“Safe zone” massacre, hospital gutted, shelter flattened – just another day in Gaza – Day 279
Massive casualties in Mawasi “safe zone”; “planned massacre” in Gaza City; UNRWA finds international support while under Israeli attack; West Bank deaths; 46,000 Israeli businesses closed since October 7th; obstinacy from Netanyahu; US seeks new way to help Israel dodge ICC arrest warrants; Sanders says, amid election frenzy, “we must not forget Gaza”; more.
By IAK staff, from reports.
Breaking News: over 70 massacred in “safe zone” Saturday morning
Al Jazeera reports: At least 71 people have been killed and 289 wounded in an Israeli air attack on the al-Mawasi refugee camp, west of Khan Younis, the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says.
Gaza’s Civil Defense has told Al Jazeera the targeted area was designated by the Israeli forces as a so-called “safe” zone. Witnesses say rescue workers and health teams on the scene targeted by Israeli forces.
Images from the scene showed Palestinians trying to rescue people from under the rubble, with children and paramedics among the wounded.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said this was “a new massacre committed by the Israeli military”, adding that the area was hit by “five bombs and five missiles”.
“The scenes that are coming from the area that was targeted are incredibly bloody and devastating,” he said.
The Israeli forces have confirmed that Saturday’s attack on displaced people in Mawasi targeted Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif.
Hamas has dismissed Israel’s claim that Saturday’s Mawasi strike was targeting the group’s leaders as “false.” “It’s not the first time Israel claims to target Palestinian leaders, only to be proven false later,” the group said in a statement.
Israel leaves Gaza hospital in ruins
One month after Palestinians in Gaza City renovated and reopened the Patient’s Friends Hospital, Israeli occupation forces attacked it again, destroying it and leaving it unable to serve civilians in the north of the enclave. There are currently no fully functioning hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
Israel flattens UNRWA HQ sheltering displaced Gazans
Israeli occupation forces have flattened the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City leaving thousands of already displaced Palestinians with no shelter. Civil defense teams have said scores of bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, with many more thought to be trapped beneath it.
Israeli army killed dozens in Gaza City in ‘planned massacre’: Official
Al Jazeera reports: Director-General of the Government Media Office Ismail al-Thawabta has accused Israeli authorities of carrying out a “planned massacre” that killed dozens in Gaza City.
Al-Thawabta told Al Jazeera Arabic that the Israeli army directed thousands of Palestinians in eastern Gaza City to move to neighborhoods in the west and south of the city, then opened fire at them once they got there.
He said 70 bodies have been retrieved by rescue crews in the area of Tal al-Hawa, and at least 50 people remain missing.
“Some displaced people were pointing to the Israeli army, carrying white flags and saying, ‘We are not fighters; we are displaced.’ But the Israeli occupation army executed these displaced people with cold blood,” al-Thawabta said.
ICJ to issue advisory opinion on Israeli occupation on July 19
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory on July 19, the court said in a news release.
The UN’s highest court held historic hearings into Israel’s occupation in February of this year.
The court heard from 52 countries and three organizations on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
‘Blatant Disregard’ – UNRWA Attacked for Safeguarding Palestinian Refugees’ Rights
Palestine Chronicle reports: UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini has cautioned that turning a blind eye to the attacks on the UN agency in the occupied Palestinian territories could set a dangerous precedent, adding that it is being targeted for its role in safeguarding the rights of Palestinian refugees.
“In more than 30 years of humanitarian work, I have never encountered such blatant disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers, facilities and operations under international law,” Lazzarini, the agency’s Commissioner-General said in his speech at the opening of the UNRWA Pledging Conference in New York on Friday.
He said, “Turning a blind eye to these attacks sets a dangerous precedent, undermining respect for the rules-based international order in other conflicts.”
UNRWA’s Lazzarini says funding guaranteed until September
Al Jazeera reports: Speaking to the press after a pledging conference, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency had been guaranteed through September.
He added that the pledged amount was not yet known but would be disclosed in the coming days.
Out of the 16 countries that suspended funding after Israeli allegations against UNRWA, 14 have now resumed funding. The US and the UK did not resume funding, but Lazzarini said he was confident Britain – which elected a new government last week – would soon resume its financial support.
118 countries signed a shared commitment to support and bolster financial and political support for UNRWA.
Israeli forces gun down Palestinian in Ramallah-governorate town
WAFA reports: Israeli occupation forces Friday evening reportedly gunned down a Palestinian in the Abwein town, northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
Mayor of Abwein, Mahmoud Hamad, said that the occupation forces barged their way into the town, triggering confrontations between heavily armed Israeli soldiers and Palestinians.
During the confrontations, Hamad added, the heavily armed Israeli soldiers opened live fire directly on 26-year-old Ali Muwafaq Muzahem, critically injuring him. A short time later, he was pronounced dead.
More detail on Israeli forces’ killing of 14-year-old Palestinian boy south of Jenin
Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) reports: On Thursday, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian child in the northern occupied West Bank.
Around 5 p.m. 14-year-old Ali Hasan Ali Rabaya was shot under the armpit by an Israeli soldier inside a heavily armored military vehicle from a distance of 20 to 40 meters (65 to 131 feet) near the western entrance of the Palestinian village of Maithaloun, south of Jenin in the northern occupied West bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine.
After Israeli forces shot him, Ali ran about three meters (10 feet) before collapsing to the ground. Israeli forces continued firing in Ali’s direction, striking at least five other Palestinian children, including a 13-year-old boy who was seriously injured in the chest and legs.
Continued Israeli military fire prevented Palestinian residents from reaching Ali for about five minutes. When the Israeli military vehicles withdrew, a private car brought Ali to the Turkish Governmental Hospital in Tubas, where he was pronounced dead around 5:35 p.m.
“Without a second thought, Israeli forces killed 14-year-old Ali and injured at least five other Palestinian children when they opened fire in Maithaloun,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Decades of systemic impunity have emboldened Israeli forces to shoot to kill without consequence, demonstrating contempt for Palestinian children’s lives. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must issue arrest warrants for Israeli authorities now and force accountability.”
After raiding another Palestinian town, Israeli forces passed the Palestinian village of Maithaloun, where Palestinian residents confronted passing Israeli military vehicles.
Ali was allegedly throwing stones toward the heavily armored Israeli military vehicles at the time he was shot.
Israel quietly disappears West Bank land
Electronic Intifada reports: As Israel’s genocide in Gaza enters its tenth month, its settler-colonial project advances relentlessly across historic Palestine.
The UN Human Rights Office is sounding alarm bells over Israel’s accelered land theft in the occupied West Bank, exacerbated by the forcible displacement of Palestinians through settler violence, home demolitions and access restrictions.
“The situation in the occupied West Bank is a matter of grave concern as Israel allows and facilitates an environment characterized by fear forcing communities from their homes and lands,” the UN office said.
Settlers, the statement continued, “acting with the protection and support of Israeli security forces, are escalating violent attacks on herding communities in the South Hebron Hills, Jordan Valley and East Jerusalem that have been encircled by settlements and outposts.”
Israel’s so-called security cabinet approved the legalization of five settler “outposts.”
While all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law and building them is a war crime, what Israel refers to as “outposts” are often built without even Israel’s permission and are considered illegal under Israeli law.
(Read the full article here.)
‘Israel in collapse’: 46,000 businesses forced to close since 7 Oct
The Cradle reports: Forty-six thousand Israeli businesses have been forced to shut as a result of the ongoing war and its devastating effect on the economy, Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported on 10 July, referring to Israel as a “country in collapse.”
“This is a very high number that encompasses many sectors. About 77 percent of the businesses that have been closed since the beginning of the war, which make up about 35,000 businesses, are small businesses with up to five employees, and are the most vulnerable in the economy,” Yoel Amir, CEO of Israeli information services and credit risk management firm, CofaceBdi, told Maariv.
The report adds that “the most vulnerable industries are the construction industry, and as a result also the entire ecosystem that operates around it: ceramics, air conditioning, aluminum, building materials, and more – All of these were significantly damaged,” according to CofaceBdi’s risk ratings.
The trade sector has also been severely affected. This includes the service sector and industries including fashion, furniture, housewares, entertainment, transport, and tourism.
Israel is in a situation where “there is almost no foreign tourism,” the report said, adding that “damage to businesses is all over the country, and almost no sector has been spared.”
This includes the agriculture sector, which is based mainly in the south and the north – both considered active combat zones due to the threat posed by the Palestinian resistance and Lebanon’s Hezbollah – whose support front against Israel has significantly contributed to the downfall of the economy.
The CofaceBdi CEO estimates that 60,000 Israeli businesses are expected to be shut down by the end of 2024.
Israeli PM Netanyahu has ‘rejected’ probes into security lapses leading up to October 7
Al Jazeera reports: Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has long rejected any sort of investigation into the events on October 7 and the days leading up to it because he has said that all of the focus and resources should be allocated to the current war on Gaza.
In fact, members of his far-right government – including ultra-nationalists like Itamar Ben-Gvir – have said there shouldn’t be an investigation until after the war.
This is the first time the Israeli army has revealed any sort of findings from any investigation as to what happened on October 7.
They say there are more investigations that they are currently working on, and are going to make those findings public once those investigations are completed.
Senior Israeli official says Netanyahu holding up hostage-truce deal with new demands
Times of Israel reports: A senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations for a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding up an agreement with new demands.
Speaking to Hebrew media, the official says that the prime minister is now insisting on the establishment of an enforcement mechanism that would prevent armed Hamas operatives from returning to northern Gaza.
The negotiating team told Netanyahu that they were opposed to the new condition and it was not feasible. Netanyahu told the team he insists on it.
Channel 12 quotes officials as saying that they believe Netanyahu is trying to delay a deal because he is likely to lose his coalition over the deal, with far-right parties vowing to quit if the agreement goes through.
“This is the moment of truth for the hostages,” the official tells Channel 12. We can reach an agreement within two weeks and bring the hostages home.”
NOTE: While Hamas holds around 100 prisoners in Gaza, Israel is currently holdingover 9,700 Palestinian prisoners ininhumane conditions where many aresystematically tortured – 250 of them are children, 79 are women, and over 3,300 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.
US considers fresh legal bid questioning ICC jurisdiction over Israel
Middle East Eye reports: The US is considering a legal bid to question the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) authority in seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza, Middle East Eye can reveal.
A US official briefed on the matter told MEE that the Biden administration is considering submitting an amicus curiae to the ICC, voicing its staunch opposition to the decision of the court’s chief prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for the Israeli officials, despite the US not being a signatory to the treaty that created the court.
The deliberations, not previously reported, come amid a lobbying campaign at the highest levels of the Biden administration to prevent the UK from dropping its legal appeal against the ICC.
The Biden administration has made no secret of its objection to the court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside senior Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip.
Poll finds 72% of Israelis think Netanyahu should quit over Oct. 7 failures
Times of Israel reports: Seventy-two percent of Israelis think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to resign over the failures of October 7, according to a Channel 12 poll published Friday.
Of those, 44% believe Netanyahu needs to quit immediately, while another 28% believe he should resign when the war ends.
The poll also found that the public views Netanyahu as the Israeli most responsible for the October 7 catastrophe.
Football player wins case against club for wrongful termination over Palestine support
Al Jazeera reports: A German court has ruled that football club Mainz wrongfully terminated the contract of Anwar El Ghazi – whose parents are of Moroccan descent – after the Dutch forward refused to stay silent about his support for Palestinians.
German club Mainz suspended El Ghazi in October, before terminating his contract in November, after he refused to stop posting about Israel’s war on Gaza on social media.
The forward, who wrote the statement “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in one such post, has previously said he has “no regrets or remorse” about his stand.
CAIR, ACC Announce New Fund to Help Students Targeted for Palestine Advocacy on College Campuses
Press release: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and A Continuous Charity (ACC) today announced that they are establishing a new fund to help students targeted for their pro-Palestine advocacy on college campuses.
CAIR and ACC’s new Educational Pursuit Fund (EPF) is dedicated to assisting students who have faced adverse consequences for voicing their support for Palestine.
How Your Contributions Help:
- 70% of all donations go toward providing interest-free educational loans. These funds will enable students to continue their education without financial strain.
- 30% of contributions are allocated to grants for students who have lost scholarships, housing, or other support because of their advocacy. Each grant is valued at $1,000, offering vital unrestricted funds that recipients can use as they see fit, helping them navigate through their challenging circumstances.
“We Must Not Forget Gaza,” says Sanders
Statement from Bernie Sanders: While much of the media is focused on the drama of the U.S. presidential election, we must not lose sight of what is happening in Gaza, where an unprecedented humanitarian crisis continues to get even worse.
Nine months into this war, more than 38,000 people have been killed and 88,000 injured…The full toll is likely higher, with thousands more buried beneath the rubble.
Nine in ten Gazans – 1.9 million people – have been driven from their homes…60 percent of residential buildings [have been] damaged or destroyed.
Israel continues to restrict the entry of UN humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza…
The results are catastrophic.
Unbelievably, one in four Gazans face starvation, some 495,000 people…Many people, including children, are sifting through the rubble for food, and boiling leaves for sustenance.
In searing heat, clean water is in short supply. Some 67 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed…
These conditions have spread dangerous diseases like hepatitis and diarrhea, yet most hospitals and health clinics have been destroyed by the bombardment, and some 500 health care workers killed.
Yet, in the midst of this horror and violations of international law, the United States continues to send billions of dollars and thousands of bombs and other weapons to support this war. We, as Americans, are complicit.
We must end our support for Netanyahu’s war. Not another nickel to make this horrific situation even worse. I intend to do everything I can to block further arms transfers to Israel, including through joint resolutions of disapproval of any arms sales. The United States must not help a right-wing extremist and war criminal continue this atrocity.
MORE NEWS:
IMEMC Daily Reports.
Al Jazeera: The spotlight should be on Palestine at the Paris Olympics
Al Jazeera: Israel’s attacks on Gaza: A guide
Mondoweiss: Biden or not, U.S. policy on Palestine stays the same
Electronic Intifada: A long wait for water
Middle East Eye: In Gaza, Palestinian with Down syndrome ‘left to die’ by Israeli soldiers after combat dog attack
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JULY 12:
Palestinian death toll from October 7 – July 12: at least 38,917* (38,345 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 573 in the West Bank (~138 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.
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 12: at least 93,715 (including at least 88,295 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 12: ~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.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
- 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
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- ‘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.
- The day Israeli tanks fired directly at AFP’s Gaza Bureau.
- The craziest ‘pro-Israel’ votes on the Hill today.
- Israeli documents show expansive government effort to shape US discourse around Gaza war.
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- UN finds at least 14 Israelis likely intentionally killed by own army on October 7.
- ADL faces Wikipedia ban over reliability concerns on Israel, antisemitism.
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- Veterans For Peace: U.S. Army Major Quits Over Israel.
- While Gaza suffers physical genocide, the West Bank faces economic genocide.
- The Palestinians’ Ironclad, Inalienable Right To Resist.
- Candace Owens & Briahna Joy Gray say criticism of Israel is “red line” for media.
- The night Israel killed my family.
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