Gazans are “running from death to death” – Day 309

contact@ifamericansknew.org August 12, 2024 al-aqsa mosque, evacuation, fajr massacre, fake terrorist list, truce talks, US warships

Palestinians inspect the destruction following the Israeli attack on the Al-Taba’een school, where displaced people took shelter, in al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency](photo)

Evacuation orders keep exhausted Palestinians on the move; the “Fajr massacre” left no intact bodies behind; Israeli “terrorist” hit list is fake; dwindling numbers of aid trucks means famine; US warships assembling in Middle East; Hamas calls for enforcing Biden’s truce instead of more talks; Israeli settlers storm Al Aqsa mosque under heavy police protection; Hamas claims responsibility for shooting Israeli in the Jordan Valley; Israel poised to ban another media company

By IAK staff, from reports.

‘We’re running from death to death’: Palestinian in Khan Younis

Al Jazeera reports: Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes and shelters in the middle of the night in Khan Younis, heading west towards al-Mawasi and north towards Deir el-Balah, already overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

“We’re exhausted. This is the 10th time I and my family have had to leave our shelter,” said Zaki Mohammad, 28, who lives in the Hamad housing project in western Khan Younis, where the occupants of two multistorey buildings were ordered to leave.

“People are carrying their belongings, their children, their hopes and their fears and running towards the unknown, because there is no safe place,” he said. “We are running from death to death.”

The Fajr massacre: Every 70 kg bag of human remains is considered a martyr

Mondoweiss: At dawn on Saturday, August 10, the Israeli army bombed a mosque while dozens of displaced people were praying the Fajr prayer, the daily Islamic prayer offered in the early morning. The bombing killed more than a hundred people, most of whom were dismembered or destroyed beyond recognition. For this reason the identification of the bodies has so far been incomplete.

The majority of the martyrs in this latest massacre are first- or second-degree relatives because the prayer hall that the Israeli army bombed belongs to a school housing displaced families from Gaza City. The decimated prayer hall belongs to the Tabi’in School, and is only used by the displaced people sheltering in the school.

At the time of the bombing the prayer hall was filled with men. Now, many women who may have become widows and many children who may have become orphans, are sitting in front of the classrooms that were not reached by the bombing waiting to be told the fate of their families.

The Israeli army said that it bombed the prayer hall because there were armed elements from the Islamic Jihad movement and Hamas there, but the displaced people in the school confirmed that there were no armed men among them. Hamas also denied the Israeli allegations and issued a statement saying that there were no armed men in the school.

(Read the full article here.)

Israeli military “terrorist” hit list is a fake

Al Jazeera reports: The Israeli military claimed that it killed 19 members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in its attack on the school in Gaza City, but more accounts are coming out that are challenging that narrative.

Ramy Abdul, a Palestinian national and chairman of the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, wrote after investigating sources on the ground that of the 19 people identified by the Israeli military, at least three were killed in prior incidents and nine were civilians, including university and municipality officials.

Ahmed Ihab Baker al-Jaabari, who was claimed to be a PIJ operative, was a civilian killed in December, according to the rights group.

More identified civilians here.

Gaza confronting Israeli-created Famine as Kerem Shalom Food Aid Trucks drop 80% to 24 Trucks a Day

Juan Cole reports: Although the United Nations has not officially declared a famine in Gaza, people living there are in no doubt about it.

The New Humanitarian quotes Diana Harrara, a 33-year-old mother of three in Gaza: “No word better describes what we’re experiencing than ‘famine.’ Firstly, we have nothing to eat but flour and canned food which we can only obtain as aid. This aid is inconsistent – either small in quantity or infrequent. And even when we do get it, we end up leaving the food behind when rushing from one shelter to the next.”

The severe food shortages in Gaza is caused by Israeli bombing of farms and gardens and its restrictions on the number of aid trucks permitted in, as well as the chaos and destruction wrought on the networks of food delivery activists.

Last week Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich ignited a firestorm when he maintained that it would be morally and legally justified to starve all 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza to death.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported this week that since early May, the quantity of aid shipments that entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and were collected by relief organizations plummeted by more than 80%, declining

- from an average of 127 trucks per day in April
- to approximately 23 trucks per day in July.

(Read more here.)

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)

US deploys guided missile submarine to Middle East

Reuters reports: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East, the Pentagon said.

While the USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine, was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July, according to a US military post on social media, it was a rare move to publicly announce the deployment of a submarine.

In a statement after Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, the Pentagon said Austin had ordered the Abraham Lincoln strike group to accelerate its deployment to the region.

“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of US military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions,” the statement added.

The US military had already said it will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster Israeli defenses.

Israel drops leaflets with cigarettes in Gaza as reward for information

Al Jazeera reports: An Israeli quadcopter has dropped leaflets over the tents of displaced people in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, footage shared on social media shows.

The leaflets, which had single cigarettes attached, said people who call a number with information about fighters in Gaza would receive more tobacco.

The leaflets read: “Hamas is burning Gaza” and “Smoking is dangerous, but Hamas is even more so. Want more? Give us a call.”

Hamas calls for enforcing Biden truce outline instead of more talks

Middle East Eye reports: Hamas has urged mediators to focus on implementing the ceasefire deal currently on the table rather than initiating new talks, which it says aims to provide Israel with “cover” to continue its war on Gaza.

The call, made on Sunday, comes days after US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators invited Israel and Hamas to attend a summit on 15 August to finalise an agreement.

While Hamas did not confirm whether it would participate or boycott the meeting, the Palestinian movement appeared to doubt participating.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused of blocking a ceasefire and perpetuating the war, said he would send a negotiations team to the summit.

In its statement, Hamas said that it had previously accepted a ceasefire proposal from mediators in May, welcomed US President Joe Biden’s outline later the same month and showed further flexibility towards new Israel demands.

Israeli colonists break into Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy Israeli police protection

WAFA reports: Sunday morning, scores of Israeli colonists forcefully entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, under the protection of Israeli police forces. According to eyewitnesses, the colonists broke into the mosque in groups, performing Talmudic rituals within its courtyards.

Coinciding with the incursion, Israeli police transformed the Old City of Jerusalem into a heavily fortified military zone. Hundreds of officers were deployed in close proximity around the mosque’s gates and throughout the Old City. The heightened security measures included strict controls on access for worshippers.

Preparations are underway by groups affiliated with the so-called Temple Mount movement to commemorate what they refer to as the “Destruction of the Temple.” Their plans include a human chain around the walls of the Old City scheduled for Monday evening, with the event starting from the Buraq Wall and extending towards the Old City. This will be followed by a flag-waving march.

Additionally, these groups are calling for a large-scale incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday to mark the same event.

Israeli forces take safety measures as fanatic Jewish settlers organize a provocative march in the Old City under the protection of Israeli forces on July 27, 2024 in Hebron, West Bank. [Amer Shallodi – Anadolu Agency] (photo)

Hamas claims responsibility for Jordan Valley attack

Middle East Eye reports: Hamas has taken responsibility for a shooting attack in Jordan Valley, which killed an Israeli and injured another.

In a statement, the military wing of Hamas, Qassam Brigades, identified the man as 23-year-old Yonatan Deutsch, who was killed in the attack near an illegal Israeli settlement, and said he was a “Zionist soldier”.

It said the attack on the Israeli soldier comes as a response to the killing of more than a 100 people in Tabin school in Gaza on Saturday, stating that Hamas fighters in the occupied West Bank have “renewed their allgiance” to the new Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Israel approves proposal to ban another media company

The Cradle reports: Israel approved on Sunday a proposal by Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi to ban the Al Mayadeen media network from working inside of Israel for a second time. The decision includes the confiscation of its equipment and the blocking of its websites.

The Israeli government issued a previous order to block the Lebanese-based network from working in Israel in November 2023, claiming harm to Israel’s national security. The order expired in January, and Al Mayadeen resumed its work.

The decision to again block the network, viewed as sympathetic to the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, came after “the reappearance of terrorist representatives posing as journalists about two weeks ago,” a spokesman for Karhi said in a statement.

Al Mayadeen’s Hanaa Mahameed reported from Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, one day after a rocket killed 12 children on a soccer field there.

Mahameed reported that the rocket was fired by Israel, while Israel claimed it was fired by Hezbollah and that the children were Israeli rather than Syrians under Israeli occupation.

Days later, Israel used the killing of the 12 children as a pretext to launch an airstrike to assassinate top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Israel assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh one day after killing Shukr.

Al Jazeera has also been banned from reporting in Israel.

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 11:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 11: at least 40,519* (39,897 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 622 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 11: at least 97,572 (including at least 92,152 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 11: ~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

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Monday, 12 August 2024