Gaza peace talks have apparently reached a ‘dead end’ – Day 261

contact@ifamericansknew.org June 24, 2024 al jazeera ban, cancer patients in gaza, ceasefire, Hezbollah, hind rajab, human shield, prison overcrowding, weapons to israel, West Bank

Save the Children, in a new statement, said 21,000 children are missing, some separated from their families, some buried under the rubble, their fate unknown. The advocacy group calls for a ceasefire to look for the missing children. Israel's abuses saw it added to the UN's global blacklist of countries that harm children. (screenshot)

Israel rejects permanent ceasefire; war to go on, but “intense fighting” is ending; Israeli strikes kill 25 more Gazan civilians; Israeli soldier posed naked in Gaza; update on Israeli soldiers’ killing of Hind Rajab, 5; US military members say they can no longer be complicit in Israeli war crimes; children with disabilities suffer from Israeli targeting; Israel has arrested so many Palestinians there’s no room for more; US, Netanyahu disagree on level of US loyalty to Israel; EU leaders: crisis in Gaza has reached a breaking point; Hezbollah video shows Israeli security targets; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Gaza peace talks reportedly at ‘dead end’ as Israel rejects permanent ceasefire:

The New Arab reports: A senior Israeli official said this weekend that negotiations over a ceasefire deal with Hamas have reached a dead end, with Israel unwilling to support a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza.

“The mediators are unable to convey the idea to Hamas that there will be no better deal than the one proposed by Israel,” the unnamed Israeli official told Channel 12. “Israel has gone as far as it can go.”

The Israeli official made further comments blaming Hamas for the impasses, echoing the language of Israeli and US officials that “the ball is Hamas’s court” and that stopping the war is in their hands. A week before Biden’s plan, Hamas accepted an Egyptian-Qatari deal that would have seen every Israeli captive released.

Israel itself has not accepted the ceasefire proposal announced by Biden in May, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating clearly that Israel does not support a permanent ceasefire.

Israel’s demand appears to be for Hamas to release all the hostages right now in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, while Biden’s proposal involved a phased release of hostages in exchange resulting in temporary ceasefires – with Israel able to unilaterally end any temporary ceasefire in Phase One of the plan.

"The rate of damage being registered is unlike anything we have studied before. It is much faster and more extensive than anything we have mapped," said Corey Scher, a PhD candidate at the City University of New York, who has been researching satellite imagery of Gaza. — “The rate of damage being registered is unlike anything we have studied before. It is much faster and more extensive than anything we have mapped,” said Corey Scher, a PhD candidate at the City University of New York, who has been researching satellite imagery of Gaza. (screenshot)

Netanyahu says intense fighting against Hamas is ending, but war to go on:

Reuters reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the phase of intense fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip was coming to an end but that the war would not end until the Islamist group no longer controls the Palestinian enclave.

Once the intense fighting is over in Gaza, Netanyahu said, Israel will be able to deploy more forces along the northern border with Lebanon, where fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah has escalated.

Israeli air strike kills eight at Gaza aid center:

Middle East Eye reports: Eight Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli air strike on a training college near Gaza City being used to distribute aid, Palestinian witnesses said, as Israeli tanks pushed further into the southern city of Rafah.

The strike hit part of a vocational college run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) that is now providing aid to displaced families, the witnesses said.

“Some people were coming to receive coupons and others had been displaced from their houses and they were sheltering here. Some were filling up water, others were receiving coupons, and suddenly we heard something falling. We ran away,” said Mohammed Tafesh, one of the witnesses.

A Reuters photographer saw a low-rise building completely demolished and bodies wrapped in blankets laid out beside the road, waiting to be taken away.

“We pulled out martyrs (from beneath the rubble), one who used to sell cold drinks and another who used to sell pastries and others who distributed or received coupons,” Tafesh said.

Airstrikes on clinic, homes, power station kill 17:

Two medical personnel were killed, and others were wounded in an Israeli occupation shelling of the Al-Daraj Clinic, in central Gaza City.

WAFA correspondents reported that three citizens were killed and others, including children and women, were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building near Al-Jawhara Tower in central Gaza City.

In a similar attack, two citizens were killedand others injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Al-Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City.

Local sources reported that an airstrike hit a house in the Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City, killing eight civilians and injuring others.

Airstrikes also struck near the power station in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, claiming the lives of two more civilians and injuring several others.

Children walk through accumulated trash near the beach, Deir al Balah, Gaza (screenshot)

Children with disabilities suffer from Israeli targeting:

DCI reports: Palestinian children with disabilities in the Gaza Strip face great challenges as Israeli forces carry out a campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people.

Children with disabilities are at heightened risk of physical and psychological injuries due to the continuous bombing and destruction carried out by Israeli forces, in addition to losing necessary medical care and rehabilitation as a result of the deliberate targeting of hospitals, institutions, and centers that care for them.

Defense for Children International – Palestine collected testimonies from children with disabilities whose lives were turned upside down as a result of the Israeli attacks in Gaza City. Israel’s campaign of genocide has collapsed Gaza’s health care system, making it impossible for children to receive the medication, therapy, and follow-up care that they need…

Ghada, 8. “Before the war, Ghada used to go every day by bus to an institution for people with disabilities, and when she returned, she would play with me, her father, and her siblings before she went to sleep…” (source)

Israeli soldier posed naked in Gaza for porn site:

New Arab reports: Photos have emerged of an armed Israeli soldier posing naked in Gaza, apparently creating content for adult online subscription service ‘OnlyFans’.

The male soldier was seen using his rifle to cover his private parts in one photo and a flower emoji in another, with crude graffiti on an abandoned Palestinian home that supposedly included his OnlyFans account handle.

The images were shared on social media and are just the latest in a series of sexualised images used by Israeli soldiers during their assault on Gaza, which has killed over 37,300 Palestinians and made most of the population homeless.

Reuters reports: “Israeli soldiers have been posting photos and videos of themselves toying with lingerie found in Palestinian homes.”

Analysis finds Israeli tank fired 335 bullets into car at close range that killed 5-year-old Hind Rajab & 6 relatives:

Common Dreams reports: Israeli tank or tanks likely fired the bullets that killed five-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab and six relatives as they sat in a car in northern Gaza in January, according to an analysis released Friday that adds to evidence of the Israeli military’s role in an indiscriminate killing which galvanized anti-war protests around the world earlier this year.

A tank had to have been positioned between 13 and 23 meters from the family car when it fired the shots that killed Layan Hamada, Hind Rajab’s 15-year-old cousin, and it’s “not plausible that the shooter could not have seen that the car was occupied by civilians, including children,” wrote the authors of the analysis, which was completed by U.K. research agency Forensic Architecture, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, with Earshot, an NGO, and Al Jazeera journalists.

The investigators found 335 bullet holes on the body of the Kia Picanto the family was using.

An Israeli tank also likely killed the two Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics who came to the scene, the analysis found. The new analysis refutes Israel’s contention that its forces were not responsible for the killings, which caused an international outcry.

US military members say they can no longer be complicit in Israeli war crimes:

Over 40 US military personnel seek to become conscientious objectors over Gaza war. Two US airmen explain why:

Israeli occupation authorities re-detain cancer-stricken Palestinian detainee on day of his release:

WAFA reports: The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said Israeli occupation intelligence re-detained cancer-stricken detainee, Mohammad Zayed Khdairat; who is in urgent need to complete treatment, on the day of his release and placed him under administrative detention, despite an earlier decision by Israeli Ofer court for his release today after paying a fine.

In a joint statement, the two institutions said that the family of Khdairat went to receive him today; the day of his release, and was surprised by the arbitrary re-detention order, without charge or trial, until November 30th.

NOTE: Israel is currently holding 9,300 Palestinian prisoners in inhumane conditionswhere many are systematically tortured – 250 of them are children, 74 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.

West Bank – More info on Palestinian used as a ‘human shield’ by Israeli forces:

Al Jazeera reports that Mujahed Abadi, the man who was put on the hood of an Israeli military jeep as a human shield, was not even known to his captors. After they found out his name and interrogated him, they released him.

Abadi sustained gunshot wounds and severe burns. Here is his story:

Israel reportedly cancels 20 arrest operations in occupied West Bank due to prison overcrowding:

The Israeli army halted around 20 arrests of Palestinian activists in the occupied West Bank due to its already overcrowded prisons, according to official sources.

“The Israeli army and the Shin Bet (General Security Service) were forced to cancel about 20 arrest operations planned for this week due to a lack of space in prisons,” the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported.

“Due to worsening conditions in detention facilities, security services are compelled to assess the risks posed by detainees,” the corporation said.

In April, the country’s Prison Service and the National Security Ministry said the designated detention capacity for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons was 14,500, whereas the actual number of detainees exceeded 21,000, according to the same source.

Netanyahu says US arms supplies fell away 4 months ago; he went public as last resort; US is done responding:

Times of Israel reports: At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his decision to release an English-language video last week panning the United States for holding up weapons shipments, saying that he had only gone public after quiet attempts to solve the problem failed.

Netanyahu alleged that four months ago, there was a “dramatic drop” in the weapons pipeline to Israel.

“For many weeks,” said Netanyahu, “we appealed to our American friends to speed up the shipments. We did it time and time again. We did this at the senior echelons, and at all levels, and I want to emphasize — we did it in private chambers. We got all kinds of explanations, but we didn’t get one thing: The basic situation didn’t change.” He added, “certain items trickled in, but the bulk of armaments were left behind.”

The White House has repeatedly rejected Netanyahu’s claim, insisting that it only has withheld one shipment of heavy bombs it was concerned Israel would use in the densely-populated southern Gaza city of Rafah, while all other transfers have continued at a normal pace.

“We have made our position clear on this repeatedly, and we aren’t going to keep responding to the Prime Minister’s political statements,” said a White House official.

Israel’s Government Advances Bill Making Al Jazeera Ban Permanent:

Ha’aretz reports: The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved Sunday a bill meant to make the “Al Jazeera Law,” currently a temporary provision, a permanent law. The temporary order allows the government to stop for 45 days the broadcasts in Israel of a foreign media outlet if it is determined that they cause real harm to national security.

The bill would allow a channel’s broadcasts to be stopped permanently, without having to approve an extension when the 45-day order expires.

The temporary provision, whose official name is the Bill for Preventing a Foreign Broadcasting Organization from Harming State Security, is currently valid until July 31, or until the end of the declaration of a special situation on the home front.

Hezbollah video shows more Israeli targets in the crosshairs over Israel’s Gaza mass murder:

The Cradle reports: Hezbollah released a video titled “To whom it may concern” on 22 June, featuring coordinates of sensitive and vital Israeli targets that would be struck in the event of an Israeli war against Lebanon, marking the second such warning within less than a week:

The video begins with a clip from the latest speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, where he warns that the Lebanese resistance will fight “without limits, rules, or restraints” if Israel wages a war against Lebanon.

It then proceeds to show numerous targetsacross Israel, including Israel’s military airport, oil refineries, and the Dimona Nuclear reactor, as well as the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Security.

On 22 June, retired Israeli general Yitzhak Brik said that declaring war on Lebanon would mean “mass suicide for Israel.”

The new clip came just a few days after Hezbollah released a nine-minute video of footage filmed by its drones, which show several sensitive sites in Israel’s north, namely the port of Haifa and the warships and military sites in its vicinity.

“The Hezbollah video conveys an unequivocal message to Israel, that the party is present inside Israel by the air, land, and sea, and is planning what comes next, and that is capable of carrying out severe strikes,” Israel’s Channel 14 news outlet said last week, adding that the filming of this footage is “an Israeli security failure of the first degree … The situation in the north is much worse than we imagine.”

EU leaders: The crisis in Gaza has reached a breaking point:

From High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič

The crisis in Gaza has reached another breaking point. The delivery of any meaningful humanitarian assistance inside Gaza has become almost impossible and the very fabric of civil society is unravelling. Starving civilians are resorting to desperate measures to access the limited aid that trickles in.
Due to the ongoing military operations and the collapse of law and order in Gaza, our partners are forced to operate in an unacceptably unsafe environment. The announcement of temporary ‘tactical pauses’ for delivering humanitarian assistance has not resulted in any improvement in the security environment for humanitarian actors on the ground.
The latest updates from humanitarian organizations attempting to deliver essential aid are highly concerning. Operations are at risk of breaking down if no action is taken.
Once again, we call on all the parties involved in the conflict to uphold their international legal responsibilities: protect civilians, ensure their access to basic services, provide a safe environment for humanitarian operations and grant unimpeded humanitarian access. We also call for an immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.

MORE NEWS:

Mondoweiss: Republicans demonstrate their terrifying Palestine policy

IMEMC: Israeli Soldiers Shoot A Palestinian Child In Jenin

The New Arab: Texas woman ‘tried to drown’ 3-year-old Palestinian child at swimming pool

[A commentator has warned that talk radio can incite violence from ‘the small minority of clearly disturbed, paranoid, fearful listeners’]

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JUNE 23:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – June 23: at least 38,150* (37,598 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 15,260 children (40%)^†. This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 552 in the West Bank (~134 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 45,223 Palestinian deaths. (Ralph Nader has estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.)
At least 42 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 14 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.
About 1.1 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are facing Catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – June 23: at least 91,232 (including at least 86,032 in Gaza and 5,200 in the West Bank).
It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – June 23: ~1,466 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 315 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

Monday, 24 June 2024