Gazans have an average of one meal every other day – Day 346

contact@ifamericansknew.org September 18, 2024al bureij massacre, Hezbollah, humanitarian aid, Israeli blockade, Lebanon, occupation, pager explosion, Palestinian Deaths, Wikipedia, zionism

View of the damage after Israeli forces targeted the Ibn al-Haytham School east of Gaza City. [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu] (photo)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

Gaza’s health ministry said that 26 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Tuesday.

Exploding Pagers Targeting Hezbollah Kill 12 and Wound Thousands

New York Times reports:

Hundreds of pagers carried by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday, a day after Israeli officials said they were ready to step up attacks against the Iranian-backed militia.

The pagers exploded on sidewalks and in grocery stores, at homes and inside cars, killing at least 11 people [Middle East Eye reports 12] and wounding at least 2,700 others, officials said. Witnesses reported smoke coming from pants pockets before loud bangs knocked people off their feet. Hezbollah said at least eight of its fighters had been killed.

Hezbollah has used pagers for years to make it harder for messages to be intercepted. At 3:30 p.m., the pagers received a message that appeared as though it was coming from Hezbollah’s leadership, according to two officials familiar with the attack. The pagers beeped for several seconds before exploding.

Although Israeli officials neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the explosions, Israel has a long history of sophisticated sabotage and assassination operations against its adversaries.

MIDDLE EAST EYE ADDS: The dead include an eight-year-old girl and a twelve-year-old boy.

AL JAZEERA ADDS: Military analyst Elijah Magnier said that more than 300 people lost both hands; many others lost one or both eyes, while 150 others lost part of their stomach.”

ANDALOU AGENCY ADDS: The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad planted explosives in the batteries of pager devices that detonated Tuesday in Lebanon.

The Sky News Arabia channel, citing exclusive sources, said the communication devices had fallen into Israeli hands before reaching the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Sources told Sky News, “Mossad managed to intercept Hezbollah’s communication devices before they were delivered to the group.”

Israeli leaders have threatened in the last several months that they are prepared to bomb Lebanon back to the Stone Age and that they are prepared to turn Beirut into a second Gaza.

Israel conducted Lebanon pager attack fearing Hezbollah was onto the operation

Axios reports:

A former Israeli official with knowledge of the operation said Israeli intelligence services planned to use the booby-trapped pagers as a surprise opening blow in an all-out war to try to cripple Hezbollah.

But in recent days, Israeli leaders became concerned that Hezbollah might discover the pagers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his top ministers and the heads of the Israel Defense Forces and the intelligence agencies decided to use the system now rather than take the risk of it being detected by Hezbollah, a U.S. official said.

On Tuesday afternoon local time, several minutes before the pagers started exploding across Lebanon, Gallant called U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and told him Israel was about to conduct an operation in Lebanon soon, but refused to give any specific details.

NOTE: This report suggests that the mass pager explosion incident was an impulsive, opportunistic act, not part of any strategy on Israel’s part.

Ambulances are being dispatched to the area in Beirut, Lebanon while security forces take precautions after at least eight people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of wireless communication devices known as pagers on September 17, 2024 [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency] (photo)

Israel’s siege now blocks 83% of food aid reaching Gaza

Joint press release from fifteen major aid organizations:

New data has revealed the scale of aid obstruction, and the consequential drastic fall in aid entering Gaza. This is driving a humanitarian disaster, with the entire population of Gaza facing hunger and disease, and almost half a million at risk of starvation.

While Israeli military attacks on Gaza intensify, lifesaving food, medicine, medical supplies, fuel, and tents have been systematically blocked from entering for almost a year.

Data analysis by organizations working in Gaza has found that as a consequence of the Israeli government’s obstruction of aid, 83% of required food aid does not make it into Gaza, up from 34% in 2023.This reduction means people in Gaza have gone from having an average of two meals a day to just one meal every other day.

While humanitarian needs are ever increasing, agencies have detailed six main ways their life-saving aid is systematically obstructed on a daily basis.

These include the denial of safety, with more than 40,000 Palestinians and nearly 300 aid workers killed since last October; the sharp tightening of a 17-year blockade to a full siege, which prevents aid from entering Gaza; delays and denials which restrict the movement of aid around Gaza; tightly restrictive and unpredictable control of imports; the destruction of public infrastructure such as schools and hospitals; and the displacement of civilians and humanitarian workers (witnessed again in recent displacement orders from the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Deir el-Balah.)

Aid agencies are calling on governments to demand Israel end aid obstruction and to:

Secure an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
Implement an arms embargo and end the export of weapons and military equipment that risk being used in violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.
Demand compliance with the International Court of Justice’s findings and recommendations, an end to the Israeli government’s siege of Gaza, and heed the call of the ICJ in its advisory opinion to end the occupation of Palestinian territory.

(Read the full report here.)

UN team reached northern Gaza for ‘first time’ in 4 weeks, says official

Andalou Agency reports:

A UN team reached the northern part of the embattled Gaza Strip for the first time in about a month, a UN official said Tuesday, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

During the first half of September, out of nearly 50 missions led by seven different UN agencies, only a quarter could cross into the north through the Israeli checkpoints along Wadi Gaza.

“Even when these missions could cross, they often faced impediments along the way, with some convoys stopped at gunpoint, shot at, or forced to wait for hours in the middle of a war zone,” Dujarric said.

Destroyed buildings in Beit Lahia, one of the northernmost cities in the Gaza Strip.Credit...Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images — Destroyed buildings in Beit Lahia, one of the northernmost cities in the Gaza Strip.Credit…Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images (photo)

New Israeli massacre in central Gaza as jets flatten residential block

The Cradle reports:

The Israeli army committed a new massacreagainst Palestinians in Gaza on 17 September, killing almost two dozen and wounding scores in a heavily populated residential area of Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central strip.

Gaza’s Civil Defense said there were more than 50 Palestinians inside the homes bombarded by Israel (Al Jazeera reports 80 Palestinians). Civil Defense workers have managed to recover the bodies of eight Palestinians who were killed. But there are still dozens under the rubble.

“Dozens of distress calls have been received from inside the homes targeted by the occupation … entire families have been erased from the civil registry in the Al-Bureij massacre,” Gaza’s Civil Defense said.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 23 people were killed, including at least one child, and over 50 others injured following the Israeli airstrike on Al-Bureij camp.

AL JAZEERA ADDS: The emergency workers say they are facing a remarkable challenge in accessing the site again, especially as the Israeli military has targeted a number of workers as they were heading to the place in order to rescue those who are still under the rubble.

PALESTINE CHRONICLE ADDS: Gaza Civil Defense has confirmed that US-made destructive bombs were used in the bombing of the residential block.

More than 50 people are estimated to have been inside the houses during the Israeli attack on a block of homes in Al Bureij refugee camp, Gaza (photo)

UNRWA: Israel Denying Visas to Aid Groups, “Phasing Out” Humanitarians in Gaza

Truthout reports:

Israeli officials are denying visas to humanitarian groups and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned — an attempt not only to disrupt aid in Gaza, but also to undermine Palestinians’ refugee status and their right to return to their homeland.

On Tuesday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the Israeli government has “stopped giving visas” to leaders and staffers within the NGO community, after creating what many experts have called the worst humanitarian crisis in modern times. Those banned include agencies with “close partnerships” with the UN, he said.

“Increasingly, the Government of Israel is phasing out representation from humanitarian organizations or those engaged in reporting on the atrocities of this war and the impact on civilians. As humanitarian needs continue to increase we need more humanitarian workers not less,” Lazzarini said.

The move by the Israeli government is the latest in their attacks on humanitarian aid operations for Palestinians as they have created a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where the entire population of 2.3 million is in crisis levels of hunger or outright famine; and where even soap has become a precious commodity, as skin, respiratory and other communicable diseases are on the rise.

Palestinians examine the damage to the UNRWA buildings in Gaza City. (photo)

New Gaza Health Numbers Show Israel Kills Two Babies Every Day

Drop Site News reports:

The Israeli military killed at least 710 Palestinian babies before they made it to their first birthday, the equivalent of two infants under one-year-old killed by Israel every day for nearly a year. That’s according to a 649-page document published by the Ministry of Health in Gaza on Sunday listing the names of tens of thousands Palestinians killed by Israel between October 7 and August 31.

Of the 40,738 the ministry has confirmed dead, it has biographical information—including identification number, gender, date of birth, and age—for 34,344. Because the ministry does not have complete biographical information for the remaining 6,394, it has not listed their names. The list starts with the youngest victims. For the first 13 and a half pages, the age is listed as 0—those under one year old.

A brief breakdown of the numbers killed:

Babies (Less that one year old): 710; Toddlers, 1-3: 1,793; Children, 4-12: 5,410; Children, 13-17: 3,442

Total number under 18 years old killed: 11,355

(Read the full article here.)

The Israeli military killed at least 710 Palestinian babies before they made it to their first birthday, the equivalent of two infants under one-year-old killed by Israel every day for nearly a year. (photo)

Nearly 1,000 Palestinian health workers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza named

Middle East Eye reports:

Israeli forces have killed 1,151 Palestinians working in Gaza’s health sector during its onslaught on the enclave, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday.A total of 986 were named in a new report published by the ministry, while personal data for the remaining 165 was still being verified.

More than 300 health workers have also been detained by Israeli forces during the assault. Former prisoners say doctors are singled out for cruel treatment by Israeli forces in detention, where torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners is widespread and systematic.

West Bank: Five Palestinian children killed or injured on average every day

Save the Children press release:

The number of children killed or injured by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank has more than doubled since last October, with 158 killed, at least 1 ,400 injured, and concerns of further casualties with a significant escalation of violence in the past six weeks, Save the Children said.

The latest data showed that 115 children were fatally shot between 7 October and 14 August – triple the amount from the preceding 10 months. Others have been killed in airstrikes and drone attacks.

With total child casualties of 1,558, this means on average five children have been killed or injured per day since October. Save the Children is calling on the international community to take decisive actions to ensure accountability for violations against children and demanding an immediate end to excessive force against civilians—especially children—in the West Bank.

(Read the full report here.)

Israeli forces have killed seven Palestinian teens in West Bank in a week. — Israeli forces killed seven Palestinian teens in West Bank in a week at the end of August. (IMEMC)

4 Israeli soldiers reportedly killed in Gaza by booby trap

Middle East Monitor reports:

The Israeli occupation army announced that four soldiers were killed in Rafah, when an explosive device was detonated in a building in Tel Al-Sultan in Rafah.

They were engaged in operations to sweep suspected booby-trapped buildings, but failed to detect some explosives.

293 Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killedin the months following October 7th.

West Bank: Israeli Forces Kill a Palestinian Near Tulkarem

IMEMC reports:

Israeli forces shot and killed, on Tuesday, a Palestinian man while near the Apartheid Wall, north of Tulkarem in the northwestern part of the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced, on Tuesday afternoon, that the citizen, Samir Abdul-Rahim Amer, 55, died after Israeli forces shot and critically injured him while he was near the Apartheid Wall, near the village of Al-Jaroushiya, northeast of Tulkarem.

Since the beginning of the Israeli military onslaught against the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed 706 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 158 children, in addition to injuring 5,700.

The distribution of those killed in the West Bank is as follows; 188 in Jenin, 152 in Tulkarem, 72 in Nablus, 71 in Hebron, 59 in Ramallah, 57 in Tubas, 44 in Jerusalem, 28 in Qalqilia, 19 in Bethlehem, 12 in Jericho, 12 inside Israel, and 4 in Salfit.

Palestine submits draft resolution to UN General Assembly for Israel to end occupation

Andalou Agency reports:

The Palestinian Permanent Mission to the UN submitted a first draft resolution Tuesday to the General Assembly demanding Israel end its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories within 12 months.

The move came after the General Assembly granted the mission additional rights and privileges to participate at the UN..

An emergency session was held at the 79th UN General Assembly on the legal consequences of Israel’s activities in occupied Palestinian territories.

UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang said, “It is our collective duty as representatives of the international community to ensure that the principles of justice and the rule of law prevail.”

US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Palestinian resolution has a “significant number of flaws” and would not bring “tangible benefits.”

She claimed the resolution would negatively affect work on the ground and impede steps toward a two-state solution.

NOTE: Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is a violation of international law.

Wikipedia (accurately) defines Zionism as ‘colonialism,’ sparking outrage among Israel supporters

Jewish News Syndicate reports:

A heated debate has erupted on social media over recent changes made to the Wikipedia entry for Zionism, sparking accusations of historical revisionism.

Users on social media have over the past several 24 hours posted a comparison between the 2023 and 2024 versions of the Wikipedia page, with one user, Liv Lovisa, claiming that “history is being rewritten.”

Blake Flayton, a vocal commentator on Jewish and Israeli issues, responded to the post, calling the changes “egregious” and urging someone with expertise to edit the page to reflect what he considers to be a more accurate portrayal.

At the center of the debate are key changes in the language used to describe Zionism, the movement that called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in what is now Israel.

The 2023 version of the page framed Zionism as a nationalist movement born in the 19th century that sought to secure Jewish self-determination.

In contrast, the 2024 version of the entry introduces more charged terminology, describing Zionism as an “ethno-cultural nationalist” movement that engaged in “colonization of a land outside of Europe,” with a heightened focus on the resulting conflicts with Palestinian Arabs.

One Twitter pro-Israel voice, Hen Mazzig, wrote: “The new Wikipedia entry on Zionism isn’t just inaccurate, it’s downright antisemitic. It asserts that the origin of Ashkenazi Jews is ‘highly debated and enigmatic,’ echoing Khazar theory, the dangerous lie that Ashkenazi Jews are converts and not descendants of the Jews exiled from the Land of Israel.”

NOTE: Actual antisemitism is not as prevalent as Israel partisans would like us to think. A large portion of what they call antisemitism is simply criticism of Israel, the self-proclaimed “Jewish State.”

Most of the animosity Israel experiences is opposition to Zionism. Zionism is not a benign philosophy, but a racist ideology – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations.

The so-called “demonization” of Israel is in most cases a legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies of occupation, apartheid, andgenocide, and other illegal practices.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in London, UK hold a banner and chant at a demonstration calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza on 9 December 2023 [Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images] (photo)

IMEMC Daily Reports.

Chris Hedges (via Scheerpost): To the Israeli Soldier Who Murdered Aysenur Ezgi Eygi

Mondoweiss: In disturbing escalation against the Palestine movement, UK police arrest journalists and activists under Terrorism Act

The Intercept: Israeli Soldiers Killed 15 Protesters in the Same Place They Shot Aysenur Eygi

Common Dreams: GOP Senator Accused of ‘Hate Speech’ Against Arab American Witness at Hate Crimes Hearing

Electronic Intifada: Is Israel using banned thermal weapons?

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 17:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 17, 2024: at least 41,978* (41,272 in Gaza* – 11,308 women (30%), 16,715 children as of September 5. [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 706 in the West Bank (~148 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 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 300,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 23 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition (at least 37 of them children)**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – September 17: at least 101,251 (including at least 95,551 in Gaza and 5,700 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, 2023 – September 17, 2024: ~1,457 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 293*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis 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.

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.

† 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

Wednesday, 18 September 2024