News highlights on week 41 of Israel’s genocide in Gaza
Nora Barrows-Friedman Rights and Accountability 19 July 2024
Israel committed a series of massacres over the past week, repeatedly targeting the al-Mawasi area, which was designated as a so-called safe zone in the south, as well as Nuseirat refugee camp in the central area.
Israel bombed emergency shelters at United Nations-run schools in at least five separate attacks over the last week.
On Saturday, Israel carried out a massacre in al-Mawasi, killing at least 90 and wounding 300.
In a separate attack, Israel bombed worshippers gathered for noon prayers outside the ruins of a mosque in Beach refugee camp, killing at least 20.
Healthcare officials stated that many of the dead and injured arrived with third-degree burns caused by internationally banned weapons like thermal bombs.
The government media office said that these kinds of weapons are particularly lethal, adding that it holds Washington fully responsible for arming Israel and causing the multiple massacres committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
A member of the Rebuild Gaza initiative recorded this video of the aftermath of Monday’s massacre in al-Mawasi:
And Israel bombed the United Nations-run Razi middle school, which has been turned into a shelter for displaced people, killing at least 23 people.
Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud said that the Israeli attack on the school in the heart of the camp happened during rush hour when the streets around the overcrowded school were full of people.
Shujaiya in ruins
Israel retreated from the Shujaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City this week after a two-week long raid, but continued to attack Palestinians with airstrikes.
Journalist Ibrahim al-Khalil reported from Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood on Monday, after the Israeli military left it in ruins.
A spokesperson for the civil defense corps in Gaza said that the bodies of more than 60 people had been recovered in Shujaiya, and that many more were missing under the rubble of destroyed homes.
Also in Gaza City, Israel completely flattened the headquarters of UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees. More than 190 of the agency’s facilities, including schools where people have sought shelter, have been bombed across Gaza since October.
Running out of water
The municipality of Deir al-Balah reportedearlier this week that the city has run out of clean water.
Nearly 20 wells and two water tanks that serve more than 700,000 internally displaced people are unavailable because Israel won’t let fuel into Gaza, stated the Glia project on Monday.
Our contributor Fedaa al-Qedra reported on the efforts undertaken by Rahaf, a young woman in Khan Younis, to procure safe drinking water for her family, a task that has fallen on her shoulders after her two brothers were severely injured in an Israeli attack.
No safe place to give birth
Meanwhile, health experts say that miscarriages in Gaza have skyrocketed 300 percent since before 7 October 7. And women are three times more likely to die in childbirth.
Israel’s ruthless and deliberate targeting of hospitals and health clinics over the last nine months is compounded with a lack of critical supplies and medications necessary to ensure safe deliveries. But this is just part of the crisis.
Dr. Roba Almadhoun, an obstetrician in Gaza, describes the opposing feelings of joy and grief experienced by many mothers of babies delivered during the genocide.
She wrote a feature we published this week about a woman named Hiba who was eight months pregnant when the Gaza home where she was sheltering with her family was hit in an Israeli airstrike.
Highlighting resilience
Finally, we wanted to bring you some images and videos from journalists and others in Gaza who are not just relentlessly documenting the unspeakable atrocities but also making sure to highlight the resilience, joy and determination of the Palestinian people.
The American Friends Service Committee’steam in Gaza organized gatherings for young football fans anticipating the Spain-England match at the Euro final over the weekend.
Our contributor Abubaker Abed reported from the beach, alongside those children.
And Gaza-based Instagram user Athar Abo Rabea, who regularly uploads photos and videos documenting the daily struggles, particularly for children, as well as her own ingenious methods of cooking and building things without gas or electricity, recently recorded this video of kids dancing in the street.
Articles mentioned in this newscast
- “Israel kills at least 90 Palestinians in Gaza ‘safe zone’,” Maureen Clare Murphy
- “Slaughter in a safe zone,” Razan Abu Salem
- “Israel massacres Palestinians to maximize pressure on Hamas,” Maureen Clare Murphy
- “A long wait for water,” Fedaa al-Qedra
- “Women in Gaza three times more likely to die during childbirth, experts warn,” Nora Barrows-Friedman
- “Joy struggles with grief as birth mingles with death,” Roba Almadhoun
Photo: Omar Ashtawy / APA images
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