Israeli atrocities in every direction – Day 415
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 35 Palestinians were killed and 94 wounded in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
Israeli forces continue to hammer Lebanon, killing at least 31 people in 24 hours, despite signs a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah could be close.
RECOMMENDED READING: Israeli massacre leaves few survivors
Israeli Minister Calls For ‘Voluntary Emigration’ of Palestinians During Trump Presidency
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared his intention to exploit the Donald Trump presidency to conduct an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. He believes he can cut the population of Gaza in half in two year’s time.
“It is possible to create a situation where Gaza’s population in two years will be less than half its current size. Encouraging voluntary emigration is an opportunity that arises with the new administration,” Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionist Party, said.
“It is possible and necessary to take civilian responsibility for Gaza.”Smotrich continues, “The IDF will need to be there to maintain security, prevent Gaza from rearming and becoming a threat to Israeli citizens again, and in the process, oversee civilian [affairs]. “
“To bring back the kidnapped (Israeli hostages in Gaza), we must occupy northern Gaza entirely and inform Hamas that if they do not return them, we will stay there forever; thus, Gaza will lose a third of its territory,” Smotrich said.
Israel has detained 435 Palestinian women in occupied West Bank since 7 October
The Israeli occupation authorities have detained at least 435 Palestinian women in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, since the beginning of its genocidal war in October 2023.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society explained in a report on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, that there is no clear estimate of the number of women who were detained from Gaza, as a number of them were later released, but it is certain that there are women who are still detained in the occupation camps, and that they are subject to enforced disappearance.
“Palestinian women are facing the bloodiest phase in the history of the conflict with the occupation, with the continuation of the war of genocide, in addition to facing a series of unprecedented crimes and serious violations against them, and the escalation of detentions and attacks at various levels, including sexual assaults,” said the society.
It added that since the beginning of the genocidal war, the Israeli occupation forces have escalated their systematic arrest of Palestinian women in all of the occupied territories, including children. Women, it said, have been arrested and used as hostages, with the aim of pressuring a family member targeted by the occupation to turn themselves in.
This policy has been one of the most prominent crimes that has escalated significantly, and has included the wives and mothers of prisoners, including elderly women over 70 years old (continue reading here).
Netanyahu stalled hostage swap deal with Hamas to satisfy Ben-Gvir, Smotrich: Report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost an opportunity to reach a hostage swap deal with Hamas in July in order to appease his far-right coalition partners National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) has reported.
According to the report, Hamas was willing to release several Israeli hostages without demanding a full cease-fire in return. The report suggested that Hamas’s willingness at the time was an attempt to link the first and second phases of a US cease-fire proposal which included humanitarian aid.
KAN said that Netanyahu rejected the proposal, particularly opposing the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, with areas like the Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim axis becoming obstacles to the cease-fire process.
An unnamed Israeli source quoted by the broadcaster said that Netanyahu’s refusal to accept the deal was to satisfy Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who had threatened to leave the government if the deal was signed.
Israeli Authorities Seize Over 52,000 Dunams Of West Bank Land
Mo’in Sha’ban, the head of the Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission, reported that Israeli occupation authorities have illegally seized more than 52,000 dunams (about 13,000 acres – about the size of San Marino, California) of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. This land seizure is part of their colonial expansion plans and efforts to displace residents since October 7, 2023.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that the occupying power [Israel] is forbidden from transferring any part of its civilian population onto the land on which it occupies [Palestine].
Revealed: Israel used US weapons in strike that killed journalists
A Guardian investigation has found that Israel used a US munition to target and kill three journalists and wound three more in a 25 October attack in south Lebanon which legal experts have called a potential war crime.
On 25 October at 3:19am, an Israeli jet shot two bombs at a chalet hosting three journalists – cameraman Ghassan Najjar and technician Mohammad Reda from pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen, as well as cameraman Wissam Qassem from the Hezbollah-affiliated outlet al-Manar.
All three were killed in their sleep in the attack which also wounded three other journalists from different outlets staying nearby. There was no fighting in the area before or at the time of the strike.
The Guardian visited the site, interviewed the owner of the property and journalists present at the time of the attack, analysed shrapnel found at the strike site, and geo-located Israeli surveillance equipment in range of the journalists’ positions. Based on the Guardian’s findings, three experts in international humanitarian law said the attack could constitute a war crime and called for further investigation (continue reading here).
15 Indictments Filed Against Israeli Soldiers During Gaza War – None for Cases Involving Deaths of Palestinian Detainees
Despite dozens of cases of detainees dying while in Israeli army custody, and dozens of military investigations into various issues, the army has only brought to trial 15 indicted soldiers for war-related offenses. Of these offenses, most concern theft and arms trading, and none pertain to incidents causing death of a detainee.
Sources in the military are criticizing the military advocate general for handing indictments for relatively light offenses but refraining from making a decision in serious cases where prisoners were killed and detainees suffered violent treatment due to worries of public criticism.
The absence of indictments comes in the wake of at least 46 Gazan detainees’ deaths since the beginning of the war.
Many of the detainees died in Sde Teiman, a detention facility for Gazan detainees that is infamous for its harsh conditions and incidents of abuse. Soldiers who had served in Sde Teiman in the first few months of the war told Haaretz about a routine of abuses against detainees, including beating them with clubs, setting leashed dogs on them and violent searches.
According to one witness who spoke to Haaretz, those incidents were witnessed by officers and were not clandestine. “I am sure bones were broken there; they were unable to stand. You kept hearing screaming,” recalled a source who had served there in early 2024.
An IDF spokesperson said in response to this report that “the IDF acts in accordance with Israeli and international law. Any report, complaint or information that raises suspicion of a violation of the law is thoroughly investigated.”
RECOMMENDED READING: Inside the Base Where Israel Has Detained Thousands of Gazans.
Former Israeli Defense Minister To Visit Washington
Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is planning to travel to Washington for meetings with U.S. security officials, despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him. As non-member states of the ICC, Israel and the USA are not legally obligated to abide by the arrest warrant.
The ICC has also issued a warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to actions in Gaza.
On November 21, 2024, the ICC mandated that member states arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter their territories.
The White House, however, has dismissed these warrants, arguing that the ICC lacks jurisdiction to prosecute Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden, whose country is not a signatory of the Rome Statute and does not have to comply with the arrest order from the ICC, called the warrants “outrageous.”
Pope Francis condemns ‘arrogance of occupiers’ in Palestine, Ukraine
Pope Francis condemned on Monday what he called the “arrogance of occupiers” in Ukraine and Palestine in a rare stance against Israeli policy and a week after he first addressed the allegations of genocide leveled against Israel.
Speaking at the Vatican on the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty between Chile and Argentina, the Roman Catholic pontiff spoke of “current armed conflicts” and the “very painful suffering” they cause.
“I simply recall two failures of humanity today; in Ukraine and Palestine, where suffering is great and the arrogance of the occupier undermines dialogue,” he told diplomats and religious representatives in an improvised statement.
He again criticized the arms trade, referring to the “hypocrisy of talking about peace while waging war.” Dialogue, added the pontiff, must be the essence of the international community.
Trump’s pick for secretary of defense is an unabashed Israel-firster
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, is convinced that the UN has an anti-Israel bias – a belief that mirrors his deepest apparent commitments: that any vision of international cooperation is rooted in his support of Israel, which at times he couches in religious terms.
In a striking passage in his 2020 book American Crusade, (AC) he presents his support for Israel as a renewal of medieval crusades:
Our present moment is much like the 11th century. We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians a thousand years ago, we must. We need an American crusade.
We Christians – alongside our Jewish friends and their remarkable army in Israel – need to pick up the sword of unapologetic Americanism and defend ourselves.
For us as American crusaders, Israel embodies the soul of our American crusade – the ‘why’ to our ‘what’.
Faith, family, freedom, and free enterprise; if you love those, learn to love the state of Israel. And then find an arena in which to fight for her.
Tom Hill, executive director of the Center for Peace and Diplomacy (CPD), commented on the book, “He is centering Israel in everything because of theology…the Second Coming, Armageddon, the return of Jesus that is really important, and Israel is central to that eschatology” (continue reading here).
RECOMMENDED READING: What does the Bible really say about modern Israel?
Iran preparing to respond to Israel’s October attacks
Ali Larijani – a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – said his country is readying retaliation to Israel’s October 26 attack.
“Relevant officials at [the] Iranian military and government are preparing measures to show a proper response to recent Israeli aggression against Iran,” Larijani said, adding that restoring deterrence is a key issue.
“[Officials] are pursuing the issue carefully to ensure that Iran’s response to Israel fulfills these specifications. This is an issue [where] we should allow relevant military officials to take the right decision. I know they are thinking about different ways to reach that decision.”
MORE NEWS:
IMEMC Daily Reports.
Al Jazeera: Dying in ‘Hell’: The fate of Palestinian medics jailed by Israel
Anadolu Agency: Israel’s defense minister pushes for construction of fence on border with Jordan
Informed Comment: Why the EU’s Stance on Israel is Starting to Change
Middle East Monitor: Israel targeted almost 200 archaeological, historic sites in Gaza, says minister
Ha’aretz: Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump Pledge $1 Million to UAE Chabad in Slain Rabbi’s Memory
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – NOVEMBER 25, 2024:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – November 25, 2024: at least 45,044* ( 44,249 in Gaza* – 69% are women and children, according to Gaza’s Media Office). [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. This does not include an estimated 10,000 more in Gaza still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children).
In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers and/or settlers have killed at least 795 Palestinians (~167 of them children).
In July 2024, the Lancet said: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death 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 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons.
- At least 43 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.
- About 345,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – November 25, 2024: at least 111,196 (including at least 104,746 in Gaza and 6,450 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 – November 25, 2024: ~1,583 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 405*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza (updated: Nov 21); 39 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.
The death toll in Lebanon since October 8, 2023 is at least 3,768, with 15,699 injuries.
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.
***The figure does not include the reportedly 56 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.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
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