Growing evidence of inhumane Israeli prison conditions, as one Palestinian detainee dies – Day 272

contact@ifamericansknew.org July 5, 2024 ceasefire negotiations, gaza displacement, gaza evacuation, humanitarian aid, israeli settler violence, jenin deaths, palestinian prisoners, uncommitted voters

Recently released Palestinian prisoners exchange horror stories of torture, starvation, and neglect. (screengrab)

No respite for weary, starving Gazans; a released prisoner reports inhumane conditions, another prisoner dies in custody; a possible glimmer of hope in ceasefire talks; Israeli forces kill at least 6 Palestinians in Jenin; uncommitted US voters prioritize Gaza; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Critical aid deliveries thwarted as Gaza sinks deeper into starvation

Israel’s evacuation order for 250,000 people in Gaza’s Khan Younis “wiped out” UN efforts to deliver more aid, according to the head of the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

WATCH: Prisoner released after 21 years, describes inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons

One of the 50 Palestinian men released this week from Israeli jails has spoken to Al Jazeera about his horrific experience being detained for more than 20 years.

Yousef Miqdad, now 63 years old, was imprisoned in 2002 for being a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian group Fatah.

On Monday, he was released back into the war-torn Gaza Strip, where he met his grandson for the first time.

Palestinian Detainee Dies in Israeli Prison

IMEMC reports: A Palestinian detainee from the Jenin governorate, in the northern West Bank, has died inside an Israeli prison, exhibiting evidence of torture and abuse.

Media sources reported on Thursday, that the Palestinian detainee, Jamal Ahmad Shawahna, died in Israeli custody; he is the father of the wounded resistance fighter, Diaa Shawahna.

According to his family, Shawahna suffered a heart attack inside Israeli prison on Wednesday; he was transported to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel, where medical doctors pronounced him dead.

Sources added that Shawahna showed signs of being tortured inside Israeli prison after he was abducted by occupation forces, just four days prior to his death.

Israeli official: ‘Significant breakthrough’ in Hamas proposal

Al Jazeera reports: Noises are coming from the Israelis indicating that there is potential for a ceasefire to be reached with Hamas.

An official from Israel’s negotiating team has told Reuters that Hamas’s latest ceasefire proposal included a “significant breakthrough” without specifying what it was.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying there is a “real chance” a deal will be agreed but it depends on Netanyahu.

“It can serve to advance negotiations,” the official said. “There’s a deal with a real chance of implementation. Though the clauses are not easy, they shouldn’t scupper the deal.”

How much the official’s point of view reflects Netanyahu’s remains to be seen. There appears to be a growing rift between the military and others within Israel’s security and political establishment willing to secure a deal on one side and Netanyahu and his far-right allies on the other, who have consistently reiterated their desire to prioritize the total military defeat of Hamas.

ALSO FROM AL JAZEERA: We’re also hearing from members of the opposition … saying that while they are closer to a deal, that perhaps Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t going to be able to get them there.

Israeli officials speaking anonymously have said that there is still a long way to go, there are a lot of issues to be finalized as there are still incredibly tough sticking points from both sides.

Israeli settlers attack fire engine after burning Palestinian fields, trees in West Bank

Armed Israeli settlers destroyed a fire engine after starting blazes that engulfed vast areas of Palestinian agricultural land and fruit trees, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency is reporting.

The settlers attacked emergency workers and prevented them from reaching the fires to put them out, even as they burned dangerously close to Palestinian homes in the village of Khallet al-Adra in the Masafer Yatta area, near Hebron, Wafa’s correspondent reported.

Israeli Army Kills Five Palestinians In Jenin

IMEMC reports: On Thursday, Israeli soldiers assassinated four Palestinians, and killed a man after shooting him while he was on the rooftop of his home, and seriously injured several Palestinians, in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank’s northern part.

Media sources said the soldiers assassinated four Palestinians after targeting their car with a missile from a military drone.

Many armored military vehicles, including bulldozers, invaded Jenin from several directions after the army assassinated the four Palestinians.

The four were killed, and one was injured, when an Israeli military drone fired a missile at them near the Al-Awda Junction, in the Jenin refugee camp.

The Health Ministry added that a fifth Palestinian was killed by a bullet fired by an Israeli soldier at him while on the rooftop of his home in the Zahra’ neighborhood.

WATCH: Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in Jenin, occupied West Bank

Israeli special forces have killed a Palestinian man in Jenin. The 23-year-old was shot at the car repair store where he worked.

The incident is the latest in a spate of attacks by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and inside Israel in recent days, including a stabbing at a mall in the northern city of Karmiel in which an Israeli soldier was killed. More details in this video:

Whether it’s Biden or someone else, Gaza remains top priority for “uncommitted” voters

The Intercept reports: As Democrats nationwide pressure President Joe Biden to abandon his reelection bid, voters aligned with the “uncommitted” movement to protest his handling of the war in Gaza say they won’t get behind any nominee who doesn’t make a clear commitment to a permanent ceasefire.

“I think it would be a big mistake for the Democratic Party to switch gears but stay the course on this particular issue that has galvanized so many people in an unprecedented way in the primaries and who continue showing up and trying to advocate to be heard in a system that is continuing, they feel, to ignore them,” said Halah Ahmad, a policy analyst and spokesperson with Listen to Wisconsin, the state’s “uninstructed” campaign.

“They should let that policy die with this administration and move towards being a party that stands by its actual values,” Ahmad continued, “which are meant to be anti-war and pro-peace and pro-human rights and international law — which is in direct contrast to everything a Trump candidacy stands for.”

The anti-war movement to vote “uncommitted” instead of supporting Biden took off earlier this year ahead of Michigan’s Democratic primary in February. Advocates for the protest vote later launched chapters in other critical swing states including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and have netted more than half a million votes in more than a dozen primaries. The movement has garnered support for at least 25 delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

(Read the full article here.)

IMEMC Daily Reports.

Al Jazeera: Genocide, urbicide, domicide – how to talk about Israel’s war on Gaza

Mondoweiss: School’s out, but attacks on student protesters continue

Middle East Eye: UK elections 2024: Pro-Palestine candidates’ victories stun as Labour sweeps to win

The New Arab: Forced displacement looms for thousands of Bedouins in Israel’s Negev

https://twitter.com/Yesh_Din/status/1808884912008614170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1808884912008614170%7Ctwgr%5E9bbe2d00026e744554a9e96167b0a6574cea619f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2Fliveblog%2F2024%2F7%2F5%2Fisrael-war-on-gaza-live-cautious-optimism-as-ceasefire-talks-revived

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JULY 3:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – July 3: at least 38,567* (38,011 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 15,747 children as of June 17.

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 556 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 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 3: at least 92,865 (including at least 87,445 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children).

[It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – July 3: ~1,478 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 324 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

Friday, 5 July 2024