06 July 2024
An Holocaust Starting on October 10 AD 2023
While the Occupation is business as usual for Israel, there should be no business with Israel
In Occupied Palestine Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land
08:00, 04 July until 08:00, 05 July 2024 [Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Gaza Strip
Air strikes: Heavy aerial bombardment on buildings, homes and many facilities.
Attacks: All over Gaza, there are air strikes, heavy gunfire, tank and artillery shelling, as well as missiles fired from Israeli forces and military occupation, especially in Khan Yunis. The Israeli Navy continues to fire missiles, targeting facilities and buildings along the entire Gaza shoreline.
Victims: The total number of deaths, since 7 October is at least 38,011 and the number of wounded and injured has risen to more than 87,445. The daily average of men, women and children killed in Gaza is at least 140 and, of those injured, the daily average is over 322.
OCHA Flash Update #187 (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - office in Jerusalem which I used to visit)
Key Highlights
Nine out of ten people in Gaza are currently internally-displaced, the UN estimates.
About 250,000 people are estimated to live in areas in eastern Khan Yunis and Rafah recently placed under an evacuation order by the Israeli authorities; the European Gaza Hospital is now empty and non-functional.
Lack of fuel is increasingly hampering live-saving health services and the operation of vital water and sanitation infrastructure, humanitarian actors report.
Displaced people in Jabalya Refugee Camp are facing extremely dire living conditions, including critical shortages of water, unsafe shelters and insufficient food assistance, an inter-agency assessment mission finds.
Humanitarian Developments
Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, as well as destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
Between the afternoons of 1 and 4 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 111 Palestinians were killed and 385 injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 4 July 2024, at least 38,011 Palestinians were killed and 87,445 injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering the period until the afternoon of 5 July are not available, as of the time of reporting.
The following are among the deadliest incidents reported on 2 and 3 July:
On 2 July, at 15:20, 12 Palestinians, including five women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in the Abu Oraif area in Deir Al Balah. The Head of the Burns and Plastic Surgery Department at Nasser Medical Complex, Dr Hasan Hamdan, and his family members were reportedly identified among the fatalities.
On 2 July, at about 23:00, seven Palestinians, including three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in the Ash Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
On 3 July, at about 09:30, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and 17 others injured when people, trying to return to the Ash Shuja’iyeh area of Gaza City, were hit.
On 3 July, at about 21:30, four Palestinians, including a woman and three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when an apartment was hit in the Al Mashahra area of the At Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City.
On 3 July, at about 17:00, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit at the As Samer Junction in central Gaza city.
Between the afternoons of 1 and 5 July, six Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 5 July, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,523 Israelis were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023. These include 323 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,069 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 5 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
The United Nations, following consultations with partners and for the purposes of humanitarian programming, estimates that the population currently present in the Gaza Strip is about 2.1 million people, down from the initially projected 2024 figure of 2.3 million people by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). According to the Border Authority, about 110,000 Palestinians have exited Gaza through Egypt, and more than 38,000 have been killed in the hostilities, according to MoH. The entire population is considered in need of humanitarian assistance across all sectors. The United Nations and its partners further estimate that the number of people internally displaced within Gaza has risen from 1.7 to 1.9 million people. In other words, approximately nine out of ten people in Gaza are now estimated to be internally displaced, many multiple times. Mass displacement has been predominantly driven by evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, extensive destruction of both private and public infrastructure, restricted access to essential services, and the persistent fear of ongoing hostilities.
In the second largest evacuation order since October 2023, on 1 July, the Israeli military ordered residents of 71 residential blocs in eastern Khan Yunis and Rafah to immediately evacuate westwards to what the military defines as a "humanitarian zone" in Al Mawasi. The evacuation area encompasses vital service facilities, including 92 schools, four medical points, two primary health centres, 14 hot-meal kitchens for internally displaced persons (IDPs), a major landfill, one sewage treatment facility and one hospital (see more details below). The UN and its partners estimate that about 250,000 people may have resided in the evacuation area when the order was issued. IDPs moved toward western Khan Yunis and Deir Al Balah, which are already overcrowded and lack basic services, critical infrastructure, shelter materials and spaces to accommodate the new influx of IDPs. Moreover, IDPs continue to fear for their safety across Gaza. On 3 July, at least one Palestinian was reportedly killed, and 10 others injured, when a five-storey building near Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis was hit, a strike that also caused damage to tents of IDPs taking shelter at a nearby UNRWA school.
On 2 July, when the Israeli authorities clarified that the 1 July evacuation order did not apply to the European Gaza Hospital (EGH), most medical staff and patients, including those who were on their beds with their drips, had already hastily fled the hospital in fear that it would soon become non-functional based on past experiences at hospitals that were located in areas slated for evacuation. EGH was completely empty by the evening of 2 July, and all 320 patients and medical personnel had left. The majority of patients were referred to Nasser Medical Complex, which reached full capacity with more than 350 inpatients, amid critical shortages of medications and supplies for surgeries. As of 4 July, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and OCHA, key medical equipment, including beds, operating theatre equipment, anaesthesia machines, ventilators, monitors and extracorporeal circulators, were transferred from EGH to Nasser Medical Complex to respond to growing needs. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which had one medical-surgical team comprising doctors, nurses and physiotherapists embedded within the EGH, was also forced to transfer its staff and patients to the Red Cross Field Hospital in Al Mawasi area of Rafah. Al Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis was similarly affected, receiving an influx of injured people after they could no longer be absorbed at Nasser complex.
The evacuation of the EGH, a 650-bed health facility, has further reduced available hospital bed capacity in southern Gaza, where the majority of Gaza’s population is currently concentrated. According to the Health Cluster, cumulative bed capacity at the six partially functional hospitals in southern Gaza – including three in Deir al Balah and three in Khan Yunis – now stands at 1,334 beds. At present, only 15 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain functional, albeit partially, and most are only partially accessible to patients due to insecurity, access constraints and damage sustained by the facilities. In addition, out of 103 primary health-care centres, only 43 (42 per cent) continue to operate, albeit partially, and, out of 10 field hospitals, all in southern Gaza, only four are fully functional, four are partially functional, and two are non-functional.
The lack of fuel continues to severely compromise the provision of vital humanitarian assistance, including live-saving health services. According to the WHO, power blackouts at neonatal, dialysis, and intensive care units are already placing lives at risk and “injured people are dying because ambulances are facing delays due to shortages of fuel.” While the Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) clusters alone require 80,000 and 70,000 litres of fuel per day, respectively, to maintain critical operations, just over 195,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza between 25 and 27 June, the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hanan Balkhy noted. On 5 July, WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that the UN and partners are being forced to “make impossible choices” and triage among the most critical needs, with limited fuel supplies now being directed to key hospitals, such as Nasser Medical Complex, Al Amal Hospital and Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Khan Younis, as well as to 21 Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances.
Fuel shortages continue to have an acute impact on water and sanitation infrastructure and living conditions across Gaza. According to the WASH Cluster, between 22 and 28 June, only 51,490 litres of fuel were received by partners to operate critical water and wastewater facilities. While more than the preceding week, this amount only meets about 10 per cent of daily WASH requirements (about 7,350 out of 70,000 litres). As a result, at least 50 per cent of water wells across Gaza that remain functional temporarily stopped pumping water, cutting their combined water production in half, and about 106 water trucks have ceased operations. In addition, two desalination plants in central and southern Gaza ceased operations on 30 June and 1 July due to the lack of fuel. Damage sustained by Al Muntar water pipeline in Gaza city, one of three pipelines coming from Israel, led to its shutdown over the past week, causing further reductions in total water supply in the Gaza Strip, from an average of 112,000 cubic metres per day as of 26 June to an estimated 66,200 cubic metres per day since 30 June, the WASH Cluster reported. On 4 July, the Emergency Committee of Khan Younis Municipality warned that fuel shortages have halted the operation of wastewater systems and aggravated sewage overflow into populated areas in southern Gaza, heightening health and environmental risks.
On 19 June 2024, an inter-agency team carried out an assessment in Jabalya Refugee Camp in North Gaza to identify priority needs following the Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the area on 30 May. The assessment covered three displacement sites, including a non-functional hospital and an UNRWA school serving as an emergency shelter site, that host over 17,600 people in total. Key assessment findings include the following:
There are critical shortages of safe drinking water. The military incursion severely affected the camp’s water supply and only a fraction of water wells remain functional. Sanitation conditions are dire; sewage is overflowing and leaking near sleeping areas, solid waste is accumulating, and there are no cleaning materials available. Cases of Hepatitis A, skin diseases, particularly among children, and respiratory illnesses are on the rise and have been exacerbated by the lack of adequate medical facilities and supplies.
Food assistance is insufficient, with people relying on bread and canned food when available. A severe lack of fresh vegetables, fruits and protein sources, such as meat and milk, is contributing to health issues, including anaemia among children due to iron deficiency. No commercial food supplies have reportedly reached the area for nearly two months and the prices of the few products available on the local market are exorbitantly high. No screenings to detect malnutrition are currently conducted at the three sites and blanket supplementary feeding was not provided in the two weeks preceding the assessment.
Lack of structured support and assistive devices for persons with disabilities are hindering their movement and access to essential services. Some people with hearing impairment were reportedly found dead, presumably due to their inability to hear warnings from Israeli forces.
School-age children lack access to any form of education and are exposed to serious risks, including child labour, with tens of unaccompanied and separated children being particularly vulnerable.
The camp has a significant number of vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied and separated children, Persons with Disabilities, and women facing increased violence. Protection mechanisms are inadequate, with reports of abuse, child labour, and deteriorating mental health among the residents.
Thousands of people are living in heavily damaged and unsafe structures, with piles of rubble obstructing aid delivery and access by emergency service providers, while the prevalence of unexploded ordnance continues to pose significant risks to people across Jabalya. Communications are also extremely challenging, hampering people’s ability to seek assistance.
Ongoing hostilities and access constraints continue to severely hinder the delivery of life-saving aid across the Gaza Strip. Between 1 and 4 July, out of 13 planned humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, one (eight per cent) was facilitated, nine (69 per cent) were impeded, one (eight per cent) was denied access, and two (15 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In addition, out of 55 coordinated humanitarian assistance movements in southern Gaza, 43 (78 per cent) were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, six (11 per cent) were impeded, one (two per cent) was denied access, and five (nine per cent) were cancelled. Humanitarian missions to northern Gaza continued to face extensive delays, inconsistent procedures, and bottlenecks; although there are two checkpoints where Israeli forces control movements between northern and southern Gaza, missions are funnelled through a single checkpoint on any given day and the checkpoint on Salah Ad Din Road has been closed since 27 June. Aid convoys continue to be forced to wait long hours at holding points in exposed locations before being allowed to move towards the checkpoint, posing safety and security risks for humanitarian personnel. Movements to and from Kerem Shalom Crossing also continue to be hampered by security risks, most recently following the issuance of an evacuation order for areas in eastern Khan Younis that encompass parts of Salah Ad Din Road, a crucial artery for the passage of humanitarian goods and personnel.
West Bank
Israeli Army attack – air-strike – missile-strikes on home – 7 killed – 2 wounded: Jenin – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition, storming Jenin, besieged and fired missiles towards a house and made a drone-launched air strike which killed seven residents, Ahmed Bassem Al-Amouri, Qusay Amjad Hazouz, Fouad Iyad Aziz Ashqar, Yassin Ahmed Mahmoud Al-Aridi, Muhammad Mahmoud Muhammad Jabarin, Asaad Hashash and Harith Asaad Hashash. Two other people were wounded in the assault.
Israeli Army attack: Nablus – 04:25, Israeli Occupation forces stromed Nablus, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades towards the people.
Israeli Occupation settler attacks on homes: Hebron – armed Israeli Occupation settlers from a settlement outpost they had recently established, south-west of the city, opened fire towards homes in the nearby al-Abed area as well as those of people in Tabqa village.
Settler assaults – home invasions – arson: Jenin – 18:00, Israeli Occupation settlers invaded al-Fanduqumiya village and set fire to two houses and a motor vehicle.
Home invasions: Nablus – 04:25-05:35, Israeli Occupation forces raided Nablus and searched a number of homes.
Home invasions and extreme brutality by settlers: Hebron – 23:05, Israeli settlers invaded the village of Burin, invading tent-dwellings housing families whose homes had been demolished, beating them up and forcing them to leave.
Home invasions – armed robbery – assault – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – 01:30-08:00, Israeli forces raided Hebron and invaded a home, taking a resident prisoner and assaulting his brother, before robbing them of 40,000 shekels (more than US$10,000).
Israeli police and settlers' mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.
Israeli Army armed robbery: Qalqiliya – 16:00, Israeli Occupation forces seized a bulldozer from a villager at the entrance to the village of Wadi al-Rasha.
Israeli Army population-control: Salfit – 08:05-09:15, Israeli forces closed the northern entrance to Salfit.
Occupation settler arson: Ramallah – 11:00, Israelis, from the Beit El Occupation settlement, set fire to tyres in order to block the nearby road, north of al-Bireh.
Occupation settler violence: Ramallah – 11:40, Israeli settlers, assaulted two villagers in east Deir Jarir.
Occupation settler stoning: Ramallah – midnight, Israelis, from the Beit El Occupation settlement, stoned nearby passing vehicles.
Occupation settler stoning: Nablus – 21:30-23:20, Israeli settlers stoned vehicles, on the main Nablus to Tulkarem road.
Occupation settler land-grab: Jericho – 12:40, Israeli Occupation settlers established a new settlement outpost, near the spring of al-Auja.
Occupation settler land-grab: Jericho – 16:00, established a new settlement outpost and built a road, south-west of al-Auja.
Occupation settler violence and hospitalisation: Hebron – 09:50, Israeli settlers beat-up and hospitalised a man, in the village of Khallet al-Daba.
Occupation settler violence and pastoral sabotage: Hebron – 12:35, Occupation settlers assaulted shepherds at work grazing sheep in the al-Masafer area, east of Yatta.
Raid: Ramallah – 15:05, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Ni'lin.
Raid: Ramallah – 17:20, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the town of Turmusaya.
Raid – on refugee camp: Ramallah – 17:25, the occupation forces raided and patrolled the al-Jalazoun refugee camp.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 17:55, the Israeli Army raided the village of Ajul, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Ramallah – 21:55-04:10, Israeli troops raided and patrolled al-Bireh.
Raid – on refugee camp: Ramallah – 00:15-04:10, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the al-Jalazoun refugee camp.
Raid: Ramallah – 02:10-06:30, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Sinjil.
Raid: Ramallah – 02:10-06:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Turmusaya.
Raid: Jenin – 07:50, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Burqin.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 11:00-16:30, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the Hotel village.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 16:10-17:45, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Hablat.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 16:35, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the village of Kafr Laqif.
Raids: Qalqiliya – 21:20-03:55, Israeli soldiers raided Jayus as well as the villages of al-Funduq, Kafr Abbush and Kafr Zibad.
Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 02:50-06:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Qalqiliya, taking prisoner three people.
Raid: Nablus – 13:50, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Einabus.
Raid: Nablus – 19:40-21:40, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Salem.
Raid: Nablus – 19:50-00:20, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Yatma village.
Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired – 1 beaten and 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 20:35-00:20, the Israeli military, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided Beita, beating a resident, Hassan Saadi Barham, damaging a vehicle and taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Salfit – 17:35, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled al-Zawiya as well as the village of Rafat.
Raid: Bethlehem – 08:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Khadr.
Raid – stun grenades fired: Bethlehem – 11:45, Israeli forces, firing stun grenades raided the village of al-Faradis.
Raid: Hebron – 01:30, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled Dura.
Raid: Hebron – 02:25, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Yatta.
Raid: Hebron – 04:55, the Israeli military raided and patrolled al-Dhahiriya.
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I add this - from EuroMedMonitor -
The Israeli Army’s use of Palestinian civilians as human shields has been documented on a large scale
01 July 2024
These quotes -
Video footage released by Al Jazeera TV shows the Israeli Army using detained Palestinian civilians as human shields and compelling them to enter dangerous combat zones —evidence of a systematic tactic of the Army. There are numerous documented instances of civilians being used as human shields by Israeli forces, which is considered a war crime.
The leaked horrific scenes that were obtained and published by Al Jazeera reveal how the Israeli Army uses civilians, including injured detainees, as human shields and forces them into hazardous combat zones after installing cameras on their bodies and binding them with rope. Each of the aforementioned acts of criminal, brutal and inhumane behaviour constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, and is a full-fledged war crime. These crimes, and dozens of similar cases, require urgent intervention from the international justice system to ensure the protection of civilians, prevent their use as human shields.
A comparable incident occurred when the Israeli Army detained Wafa Nayef Jarrar, 49, on 21 May and purposefully put her life in danger by holding her for four hours in a high conflict zone. She suffered serious injuries as a result, as she was trapped in a military Jeep in a physically unsafe position, leading to the amputation of her legs.
(DSH - I presume she was made to kneel and her knees kept in full flexion - thus cutting off the circulation for over - say one hour. This would have been extremely painful, both in the knees and as the legs below the knees became ischaemic. It is likely that this woman now has below knee amputations. Healing might be delayed.)