: At least 15 people have been killed in multiple Israeli air raids on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza on Saturday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said.

Many others were reportedly injured in the attack on the Hamama school in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that at least three bombs were dropped on the school as rescuers and volunteers inside the facility were trying to help people escape from under the rubble from a bomb just a few minutes earlier.

“Those three bombs destroyed the facility completely. This is the tactic that the Israeli military has widely used in the past. The military drops a bomb that partially destroys facilities, namely evacuation centers, killing a number of people, and then within a few minutes, it drops other bombs,” he said.

The Israeli military said the school was being used as a command centre for Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, to hide fighters and manufacture weapons.


Israeli army bombs university in Gaza City, destroying campus buildings


Andalou Agency reports: The Israeli army bombed the University College of Applied Sciences in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of southwest Gaza City, completely destroying campus buildings, the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported on Saturday.

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a press release that “Israeli occupation forces, which have penetrated the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, executed operations of bombing and destroying the university buildings, leading to their total demolition.”

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that massive explosions were heard around the university premises, and thick clouds of smoke were seen rising from the area.

Since the onset of the devastating Israeli war on Gaza on Oct. 7, the Israeli army has deliberately targeted and destroyed educational institutions, particularly during ground offensives.

According to statistics from the Government Media Office in Gaza, Israel has destroyed 117 schools and universities, damaged 332 others, and killed 107 scientists, university professors, and researchers.

West Bank: Israeli Drone Strikes Assassinate Nine Palestinians Near Tulkarem

IMEMC reports: Israeli forces assassinated, on Saturday, nine Palestinian young men in two separate drone strikes in the Tulkarem governorate, in northwestern part of the West Bank.

Media sources said that early Saturday morning, an armed Israeli drone fired two missiles at a vehicle carrying five Palestinian young men on a road northeast of Tulkarem.

According to the director of the Martyr Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarem, reported that five badly burned bodies arrived at the hospital, only one of whom was identified as Haitham Nour al-Din Balidi, 25, from the Tulkarem refugee camp.

Meanwhile, at dawn on Saturday, occupation forces invaded the city of Tulkarem, accompanied by four military bulldozers, which proceeded to raze streets and infrastructure in the city, while reconnaissance drones flew overhead.

Bulldozers destroyed streets and privately-owned property in the eastern part of the city and razed streets and infrastructure inside the Tulkarem camp, amid heavy gunfire.

The army reportedly opened fire with tear gas canisters towards a group of journalists near the Tulkarem camp, causing at least three of them to sustain inhalation injuries.

Furthermore, on Saturday afternoon, a second Israeli drone strike killed four more Palestinian citizens while they were present on lands located between the towns of Iktaba and Bal’a, northeast of the city.

Media sources said that an armed Israeli drone fired a missile at a group of citizens, killing four young men.

Sources added that a large army force surrounded the site, prevented ambulance crews from reaching the slain men, before confiscating the bodies.

AL JAZEERA ADDS: Israel is averaging 40 raids per day in the occupied West Bank, a massive increase since the war started.

West Bank: contrary to Int’l Court ruling, Israel demolished Palestinian structures, approved settlement plans in July

Andalou Agency reports: The Israeli army demolished 135 homes and other facilities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in July alone, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Committee reported on Saturday.

According to the committee’s monthly report, “Israeli authorities carried out 98 demolition activities in July, affecting 135 structures, including 62 inhabited homes, 14 uninhabited homes, and 12 agricultural facilities.”

The report also noted that the Israeli army issued demolition notices for 16 homes and other structures in several West Bank provinces.

Regarding illegal Israeli settler attacks, the report said “Illegal settlers carried out 196 assaults ranging from land seizures and expansion activities to extrajudicial executions, vandalism, land leveling, tree uprooting, property seizures, roadblocks, and the burning of homes and vehicles.”

The report stated: “Israeli authorities reviewed 54 illegal settlement plans for the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem in July, approving 20, including one in Jerusalem and 19 in West Bank settlements.”

Additionally, 33 plans were submitted for future approval, with one in Jerusalem and 32 in West Bank provinces.

According to the report, Israeli authorities also “legalized three new settlement outposts, adding to the 11 outposts already in the process of legalization since the beginning of the year.”

Settlement outposts are small communities established by illegal Israeli settlers on privately owned Palestinian land without approval from the Israeli government.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

UN agency gradually resuming educational activities in Gaza amid Israeli offensive


Andalou Agency reports: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced on Saturday that it began a gradual resumption of educational activities in some shelters in the central and southern Gaza Strip this week.

In an interview with Anadolu, UNRWA Media Director Inas Hamdan explained that the resumed activities are part of a longer-term plan, focusing initially on sports, arts, drama, and games.

She added that these activities will also include psychosocial support for students in various shelters, tailored to the prevailing conditions.

Hamdan stressed that while this step aims to help children affected by the ongoing war regain a semblance of normalcy, it is still too early to discuss a comprehensive educational plan due to the continuing war and multiple challenges.

The UNRWA reported earlier this week that 85% of its schools in Gaza, or 477 out of 564 buildings, have been either directly damaged or require significant repairs to become operational again.

RECOMMENDED READING: ‘Suffering horrifically’: 10 months of Israel’s ‘war on children’ in Gaza

Anti-Zionist rabbis attend Haniyeh’s funeral in Doha

Andalou Agency reports: Rabbis from the anti-Zionist Jewish movement “Neturei Karta” attended the funeral of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Qatari capital Doha.

Neturei Karta announced on its Facebook page that “anti-Zionist Jewish Rabbis arrived in Qatar to participate in the funeral procession of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.”

A viral video from Haniyeh’s funeral showed these rabbis holding signs reading “Jews are not Zionists.”

This movement is made up of Orthodox Jews who say Zionism is an ideology that does not represent Judaism.

“This latest crime was committed amidst the ten-month-long genocide launched on the besieged Gaza, with tens of thousands killed in the brutal aggressive war, leading to a humanitarian disaster within the territory under siege,” the movement said.

Neturei Karta revealed that its rabbis had met with Haniyeh during a “historic humanitarian visit” to Gaza in 2009, where they “emphasized the authentic Jewish opposition to Zionism and the hope to live peacefully as we did historically.”

The rabbinic delegation had assured Haniyeh that “according to the Jewish religion, Jews are forbidden to have their own sovereign state and are forbidden to kill, steal, or fight any nation.”

They informed Haniyeh that “authentic Jews stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people until total liberation” and pointed out that “the State of Israel does not represent the Jewish people, and the nationalistic movement does not represent Judaism, which is a holy religion.”

Hamas says it has started process of choosing new leader

Al Jazeera reports: Hamas has issued a statement saying it has initiated a broad consultation process to select a new leader of its movement following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

Haniyeh headed the group’s political bureau. His deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut in January, would have been the automatic replacement.

Several top Hamas officials could replace Haniyeh once the group’s Shura council, the main consultative body, meets.

NYT ‘completely fabricated’ report saying Haniyeh killed by remote bomb: Hamas

The Cradle reports: Speaking to The Cradle, Hamas representative in Iran Khaled Kaddoumi called “ridiculous” and “completely fabricated” a recent New York Times (NYT) report claiming to reveal how Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran this week.

The NYT report from 1 August claimed Haniyeh was killed by an explosive device planted in his room in a guest house controlled by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). The bomb was planted two months ago and detonated remotely by Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, NYT report claimed.

Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital, Tehran, for the inauguration of newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian.

In contrast, Kaddoumi stated that Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed by explosives dropped from the air.

“I was there, and the wall and ceiling of the place where he was were collapsed. It is clear from the appearance of the place after the attack, and from the body of the martyr leader Ismail Haniyeh, that the targeting was carried out by an air-dropped projectile,” Kaddoumi told The Cradle.

He noted further, “There are ongoing investigations, and technicians who inspected the crime scene will issue detailed reports on what happened.”



Israeli-American soldier posted videos showing detonation of Gaza homes and mosque

The Guardian reports: An American-Israeli man deployed in Gaza with a combat engineering unit of Israel’s armed forces posted videos online that show indiscriminate fire at a destroyed building and the detonation of homes and a mosque.

One video posted by the man, Bram Settenbrino, and filmed from the shooter’s viewpoint, shows dozens of rounds being fired into the ruins of a building. Another video shows what appears to be an armored vehicle’s fire-control system trained on a mosque before it is razed to the ground. Others depict the detonation of several homes as soldiers cheer.

It is not clear whether Settenbrino personally filmed the videos or was involved in the acts depicted in them, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Settenbrino did not dispute the videos’ authenticity. The videos recently went viral on X, drawing accusations that they showed “war crimes”. Settenbrino wrote in a message to the Guardian that the videos were “taken out of context” but declined to elaborate. “I have not committed any war crimes whatsoever,” he added.

After the Guardian reached out to Settenbrino and his family, his father published a response attributed to his son through Arutz Sheva, a news site associated with the settler right. “The machine gun fire video in question was suppressive fire in an area cleared of civilians after my team was attacked by Hamas terrorists from that area. The mosque that was blown up was being used to house armed terrorists and weapons stockpiles and used as a base to attack IDF soldiers.”

The soldier’s father said his son had “sent a congratulatory video dedicating a detonation to honor a friend’s new marriage”, and that the family business had received threats since the videos began circulating.

Israeli soldiers have shared scores of videos during the 10-month war showing themselves mocking Palestinians in Gaza and destroying Palestinian property. Some have been used as evidence in the genocide case against Israel at the international court of justice (ICJ).

With thousands of Americans serving in the IDF, potential misconduct documented by soldiers themselves raises uncomfortable questions for US officials about their willingness to enforce federal law against citizens acting in an overseas war the US government funds and supports.

The extensive destruction of property, when “not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” is a violation of international law regulating conflict and a war crime under US law.


Kamala Harris VP contender Josh Shapiro downplays Israeli military volunteer experience

Times of Israel reports: Pennsylvania Governor and potential Democratic vice presidential nominee Josh Shapiro on Friday sought to distance himself from a recently uncovered op-ed he wrote in college, in which he identified as a former volunteer in the IDF and argued that the Palestinians are too “battle-minded” to pursue peace with Israel.

“While he was in high school, Josh Shapiro was required to do a service project, which he and several classmates completed through a program that took them to a kibbutz in Israel where he worked on a farm and at a fishery,” Shapiro’s spokesperson Manuel Bonder told The Times of Israel.

“The program also included volunteering on service projects on an Israeli army base. At no time was he engaged in any military activities,” Bonder added in a statement responding to an inquiry regarding the nature of his volunteer work.

While Shapiro’s Jewish roots are well established — including his enrollment at the Akiba Hebrew Academy in Philadelphia — the op-ed from his time at the University of Rochester appeared to be the first revelation of such direct ties to the IDF.

“Palestinians will not coexist peacefully,” Shapiro also wrote in a 1993 op-ed titled “Peace Not Possible.”

“They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own,” added the then-20-year-old student.

Salon reports that Shapiro’s support for Israel has continued in recent times:

“On the contentious issue of Israel’s relentless war against civilians in Gaza, Shapiro sounds much less bothered by the lethal violence than by U.S. activists for Palestinian lives, many of whom he has demonized.”

“In 2021, after Ben & Jerry’s (a company founded and led by Jewish Americans) refused to sell its products in Israel’s illegal settlements, Shapiro, who was then Pennsylvania’s attorney general, threatened the company by urging state agencies to enforce a constitutionally suspect law targeting advocates of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, against Israel over its discriminatory policies.

Shapiro smeared such advocates by claiming that “BDS is rooted in antisemitism” – although the effort has wide support globally, including from many Jews, as a thoroughly nonviolent tactic aimed at advancing Palestinian rights.”

After the Oct. 7 attack, critics objected Gov. Shapiro’s one-sided comments: “Not only did you fail to recognize the structural root causes of the conflict,” they argued, “you chose to intentionally ignore the civilian loss of life in Gaza.”

After Democratic governors in other states had called for a ceasefire in Gaza, Shapiro refused to do so.

On May 9, Shapiro invoked student “safety” in demanding the encampment be shut down. Police arrested 33 people. In two different interviews, Shapiro seemed to compare campus ceasefire activists, many of whom are Jewish or students of color, to “white supremacists”…



US aircraft carrier arrives in the Strait of Hormuz: Report

Al Jazeera reports: Israeli Army Radio reports that the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt has arrived in the Strait of Hormuz, just 10km (6.2 miles) from the coast of Iran, amid fears of Iranian retaliation for the killings of Hamas’s political leader in Tehran and a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the Middle East and areas under the United States European Command, as well as a new fighter squadron to the Middle East.

In April, the US, UK, France and Jordan helped shoot down missiles and drones fired by Iran at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Friday that “the Department of Defense continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran’s partners and proxies”.

U.S. Official: Biden Realized Netanyahu Lied to Him About Hostage Deal

Ha’aretz reports: A senior official in the Biden administration told Haaretz on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ungrateful toward the United States and disregards the significant amount of aid it has provided to Israel throughout the past 10 months of war.

The official also said that the last two conversations between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu – one during a meeting at the White House some 10 days ago, the other over the phone last week – were difficult and tense.

“Biden realized that Netanyahu was lying to him about the hostages,” the official told Haaretz. “He’s not saying it publicly yet, but in the meeting between them, he specifically told him, ‘Stop bullshitting me.'”

“Netanyahu is trying to prolong the war instead of focusing on how to get to a hostage deal,” the official said. “It’s making it harder for us to continue supporting Israel over time.”

Netanyahu responded to the reports Saturday night about the tense conversations between him and Biden through a press release attributed to the Prime Minister’s Office that read, “The prime minister does not interfere in American politics and will work with whoever is elected president, just as he also expects the Americans not to interfere in Israeli politics.”

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.


STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 3:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 3: at least 40,186* (39,583 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 603 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 3: at least 96,818 (including at least 91,398 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 3: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
Gaza genocide denial
Why the news media’s job is to groom us
‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children
Hundreds of social media influencers attend Israel strategy summit in NYC
Supporting Israel Is Big Business in the U.S. for Israel partisans
Toys, spices, sewing machines: the items Israel banned from entering Gaza
Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli occupation, reactions, and take-aways
Russia attacks hospitals in Ukraine; Israel does the same in Gaza. The US response couldn’t be more different.
‘I have the prison inside me’: The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel
Israel has manufactured an industrial-scale version of Jim Crow rape hoaxes
If Americans Knew Mobile Billboard Truck at Republican Convention
Col. Douglas MacGregor: US is under the control of Israel, likens Gaza to Warsaw Ghetto

https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-killed-over-600-west-bank-since-october-7th-day-301/

https://donshafi911iamthefaceoftruth.blogspot.com/2024/08/israel-has-killed-over-600-in-west-bank.html

Biden and US are at Bibi’s beck and call – Day 300
[email protected] August 3, 2024 AIPAC, archbishop of canterbury, humanitarian aid, Rashida Tlaib, sheikh ekrima sabri, US military in the Middle East
Palestinians in Jabalia Refugee Camp wait in line to receive food distributed by charitable organizations in Jabalia, Gaza on August 1, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Israel continues to confound aid delivery; unbelievable amount of debris covers Gaza; 85-year-old Al Aqsa mosque preacher detained for mourning Ismail Haniyeh’s killing; several Hamas officials killed; Biden tells Bibi, “don’t count on Washington in an escalation– then sends a dozen warships to the Middle East; Archbishop of Canterbury calls for all to respect ICJ’s occupation ruling; Rashida Tlaib: hero; AIPAC calls on US to support rogue Israeli state; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Gaza aid is “significantly hindered” by Israeli restrictions, unsafe conditions: UN

OCHA reports: The UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Israeli restrictions, the closure of the Rafah border crossing, continued fighting, and damaged and risky roads are preventing life-saving aid from getting to Gaza.

OCHA’s latest Gaza report says the Israeli military continues to impose restrictions on the entry of certain humanitarian supplies, including recreational and psychosocial support kits for children.

“Between 1 and 29 July, an average of 77 truckloads of aid supplies entered Gaza daily, representing a decline of about 42 per cent compared with the daily average of 132 trucks between January and April 2024,” the OCHA says.

NOTE: Before the war, about 500 truckloads of aid entered Gaza every day.

“In July, out of 157 humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 67 missions were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, 42 were impeded, 30 were denied, and 18 were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons.”

Out of 386 aid mission requests to reach areas south of Wadi Gaza that require coordination, 250 missions were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, 46 were impeded, 53 were denied and 37 were cancelled, according to OCHA.

UN says debris in Gaza amounts to 41.95 million metric tonnes

UNITAR reports: The UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) has said that the total debris in the Gaza Strip generated by the war amounts to approximately 41.95 million metric tonnes.

The figure is up 83 percent from the nearly 23 million tonnes estimated on January 7.

The Israeli war has resulted in 14 times more debris than the combined total from all previous conflicts in the Palestinian territory since 2008, UNOSAT said.

The agency estimated that 114 kilogrammes (250 pounds) of debris were generated for each square metre in the Gaza Strip.

A view of the destruction after buildings turn into piles of rubble due to intense Israeli attacks in Gaza City [File: Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu Agency]
A view of the destruction after buildings turn into piles of rubble due to intense Israeli attacks in Gaza City [File: Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Israeli police arrest Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher for mourning Haniyeh

Middle East Monitor reports: Israeli police, on Friday, reportedly arrested Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, for mourning slain Hamas Political Bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh.

Haniyeh was assassinated on Wednesday in Tehran, Iran’s capital. While Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for the killing, Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied its responsibility.

One of Sabri’s relatives said that the Israeli police officers stormed into his home in the Occupied East Jerusalem and arrested him.

Following the Friday prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sabri led a funeral prayer in absentia for Haniyeh.

“The people of Jerusalem and the environs of Jerusalem from the pulpit of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque mourn the martyr Ismail Haniyeh,” he said during his sermon.

Following the sermon, the Israeli police said they were probing whether the statement constituted “incitement” and that they would act accordingly.

The 85-year-old preacher was detained multiple times by the Israeli forces in the past and was banned from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied East Jerusalem for several months.

Sabri is a staunch critic of the decades-long Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories. He had previously held the position of Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories from 1994 to 2006.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had boasted earlier about Sabri’s detention.

“My policy towards instigators is clear – zero tolerance,” Ben-Gvir said in a social media post.

UPDATE: Lawyer Khalid Zabarqa was quoted as telling al-Jazeera that Israeli police had decided to release Al-Aqsa Mosque imam, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, after interrogation.

Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories walks outside an Israeli police station after being summoned for interrogation, in Jerusalem on January 2, 2023. [Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories walks outside an Israeli police station after being summoned for interrogation, in Jerusalem on January 2, 2023. [Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto via Getty Images] (photo)
Two senior Hamas officials, three from military wing killed in Israeli strikes last week: Report

Middle East Eye reports: The Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted two Hamas sources as saying that two senior officials of the group’s political bureau, along with another three military wing members, were killed in an Israeli air strike while in a tunnel in Gaza last week.

The Saudi newspaper named the two senior officials as Rawhi Mushtaha and Samah al-Sarrag, and the other three military members as Abdel Hadi Seyam, Samy Awdah, and Mohamed Hadid.

The report says Mushtaha is a close associate of the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

According to the report, the strike hit southwest of Gaza City and targeted an area located above a tunnel where the five Hamas members were said to be residing.

It said the tunnel had already been damaged at the start of the war on Gaza.

The five Hamas members were buried on Thursday, according to Hamas sources cited in Asharq Al-Awsat.

MEE has not been able to independently verify the report.

West Bank: Paramedic succumbs to wounds from Israeli army gunfire in Balata camp

WAFA reports: A Palestinian paramedic Friday evening succumbed to his wounds sustained from Israeli army gunfire in the Balata refugee camp, according to the Health Ministry.

The Ministry announced that Jalal Mohammad Saqr died of the critical wounds he had sustained after being shot by Israeli occupation forces almost a week earlier in the refugee camp.

Saqr, 21, a volunteer paramedic with PRCS, had sustained wounds while evacuating casualties in an Israeli drone airstrike on a house in the camp last Saturday, which resulted in killing two people and injuring over 20 others.

Abbas faces backlash for skipping Haniyeh’s funeral after attending Peres’s


Middle East Monitor reports: A number of activists expressed their objections in the media on Friday to the absence of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from the funeral of the elected Palestinian Prime Minister and head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The activists criticized Abbas’s absence from Haniyeh’s funeral after he attended the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres. However, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abbas sent Deputy Chair of the Fatah Movement Mahmoud Al-Aloul and Secretary of the Central Committee of the movement Jibril Rajoub to Doha to participate in the funeral.

U.S. forces move toward Israel as Iran threatens to attack

Washington Post reports: The U.S. military is repositioning assets and moving additional forces into the Middle East and Europe to defend against a potential attack on Israel by Iran, U.S. officials said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of additional Navy destroyers and cruisers, both with offensive and defensive ballistic missile capabilities, as the Pentagon also takes steps to beef up land-based missile defense, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday evening.

An additional squadron of fighter jets also will be deployed to the Middle East to reinforce defensive air support, she said.

They will be added to the “broad range of capabilities the U.S. military maintains in the region.”

The moves come after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate after the killing this week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and a senior Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr.

Israel has not claimed responsibility, but U.S. officials privately acknowledge it was behind the killing. Washington was not apprised of the operation beforehand and had no role in it, officials have said.

Shukr was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut suburb.

The events have brought the region closer to full-blown conflict than perhaps at any point since the Gaza war began 10 months ago.

Biden tells Netanyahu “not to count on Washington” in case of regional escalation: Axios

Middle East Eye reports: US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to rely on Washington’s support in case a regional escalation occurred, Axios has reported, citing unnamed US officials.

In a “tough” phone call, the US president said his country would only help Israel against an expected Iranian attack, following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, but there should be no more escalation from Israel and progress towards a Gaza ceasefire.

However, the White House has issued an official statement stating that Biden has “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis”.

The Axios story also cited three anonymous Israeli officials as saying there was tension during Biden’s meeting with Netanyahu in the Oval Office last week, in which Biden “raised his voice and said he wants a deal reached within a week to two weeks”.

Archbishop of Canterbury urges respect for ICJ ruling against Israeli occupation

Reuters reports: The Church of England’s spiritual head has urged governments to respect the findings of the United Nations top court that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal, saying the law should be upheld across the board, not in a “selective manner”.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in an advisory opinion last month that the occupation should be withdrawn as soon as possible.

Justin Welby – who also heads the worldwide Anglican Communion – said in a statement the ICJ opinion had made it clear the occupation is “unlawful” and must end.

“At a time when the world is marked by increasing violations of international law … it is imperative governments around the world reaffirm their unwavering commitment to all decisions by the ICJ, irrespective of the situation,” Welby said.

He added that it was clear to him from many visits in recent decades the “system of military rule” imposed by successive Israeli governments in occupied Palestinian territory was one of “systemic discrimination”.

Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport’s website is down, Israeli media says

Middle East Eye reports: Israel’s Channel 12 has reported that the website of Israeli Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is down because of immense pressure from travellers, amid the current tensions and cancellation of several countries’ airline flights to Israel.

Several airlines have suspended their flights from and to Israel due to the ongoing tensions in the region

Rashida Tlaib: A Profile in Courage

Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union and “proud Jewish-American,” writes in Common Dreams: During the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famously said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

While she may have been a lone protest voice during Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress last week, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) did what is right.

Most mainstream news reporting either ridiculed her or only briefly mentioned her silent protest displaying a sign with “War Criminal” printed on one side and “Guilty of Genocide” on the other. Missing was any analysis as to whether she was right.

While Rashida Tlaib, the one Palestinian-American in Congress, courageously protested inside the Capitol, thousands of us, including this union leader and proud Jewish-American, were peaceably demonstrating outside demanding a cease-fire, condemning Netanyahu’s crimes against humanity, and the U.S. government for continuing to send armaments to Israel.

I am proud that my union, which deplored the Hamas actions of October 7 and condemned Israel’s barbaric response, called for the release of all hostages and advocates for a permanent cease-fire and for massive humanitarian aid. Recently, our union took further action by a vote at our national convention to demand that our government halt military aid to Israel and joined six other unions, representing over 6 million U.S. unionized workers, calling on President Biden to implement an arms embargo. As the largest arms supplier to Israel, the Biden-led U.S government should use its leverage to stop the carnage.

We are outraged that the taxes of workers are being used to kill, maim, and slaughter innocent people.

AIPAC says US must ‘stand with Israel’ against Iran

Al Jazeera reports: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has suggested that Washington and its allies should support Israel in retaliating against a possible Iranian response to the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran.

“As Iran plans an attack that could cause mass destruction in Israel and spark a regional war, America and our allies must work together to deter Iran by demonstrating that we will stand with Israel as it responds to any strikes by the Iranian regime and its proxies,” the pro-Israel lobby group said in a message to supporters.

AIPAC has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent US elections to help defeat candidates critical of Israel.

RECOMMENDED READING ABOUT AIPAC:



The Guardian: AFP must investigate Israel’s killing of Zomi Frankcom after quest for truth and justice goes nowhere

Al Jazeera: Thousands mourn Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at funeral prayer

Al Jazeera: Gaza and the death of Western journalism



STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 2:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 2: at least 40,071* (39,550 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 591 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 2: at least 96,548 (including at least 91,280 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 2: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
Searching for Gaza’s missing children
What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
Gaza genocide denial
Why the news media’s job is to groom us
‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children
Hundreds of social media influencers attend Israel strategy summit in NYC
Supporting Israel Is Big Business in the U.S. for Israel partisans
Toys, spices, sewing machines: the items Israel banned from entering Gaza
Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli occupation, reactions, and take-aways
Russia attacks hospitals in Ukraine; Israel does the same in Gaza. The US response couldn’t be more different.
‘I have the prison inside me’: The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel
Israel has manufactured an industrial-scale version of Jim Crow rape hoaxes
If Americans Knew Mobile Billboard Truck at Republican Convention
Col. Douglas MacGregor: US is under the control of Israel, likens Gaza to Warsaw Ghetto


https://israelpalestinenews.org/biden-and-us-are-at-bibis-beck-and-call-day-300/


https://donshafi911iamthefaceoftruth.blogspot.com/2024/08/biden-and-us-are-at-bibis-beck-and-call.html

PARIS 2024: First Olympic Games in Honor of a GENOCIDE
Fabio G. C. CarisioJuly 27, 2024

VT Condemns the ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS by USA/Israel

$ 280 BILLION US TAXPAYER DOLLARS INVESTED since 1948 in US/Israeli Ethnic Cleansing and Occupation Operation; $ 150B direct "aid" and $ 130B in "Offense" contracts
Source: Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C. and US Department of State.

By Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio

VERSIONE IN ITALIANO

Paris 2024 will go down in history for the few who will survive the new pandemics and Bill Gates’ new graphene vaccines as the first Olympics in honor of the Genocide.

In fact, if you are a NATO ally, you have the right to massacre soldiers and civilians everywhere (Palestine, Donbass, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, etc.).

If, on the other hand, you are an enemy and, having patiently tolerated 8 years of massacres, you intervene militarily in Ukraine after a bloody coup financed by the embassies of the Atlantic Alliance and George Soros, prepared by the Anglo-American intelligence and culminating in a civil war capable of mercilessly killing even journalists like the Italian Andy Rocchelli and exterminating the pro-Russian population, you are considered a reprobate country, unworthy of participating in the Olympic Games that should be a symbol of peace and brotherhood.

New COVID WAVE “PLANNED”? BioNTech is Expecting Pandemic-Level Vaccine Sales in Autumn…

If you are also the last bastion of an authentic traditional Christianity, you also have the aggravating circumstance of not being aligned with Neo-Paganism, which, just like the Roman Emperors who persecuted the followers of Jesus Christ, uses “panem et circenses” to distract the Ox People, fat in physical pleasures and now crass in spiritual and mental ones.

In all likelihood, the new planned pandemic will arrive to awaken the consciences of those who only think of their own little garden, without wanting to look beyond the hedge: where there is no longer the Leopardian infinity but an ocean of blood that cries out for vengeance with the mangled bodies of the children of Gaza.

Paris 2024 Olympics begin as Sports world reeling from LOSS of 400 PALESTIAN ATHLETES in Gaza Extermination

Seine Forbidden to Russian Athletes, Even if Neutral

The iconic Masonic and anti-Christian pyramid of the Louvre Museum will welcome 500 authorities from all over the world who will come to sing the paean of the New World Order, bowing before the ineluctable logic of all-out war to please their masters and partners in the Weapons Lobby

NATO’s COUP IN UKRAINE: THE GENESIS – 4. Putin: “Plan vs Russia since 2008”. After Kiev Security Forum on Gas & Virus Warfares

The Russian and Belarusian athletes admitted under a neutral flag to the next Paris Olympics will not be able to participate in the traditional parade during the opening ceremony on July 26 (and in the Paralympic Games on August 28). The ceremony will take place outdoors along the Seine and the parade of thousands of athletes will take place by boat up to the Eiffel Tower. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday in Lausanne has reserved the right to decide whether the Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to attend the closing ceremony on August 11.

Due to the war in Ukraine they will be grouped into the Neutral Individual Athletes (AIN), without distinction of origin, without flag and without the possibility of participating in any team competition, understood as team sports (e.g. volleyball, handball, water polo but not doubles in tennis). Between injuries, forfeits and declined invitations the AIN count is 32 athletes.

Attack Warning for Israeli Athletes

The 88 Israeli athletes attending the Paris Games are subject to 24-hour protection by French security services and are also being monitored by Shin Bet officials, due to threats they face because of the war in Gaza.

Among them is the flag bearer of the Israeli contingent at the Paris Olympics, Peter Paltchik, an Israeli judoka of Ukrainian origin who competes in the under 100 kg weight category.

Paris 2024: Israeli Flagbearer (Ukrainian born) signed Bombs aimed to Palestinians Kids. Athletes’ ‘Solidarity’ with Gaza in Olympics opening

Social media users have pointed out that Paltchik, a former European champion, was one of those who signed the explosive devices intended for Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli diplomacy chief Israel Katz has warned France of the risk of terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation by terrorists linked to Iran. A letter to French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournè, cited by the Times of Israel, fears a possible “Iran-backed plot to attack the Israeli delegation at the Paris Olympics” by those “seeking to undermine the celebratory character of this joyous event.”

Update – INTEL DROP by CIA ex Agent: Hamas-Israel Fighting, likelihood “False Flag” to Wipe Gaza Off the Map. Warnings by Egypt Ignored

It would not be surprising if, as on October 7, 2023, Israeli intelligence could KNOWINGLY IGNORE the most detailed threats as it then ignored, not to say hid, the warnings of the imminent attack by Hamas launched by Egyptian 007 a few days earlier, so much so that it was the subject of a lawsuit by 42 survivors of the tragedy who escaped kidnapping and killing (aggravated by the shooting of the hostages by military helicopters of the Israeli Defense Forces).

This is detailed history. It is not fiction.

NEO-NAZIST DRIFT OF NATO’s WAR IN UKRAINE. US Bet on Arming Azov Battalion. Bojo praises the Fierce Fighters as “Heroes”

Just as it is not fiction that after having signed a truce with the Minsk agreements, the Kiev Army of President Volodymyr Zelensky (considered by former US Navy intelligence Scott Ritter to be a 007 of London’s MI6 with much less class than the legendary James Bond…), repeatedly violated it until February 20 when Russian President Vladimir Putin lost patience.

The obstinacy towards war of the new king of Kiev, as a NATO hitman, was such that a few weeks after the start of the Russian special military operation for the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine (from weapons and neo-Nazi extremists financed by the USA and the United Kingdom), he had one of the members of the Ukrainian delegation for the peace negotiations killed in cold blood, in the street, with a shot to the back of the head.

SBU kills member of Ukrainian Delegation at talks with Russia Kyreyev on Suspicion of Treason

Kill one to educate a hundred, thought Zelensky.

At the Louvre the Zionist Regime’s Accomplices of the Gaza Genocide

The strategy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is completely different: to kill a single Hamas terrorist, he is willing to kill a hundred children in a school of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

The USA, like Italy, scold him for his somewhat bloodthirsty and brutal ways, but in the meantime they continue to supply him with weapons to perpetrate a genocide functional to the Depopulation of the Gaza Strip, which aims at the energy resources of the Marine Gaza gas sea-field, just as Hunter Biden, son of the American president Joseph, aimed at the riches of the subsoil of pro-Russian Donbass by entering the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and the enormous plot of the American counter-espionage of the CIA.

ANOTHER ZIONIST MASSACRE IN GAZA STRIP. Thanks NATO support

Among those who will speculate on the gas that Israel will wrest from the joint venture of Palestinian entrepreneurs and Christians who had acquired the legitimate rights there will also be Italy. And Hamas will rejoice, as it is trying to create a Palestinian common front after the UN International Court of Justice declared the occupations illegal with a ruling that is not worth a rotten apple (like the UN resolution years ago that forced Israel to release the Golan Heights) but serves as a fig leaf for a diplomacy that now sees its shameful impotence before the eyes of the entire world.

“NATO’s LIES ON MEDITERRANEAN WARS FOR GAS”. Exclusive Interview to Former Interpol EU Officer

In this climate of usurpations, mystifications, abuses and genocides exuded from mass graves such as Khan Yunis, where old people and children were tied up, beheaded or buried alive after the removal of human organs for the thriving black market, 500 politicians without brains, souls and hearts will celebrate today at the Louvre with the gala dinner after the inaugural ceremony on the Seine.

Bombshell! 9/11, PLANDEMIC & MOSCOW MASSACRE. Black Man of CIA Intrigues alongside Biden jr in Ukrainian Company Accused of Financing Crocus’ Terrorists

Honor to the Russian athletes who will be deprived of the possibility of participating in the very parade that will pay full honor to legalized genocides, NATO’s new weapon against rebellious peoples.

“Call me a conspiracy theorist, these people, they don’t have much conscience if they tolerate genocide in Gaza, if they tolerate half a million Ukrainian youths being killed for their whims.”

This is what Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, said, hypothesizing the risk of a further attack on Donald Trump who, for now, at least in words, says he wants to stop the wars that only the US can stop.

Gaza, Donbass, Syria: GENOCIDES of the Zionist, Nazi, Jihadist Regimes is US-NATO’s “New” Geopolitical WEAPON

We don’t believe much in Trump’s wishes for peace for the lethal actions perpetrated when he was in the White House in Syria, Venezuela and Iraq. We believe McGoverner. Because in front of the accomplices of the Israeli Zionist regime – a historic pseudo-religious offshoot of the Western Rothschild Freemasonry –the life of every man, woman and child has no value whatsoever in front of the geopolitical chessboard of the New World Order drawn by George Soros and Bill Gates.

Because as poor servants of power and vile money they have already died in their death together with their sacrosanct Christian and human dignity.

Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio
© COPYRIGHT GOSPA NEWS
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Inside Khan Younis Mass Grave Bodies Beheaded and with Signs of Organ Removed. For the Israeli awful Black Market

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Italian and Russian Reporters MURDERED in Donbass: No One Guilty! Acquitted NGU’s Warrior who Fought alongside neo-Nazis & ISIS FTFs

Fabio is investigative journalist since 1991. Now geopolitics, intelligence, military, SARS-Cov-2 manmade, NWO expert and Director-founder of Gospa News: a Christian Information Journal.

His articles were published on many international media and website as SouthFront, Reseau International, Sputnik Italia, United Nation Association Westminster, Global Research, Kolozeg and more…

Most popolar investigation on VT is:

Rumsfeld Shady Heritage in Pandemic: GILEAD’s Intrigues with WHO & Wuhan Lab. Bio-Weapons’ Tests with CIA & Pentagon

Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio, born on 24/2/1967 in Borgosesia, started working as a reporter when he was only 19 years old in the alpine area of Valsesia, Piedmont, his birth region in Italy. After studying literature and history at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, he became director of the local newspaper Notizia Oggi Vercelli and specialized in judicial reporting.

For about 15 years he is a correspondent from Northern Italy for the Italian newspapers Libero and Il Giornale, also writing important revelations on the Ustica massacre, a report on Freemasonry and organized crime.

With independent investigations, he collaborates with Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza in important investigations that conclude with the arrest of Camorra entrepreneurs or corrupt politicians.

In July 2018 he found the counter-information web media Gospa News focused on geopolitics, terrorism, Middle East, and military intelligence.

In 2020 published the book, in Italian only, WUHAN-GATES – The New World Order Plot on SARS-Cov-2 manmade focused on the cycle of investigations Wuhan-Gates

His investigations was quoted also by The Gateway Pundit, Tasnim and others

He worked for many years for the magazine Art & Wine as an art critic and curator.

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www.gospanews.net/

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http://donshafi911iamthefaceoftruth.blogspot.com/2024/07/paris-2024-first-olympic-games-in-honor.html
https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/07/paris-2024-first-olympic-games-in-honor-of-the-genocide/

‘Slow-motion trainwreck’ in Gaza as Netanyahu lectures America – Day 291
[email protected] July 25, 2024 debunked hamas video, excessive force, Gaza, israel at the olympics, khan younis, netanyahu speech, police brutality, West Bank
Gaza war: 150,000 people flee Khan Younis, UN says | BBC News (screenshot)
Now we also face the threat of polio, putting countless lives at risk to this crippling disease: Mercy Corps; HRW: Israeli forces publish degrading pictures of Palestinian prisoners; Netanyahu’s speech was full of lies, smears, claims of fighting America’s battles; police use excessive force against protesters; distressing news from the West Bank; calls to remove Israel from Olympics, as Israel’s Olympics flagbearer signed bombs for Gaza; debunked “Hamas” threat video; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Latest from Gaza

‘Slow-motion trainwreck’ in Gaza as Netanyahu addresses US Congress: Mercy Corps

Al Jazeera reports: While the media focus on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, the humanitarian situation in Gaza “is in a nosedive”, the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps has warned.

“No humanitarian goods are crossing into Gaza via Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] because the unloading zone has been full for weeks. High insecurity, lawlessness, and bombardments in areas under Israeli military operation make collection and distribution impossible,” Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy Kate Phillips-Barrasso said in a statement.

“We have been warning for months about a looming famine and secondary diseases taking hold, and now we face the threat of a polio outbreak, with the virus detected in sewage samples, putting countless lives at risk to this crippling disease. While Netanyahu speaks to Congress, the slow-motion trainwreck in Gaza continues.”

Crisis in Khan Younis

More than 400,000 Palestinians have been told to leave eastern Khan Younis and they are heading towards a designated “humanitarian” area of al-Mawasi and the central areas of the Gaza Strip. But these areas have also been witnessing more attacks within the past 24 hours. In particular, the Bureij refugee camp where there is a very notable Israeli military incursion in the eastern areas.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric commented: “OCHA has expressed our concern about the short interval between the dropping of the leaflets telling people to leave and the escalation of military operations, which posed significant risks to those fleeing. That delay was about an hour. Many have been observed on the move without any belongings.”

Some key statistics from the past 24 hours in Khan Younis, according to the Gaza Government Media Office:

About 129 people have been killed.
At least 24 children are among the dead, according to Save the Children.
416 have been injured, more than 100 of whom have not yet reached hospitals.
44 people are missing.
237 houses and residential buildings have been bombed.
“The [Israeli] army targets everything that moves on Salah al-Din Street in Khan Younis,” the office said in a statement, adding that the army is obstructing efforts to rescue wounded people who have appealed for help.

For three days now, there are areas where the paramedics have been unable to reach in Khan Younis. That’s why we are expecting the death toll and number of injuries to increase.

Local sources tell Al Jazeera that four Palestinians were in a car belonging to the Khan Younis electric company when Israeli forces targeted it. Several other people were injured in this attack.

Exclusive video obtained by Al Jazeera shows the scene minutes after the bombing, as people rushed to recover the bodies of those killed and aid those injured, which include children.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has been calling for blood donations but it’s saying most volunteers who came aren’t eligible because they’re malnourished. People are trying but unfortunately they’re not in good enough shape to help other Palestinians.

Al Jazeera Arabic reports that Israeli soldiers have been blowing up residential buildings east of war-torn Khan Younis amid Israeli tank fire

Israeli forces open fire towards humanitarian aid truck in Khan Younis

Israeli occupation forces Wednesday opened fire at a humanitarian aid truck in Khan Younis, wounding its driver.

Local sources reported that occupation military tanks and vehicles opened heavy gunfire towards an aid truck near al-Salam Hospital while it was on its way to transport food baskets for the Central World Kitchen Foundation.


Israeli forces publishing degrading pictures of detained Palestinians, says HRW

Human Rights Watch has accused Israeli forces of publishing degrading photographs and videos of detained Palestinians, including children, in acts that amount to war crimes.

In many cases, detainees were stripped of their clothing, sometimes fully, then photographed or filmed, with the images published by Israeli soldiers, media outlets or activists, the group said.

Forced nudity followed by capturing and sharing sexualised images on social media is a form of sexual violence and also a war crime, it said.

“Israeli authorities have for months turned a blind eye as members of their military published dehumanizing fully or seminude images and videos of Palestinians in their custody,” said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“Senior officials and military commanders can be held criminally responsible for ordering these crimes, or for failing to prevent or punish them, including at the International Criminal Court.”

Take-aways from Netanyahu’s speech

Netanyahu insulted and smeared the pro-Palestine protest movement. Congress clapped.

The Intercept reports: As thousands of protesters gathered outside the Capitol, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress — and spent a significant portion of his hourlong speech attacking the U.S. pro-Palestinian protest movement with insults and misinformation.

The prime minister went after campus protesters, drawing a false equivalence between students calling on their schools to divest from Israel and antisemitic attacks.

He went on to insult protesters’ geographical and historical knowledge of the region, in reference to the protest slogan “From the river to the sea,” and belittled the slogan “Gays for Gaza,” saying it was the same as “Chickens for KFC.”

More broadly, Netanyahu claimed that movements for Palestine liberation were choosing “to stand with evil … to stand with Hamas.”

The prime minister also claimed that the pro-Palestinian movement is funded by the Iranian government, labeling protesters “Iran’s useful idiots,” without offering any evidence to substantiate his claim.

To Palestine solidarity advocates demanding a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s war, Netanyahu’s attacks spoke to the power of their movement.

The speech was an “attempt to delegitimize a social movement that has a lot of power, that has a lot of clarity,” said Benjamin Kersten, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, who participated in the rally outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, as well as the sit-in a day earlier in the Capitol rotunda.

“It is also a distraction from what should be in focus, which is that over 39,000 people, over 14,000 children, have been killed by the Israeli government and military, making great use of United States’ weapons and funding.”

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Netanyahu lectures Americans, makes case for ‘total victory’

Responsible Statecraft reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent a major portion of his hour-long speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday lecturing the American people about how they should think and react to Israel’s war on Gaza.

“When we fight Hezbollah, we’re fighting Iran,” he continued. “When we fight the Houthis, we’re fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America. And one more thing, when Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city that you come from, we’re not only protecting ourselves, We’re protecting you.”

THE GUARDIAN ADDS: Netanyahu brushed aside humanitarian concerns for the civilian population of Gaza, denying that Israel was blocking shipments of food aid to Palestinians and issuing an appeal for the US to fast-track military aid to Israel: “Give us the tools and we’ll get the job done faster.”

He thanked Biden for his “heartfelt support for Israel”, while also praising Donald Trump for his “leadership” during his first term.’

RECOMMENDED READING: Citizen’s arrest: Thousands of US protesters demand Israel’s Netanyahu be locked up



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Protests outside Capitol

Police deploy toxic spray at anti-Netanyahu march in Washington

The New Arab reports: A march to demonstrate against the state speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint session of US Congress in Washington, DC on Wednesday started out peacefully, but was quickly dispersed when police used toxic spray against multiple protesters.

After several speeches by organizers, the march towards the US Capitol began on a hot and humid day. A diverse array of people and religious groups held signs showing their support for Palestinians. Off to the side of the march, volunteers distributed water bottles.

Within minutes of the march getting under way, multiple demonstrators had collapsed by the side of the road, unable to get up. As the march continued, more people collapsed. Volunteers were quick to render first aid.

The collapse of dozens of protesters, many of whom had fallen in the middle of the street, quickly broke the momentum of the march, as people tried to help those in need by holding their heads up, dousing them with water and rinsing their eyes with eyedrops and water.

It quickly became apparent that demonstrators had come into contact with toxic chemicals. As people lay on the ground, many of them were coughing and had a bright red flush across the skin of their arms, legs and faces.

During the march the Capitol Police issued a tweet saying they had used spray on protesters because they had become violent. There were no reports of violence, though some demonstrators acknowledged they had come close to the police barricades.


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West Bank news

Israeli troops use Palestinian man as human shield in West Bank raid (again)


NOTE: A previous incident like this in June drew widespread global condemnation.

RECOMMENDED READING: Israel confirms more cases of army using Palestinians as human shields in West Bank

In weekly West Bank report, OCHA highlights ongoing settler attacks, home demolitions

OCHA reports:

Between 7 October 2023 and 22 July 2024, OCHA recorded 1,143 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 108 resulted in casualties, 916 resulted in damage to Palestinian property, and 119 resulted in both casualties and property damage.
Between 16 and 22 July, the Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 48 Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. These include 45 structures in Area C and three in East Jerusalem. As a result, 57 Palestinians, including 29 children, were displaced and about 180 people were otherwise affected, including 88 children.
Between 7 October 2023 and 22 July 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, sealed, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,247 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, of which 39 per cent (481 structures) were inhabited homes. As a result, 2,836 people, including 1,245 children, were displaced.


More West Bank headlines:

Palestinian youth shot dead by Israeli forces near Jerusalem

Palestinian customs officer shot dead by Israeli forces near Tubas

Palestinian in Tulkarm dies of wounds sustained from Israeli gunfire

UN Special Rapporteur: Israeli occupation authorities continue to target human rights defenders in West Bank

Israel seizes archeological land to build military site: Report

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Olympics news

Paris protesters call for Israel’s Olympic expulsion

Al Jazeera reports: France will deploy hundreds of police officers to secure Israel’s opening Olympic football match against Mali in an initial security test before the Games’ opening ceremony.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 1,000 security personnel will be deployed.

The Palestinian Olympic Committee this week called for Israel to be excluded from the Games in an open letter to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. The letter accused Israel of breaching the traditional Olympic truce with its ongoing war on Gaza.

Far-left French lawmakers have urged protests against Israel’s participation in the Games. At a small rally in Paris late on Tuesday, pro-Palestinian protesters chanted, “Free, free Palestine.”

“Israel should be expelled because it is systematically violating rights and international laws,” demonstrator Elena Guerra said.

‘Genocide Games’ – Israel’s Flagbearer for Paris Olympics ‘Signed Bombs for Gaza’


Olympic policy: ban gov’ts engaging in apartheid, discrimination


Football fans open Palestinian flag to protest Israel at Paris 2024 Olympics

Andalou Agency reports: Football fans unfurled Palestinian flags to protest Israel during a match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday.

Israel drew with Mali 1-1 in an Olympic football match at Paris’ Parc des Princes Stadium as many fans in the stands protested Israel waving Palestinian flags.

Before the kick-off, some sections of the crowd at the stadium booed the Israeli national anthem.

The match was held without major security incidents.

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Video of ‘Palestinian fighter’ threatening Paris Olympics debunked


Middle East Eye reports: Wearing a keffiyeh around his face, and a Palestine flag hoodie, a man in a recent viral video proclaimed in Arabic that “rivers of blood” would flow through the streets of Paris during the upcoming Olympics.

Social media users were quick to attribute the video to Hamas – an accusation the group denied.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said on Tuesday that the clip was fabricated as part of “Zionist propaganda” and incitement against Palestinian resistance.

Analysts and commentators have pointed to several factors casting doubt on Hamas being responsible for the footage.

One analyst said that Hamas sees itself only as a Palestinian resistance army, whose fight is on its own soil.

“Clearly the framing is an attempt to equate Hamas with IS, who have a very different political outlook,” Marc Owen Jones, an expert on disinformation and the Middle East, told MEE.

The Arabic spoken in the viral clip has also been scrutinised. It appears to be far from what we would expect to hear from Hamas fighters based in Gaza.

Chief among the offending phrases is the use of “Allaha akbar” instead of “Allahu akbar” – an error an Arab adherent of the Muslim faith would be highly unlikely to make.

One Palestinian social media user noticed at least nine other linguistic transgressions, including a failure to roll the letter “r”.

“We have no idea who did this,” said the analyst. “But it wasn’t made by a Palestinian. It’s unlikely to be Hamas-affiliated or even Palestine-affiliated.”


MORE NEWS:

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JULY 24:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – July 24: at least 39,764* (39,175 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,034 children as of June 17. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 589 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 46 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 40 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – July 24: at least 95,823 (including at least 90,403 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – July 24: ~1,481 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 326 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
Hundreds of social media influencers attend Israel strategy summit in NYC
Supporting Israel Is Big Business in the U.S. for Israel partisans
Toys, spices, sewing machines: the items Israel banned from entering Gaza
Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli occupation, reactions, and take-aways
Russia attacks hospitals in Ukraine; Israel does the same in Gaza. The US response couldn’t be more different.
‘I have the prison inside me’: The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel
Israel has manufactured an industrial-scale version of Jim Crow rape hoaxes
If Americans Knew Mobile Billboard Truck at Republican Convention
Col. Douglas MacGregor: US is under the control of Israel, likens Gaza to Warsaw Ghetto
Israel’s leading paper says its own army deliberately killed Israelis on October 7
Gaza has turned into Biden’s most perplexing moral and foreign policy failure
‘Suffering horrifically’: 10 months of Israel’s ‘war on children’ in Gaza
Pro-Israel ADL ‘spied on’ African American activist over opposition to US-Israel police exchange programme
‘I’m bored, so I shoot’: The Israeli army’s approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza
Lancet: Counting the dead in Gaza – difficult but essential
‘Revealer of Inconvenient Truths’ – Julian Assange’s Impact on Palestine
Fact or Fiction: Is Israel Unfairly Singled Out for Global Condemnation?
How an Israeli colonel invented the burned babies lie to justify genocide
Widely reported Palestinian father-son ‘rape’ confession contradicted by piles of evidence
The Gaza Project reveals how Israel has targeted the press – in 3 stories
‘Buying Our Own Stolen Water’ in Bethlehem – Scorching Summer Awaits Palestinians in the West Bank
Israel’s covert info bots targeting America met with hypocritical silence
AIPAC: Has the pro-Israel lobby bribed and bought the US Democratic Party?
Israel’s war on Gaza is the deadliest conflict on record for journalists.
Israeli army hits Gaza family, uses them as human shields, and runs over their mother.
Strangling Israeli restrictions were in place long before October 7th.


https://israelpalestinenews.org/slow-motion-trainwreck-in-gaza-as-netanyahu-lectures-america-day-291/


https://donshafi911iamthefaceoftruth.blogspot.com/2024/07/slow-motion-trainwreck-in-gaza-as.html

As Israel-First politicians embrace Netanyahu, many people say No Thanks – Day 290
[email protected] July 24, 2024 gaza displacement, gaza evacuation, israeli settler violence, jewish activists, jewish voice for peace, kamala harris, khan younis, labor unions, netanyahu speech, Olympics, palestinian unity government, starlink, targeting aid workers, us complicity in war crimes, West Bank
Israel's assault on Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians seek shelter near hospital (screenshot)
2 million Gazans are squeezed into 20% of their land, as Israeli bombers and snipers keep killing; UNICEF vehicles hit by Israeli gunfire; peace activists arrested in US Capitol; Israeli luminaries call Netanyahu an “existential threat” to Israel and US; Rashida Tlaib: “Netanyahu’s Congress speech is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”; Schumer says he will attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech; Israeli gov’t heavily funding illegal Israeli outposts; 350 “experts” endorse Kamala Harris for her Israel support; Olympics news; Israeli forces killing spree in West Bank; seven major labor unions demand that Biden pull the plug on Israel aid; China brokers reconciliation deal with Palestinian factions

By IAK staff, from reports.

Israel blocks Palestinians from 80 percent of Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says the Israeli military has placed more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip “under evacuation orders or designated as a no-go zone”.

“We just keep hearing the same question: Where do I go?” UNRWA said on X, quoting its spokeswoman’s remarks to the BBC’s Radio 4.

It comes a day after Israel ordered thousands of people to flee from the eastern parts of the Khan Younis governorate to al-Mawasi in the west.

Death toll from Israeli bombing in Khan Younis rises to 89

At least 89 people have been killed in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis governorate, according to the enclave’s Government Media Office, since Israel launched a new military operation in the area yesterday morning, without giving civilians time to flee. Hundreds of people are also reported injured.

Palestinians, including women and children, living in the east of Khan Younis city move towards safe areas with whatever belongings they can take with them after Israel announced that an operation will be carried out and ordered the Palestinians to evacuate the area immediately in Khan Yunis, Gaza on July 22, 2024.
Palestinians, including women and children, living in the east of Khan Younis city move towards safe areas with whatever belongings they can take with them after Israel announced that an operation will be carried out and ordered the Palestinians to evacuate the area immediately in Khan Yunis, Gaza on July 22, 2024. (photo)
UNICEF vehicles attacked with gunfire in central Gaza


NOTE: The targeting of aid workers in Gaza by Israel has been a long-standing pattern. Since October 2023, at least 278 aid workers were reported killed in Gaza, including 201 UN staff members.

Following an Israeli attack on a high-profile humanitarian aid convoy in early April, MSF official Christopher Lockyear decried what was already a norm: “This pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence.”


US Capitol Police arrest activists calling for Israel arms embargo

Al Jazeera reports: The rotunda of an office building in the United States Capitol complex filled in minutes with hundreds of people who appeared as if from nowhere, as part of a surprise protest against Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Let Gaza live,” they chanted in unison inside the Cannon House Office Building, removing their outer garments to reveal matching red T-shirts.

One side of the shirt read, “Jews say stop arming Israel.” The other side: “Not in our name.”

Tuesday’s coordinated protest, led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), took Congressional staffers and law enforcement agents aback, as it came together within minutes.

But the crackdown started almost immediately after the protesters assembled. Capitol Police quickly declared the area a closed “zone” and arrested hundreds of demonstrators who refused to leave.

“This is a moment in history where we have to say we stood up for Palestinian freedom. We stood up to end this genocide,” said protester Liv Kunins-Berkowitz.

“For so many of us, we are the descendants who survived ethnic cleansing and genocide. Our ancestors and grandparents taught us that the worst thing to do in these moments is to be a bystander.”

The activists are of all faiths, races, and ethnicities. They’re working to overcome the powerful Israel lobby.

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Seven major US labor unions call on Biden to ‘shut off military aid to Israel’

The Guardian reports: Seven major US labor unions representing about 6 million workers sent a letter to Joe Biden on Tuesday calling on his administration to “immediately halt all military aid to Israel” ahead of a visit to the US from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, this week.

The unions that signed on to the letter include the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), International Union of Painters (IUPAT), National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Electrical Workers (UE).

“Our unions are hearing the cries of humanity as this vicious war continues,” said Mark Dimondstein, the APWU president, in a press release. “Working people and our unions are horrified that our tax dollars are financing this ongoing tragedy. We need a ceasefire now, and the best way to secure that is to shut off US military aid to Israel.”

The UAW stated, “This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to come to Congress to ask our government to keep supporting this war [in Gaza]. We reject this insult to all those calling for peace and justice.”


Amnesty issues fresh warning about US complicity in Israeli war crimes

Middle East Monitor reports: Amnesty International has issued a fresh warning about US complicity in Israeli war crimes as Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington. The human rights NGO also called on the US to halt arms exports to Israel with Netanyahu set to meet Joe Biden and possibly Kamala Harris during his trip.

In the absence of a UN Security Council arms embargo, Amnesty is calling on all countries to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel immediately, until there is no longer a substantial risk that arms could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.

Countries which continue to transfer arms to Israel with knowledge that the recipient state or group is using these arms to commit “internationally wrongful acts” — which include crimes under international law such as war crimes and crimes against humanity — are not only violating their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, said Amnesty today, but are in fact also assisting these violations.

Companies manufacturing and exporting arms also have a responsibility to respect human rights and international humanitarian law throughout their value chains. Any companies providing material assistance in the commission of a war crime can be found legally liable for such a crime.

“The US government has been presented with ample evidence from experts around the world that US-origin arms have been used in war crimes and unlawful killings by the Israeli government.”

Continued weapons transfers will make the US “complicit” in violations of international law committed with these arms, explained the Amnesty official.

NOTE: Weapons transfers to armed Palestinian groups also fall within Amnesty’s call for embargo – although in reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance.

Israel carries out major strikes on three regions in one day
Israel carries out major strikes on three regions in one day (collage)
Israeli executives, former security officials denounce Netanyahu ahead of address to US Congress

Andalou Agency reports: Dozens of Israeli executives, academics, and former national security officials denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, warning in a letter to US congressional leaders that he represents an “existential threat” to the US and Israel.

The letter signed by 31 Israelis comes on the eve of Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress where many lawmakers are expected to not attend or stage protests to interrupt the Israeli leader’s speech. It is addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“We cannot overstate this: Prime Minister Netanyahu poses an existential threat to the State of Israel. He has no clear strategic objectives for the war in Gaza, no plan for the day after, nor a strategy for how to deal with the existential threat of Iran. For decades, he has been inciting Israelis against each other, damaging our national social fabric, dramatically harming our defense capabilities, eroding our economy and devastating our international standing,” the authors wrote. A copy of the letter was posted publicly by CNN.

“Further, Netanyahu severely harms the US national security interests through his approach to this war, which adversely impacts American policy in the Middle East and beyond and further endangers Israel,” they added.

Prominent signatories include former Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Haloutz, ex-Mossad Director Tamir Pardo, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Nobel Prize Laureate Aaron Ciechanover and Israel’s former UN envoy Gabriela Shalev.

Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is a ‘celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians’

Middle East Eye reports: Palestinian-American Representative Rashida Tlaib called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress “a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, said that “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.”

She further remarked, “Make no mistake: this event is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It is a sad day for our democracy when my colleagues will smile for a photo op with a man who is actively committing genocide.

“It is hypocritical to claim concern about the massive death toll of innocent civilians, then turn around and welcome the person responsible for these war crimes to our Capitol. Their silence is betrayal, and history will remember them accordingly. Our government must stop supporting and funding this genocide now.”

Israel was founded in 1948 through a war of ethnic cleansing.

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Schumer says he will attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech despite ‘disagreements’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Congress:

“Even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, I will attend this speech because the United States’ relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister.”

Schumer endorsed Kamala Harris for president.





Ha’aretz reports: The Democratic Majority for Israel wholeheartedly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination for the upcoming presidential election.

Israeli government quietly sends millions to unauthorized West Bank settler outposts

Associated Press reports: The Israeli government has budgeted millions of dollars to protect small, illegal, unauthorized Jewish farms in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, underwriting tiny outposts meant to grow into full-fledged , illegal settlements, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.

Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel’s pro-settler government has quietly poured tens of millions of dollars into the unauthorized outposts, which are separate from its more than 100 officially recognized – but also illegal – settlements. Some of those outposts have been linked to settler violence against Palestinians and are sanctioned by the U.S.

The group estimates approximately 500 people live on the small, unauthorized farms and 25,000 more live in larger outposts. Those outposts, while not officially authorized by the government, often receive tacit support before they are retroactively legalized.

Rights groups say the expanding network of remote farms atop West Bank hilltops are the primary drivers of violence and displacement of Palestinians.

On Friday, the top United Nations court said Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for an immediate halt to settlement construction.

NOTE: While there has been an uptick in settler violence since October 7th, every one of the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers living on Palestinian land are violating international law.

Israel has illegally built around 280 settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and incentivized Israeli Jews to live in them.

Many Palestinians believe that Israeli settlements and settlers on Palestinian land are the main barrier to any lasting peace agreement.

Settlers, moreover, have a history of violence against Palestinians, often with the assistance of Israeli military forces.

NOTE: The International Solidarity Movement recently posted this video of Israeli settlers brutally attacking both Palestinians and international volunteers – one day after the ICJ ruled that the Israeli occupation and settlements are illegal.

350 foreign policy and national security personages endorse Kamala Harris, highlighting her involvement in the U.S.’ ‘defense of Israel when Iran attacked in April’

Ha’aretz reports: 350 leading foreign policy and national security experts endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for U.S. President, calling her “the best qualified person to lead our nation as commander in chief.”

“She has been by the president’s side in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room managing high-stakes international crises and advising on the toughest decisions,” they wrote, highlighting “the United States’ defense of Israel when Iran attacked in April 2024.”

Among those to sign the letter include former U.S. Ambassadors to Israel Tom Nides and Daniel Kurtzer, former Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Frank Lowenstein, former national security advisers Susan Rice and Thomas E. Donilon, former secretaries of state John F. Kerry and Hillary Clinton; former secretaries of defense Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta; and former top intelligence officials Michael Hayden and James Clapper.

NOTE: While it’s not hard to find cheerleaders for Israel in its genocidal war on Gaza, voters themselves are not so enthusiastic: A Gallup poll in March showed that 55 percent of respondents disapproved of the Israeli military’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Among Democratic Party voters, the percentage was even higher, with 75 percent of respondents expressing a negative view of Israel’s actions, while 60 percent of independents also said they disapproved.

Politicians have failed to grasp the significance of millions of Americans across the country protesting for ceasefire and an end to military aid to Israel – wrongly accusing them of antisemitism and ignoring their message.

RECOMMENDED READING:

How Israel twists antisemitism claims to project its own crimes onto Palestinians.

AIPAC: Has the pro-Israel lobby bribed and bought the US Democratic Party?

It isn’t Netanyahu who is acting against the will of his people, it’s Biden

Palestinians accuse Israel of Olympic Truce breach

Al Jazeera reports: The Palestine Olympic Committee has called for the “immediate exclusion of Israel from the Paris Olympics 2024”.

In a letter to Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, the Palestinians said Israel has been engaged in violations that include illegal colonial settlement, occupation and annexation, as well as genocidal incitement.

The letter also stressed that there has been a breach of the Olympic truce. The UN General Assembly Resolution on the Paris 2024 Olympics mandates an Olympic truce from July 19 to September 15, 2024, to ensure a peaceful environment for the Games.

“However, Israel has violated this truce within the first 24 hours by continuing its bombing on Gaza, resulting in the killing of at least 70 Palestinians. This contravention underscores the urgent need for OIC and FIFA to act in line with its statutes and promote respect for international human rights law,” the letter said.

The letter was also sent to FIFA President Gianni Infantino by the Palestine Football Association.

NOTE: At least 265 Palestinian sportsmen have been killed in Israeli attacks since last October, according to the Palestinian Football Association.

“The victims include players, administrators and technical staff, including 11 in the West Bank” Jibril Rajoub, head of the association, told reporters.

“Dozens of athletes remain under the rubble, and we are unable to count their number,” he said. “Many athletes are also held in Israeli jails.”

RECOMMENDED READING: Palestinians launch first national amputee football team in Gaza



Many West Bank deaths on Tuesday

Five Palestinians were killed Tuesday by Israeli occupation army gunfire in Tulkarm camp, including three men, a young girl, and a 50-year-old woman. Four of the bodies were confiscated by Israeli forces. The men were reportedly a Qassam commander and two members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
A 13-year-old child from the town of Bal’a, east of Tulkarem, succumbed Tuesday to critical injuries he sustained by Israeli forces’ live bullets about two weeks ago.
A 39-year-old Palestinian man was Tuesday morning killed by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron.
A young man, age 22, was Tuesday killed by Israeli occupation army gunfire from the town of Shuyoukh, northeast of Hebron.

Palestinians hail new reconciliation deal amid Israeli opposition

Andalou Agency reports: A China-mediated agreement to heal the years-long rift between Palestinian factions and form a national unity government has been met with Palestinian praise and Israeli opposition.

The Palestinian groups on Monday reached a reconciliation agreement following three days of intensive talks in the Chinese capital Beijing to end their political division since 2007.

Representatives of 14 Palestinian groups, including the rival Fatah and Hamas movements, signed a new statement pledging to end the division and strengthen unity.

The agreement aims at maintaining Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip following the end of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the enclave.

Signatories of the agreement said they would form an interim national unity government to supervise the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip and hold new elections.

“The Beijing declaration is an additional positive step towards achieving Palestinian national unity,” Husam Badran, a member of Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.

He said the factions agreed to form a national unity government to supervise Gaza reconstruction and prepare the conditions for holding elections.

The agreement also underlined the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation and to self-determination based on international laws and UN Charter.

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Palestinians living inside Israel face home demolition

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STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JULY 23:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – July 23: at least 39,668* (39,090 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,034 children as of June 17. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 587 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 46 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
At least 40 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – July 23: at least 95,567 (including at least 90,147 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – July 23: ~1,481 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 326 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
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