LUISTER NAAR DE JOODSE STEMMEN OVER

DE ISRAELISCHE MEGA-MISDRIJVEN TEGEN

HET INTERNATIONAAL HUMANITAIR RECHT

JEGENS DE PALESTIJNEN !

THE JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE - JVP

  LEES "THE WIRE" !

BERICHTEN NA 30-06-2024 STAAN HIER

Ospaca Nieuwsdienst 1.

31 juli 2024.

THE GENOCIDE GAMES

Duivelse misdadigheid verplaatst zich naar de Olympische Spelen

Wat een schoffering van de Olympische Gedachte !!

De Westerse machten en krachten, die zijn de baas over de Olympische Spelen. Een Westerse wereld, met enkele Westerse landen uitgezonderd. En het zijn grotendeels deze Westerse machten en krachten die het liefst optreden als een bende koesteraars van dolzinnige Israëlische barbaren.

En tot die laatste categorie behoort ook Nederland.

Maar juist ook onder de macht van de Westerse wereld zijn deze Israëlische genocidalen van harte welkom. En worden deze vele malen tienduizendvoudige massaverdelgers van Palestijnse vrouwen en kinderen, afkomstig van de terroristenstaat Israël, op de nu begonnen de Olympische Spelen als van harte welkom aangemerkt. En dit tot volstrekte verbijstering en diep afgrijzen van ieder mens met nog enig gevoel voor beschaving.

Met hun on-voor-stel-ba-re vernietigingsdrift jegens gewone mensen hebben deze genocidale Israëlische maniakken op ONZE planeet, in gezamenlijkheid met de Westerse machten en krachten, een absolute hel voor miljoenen Palestijnse medemensen ontketend. In alle openheid en voor ieders oog zichtbaar. Maar ondanks deze duivelse misdadigheid jegens de Palestijnen doen deze Westerse machten en krachten alsof er geen vuiltje aan de lucht is!

De Russen mogen van diezelfde Westerse machten en krachten natuurlijk niet aan de Olympische Spelen meedoen, klaarblijkelijk hebben ze tot nu nog te weinig oorlogsslachtoffers gemaakt om op te vallen. En het is hier de Wereld Gezondheid Organisatie (WHO) geweest, die nog onlangs in dit verband heeft verklaard dat alleen al de totale vernietiging, die tot op heden door de Israëlische terroristische massamoordenaars is aangericht, de bewoonbaarheid en leefbaarheid van Gaza nu reeds zo volledig ten gronde heeft gericht, dat zelfs bij een mogelijke stop van de nu altijd nog maar voortgaande verwoesting van dit leefgebied van miljoenen Palestijnen, het te verwachten dodental, onder deze mensen daar, nog tot een veelvoud van het huidige cijfer van vernietigde mensenlevens zal doen toenemen.

En dit dan door de nasleep van ondervoeding als gevolg van de uithongerings-campagne door de Israëlische duivels, door gebrek aan drinkwatervoorziening, door het totaal weggevaagd zijn van alle infrastructuur die mensen nu eenmaal nodig hebben om te kunnen leven en overleven, en noem verder maar op – kortom als gevolg van het nu al tot niets meer dan enkel een reusachtige puinhoop annex vuilnishoop gereduceerd zijn van Gaza, als gevolg van de Israëlische monsters. En toch staan de Westerse machten en krachten voor deze Israëlische ondieren bij deze Olympische Spelen te juichen!

Wat een ongehoorde schoffering van de Olympische gedachte is dit alles!  En juist ook van een instituut als de Olympische Spelen en diens eerbiedwaardige historie. Het waren de oude Grieken in de Homerische tijden, honderden jaren voor Christus, die de Olympische Spelen hebben ingesteld. Als een heilig gebeuren. En wel om spook van de oorlog in elk geval enige tijd uit te bannen. En met verder ook nog het idee om zich tijdens die Olympische Spelen omtrent oorlog en vrede te bezinnen.

De oude Grieken, die kenden geen overkoepelende statelijke structuur, maar enkel een systeem van elkaar onafhankelijke stadstaten. Met omliggende gebieden die tot hun territoir behoorden. Zelfstandige stadstaten die vaak onderlinge verbintenissen aangingen. Maar ook met grote regelmaat met elkaar in oorlog waren. De meesten van u zullen bijvoorbeeld wel eens gehoord hebben van de oorlogen tussen de Steden Athene en Sparta.

Maar eenmaal in de 4 jaar, zo hadden de goden de gehele Griekse bevolking opgelegd, moesten er in de stad Olympia wekenlang sportwedstrijden worden gehouden. Om de onderlinge verhoudingen tussen de stadstaten te verbeteren en gezamenlijk de goden te bidden en offers te brengen. Alle Griekse stadstaten waren verplicht om aan de vierjaarlijkse spelen in Olympia deel te nemen.

En het belangrijkste bij dit alles was dan nog wel dat alle onderlinge oorlogen gedurende de Olympische Spelen in heel Griekenland verboden waren en gestaakt moesten worden!

Hoe anders is dit nu bij de huidige Olympische Spelen!! Daar zullen nu juist Israëlische en Amerikaanse oorlogsmaniakken bewerkstelligen dat een gerichte uitroeiing van honderdduizenden mensen in Gaza, juist ook bij deze karikatuur van zogenaamde “Olympische Spelen”, met volle kracht zal worden voortgezet! Dat is alles wat er van de Griekse beschaving Anno 2024 mag overblijven.

De gelijkgeschakelde Westerse pers, in handen van de Westerse machten en krachten, maakte afgelopen vrijdag 26 juli, via de NRC bekend:

“Israëlische sporters zijn welkom, onder hun eigen vlag. Tot grote woede van de Palestijnen en hun medestanders. Zo verscheen vorige week een filmpje van een pas verkozen Franse volksvertegenwoordiger die zei dat de Israëliërs niet welkom waren. Eerder dit jaar weigerden de Ierse basketbalsters handen te schudden met tegenstander Israël voor aanvang van een wedstrijd. Of dat ook op de Spelen zal gebeuren, valt te bezien; het IOC houdt streng toezicht. Op de Spelen in Tokio weigerde een Algerijnse judoka in actie te komen tegen een Israëliër en dat kwam hem op tien jaar schorsing te staan. De Franse overheid kondigde extra veiligheidsmaatregelen aan voor het Israëlische team, dat nu 24 uur per dag onder bewaking staat. Tijdens het groepsduel tussen de voetbalelftallen van Israël en Mali, afgelopen woensdag in het Parc des Princes, werd een ‘anti-terreurcordon’ opgetrokken van duizend agenten.”

En zo zie je maar weer. Duizend zwaar gewapende agenten worden ingezet om eerbied voor de af-grij-se-lij-ke  genocidale apartheidsstaat Israël er desnoods met zwaar wapengeweld in te timmeren. Ja, zo zijn de manieren van wat zich als het ”Vrije Westen” betitelt.

En nog mooier: zichzelf aanprijst als de “Bewaker van de Mensenrechten”.

31 juli 2024

Biden's legacy is genocide.

Tell Congress: Stop starving Gaza.

Everyone knows Israel is committing genocide.

Israel’s international impunity at the Olympics.

425.

31 juli 2024

The BDS movement calls on supporters to answer the call from Palestinian civil society and prisoners rights organizations in Palestine for mass global mobilization on 3 August to free all Palestinian prisoners and end complicity in Israel’s #GazaGenocide.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocide, thousands of Palestinians from Gaza have been rounded up, detained, stripped and taken to unknown locations. Across the West Bank, Israel has embarked on a campaign of arbitrary mass arrest and systemic torture.
 

At least 9,845 Palestinians have been detained, from the occupied West Bank alone, since 7 October 2023.

The UN Human Rights Office published a report today detailing Israel’s horrific torture and treatment of Palestinian detainees:
 

“Detainees said they were held in cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers. Their testimonies told of prolonged blindfolding, deprivation of food, sleep and water, and being subjected to electric shocks and being burnt with cigarettes. Some detainees said dogs were released on them, and others said they were subjected to waterboarding, or that their hands were tied and they were suspended from the ceiling. Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence.”

The UN report also details that at least 53 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza have been killed in Israeli detention since October 7.

Lawyers visiting Palestinian prisoners have said that the situation in Israeli detention and torture centers “is more horrific than anything we’ve heard about [in] Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.”

­

Act now and share the call for the global day of action!

The BDS movement calls on supporters and partners worldwide to mobilize on 3 August through:
 

• Demonstrations and peaceful occupations or other forms of creative and strategic disruption targeting complicit governments, corporations and institutions (including media outlets).

• Escalation of all BDS campaigns against Israel, and in particular the #BoycottHP and #NoTechForApartheid campaigns, due to the direct complicity of HPE, Google and Amazon in Israel’s crimes against our prisoners and hostages.

• Lobbying your government and parliament to impose targeted sanctions on Israel, including a comprehensive security and #MilitaryEmbargo.

In solidarity,
 
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)

424.

31 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #198
West Bank

Children following the demolition of their home in Al Jiftlik (Jericho) on 25 July 2024. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Six Palestinians were killed and 78 were injured by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank in one week.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 29 July 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 109 WASH structures, which is more than double the number of structures (49) in the same time period before 7 October.
• 173 Palestinians, including 67 children, have been displaced in punitive demolitions since 7 October 2023.

Latest developments (after 29 July)

• On 30 July, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian child at Beit 'Einun junction near Hebron. The boy was allegedly trying to stab Israeli soldiers positioned at the junction. The body is currently withheld by the Israeli army. No injuries among Israeli forces were reported.
• On 31 July, initial reports by the Israeli military stated that a Palestinian man stabbed and injured an Israeli settler on Road 60 near Beit ‘Einoun, Hebron. Reportedly, the Palestinian shot at the settler from within his vehicle with a small firearm, and then exited his vehicle and proceeded to stab the settler. Israeli forces are conducting a search for the alleged perpetrator.  

Humanitarian Developments (23-29 July)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, one of which was a child. On 23 July, a Palestinian child died from wounds sustained by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces during a search-and-arrest operation on 11 July in Meithalun town, Jenin. In addition, a Palestinian prisoner died while under Israeli custody during the reporting period. Some 78 Palestinians, including 22 children, were also injured in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank. One Israeli soldier was injured during a search-and-arrest operation in Tubas during the reporting period. 
• On 23 July, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men, and two others were arrested during a search-and-arrest operation in Sa’ir village, north of Hebron city. During the operation, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who fired live ammunition, rubber coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters toward Palestinians. 
• On 23 July, at around midnight, Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man during a punitive demolition in Qalandia Refugee Camp, Jerusalem. The demolished building belonged to the family of Mohammad Manasra, who shot and killed two Israeli settlers in Eli settlement on 29 February 2024 and was subsequently shot and killed by a settler. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and tens of military vehicles entered the refugee camp to carry out the demolition that lasted seven hours. During the demolition, clashes erupted between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli soldiers who shot live ammunition and physically assaulted some of the residents. During the operation, Israeli forces imposed a curfew on the camp and deployed snipers on a number of rooftops. Israeli forces shot and injured six children, and two men were injured from physically assaults. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that their medical team was assaulted and denied access to the wounded man who later died. Damage to surrounding buildings, vehicles and furniture were also reported. 
• On July 24, a Palestinian man succumbed to his wounds sustained during the Israeli forces' operation on 23 July in Tulkarm Refugee Camp. According to medical sources, the man was shot in the back and stomach and was transferred to Al Isra Hospital where he was pronounced dead. During this operation, five Palestinians were killed by an airstrike.
• On 24 July, under-cover Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian man and injured one other during an Israeli forces' search-and-arrest operation in Tubas city. The Palestinian man, a Palestinian Authority customs officer and originally from Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, was working in the customs office station when he was shot and killed, and his colleague was injured in the same incident. PRCS reported that Israeli forces surrounded the customs office for approximately 45 minutes, hindering the evacuation of casualties. No shots were reportedly fired by the two Palestinian officers. According to the Israeli military, the man was killed during an operation to arrest two other Palestinians, and the incident was under investigation. They also reported that one soldier was injured during the operation.
• On 26 July, Israeli forces injured 14 Palestinians, including two children and an infant, during a night search-and-arrest operation in Abwein village in Ramallah. During the operation, Israeli forces broke into several Palestinian homes, physically assaulted four men, and arrested 20 others who were later released. Confrontations erupted as a result of the incursion, where Palestinians threw stones and Israeli forces fired live ammunition and teargas cannisters. One of the cannisters ignited a fire in one of the homes, causing injuries due to smoke and teargas inhalation to the family sleeping there, including two children and one infant who were evacuated from a balcony and transported to a hospital. One Palestinian was treated for shrapnel injury and another for injuries resulting from falling. One home was damaged from the fire and five others had furniture damaged by Israeli forces. 
• On 27 July, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including one child, with the use of live ammunition and a drone strike in Balata Refugee Camp, Nablus. In addition, some 36 people were injured during the operation, 26 of which were from live ammunition, four others from drone strike shrapnel, and six from shrapnel where the source is yet to be confirmed. The operation lasted for about 13 hours, where exchanges of fire were reported by Palestinians, in addition to the use of drone strikes, off-shoulder missiles and live ammunitioned by Israeli forces. A three-story residential building was shelled by at least two off-shoulder missiles fired by Israeli forces, causing significant damage, and resulting in the displacement of two refugee families comprising five people including two girls. Furthermore, at least 60 residential houses sustained minor to moderate damage.

• On 27 July, Israeli forces injured four Palestinians, including two children during a search-and-arrest operation in Al Mazra'a al Qibliya village, Ramallah. Israeli forces broke into several Palestinian homes, destroying furniture and physically assaulting and injuring two Palestinians. As a result of the operation, confrontations erupted where Palestinians threw stones toward the Israeli forces’ vehicles, and Israeli forces responded with live ammunition, shooting and injuring two children. All four injured Palestinians were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 29 July 2024, 569 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. These include 554 killed by Israeli forces, ten by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 14 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of eight Israelis and five Palestinian perpetrators.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 21 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in six injuries, including one child, and damage to property. Between 7 October 2023 and 29 July 2024, OCHA recorded 1,143 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 106 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, 905 incidents led to damage to Palestinian property, and 121 incidents led to both casualties and property damage. The following are some of the key incidents documented by OCHA during the reporting period:    
  • On 23 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from Yitzhar settlement, set fire to Palestinian land in three locations in Area C around Burin village, Nablus. According to an eyewitness, settlers arrived on quadbikes and set fire to Palestinian olive groves. The fire spread to reach more than 30 cultivated dunums and damaging over 300 olive trees, affecting the livelihoods of at least 10 families from Burin and the nearby Huwwara village. Access to the affected lands normally does not require prior coordination with Israeli authorities, however farmers have been regularly denied access by Israeli forces since the events of October 2023. 
  • On 27 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from Ofra settlement outposts, physically assaulted and injured three Palestinians in At Tayba village, Ramallah. Local community sources and eyewitnesses stated that a group of armed settlers surrounded three Palestinians with quadbikes and assaulted them with sticks, while the Palestinians were assessing agricultural land for future work. According to the affected, Israeli settlers tied them down to the ground at gunpoint and beat them with sticks. Moreover, Israeli settlers stole their phones and other personal belongings. Before leaving, the settlers threatened them not to return, after which the Palestinians managed to escape the area to a hospital.
  • On 27 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from newly established outposts in the eastern outskirts of Bariyat Hizma area, physically assaulted and injured two Palestinians shepherds, including one child, in two incidents on the same day in Hizma village, Jerusalem. According to the affected, at about 01:30, Israeli settlers riding three tractors, accompanied by the Israeli settlement guards, raided the community and chased Palestinian residents and fired live ammunition at them, threatening to kill them if they do not leave the area.  The community called the Israeli police but received no response. At around 15:00, the Israeli settlers returned in larger numbers armed with knives and sticks and began vandalizing Palestinian property on agricultural land. They destroyed metal-wired fences surrounding the land, cut 40 trees and brought their livestock to graze on Palestinian land. When the Palestinians approached the settlers, they were attacked with sticks and stones and one Palestinian child was struck on the head. Israeli forces arrived at the scene, arrested four Palestinians and then withdrew.
• Between 23 and 29 July, the Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 30 Palestinian-owned structures, 28 of which were due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. These include 23 structures in Area C, one in Area B and six in East Jerusalem. Four of the structures demolished were Water Sanitation and Hygiene buildings (WASH) structures. As a result, 57 Palestinians, including 25 children, were displaced and around 114, including 44 children, were otherwise affected. In Ar Rakeez (Hebron), Israeli forces demolished a donor-funded residential shelter, a residential room, an animal shelter and a latrine; displacing 12 people, including five children. On the outskirts of Jericho city, in Area C, Israeli authorities demolished three structures for lacking an Israeli-issued building permit; resulting in the displacement of two households comprising of 11 people, including five children. Also in Jericho, Israeli authorities demolished seven structures in Al Jiftlik-abu al ‘Ajaj due to the lack of an Israeli-issued building permit. As a result, 11 people, including two children, were displaced, and four other families, including a refugee family, comprising 19 people including eleven children, were otherwise affected. The demolished structures included an inhabited residential house, a mobile latrine, a caravan, an uninhabited residential structure, an agricultural house and two other agricultural structures. Overall, between 1 January and 29 July 2024, 706 structures were demolished and 861 people were displaced for lacking Israeli-issued building permits in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, compared with 555 structures demolished and 631 people displaced in the corresponding period in 2023. 
• Between 7 October and 29 July, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,311 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, of which 39 per cent (515 structures) were inhabited homes. As a result, 2,996 people, including 1,310 children, were displaced. Over half of those displaced (1,541) had their homes destroyed during military operations, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and the surrounding refugee camps; 43 per cent (1,282 people) were displaced due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; and six per cent (173) were displaced by punitive demolitions. The affected buildings during this period include 109 WASH structures, which is more than double the amount in the same period before 7 October (49).

Other Developments

• On July 26, the Palestinian Authority Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that a Palestinian detainee had died in an Israeli prison due to a decline in his health. The prisoner had been under administrative detention in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, 19 Palestinian prisoners, including some who hold Israeli citizenship, have died in Israeli prisons since 7 October 2023.

423.

31 juli 2024

This week, we focus on the assassination of the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran. Hamas has blamed Israel for the killing, declaring that it will not go unanswered.

Separately, we look at a stabbing at a dance class in Southport, in northwest England, that left three children dead and several more injured.

Finally, we bring you the accounts of people in Belgorod, in the Russian region bordering Ukraine, which has become a target for Ukrainian counterattacks.

422.

31 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Israel assassinates head of Hamas political bureau amid regional escalation

Mondoweiss Palestine Bureau

Israel assassinated Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran after a series of mounting regional tensions that included unprecedented Israeli attacks on the "Axis of Resistance," including airstrikes on Beirut and Yemen.

Netanyahu’s willing executioners: how ordinary Israelis became mass murderers

After ten months of relentless genocidal war, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that both the Israeli state and society are partners in the genocide. The picture that emerges is a genocide from above and below.

Who are the Syrian Druze of Majdal Shams?

Qassam Muaddi

The killing of the 12 Syrian children in the Golan Heights brought the Syrian Druze of Majdal Shams into confrontation with Israeli authorities, after Israel’s attempt to manipulate the tragedy to stoke further confrontation with Hezbollah.

421.

30 juli 2024

We are just hearing reports that the Israeli regime has bombed the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

By failing to impose an arms embargo on genocidal Israel, the Biden administration and Congress are not just standing by, but actively enabling the genocide in Palestine and risking a wider regional war with global repercussions.

At this point, the Zionist state and its U.S. backers are willing to sacrifice everything to prop up profits and control over the region.

The Israeli regime is facing serious political and economic isolation, but it won’t stop its violence.UNLESS THE U.S. STOPS THE WEAPONS FLOW NOW !.

Demand: Congress, Stop Arming Israel

United Kingdom’s new government MAY SUSPEND ARMS SALES TOTHE ISRAÊL REGIME “based on the recent International Court of justice decision mandating an end to military support for Israel's illegal endless occupation.”

The ISRAELI PORT OF EILAT HAS DECLARED BANKRUPTY after months of complete blockade of all commercial ships by the Houthis in Yemen. In return, the U.S. is bombing Yemen.

Last week, Netanyahu stood before Congress, pitching his vision of what could easily spiral into World War III, and was met with applause from Republicans and corporate-backed Democrats alike.

We must keep up the pressure—tell Congress that sending weapons to Israel must stop immediately. We demand an end to this genocide, not its expansion.

With urgency,

Adalah Justice Project

420.

Ospaca Commentaar 1.

30 juli 2024

Wat een ongehoorde ontmenselijking van de Palestijnse bevolking in Gaza door deze pseudo-mensenrechtenverdediger Human Rights Watch!

Oh ja?, documenteerde HWR:

"De Russische aanvallen op de Oekraïense energievoorziening, die dozijnen gedood hebben en honderden verwond. En miljoenen burgers van toegang tot elektriciteit, water, verwarming hebben beroofd toen de winter zich aankondigde.”?

En heeft dat met zich meegebracht dat het ICC daaromtrent nu een strafrechtelijke vervolging gaat instellen?

Zo, en hoe zit dat dan met de Palestijnen? Die ondergaan nu al tijden het tien- tot duizendvoudige aan toegebracht leed. Daaromtrent is nu nog steeds geen daadwerkelijke actie in gang gezet door het ICC.

En ook HRW laat zich, in verband met de op totale vernietiging van het Palestijnse volk gerichte onvoorstelbare beestachtigheden, de afgelopen maanden vrijwel niet horen.

Hier wordt dan ook op een on-voor-stel-ba-re manier met twee maten gemeten!!  Klaarblijkelijk durft HRW niet echt op te treden tegen Israël. En zeker ook niet de USA, immers de basis van deze HRW-organisatie. Maar hier vooral ook de grootste leverancier van fondsen. Die kennelijk te vriend moeten worden gehouden.

Wat een misgreep voor een mensenrechtenorganisatie! Die aldus laat merken dat Palestijnen, als het er op aan komt, slechts als tweederangsburgers hebben te gelden.

30 juli 2024

Today's headlines

In the West Bank village of Burin, kites are a form of resistance

In the village of Burin just outside of Nablus, where settlements encroach on almost every side, flying kites is an act of resistance.

Israel and Lebanon brace for new escalation after 12 Syrian residents of the Golan Heights were killed by a strike

Israeli officials say that Netanyahu is behind Israel’s hardened position preventing a ceasefire deal as a new round of talks in Rome concludes without a breakthrough.

420.

29 juli 2024

Congress applauded the genocide in Gaza, but Netanyahu’s speech showed the political consensus on Israel is over

Benjamin Netanyahu's call for continued support for the Gaza genocide may have received rapturous applause from Congress, but the speech revealed uncertain political terrain for Israel among both Democrats and Republicans.

419.

28 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Living in a nightmare

Eman Alhaj Ali

In Gaza, night is not peaceful. Going to sleep means not knowing if you'll wake up in the morning.

418.

27 juli 2024

New Map of the Gaza Strip

Today, we are releasing an updated poster-size map of the Gaza Strip, focusing on movement and access

Click here to access the new map of the Gaza Strip Since the release of the previous poster-size map in September 2023, the Gaza Strip has undergone dramatic changes due to the war that began in October 2023. Key changes include: 

• Division between north and south regions
• Expansion of the no-go and high-risk buffer zone along the Israel’s perimeter fence from 100 to 1,000 metres
• Destruction or damage to over 100,000 buildings
• Displacement of 90 per cent of the population, with many experiencing repeated displacements

• Recurrent emergence and disappearance of displacement sites due to evacuation orders and hostilities
• A 16-year blockade turned into a complete siege, followed by the allowance of certain incoming commodities, though the conditions to collect or distribute them are not always present
• Ban on travel to the West Bank, including for cancer patients and others who were previously among the exceptional categories allowed to apply for exit permits
• Closure of the permissible fishing area
• Introduction of new entry points for approved supplies coming through Israel and closure of the Rafah crossing

The new map includes detailed information on communities within the Gaza Strip, crossing points, no-go and risk zones, sailing restrictions, the Egyptian border, and internal checkpoints. It also features UN compounds, universities, roads, bridges, hospitals, hotels, and wastewater treatment plants; many of which have been damaged in hostilities. Additionally, inset maps and infographics provide an overview of damage assessments, satellite-observed displacement sites, constraints limiting the access of humanitarian supplies and missions, and the changing volumes of commodities and people moving in and out over the years.

As you can imagine, a static map will never be able to capture the volatility of the situation on the ground, hence the printed map might reflect outdated or dynamic realities.

We are happy to offer poster-size printouts to those able to visit any of our offices across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. For partners unable to visit our offices, we encourage to use the linked digital version.

We hope you find this product useful.

Best regards,
The OCHA OPT Team

417.

27 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Palestinian factions strike a reconciliation deal – will this time be any different?

The new reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian factions could not come at a more critical time. As Palestinians face the Gaza genocide, the political survival of the Palestinian leadership might hinge on finally finding unity.

Read more

Canada set to revoke Jewish National Fund’s charitable status

Score a significant victory against apartheid, genocide and Palestinian dispossession. The powerful Jewish National Fund of Canada has reportedly had its charitable status revoked.

415.

26 juli 2024

Your Activist Scoop

• Tens of thousands of protesters packed around the Capitol on Wednesday as Israeli war criminal Netanyahu addressed Congress. Activists shut down six intersections to block and delay his arrival, among other creative disruptions this week.

DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE ARMS EMBARGO 

414a.

26 juli 2024

The Importance of Advocating for Palestinian Rights in Congress

As much as it might feel easier to give up on our political systems, we live at the epicenter of influence. We know all too well the difficult fight we have ahead of us. Every year, Congress passes a set $3.8 billion in funding for Israel, which comes with no strings attached. Moreover, the United States protects Israel from accountability by the international community, threatening our global institutions and other countries. However, this makes it even more crucial that we are involved in pressuring our government to hold Israel accountable. After all, if this wasn’t the case, the Zionist lobby wouldn’t spend 100’s of millions of dollars every year to try and influence our politicians.

Congress plays a vital role in shaping policies that impact millions of Palestinians. Through our consistent advocacy efforts and continuous pressure, we can influence their decision-making processes, affect their perspectives, and challenge narratives that dehumanize Palestinians.

Although the pace of change may feel slow, it is undeniably happening. Over the past nine months, more than 100 members of Congress have publicly demanded a ceasefire, voiced support for cutting or conditioning aid to Israel, and boycotted Netanyahu's address. For the first time, several members of Congress have recognized Israel as an apartheid state. This narrative shift on Israel would not have been possible without the tireless work of advocates like you who have consistently lobbied and pressured their representatives for the past nine, almost ten months. It’s a testament to the persistent and dedicated efforts of past and present advocates who continue to fight for justice and human rights. 

In solidarity,

Ayah Ziyadeh

414.

26 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #196
Gaza Strip

Families being displaced from parts of Khan Younis. Photo by UNRWA

Key Highlights

• More than 190,000 Palestinians have been displaced in four days in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, humanitarian partners estimate.
• Efforts are underway to restore emergency care at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, and the facility’s rehabilitated hemodialysis unit now supports 60 patients, down from 450 before the war.
• The average daily volume of humanitarian aid cargo entering Gaza has decreased by 56 per cent since April.

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, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
• On 26 July, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, stated in response to a question in a press briefing that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is a total disaster,” providing two main reasons for this. First, a military campaign with a “certain chaotic nature” has resulted in the highest level of killing and destruction since he came into office in 2017, where people are repeatedly told to move from one place to another “in search of a safety that doesn’t exist in any place.” Second, the level of humanitarian aid is “totally out of proportion with the needs.” The Secretary-General further stated that there is “total insecurity and total lawlessness” and mentioned a set of obstacles “in relation to [the entry of] security equipment [and] the so-called ‘dual use’ items,” among other requirements for an effective humanitarian operation.
• Between the afternoons of 22 and 25 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 169 Palestinians were killed and 585 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 25 July 2024, at least 39,175 Palestinians were killed and 90,403 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering the period until the afternoon of 26 July are not available as of the time of reporting.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 20 and 24 July: 
  • On 20 July, at about 22:15, 10 Palestinian family members, including at least five females, were reportedly killed and others injured when barracks sheltering internally displaced people (IDPs) were hit in Rumaydah area in Bani Suhaila, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 20 July, at about 23:00, five Palestinians, including two girls, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in An Nuseirat new camp, in Deir al Balah. 
  • On 20 July, at about 23:15, seven Palestinians, including an unidentified number of women and children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near As Safa Mosque in Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 22 July, at about 7:35, six Palestinian family members were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Al Fajem area of Bani Suheila, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 23 July, at about 13:35, nine Palestinians, including four children, were reportedly killed and seven others injured when a house was hit near the main entrance of Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah. 
  • On 24 July, at about 21:10, six Palestinians, including an unidentified number of children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of Palestinians was hit in Beit Lahiya Project, in North Gaza. 
• Between the afternoons of 22 and 26 July, two Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 26 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,528 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath and including 328 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,161 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. On 25 July, the Israeli military, as cited in the media, stated that its forces retrieved on 24 July the bodies of five Israelis who were killed on 7 October and taken hostage to Gaza. The Israeli military added that the bodies were retrieved from an area of Khan Younis that it previously designated as a “Humanitarian Area.” As of 26 July, it is estimated that 115 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead.
• Repeated mass casualty incidents have strained hospitals’ capacities to respond to trauma and emergency cases. On 23 July, the Nasser Medical Complex announced that, due to the lack of medicines and supplies, a number of patients who were transported to the facility following the 22 July bombardments in Khan Younis succumbed to their injuries, and many of those who volunteered to donate blood were found to be medically unfit to do so due to wasting and malnutrition. According to MoH, the casualty toll in Khan Younis rose to 73 fatalities and 270 injuries as of 23 July. While the majority of casualties were transported to Nasser, 40 were taken to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, which is now at full capacity, and others to the IMC and UK-Med field hospitals, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 
• Tens of thousands of people are experiencing new waves of internal displacement across Gaza due to the issuance of evacuation orders by the Israeli military and intensified hostilities. The Site Management Working Group estimates that, between 22 and 25 July, about 182,000 people were displaced from central and eastern Khan Younis to Al Mawasi area, which is labelled as a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli authorities, and about 12,600 were displaced from Al Bureij Refugee Camp to Al Maghazi and An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah. Hundreds of other people remain stranded in eastern Khan Younis amid intense hostilities. They include people with reduced mobility and family members supporting them. Among those stranded are about 300 people identified as sheltering in schools, and UN personnel have engaged with conflict parties to ensure their safety. According to Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD), it has received many distress calls from families stranded in eastern Khan Younis but has been unable to reach them due the denial of access by the Israeli military. Among the thousands of IDPs who were able to move, hundreds were observed carrying only minimal belongings and arriving at the already overcrowded Al Mawasi area, with many having to spend nights in the streets exhausted and in need of tarpaulins for shelter, hot meals, drinking water, diapers, mobile latrines and dignity kits.
• Displacement from northern Gaza to the south has witnessed a notable decrease in recent days, with only about a dozen people who have arrived at reception points established by aid actors on Salah ad Din Road on 24 and 25 July. This has coincided with media reports citing the PCD spokesperson advising people to avoid movement via Salah ad Din checkpoint following the reported shooting of a Palestinian man while moving southwards on 25 July. Furthermore, PCD highlighted that it received tens of calls indicating that many people went missing while moving from northern Gaza to the south and their whereabouts remain unknown.

• Recent evacuation orders by the Israeli military and intensified hostilities have also significantly destabilized aid operations and further diminished the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide relief to people in need in Khan Younis governorate. For example, this week, six education partners have suspended activities, affecting 1,500 children in ten Temporary Learning Spaces and about 20,000 children who were benefiting from mental health and recreational activities. Ten Palestinian Authority schools that were serving as IDP shelters have become non-functional, affecting 8,232 people. Food security has similarly been compromised, with twelve food distribution points and eight cooked meal provision points suspending their operations, and nutrition programmes at two shelters supporting over 2,800 children and pregnant women have been disrupted. In addition, protection services, including child protection and Gender-Based Violence response, have been halted, leaving thousands of women and girls at risk. Ten critical water and sanitation facilities, including water desalination plants, water reservoirs and sewage pumping stations, have also ceased operations, exacerbating public health risks due to overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. Furthermore, on 24 July, PRCS stated that seven out of 27 shelters the Society is running across Gaza have become out of service as a result of repeated evacuation orders and displacement sites coming under attack.
• Efforts by WHO and partners are ongoing to restore emergency care at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. On 22 July, an assessment mission to the facility, which was destroyed in March 2024, was conducted to identify the next steps. The plan is to rehabilitate the emergency department and resume at least key services, such as triage of trauma patients and emergency treatment of both communicable and non-communicable diseases, explained the WHO Team Lead for Emergency Programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Dr. Ayadil Saparbekov, during a press briefing on 23 July. Presently, only one stationary X-ray machine remains functional at the hospital, while all other equipment, such as ventilation and anesthesia machines, have been destroyed. Inter-agency work has begun to rehabilitate the structure, ahead of bringing new equipment and restoring electricity, water and sanitation services. Meanwhile, Al Shifa’s hemodialysis department, that was already rehabilitated in late May, continues to operate, with 22 dialysis machines supporting 60 patients from Gaza city and North Gaza. WHO reports, however, that more nurses, devices, medications and consumables, as well as the restoration of water treatment, are needed to expand vital services at the dialysis hub that prior to the war supported over 450 kidney patients. While the WHO-led team was able to visit Al Shifa, similar planned assessments to Al Helou and Patients Friends Association hospitals, which were affected by evacuation orders in Gaza city, had to be cancelled due to delays at checkpoints.
• A highly insecure operating environment, combined with the designation of only one access point (Kerem Shalom Crossing) for the movement of humanitarian staff, has limited the number of aid workers who are able to rotate in and out of Gaza and hampered efforts to deploy additional Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) who are critically needed to support the exhausted local health force. Overall, none of Gaza’s 36 hospitals is fully functional. Sixteen of them remain partially functional, but some of them provide only minimal health-care services and 12 are only partially accessible due to insecurity or infrastructural and road damages. Severe shortages of medical supplies, hospital beds and fuel to operate generators continue to pose daily challenges for Gaza’s crippled health-care system, with UNRWA reporting that up to 60 per cent of medicines are either fully depleted or available in very low quantities due to constraints on bringing new stocks into Gaza and dispatching them to health facilities. On 24 July, WHO and its partners were able to deliver 48,000 litres of fuel to the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in North Gaza.
• Aid workers are struggling to respond within a continuously shrinking humanitarian space and a highly insecure operating environment. On 25 July, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli forces shot at their ambulance with live bullets while the crew was evacuating an injured person in Khan Younis. On 23 July, one clearly marked UNICEF vehicle was struck by three bullets while waiting at a designated holding point near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. It was one of two vehicles en route to pick up five children, including a baby, to reunite them with their father after their mother was killed. Despite the high risk faced, no one was injured, and the mission proceeded, with the UNICEF team able to reunite the family. In a statement issued on 24 July, the UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell underscored that, while humanitarian agencies are doing everything possible to respond to the “beyond catastrophic” humanitarian situation on the ground, operating conditions and attacks against humanitarian personnel continue to obstruct these efforts. “Simply put - we do not have the necessary conditions in the Gaza Strip for a robust humanitarian response,” stressed Russell, calling for an “immediate improved security environment,” unimpeded flow of aid, and regular and safe access for humanitarian actors. 
• Access restrictions, hostilities, insecurity, lawlessness and infrastructural damage continue to impede the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid supplies. Between 1 and 24 July, 1,797 truckloads of primarily food aid entered Gaza, an average of 75 truckloads per day (excluding fuel). Since the Rafah military operation began in early May, the volume of humanitarian aid cargo entering Gaza has significantly decreased from a daily average of 169 aid trucks in April to 94 in May, 77 in June, and 75 so far in July—a decrease of 56 per cent since April. These numbers represent humanitarian cargo that was picked up from any of the entry points into Gaza. Within Gaza, access of humanitarian agencies to the north continues to be especially constrained. Between 1 and 24 July, out of 106 planned humanitarian missions to northern Gaza coordinated with the Israeli authorities, ten (nine per cent) were cancelled by humanitarian organizations due to logistical, operational or security reasons. Of the remaining 96 missions, less than half were facilitated by the Israeli authorities (43 missions), 30 missions were impeded (resulting in them being aborted or only partially accomplished) after the facilitation requests were initially accepted, and 23 missions were denied access to begin with. In central and southern Gaza, out of 307 coordinated humanitarian movements, 29 were cancelled by humanitarian organizations, and of the remaining 278 missions, 212 missions were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, 35 missions were impeded, and 31 missions were denied access. 
• Some Palestinian farmers in Gaza continue to farm despite “unimaginable challenges,” reported Action Against Hunger (AAH) on 25 July, including “the gradual depletion of essential supplies, such as nylon sheeting used for greenhouses, which is now being used to make tents.” Agricultural production, which amounted to 11 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in the Gaza Strip in 2022, has largely ceased due to more than nine months of hostilities, large-scale displacement, widespread destruction of croplands, and the lack of agricultural tools and inputs. While recognizing that the process of restoring agricultural production “will be long and complex,” AAH has prioritized several key areas to support the resumption of farming activities in Gaza. This has encompassed the provision of “emergency supplies such as seeds, fertilizers and agricultural tools” to help farmers grow staple crops of the Palestinian diet, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and eggplants. AAH has also supported the repair of damaged “greenhouses, irrigation systems and water resources,” implemented training programmes “on safe agricultural practices in the midst of conflict-induced contamination,” and promoted “renewable energy installations, water conservation, and smart agricultural technologies” to help build a resilient agricultural sector capable of functioning during the current crisis.
• On 24 July, 16 critical patients, 15 children and one adult, alongside their 25 companions, who had been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing prior to its abrupt closure on 7 May, were transferred to Spain to receive specialized medical care as part of an operation jointly coordinated by WHO, the European Commission, Spain, Egypt and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Most children endured severe injuries, while two suffer from chronic heart disease and one from cancer. Meanwhile, over 12,000 critical patients remain unable to exit the Strip to access the urgent health-care treatment they need. Overall, only 4,913 critical patients – 35 per cent of all those for whom medical evacuation was requested – were able to leave the Strip since October 2023, with the vast majority receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 
• WHO assesses that there is a high risk of poliovirus type 2 spreading across Gaza, and potentially also beyond. This is due to the dire water, hygiene and sanitation conditions and the limited functionality of health facilities, particularly primary health-care centres (PHCs), which prior to the war played a key role in providing child immunization and other maternal and child health services, with only 45 per cent of all PHCs now operational. Briefing the press in Geneva, Dr. Saparbekov informed that WHO and its partners across the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) are now conducting an epidemiological investigation and a risk assessment, and based on the results, will consolidate a set of recommendations on how best to respond to the outbreak, including in relation to vaccination campaigns. 

Funding

• As of 26 July, Member States have disbursed about $1.52 billion out of $3.42 billion (44 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. On 10 July, the Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi stated that “more funding is urgently needed – as is a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza. Increased funding now will enable the humanitarian community to scale up operations as soon as conditions permit. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 111 ongoing projects, for a total of $88 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). Of the total, 63 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $112 million from Member States and private donors to support urgent humanitarian and life-saving programmes across the OPT. Of total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in June 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the oPt HF.

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Today's headlines

Remembering Eman Qamom

Shahd Ahmad Alnaami

My best friend, Eman Qamom, was martyred in December by an Israeli attack. She had told me she didn’t want “to be killed and forgotten.” I am here to remember Eman. I hope she has found peace in a better place.

Palestinians slam Netanyahu speech to Congress as U.S. officials say a ceasefire deal is close

Qassam Muaddi

Palestinian political leaders slammed U.S. politicians' response to Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress as Israel continued its Khan Younis offensive for the fifth day, killing dozens of civilians there and across Gaza.

The ICJ’s bombshell ruling dissected on the Israeli occupation

Craig Mokhiber discusses the importance and impact of the International Court of Justice's ruling that the Israeli occupation of Palestine is illegal.

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26 juli 2024

At the Israel–Mali Olympic football match this week, the growing global calls to ban Israel from the Olympics echoed throughout the stadium.
 

Fans of the game made it loud and clear: Apartheid Israel is not welcome at the Paris Games, especially while committing its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Sound engineers in the stadium tried in vain to silence the strong chorus of condemnation. Fans waved Palestinian flags and spelled out “Free Palestine” in large letters.

Today, the Olympics officially gets underway, with the opening ceremony of what the corrupt International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to make the Genocide Games.

As fans in the stadium proved this week, we cannot and will not be silenced.

Take action during the Olympics opening ceremony to remind everyone:

­

These are the #GenocideGames

There is no other way to put it. By allowing it to participate in the Paris Games, the IOC is enabling and whitewashing apartheid Israel’s Gaza genocide, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Israel has also committed sporticide killing hundreds of Palestinian athletes, including 69 Olympians, and wiping out Palestinian sports infrastructure in Gaza or using them as concentration and torture camps.

Mohammed Hamada, the first Palestinian Olympic weightlifter, is one of many Palestinians athletes who can’t train or participate in the Olympics this year.

Hamada lost 20kg (44 pounds) due to Israel’s engineered famine against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Olympics is enabling one of the most devastating aspects of Israel’s Gaza genocide.

During the opening ceremony, remind Olympic spectators:

Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war

The IOC wants these to be the #GenocideGames? Then let’s make sure everyone knows, on the ground in Paris and online.

Take action now!  

In solidarity,
 
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

The nonviolent BDS movement for freedom, justice and equality is supported by the absolute majority in Palestinian society. BDS rejects all forms of racism and racial discrimination.

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26 juli 2024

I am excited to announce that I have been chosen to be the new Executive Director of Breaking the Silence, stepping into the big shoes of my friend and colleague Avner Gvaryahu (thank you and good luck). Yes, it is a challenging position, and yes, it is an incredibly challenging time.

This wasn’t my plan. I studied education, tutored for years at a boarding school. I wanted to be an educator, maybe even apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But I served in the occupied Palestinian territories. I could not go on and pretend the reality in which I participated was not my responsibility. I joined Breaking the Silence in 2012, just a few years after my release from the army, where I served in a reconnaissance unit’s sniper team.

In my 11 years at Breaking the Silence, I got to know the generation of soldiers who returned from the second intifada, the generations that returned from fighting in Gaza in 2009 and 2014. I know those who spent years upholding a military dictatorship in the West Bank, who invaded homes in the middle of the night on mapping missions in Nablus, who led raids in Jenin and Tulkarm, and oversaw house demolitions in the South Hebron hills (Masafer Yatta). And now, a new generation has already started to talk to us about the ongoing fighting in Gaza.

Collecting the testimonies of soldiers returning from Gaza is our most important task at the moment. These testimonies are hard to digest, many truly shocking, and as the new Executive Director of Breaking the Silence, I will do everything so that they reach every Israeli. We cannot afford to ignore what is happening in the oPt. We never could, and that is how we got to where we are.

I do what I do because the future of this land and the people who live here are important to me. Israelis and Palestinians alike. I grew up here, my family is here. I am a son, a brother, a partner and a father. I hold a responsibility for the future of this place, and within the small role that I play, I intend to do everything possible. Another tour exposing the injustices of occupation in Hebron, bringing more and more groups of Israelis to hear about life under military rule directly from Palestinian activists. Another speaking event, another published testimony, another blow and another blow to the wall - until it falls.

We must look at and talk about what we’re doing in the oPt and what decades of oppressing millions of people have done. Firstly, because we’re talking about human lives. Palestinians and Israelis. Entire generations of Israelis were sent to kill and be killed in the name of cynically-named policies like "managing the conflict" and "mowing the lawn," as if the blood of the inhabitants of this land is cheaper than sand.

So no, we will not let more and more generations of occupation and apartheid pass us by. I'm proud to have broken the silence. I'm excited for my new position, proud of the team I work with, the soldiers who gave us testimony. I’m proud of our Palestinian partners who have become dear friends over the years and the fantastic human rights and civil society community that always stood by us, even when times got tough.

And finally, a message to all who served in Gaza or the West Bank: break the silence. Talk about what you did - what you were sent to do. Stop telling yourself that "everyone knows." Many around you don't know. Don't lie to yourself that it doesn't matter. It absolutely matters. It's scary to break the silence. I know that fear all too well. The truth can be scary sometimes. But we cannot afford to live in a fantasy world. No more.
Nadav Weiman, Executive Director
Breaking the Silence

A few words to our outgoing Executive Director, Avner Gvaryahu, from the entire team:

Avner has been with us for over 14 years, and has been our Executive Director since 2017. He was here during the endless rounds of fighting in Gaza, the near-suffocating siege in between, and the brutal day-to-day reality under occupation and apartheid in the West Bank. Few know so intimately the missions which our country has sent our soldiers to carry out in recent decades, and the underlying rationale behind them.

He was with us when the Israeli right labeled us traitors, when Knesset members and ministers decided to label citizens as enemies in their attempt to cover up the true nature of Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and silence those who speak out against them. A large portion of this campaign was directed at him, and despite that, Avner never budged from the point - we are not the story.

Additional Reading Suggestions

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24 juli 2024

FIFA, the world governing body of football, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have teamed up to shamefully ensure that genocide has a place in the Paris Games.

Today, as the first Olympic football matches kick off in Paris, there’s one team that should not be playing, but is: genocidal apartheid Israel.

Israel has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Experts say that number could grow to as many as 186,000 due to the long-lasting effects of Israel’s Gaza genocide, including its war of starvation against 2.3 million Palestinians.
 

Among the Palestinians that Israel has killed are 69 Olympians, including Hani Al-Mossader, coach of the Palestinian Olympic football team, and Majed Abu Maraheel, the first ever Palestinian Olympic athlete.
 

Let’s use today's match to take action for Hani, Majed, and the hundreds of Palestinian athletes killed in Gaza.

­

During today's Israel v Mali match, keep the spotlight on Israel’s Gaza Genocide!

The Western-controlled IOC has ignored calls to exclude Israel from the Olympics from the Palestinian Olympic Committee, over one million people around the world, members of parliament, international athletes, and Mandla Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s grandson.
 

Last week, FIFA stepped in to postpone a decision on banning Israel from world football until after the Olympics, shielding Israel from accountability and ignoring calls from hundreds of thousands, including footballers and athletes from Gaza.

The International Court Of Justice has ruled that international bodies such as the IOC and FIFA have an obligation not to recognize or facilitate Israel’s trifecta of grave crimes against Palestinians: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Join us as we pledge No Olympics As Usual.

Stay tuned for more action during the Olympics

In solidarity,
 
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

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24 juli 2024

Gaza Humanitarian Response Update
8-21 July 2024

Recreational activities provided by UNRWA to children in Gaza. Photo by UNRWA

Health

Response

• During the reporting period, 49 Health Cluster partners reached about 350,000 people across the Strip. As of 23 July, there are 13 Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) supporting the local healthcare workforce, including one in northern Gaza, and there is continued work to expand the bed capacity of hospitals.
• Following the detection of Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (VDPV) Type 2 in environmental samples collected from Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been working closely with the Ministry of Health in Gaza and partners to initiate response measures, including the deployment of a Polio expert to conduct further assessments and guide the response strategy.
• The Health Cluster has set up a medical evacuation taskforce to lead the establishment of an effective and reliable medevac process.

Challenges

• The numerous mass casualty incidents are stretching partners’ capacities to respond to trauma and emergency cases, amid a critical shortage of hospital beds as many hospitals have been put out of service.
• Hospital generators remain at a breaking point due to overuse, the lack of alternative power generation options and constrained access to spare parts, placing the lives of critically ill and injured patients at risk.
• The lack of access to clean water, hygiene kits, and sanitation facilities continues to pose major health risks and drive a surge in acute respiratory infections (currently exceeding 990,000 cases), diarrheal illnesses (577,000 cases), acute jaundice syndrome (107,000 cases) and skin infections. These health issues are exacerbated by poor living conditions and overcrowding in Gaza, making it even more challenging for healthcare providers to respond effectively.

Nutrition

Response

• Partners continue to conduct Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screenings in shelters and healthcare facilities across the Gaza Strip. Since mid-January, 169,101 children aged 6-59 months and 10,355 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) have been screened for malnutrition. Of all screened children, 11,541 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition and have been receiving treatment in line with the simplified protocols; these include 8,993 children diagnosed with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), and 2,548 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). Additionally, 271 PBW have been enrolled in treatment.
• As of 20 July, 307 service delivery points for blanket supplementary feeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) counselling were available at 296 sites. Since mid-July, nearly 100 metric tons of Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements (LNS-MQ) entered Gaza, allowing partners to resume the Blanket Supplementary Feeding Program (BSFP) at scale.
• In July, as part of the “Find and Treat” campaign, 624 volunteers have so far been trained in screening, Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), and IYCF practices. To date, a total of 438 health workers have been trained in CMAM, including 22 between 8 and 21 July, and 838 community workers have been trained to detect and refer identified cases of acutely malnourished children for treatment.  
• The Management of Acute Malnutrition Technical Working Group has developed a new set of tools for partners to better detect and manage malnutrition cases among infants under six months of age. 
• The Cluster continues to carry out a soft survey, mainly in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, to acquire a better picture of the general distribution of Breast-milk Substitutes (BMS), such as infant formula and other milks, which is concerning given the associated risks of increased infant morbidity and mortality in emergencies, especially as the water and sanitation situation continues to deteriorate.

Challenges

• Repeated displacement, insecurity and access constraints continue to hamper the early detection of children and women requiring nutrition services and the scale-up of operational presence to provide needed support. Tents have been set up to conduct malnutrition screenings and provide services, but the lack of privacy renders breastfeeding counselling challenging. 
• Repeated displacement, including among children diagnosed with malnutrition, has made it difficult for partners to monitor and follow up on malnutrition cases and for families to carry supplies for malnutrition prevention and treatment. 
• Insecurity, access constraints, and limited infrastructure hinder the delivery and storage of nutrition supplies like LNS-SQ, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), and Ready-to-Use Infant Formula (RUIF).

Food Security

Response

• As of 20 July, 13 out of 18 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners were operational in the Gaza Strip – four in Gaza city, two in North Gaza and seven in Deir al Balah. Of the four bakeries in Gaza city, two had to temporarily cease operations between 8 and 19 July due to fighting and the lack of fuel. The other five bakeries located in Rafah remain closed due to the ongoing hostilities.
• In July, about 630,000 cooked meals prepared in 180 kitchens were provided daily by FSS partners to families across the Strip, including about 20,000 meals in northern Gaza and 610,000 meals in central and southern Gaza. In addition, there are joint efforts with the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster to ensure the provision of safe drinking water to each community kitchen. 
• Since 8 July, FSS partners have been providing cooked meals, fresh fruits and high energy biscuits to people displaced from northern to central and southern Gaza, as part of multi-sectoral response at IDP reception points. FSS is also working with community representatives and Site Management Working Group (SMWG) partners who are tracking displacement to identify households who have been repeatedly displaced and ensure they are included in food assistance programmes.
• In the first half of July, partners distributed about 36 metric tons of animal feed to more than 350 livestock-keeping households in southern and central Gaza, thereby contributing to the local production of meat and dairy products, which are key to ensure a nutritious diet, especially for children.

Challenges

• Insecurity, damaged roads, the breakdown of law and order, and access limitations continue to hamper movement along the main humanitarian cargo route between Kerem Shalom Crossing and Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. This has resulted in critical shortages of aid commodities to sustain humanitarian operations, including the operation of community kitchens, in addition to increasing the risk of spoilage and infestation of stranded food supplies due to extremely high temperatures. 
• The passage of fuel and aid supplies from central/southern Gaza to the north continues to be partly impeded. As a result, the six bakeries in northern Gaza (four in Gaza city and two in North Gaza) are receiving only scarce fuel quantities, sufficient to keep them running for a few days at a time. In addition, hot meal production capacity in Gaza and North Gaza governorates has been insufficient to support tens of thousands of newly displaced people.
• The lack of entry of commercial supplies into northern Gaza for nearly three months has resulted in a near total lack of protein sources such as meat and poultry on the local market, with only a few types of locally produced vegetables available at unaffordable prices. 
• Most distributed food rations contain gluten, negatively affecting hundreds of people with celiac disease and other medical conditions associated with gluten. FSS partners are currently seeking to bring in gluten-free flour.
• The lack of a constant flow of seeds, fertilizers and other animal and crop production inputs is a key obstacle hampering the restoration of local food production in Gaza. Ongoing military operations in Rafah and eastern Khan Younis, where significant agricultural production was concentrated prior to the war, have resulted in additional damage to greenhouses and forced more people to leave their farms unattended, further destabilizing food systems. 
• Agricultural activities, including small-scale gardening that is critical to enhance dietary diversity, remain suspended. The implications of missing the upcoming agricultural season will likely devastate people’s livelihoods.
• Shortages of cooking gas have forced displaced households to rely on burning wood and plastic from furniture and waste to cook, hindering proper food preparation as well as exacerbating health risks and environmental hazards. 
• Limited cash liquidity and insufficient access to financial services and telecommunications continue to hamper partners’ day-to-day operations and prevent the scale up of Cash and Voucher assistance to the population.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Response

• Between 8 and 21 July, the Coastal Municipal Water Utility/Palestinian Water Authority (CMWU/PWA) reported that the average water supply for safe drinking and domestic purposes was about 90,000 cubic metres across the Gaza Strip, or about a quarter of water supply prior to the war. Al Muntar water pipeline from Israel to northern Gaza, which had been out of service since 1 July, resumed operations on 20 July after undergoing multiple rounds of maintenance to repair leakages and other damage. 
• In northern Gaza, UNRWA is rehabilitating two water wells, which could provide 200 cubic metres of additional water per day. At present, only four out of seven UNRWA water wells are operational, producing 3,800 cubic metres of water a day. 
• A slight increase in fuel provision during the reporting period was partly redirected to sewage facilities to urgently manage flooding and contamination. 
• In Khan Younis, the first phase of rehabilitating the sewage system is complete, with six pumping stations now restored, and the second phase focusing on network repairs near pumping stations is underway. About 76 kilometres of the network are damaged or clogged, of which two kilometers are already undergoing repairs. UNICEF and CMWU are also working to rehabilitate two pumping stations in western Khan Younis, which are partially damaged.  
• In Deir al Balah, there is ongoing work by the WASH Cluster and CMWU to rehabilitate the wastewater network and system in Az Zawaida and Al Maghazi Refugee Camp. UNICEF and CMWU are also coordinating the cleaning and unclogging of sewage lines in the governorate.

Challenges

• The lack of generators and alternative energy sources, combined with the shortage of fuel and spare parts to operate existing generators, continue to severely hamper water production and sewage pumping, exposing the population to major health risks across the Gaza Strip. For example, there is currently a lack of fuel and spare parts to address reported sewage flooding between Az Zawaida and An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, particularly around As Sawalha pumping station.
• WASH response actors cannot keep up with the high number of requests to remove sludge from septic tanks and cesspools and flooded sewage from streets due to a lack of vacuum trucks. The private sector is also struggling to meet demand.
• The depletion of chlorine reserves, which are being consumed at double the rate prior to the war, requires the urgent import of new chlorine supplies to facilitate water purification.

Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI)

Response

• Between 8 and 21 July, and notwithstanding minimal resources, Shelter Cluster partners provided NFIs to 950 families who were displaced within northern Gaza, following the issuance of evacuation orders by Israeli military. Also in northern Gaza, partners provided 200 tents to a new IDP site in Beit Lahya, and preparations are ongoing to dispatch additional NFIs. In Deir al Balah, NGO partners provided shelter materials and NFIs to about 100 families who were recently displaced from northern Gaza. 
• The Shelter Cluster continues to track destinations and needs of new IDPs in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates and provide, where possible, shelter support (e.g. tents, NFIs, sealing off kits).

Challenges

• Partners remain unable to implement a meaningful Shelter response due to the severe lack of shelter materials and NFIs in Gaza.
• Restrictions by the Israeli authorities on the transport of shelter materials between northern and southern Gaza means that partners cannot cover needs as they arise. 
• Recurrent displacement and limited access to many locations continue to hinder the ability of Shelter and NFI actors to carry out assessments and develop a comprehensive understanding of needs.

Protection

Response

• Protection teams continue to identify and respond to the exponentially increasing protection risks and needs of displaced people in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, by conducting visits to shelters and IDP sites, undertaking focus group discussions and key informant interviews with IDPs, monitoring aid distribution, and ensuring follow up on previously identified vulnerable cases. 
• Protection teams continue to track the release of Palestinians who were arbitrarily detained from Gaza and provide them with emergency assistance, including medical care and support to reunite with their families.
• Child Protection partners continue to follow up on child protection cases and strengthen case management. Jointly with the Education Cluster, they also continue to identify child friendly spaces at informal displacement sites. During the reporting period, partners provided Psychosocial Support (PSS) for 800 children in northern Gaza and referred 15 cases of unaccompanied children or children with disability for support. With UNRWA support, a total of 4,784 children received clothes through distribution stores in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. Overall, child protection partners have to date reached 682,000 children and 126,000 caregivers (see the Child Protection online dashboard).
• The Protection Cluster continues to provide Psychological First Aid (PFA), identification and referral training to non-protection professionals. The training targets first-line service providers from other sectors to enable them to provide PFA, identify protection cases, and refer them to protection experts for further assistance. 
• During the reporting period, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) sheltering services were restored in southern Gaza, with two partners available to provide sheltering for high-risk GBV cases. To date, GBV partners have provided services to 12,000 displaced women and girls, established six mobile safe spaces in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, and distributed over 80,000 hygiene and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) kits, and sanitary pads, to the most vulnerable women and girls. GBV partners also continue to advocate for the entry into Gaza of additional hygiene supplies for women and girls to address shortages. Twenty GBV service providers have received PSS through care-for-carer sessions. 
• While efforts continue to deploy additional Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers to Gaza, EOD-related activities had to be placed on hold following the evacuation order issued by the Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has been prioritizing emergency support to respond to requests related to medial access routes. Four Explosive Threat Assessments (ETA) were conducted, and three inter-agency convoys were escorted during the reporting period. Raising awareness messages on risks of explosive ordnance continue to be disseminated, including through in-person sessions in Nuseirat, Deir al Balah, Khan Younis, and Gaza; digital campaigns using SMS, radio and social media; awareness-raising sessions for humanitarians; distribution of materials, and Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions for local partners.

Challenges

• Insecurity, the disruption of aid flows, the breakdown of law and order, and the denial of entry of critical items continue to hinder the Protection Response. Denied items include mine action supplies, sanitary pads, dignity and MHM kits for women and girls, recreational materials for children, as well as assistive devices for persons with disabilities. Delays in securing the entry of hygiene and dignity kits have resulted in a severe shortage of personal care materials, rendering women and girls more vulnerable to disease and violence. 
• The closure of the Rafah Crossing continues to impede the entry/exit of international aid workers.
• The limited availability of supplies on the local market has led to soaring prices, further hindering the ability to prioritize the most vulnerable. 
• Cash shortages are hindering the use of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) by some recipients; this is negatively affecting living conditions, increasing the risk of exposure to violence or exploitation for women and girls, and hindering the ability of partners to pay local service providers and staff salaries.  
• Logistic and security constraints continue to hamper the creation of safe spaces for confidential GBV case management activities, such as safe houses/shelters for high-risk cases, case management response, and the implementation of alternative care options for unaccompanied children. The limited availability of safe shelter options exposes IDPs, especially the most vulnerable, to heightened protection risks. Furthermore, intense heat and soaring temperatures are exacerbating living and working conditions in tents and makeshift shelters. 
• Frequent interruptions of internet and communications services and damage to key infrastructure continue to curtail mobility and operations. 
• The abrupt interruption in the entry of fuel has nearly halted the implementation of mine action and other protection activities, as well as monitoring and coordination by the Cluster.
• Administrative hurdles, such as registration of organizational entities and delayed provision of visas, continue to prevent the scale up of mine action work.
• Lack of funding continues to limit the deployment of additional EOD experts and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education and Conflict Preparedness and Protection (EORE-CPP) teams to meet the soaring needs.

Education

Response

• During the reporting period, nine additional community-led education initiatives began in North Gaza, Gaza and Deir al Balah governorates, bringing the total number of such initiatives since October 2023 to 68. The Cluster has linked 35 of these initiatives with partners who are supporting the expansion of services. Moreover, 14 new partner-supported Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) have been set up to enhance access to informal learning opportunities for school-aged children who have been deprived of formal education since October 2023. 
• Since October 2023, 32 partners have reached more than 350,059 students and teachers with PSS, emergency learning, recreational supplies and activities, and awareness sessions (source: Education Cluster 5W dashboard).

Challenges

• Evacuation orders continue to pose significant challenges to the expansion of the Education response. Some TLSs had to be evacuated, and it has been challenging to find alternative spaces in new areas of displacement. Moreover, ongoing displacement has increased parents’ safety concerns and reduced children’s participation in activities at established TLSs.
• The denial or limited entry of education supplies into Gaza and their shortage on the local market continue to hamper the implementation of the Education response, including the ability of volunteer teachers to actively engage children in learning and other recreational activities aimed at addressing the traumatic events they have experienced. 
• Critically low funding levels, with only 35 per cent of the required funds received, continue to hinder the scale up of the Education Cluster response.

Multi-purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA)

Response

• Between 8 and 21 July, more than 11,127 households in Gaza received emergency MPCA, either first payments or top-ups in the case of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities (PwD) and nursing mothers. Overall, between 7 October 2023 and 21 July 2024, 197,407 households (1,362,156 individuals) received at least one MPCA payment. The current MPCA transfer value is ILS 1,000 (around US$275). 
• Since 7 October, 145,913 households (979,427 individuals) have cashed out their assistance. Cash out operations remain concentrated in governorates south of Wadi Gaza.
• The use of “e-wallets” for digital transactions and purchases continues to expand among humanitarian Cash actors and the first Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) survey of e-wallet payments indicates a redemption rate of up to 80 per cent. The Cash Working Group (CWG) has developed a paper on the use of mobile money and e-wallet modalities in Gaza, which can be accessed here.

Challenges

• A liquidity shortage, driven by the inability of banks to transfer money between branches, has negatively affected multiple facets of humanitarian operations, including: payments to locally recruited staff and service providers; the payment of essential operational expenses such as utility and communication bills; procurement activities; and the safety and security of NGOs.
• Lack of connectivity and available agents, especially in northern Gaza, continue to limit the ability of some households to cash out received assistance. Furthermore, poor electricity supply and limited connectivity compromise the ability of financial service providers to make cash accessible to MPCA recipients. About 7,034 payments have so far been cancelled after not being cashed out for months.
• Informal markets are the primary source of accessing goods, which complicates efforts to track distributions and gather market data.
• Assistance falls short of needs due to price volatility and the collapse of formal markets, especially in northern Gaza.

Emergency Telecommunications (ETC)

Response

• On 10 July, the ETC team participated in an inter-agency assessment in Al Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps in Deir al Balah to identify telecommunications, internet connectivity, and power solution needs.
• The ETC is engaging with key stakeholders to ensure the availability of fuel and equipment to keep telecommunications services operational.
• During the reporting period, the ETC coordinated the first steps of importing 33 Track-24 devices (satellite-based staff tracking devices), which are intended for the use of five UN agencies operating in Gaza. The ETC is following up on the coordinating the import of the remaining 65 devices.
• The ETC Cluster also continues to advocate for the need to import more ICT and telecommunications equipment into Gaza to set up common communications services. For more information on ETC activities, please visit: Conflict | Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) (etcluster.org).

Challenges

• Due to escalating hostilities, increased restrictions on the movement of commodities, damaged infrastructure and lack of fuel and spare parts, local Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers in the Gaza Strip are experiencing network outages and are unable to conduct the necessary repairs. Current conditions are also rendering it difficult to maintain the functionality of the remaining network and have resulted in the loss of connectivity in Rafah.  
• The availability of telecommunications equipment is severely limited, hampering the delivery of ETC services. Much equipment has been damaged or destroyed and the import of new equipment has been lengthy and challenging. Only 20 satellite phones, 30 VHF digital radios, four VHF repeaters and four solar power solutions have been coordinated for importation into Gaza with Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023. 
• Increasing insecurity, displacement, and relocation of staff from Rafah to Deir al Balah have rendered it difficult to deploy shared ETC communications services or provide face-to-face technical support for humanitarian responders. 
• The lack of funding has limited the ETC Cluster’s capacity to address immediate communications needs for humanitarian responders in Gaza. Thus far, less than 32 per cent of requested funding (US$1.8 million) by the Cluster under the updated OPT Flash Appeal has been received.

Logistics Cluster

Response

• As of 21 July, the Logistics Cluster consolidated 14,361 cubic metres of humanitarian cargo at its common warehouse in Amman. The 5,000 square metre facility aims at supporting humanitarian partners’ aid delivery operations via the Jordan corridor.
• Between 8 and 21 July, six direct convoys with a total of 139 trucks were dispatched with food, shelter and WASH items.  Since November 2023, the Logistics Cluster has facilitated a total of 70 humanitarian convoys through this corridor, with 1,713 trucks carrying 23,371 cubic metres of aid dispatched into Gaza on behalf of 22 organisations. All convoy information is available on the interactive dashboard.
• In Gaza, storage services are available in a warehouse in Deir Al Balah with a capacity of 1,700 square metres.
• The Logistics Cluster team is working with partners to centralise loading from a single location, to enhance the efficiency of handling operations.

Challenges

• Access and security constraints continue to severely hamper Logistics Cluster’s efforts to collect partners’ cargo at Kerem Shalom Crossing.
• Current capacity limitations at Erez West Crossing are limiting the ability of partners to scale-up aid delivery via the Jordan Corridor.
• As of 21 July, over a thousand UN and international NGO trucks are backed up in Al Arish ready to be dispatched into Gaza, due to the backlog at Kerem Shalom Crossing, which disproportionately affects temperature-sensitive cargo. This figure only includes UN and INGO trucks and does not account for bilateral donations handled by the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC).

Protection against sexual abuse and exploitation (PSEA) remains a cross-cutting priority for all clusters. Aid distribution must be delivered with dignity and respect. Any wrongdoing can be reported through SAWA toll-free number 164. SAWA will assist and provide services free of charge and with the utmost confidentiality.

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24 juli 2024

Today, tens of thousands are protesting in Washington, D.C., against Netanyahu's address to Congress. Just yesterday, seven unions representing nearly six million workers wrote to President Biden, demanding an end to U.S. support for genocide by stopping the arming of Israel. The pressure is mounting.

We can still take more action by  continuing to pressure Vice President Harris to reject the Israeli government's destructive agenda. Palestinians are being killed by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s genocidal regime while he shakes hands with U.S. representatives and officials.

Onward,

Adala Justice Project,
Executive Director

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24 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Israeli strike targets press tent at Gaza hospital, killing one and injuring others

An Israeli strike targeted a tent inside the courtyard of a hospital in the central Gaza Strip, killing one Palestinian journalist. Eyewitnesses told Mondoweiss the strike was precise, hitting only the tent shelter that was clearly marked as ‘press’.

Pro-Palestine orgs and lawmakers react to Biden dropping out

In the wake of Joe Biden's historic decision to step down, Palestine solidarity groups highlighting his complicity in the Gaza genocide and calling on Kamala Harris to embrace a permanent ceasefire and an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel.

Biden staffers who resigned over Gaza say US has destroyed international law and endangered Americans

The Biden administration is suppressing widespread dissent over its Gaza policy within its ranks, enforcing a "culture of silence," say some who resigned.

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24 juli 2024

24 juli 2024

404.

War Criminals are NOT welcome here!

The march on Washington DC is happening TODAY!

We are coming to show War Criminal Netanyahu he is not welcome here.

In solidarity,
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

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23 juli 2024

Today's headlines

If elected president, many believe that Kamala Harris will continue Joe Biden’s doomed policy in Gaza.

Video: West Bank settlers brutally attack Palestinians and American volunteers day after ICJ rules Israeli occupation illegal

On July 21, three American volunteers were evacuated to a hospital in Nablus after being attacked by Israel settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra. Israeli authorities at the location failed to arrest the assailants.

U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal

The New York Times and the rest of the U.S. mainstream media downplayed, covered up, and even ignored the historic ICJ opinion declaring the Israeli occupation illegal.

‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 290: Israel launches a new offensive on Khan Younis forcing thousands to again flee

At least 40 Palestinians have been killed by air strikes on Khan Younis as Israel launched a surprise offensive on the city. Meanwhile, West Bank settlers renewed attacks on Palestinians following the ICJ ruling that the occupation is illegal.

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22 juli 2024

It's time for a new chapter in U.S. foreign policy.

This Wednesday, July 24, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel and one of the main architects of the genocide in Gaza, will give a joint address to Congress.

His speech is a desperate attempt to bolster support for the apartheid state as it continues to enact unspeakable violence against Palestinians and lose credibility on a global stage.

Just last week, the International Court of Justice issued a decision stating that Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is illegal and must end.

The United States must apply diplomatic and political pressure on Israel to abide by the ICJ ruling.

Until freedom,
Adala Justice Project

402.

22 juli 2024

Americans Reject War Criminals: Surround the Capitol to “Arrest Netanyahu” in D.C. on July 24th!

We are just two days away from a pivotal moment. Today, Benjamin Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal, arrives in Washington, D.C.. On Wednesday, July 24th, he is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress by invitation from both the House and Senate. Providing this platform to Netanyahu, who is actively carrying out affirmed acts of genocide, is an affront to the over 140,000 Palestinians killed or injured in the past nine months.

This action is especially immoral in light of the recent decision by the International Court of Justice, which determined that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end "as rapidly as possible." By extending this invitation, both Congress and President Biden (who is set to meet with the war criminal tomorrow) are blatantly disregarding international law and the call for justice.

Join us and our partners on Wednesday, July 24th, in Washington, D.C., as we stand united in the largest rejection of a foreign diplomatic visit in U.S. history. We will demand an end to U.S. aid and weapons to Israel and call for Netanyahu's arrest.

• What: National Mobilization to Protest Netanyahu
• When: July 24th, 2024 - 11 AM
• Where: U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Need a ride from out of town? Check here to see the transportation list!

This is our moment to show continued solidarity with Gaza and make it clear that Netanyahu is not welcome in our legislative halls or our country and that our members of Congress are going against the will of the American people by welcoming him.

401.

22 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #194
Gaza Strip

People being displaced inside the Gaza Strip. Photo by UNRWA.

Key Highlights

• A new evacuation order by the Israeli military encompasses about 8.7 square kilometres in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis, decreasing the area of the zone by nearly 15 per cent.
• The Nasser Medical Complex faces a new mass casualty influx, amid a dire lack of blood units, medical supplies and hospital beds.
• Gaza is now surviving with only a fourth of the water supply available before the war, reports the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster.
• Humanitarian aid workers operating in the Gaza Strip continue to face enormous risks; according to UNRWA, an aid convoy heading to Gaza city on 21 July came under fire.

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, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 18 and 22 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 158 Palestinians were killed and 359 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 22 July 2024, at least 39,006 Palestinians were killed and 89,818 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 18 and 20 July:
  • On 18 July, at about 21:10, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near the entrance of Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 19 July, at about 2:10, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and 15 injured when a house was hit and an adjacent house damaged in Block C in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah. An Nuseirat Refugee Camp has been reportedly witnessing intensive strikes, shelling and incursions over the past week.
  • On 19 July, at about 17:20, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in New Camp of An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 20 July, at about 1:00, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Sheikh Radwan area, north of Gaza city.
  • On 20 July, at about 1:00, six Palestinians were reportedly killed when the vicinity of the Community College was hit in Gaza city.
  • On 20 July, at about 3:20, five Palestinians, including a journalist, his wife, mother and two of his children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Al Alami area in Jabalya camp, Gaza North.
• Between the afternoons of 19 and 22 July, no Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 22 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,526 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath and including 326 killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,147 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 22 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld. On 22 July, the Israeli military was cited by the media as concluding that two more hostages had died in captivity.
• On 22 July, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians residing in eastern and central Khan Younis to immediately evacuate westwards. The evacuation area encompasses areas already placed under evacuation orders on 1 July and newly designated areas, including 8.7 square kilometres in the eastern parts of the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Al Mawasi. The area of the “humanitarian zone” as designated by the Israeli military has thus decreased by 14.8 per cent, from 58.9 to 50.2 square kilometres. Initial reports indicate that families are currently moving towards areas in Deir al Balah and western Khan Younis. Both areas are already heavily overcrowded, have limited shelters and services available, and can barely accommodate the additional influx of displaced people. As of 22 July, nearly 83 per cent of the Gaza Strip has been placed under evacuation orders or designated as “no-go zones” by the Israeli military.
• Frequent evacuation orders and relentless hostilities continue to further devastate Gaza’s health system and make it increasingly difficult for repeatedly displaced populations to access essential services, particularly people suffering from chronic diseases. According to the MoH, while over 1,500 patients need kidney dialysis, only 60 hemodialysis machines are currently available across the Strip, of which 16 are in the Gaza and North Gaza governorates and 44 are in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, compared with 182 prior to the conflict. As a result, patients are undertaking only two dialysis sessions of two hours per week, instead of the required treatment of three four-hour sessions a week. Sexual and reproductive health services also continue to shrink. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that only eight of the 16 partially functioning hospitals and four field hospitals are now providing maternal services, with more than 500,000 women in reproductive age lacking access to antenatal and postnatal care, family planning and management of sexually transmitted infections. At the same time, numerous mass casualty events throughout the Strip are further stretching the already limited trauma and emergency response capacity.
• On 22 July, Nasser Medical Complex received dozens of casualties due to reported hostilities and strikes in Khan Younis; according to MoH, as of 19:20, the hospital received 70 fatalities and more than 200 injured people. The hospital, which was already overwhelmed before this latest mass casualty influx, has now issued a new call to people to urgently donate blood, warning that conditions are dire at the facility with patients lying on the floor amid a severe lack of bed capacity and medical supplies to treat them. Medical evacuations outside Gaza remain largely suspended since the closure of Rafah Crossing, with WHO continuing to urge the establishment of safe evacuation corridors to immediately enable an increasing number of critically ill and injured patients to access the lifesaving care they need.
• Humanitarian aid workers operating in the Gaza Strip continue to face enormous risks, including to their personal safety. This week, Project Hope reported that their team narrowly escaped the fallout of an Israeli airstrike within the “humanitarian zone” in Khan Younis on 16 July. A physician among the team that was heading home at the time of the strike said that a missile hit an area less than 40 metres away from them: “We witnessed blood and casualties in the streets, leading to intense fear among all of us. We cried from the shock of the scene, but thankfully we all managed to return home safely despite it. However, the trauma still lingers in our hearts – this is supposed to be a safe zone.” Also this week, UNRWA’s Commission General, Mr. Phillippe Lazarini, reported that Israeli forces shot at a UN convoy heading to Gaza city on 21 July following coordination with the Israeli authorities. No casualties were reported but one vehicle received at least five bullets and left the convoy, Mr. Lazarini added, noting that “the teams were traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars and wearing UN vests.” Since October 2023, at least 278 aid workers were reported killed in Gaza, including 201 UN staff members.
• Persistent fuel shortages continue to undermine humanitarian operations and jeopardize the functioning of health, water, and food production facilities. Between 1 and 21 July, only about 2,165,590 litres of fuel entered Gaza, including 378,700 on 21 July alone. On average, this is about 103,000 litres of fuel per day, or a quarter of the 400,000 litres of fuel estimated by humanitarian actors to be needed per day to sustain humanitarian activities in the Gaza.

• The Food Security Sector (FSS) reports that, out of 13 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners currently operational in the Strip, the six in northern Gaza (four in Gaza city and two in North Gaza) continue to receive only scarce fuel quantities, sufficient to keep them running for a few days at a time. Of the four bakeries in Gaza city, two had to temporarily cease operations between 8 and 19 July due to fighting and the lack of fuel. Moreover, according to FSS, the continued lack of commercial supplies in northern Gaza continues to exacerbate the food security situation in the area. This has resulted in a near total lack of protein sources such as meat and poultry on the local market, with only a few types of locally produced vegetables available at unaffordable prices. Hot meal production capacity is also insufficient in Gaza and North Gaza governorates to support tens of thousands of newly displaced people, following the latest evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces, while the lack of cooking gas has forced families to rely on burning wood and plastic from furniture and waste to cook, hindering proper food preparation and exacerbating health, protection and environmental risks. In central and southern Gaza, some community kitchens are similarly facing shortages of food supplies due to the limited and irregular flow of humanitarian cargo entering through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and there are seven functioning bakeries, all in Deir al Balah as the five bakeries in Rafah have remained closed due to ongoing hostilities. Overall, as of mid-July, about 630,000 cooked meals prepared in 180 kitchens were provided daily by FSS partners to families across the Strip, including about 20,000 meals in northern Gaza and 610,000 meals in central and southern Gaza. In addition, FSS partners continue to distribute food rations and are working to bring in gluten-free flour to respond to the needs of hundreds of people with celiac disease and other medical conditions associated with gluten.
• According to the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) Cluster, the Al Muntar water pipeline from Israel to northern Gaza resumed operations on 20 July, following multiple rounds of maintenance. The line had been out of service since 1 July and, during this period, only 15 per cent of Gaza city had water flow, down from 40 per cent when the line was operational, the Municipality of Gaza reported. Moreover, with UNICEF support, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility installed a solar-powered mobile desalination plant at the Aklock School shelter in Deir al Balah to provide 16 cubic metres of drinking water per day to about 3,200 households. Notwithstanding these improvements, the WASH Cluster reports that the lack of electricity, damage to infrastructure, and shortages of fuel, spare parts and chlorine continue to hamper water production, purification, and sewage pumping. For example, at present, the Gaza central seawater desalination plant in Deir al Balah produces only 3,000 cubic metres per day, down from 6,000 cubic metres per day prior to October 2023. Overall, between 8 and 21 July, the daily average of water supply in Gaza was about 90,000 cubic metres, or about a quarter of water supply prior to the war.
• A new report by PAX, an international NGO, highlights the growing public health risks of solid waste exposure in Gaza due to the collapse of the waste management system and blocked access to designated landfills by Israeli forces. Relying on satellite imagery and open-source investigative techniques, the report’s researchers identified 225 waste disposal sites and informal landfills, including 14 UN-designated emergency landfills, noting that the real number is much higher given that smaller, continuously emerging garbage sites are often not visible on satellite imagery. The researchers shared the findings of their visualization and quantification of informal solid waste dumps with relevant UN agencies to enable priority setting for waste collection programmes, inform future remote sensing analyses of potential contamination of soil and groundwater sources, and contribute to environmental health analyses concerning the spread of communicable diseases. The report especially highlighted the potential medical threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), whereby patients in conflict areas fail to respond to antibiotic treatments, which health experts have linked to the degradation and damage of water and wastewater treatment infrastructure as well as to heavy-metal exposure including munition remnants. The environmental consequences of the crisis are also enormous, according to the report, as they can render Gaza wholly uninhabitable and cause grave ecosystem and public health problems in the overall region due to the contamination of agricultural lands and the aquifer and the possible penetration of toxic substances into the food chain. The report presents a number of short-term and long-term recommendations for policymakers, including, for example, renewed calls on Israel to allow access to the designated landfill sites, replication of UNDP clean-up initiatives using mobile crashers that can both collect and repurpose rubble and waste for use in future projects, and introducing climate mitigation and resilience policies in the post-war reconstruction waste management regime.

Funding

• As of 19 July, Member States have disbursed about $1.45 billion out of $3.42 billion (42 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. On 10 July, the Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi stated that “more funding is urgently needed – as is a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza. Increased funding now will enable the humanitarian community to scale up operations as soon as conditions permit. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and it will be using this updated number for programmatic purposes.)
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 111 ongoing projects, for a total of $88 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). Of the total, 63 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $112 million from Member States and private donors to support urgent humanitarian and life-saving programmes across the OPT. Of total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in June 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the oPt HF.

Online version

Recent publications

• Humanitarian Situation Update #193 | West Bank
• Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (17 July 2024)
• Gaza Strip: Humanitarian access constraints | 9 June 2024
• Humanitarian Situation Update #192 | West Bank
• Humanitarian Situation Update #191 | Gaza Strip

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22 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Polio and the destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure

Polio had been eradicated in the Gaza Strip but was detected this past week. While it is unclear how it has suddenly reappeared it is beyond doubt how it’s spreading: Israel's systematic destruction of Gaza's health infrastructure.

Palestinian Christians challenge the World Council of Churches on Gaza

Palestinian Christians are criticizing a World Council of Churches statement for ignoring the context of the October 7 attacks and refusing to call out the unfolding Gaza genocide.

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22 juli 2024

Gaza: grote risico's voor vrouwen

Het is een strijd om voor meer dan 1 miljoen vrouwen en meisjes in Gaza. Zij kunnen nauwelijks schoon water, sanitaire voorzieningen en menstruatieproducten vinden.
 

Het is vooral zwaar voor vrouwen die zwanger zijn, borstvoeding geven of ongesteld zijn. Zij lopen grote gezondheidrisico's. 

Reintje van Haeringen
Directeur CARE Nederland

398.

21 juli 2024

Biden Drops Out: A Call for Democrats to Address Injustices and Correct Course

In light of President Biden's recent decision not to run for reelection, we must acknowledge the deep stain the President has left on his legacy over the past 9 months by funding and unabashedly supporting Israel's atrocities in Gaza. Now the President is no longer seeking reelection we call on him to make amends and change course on Palestine before his term ends.

To start, we call upon President Biden to immediately:

1. Implement and ensure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
2. Enforce an arms embargo on Israel.
3. Reinstate funding to UNRWA, as the U.S. stands alone in withholding aid from this crucial humanitarian agency.
4. End all American support for Israel’s genocidal actions against Palestinians.

In solidarity,

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

397.

21 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Netanyahu’s speech to Congress will seek to maintain support for genocide

Benjamin Netanyahu will use his upcoming speech to a joint session of Congress to consolidate political support for the genocide in Gaza from both Republicans and Democrats. The leadership of both parties appear happy to oblige.

Mobilizing global support for Gaza’s mental health emergency

Palestine-Global Mental Health Network

A new Gaza Community Mental Health Programme report paints a stark picture of the severe mental health crisis unfolding in Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli genocide.

396.

20 juli 2024

Israël maakt zich schuldig aan apartheid en de verboden annexatie van Palestijns land. Dat bevestigde het Internationaal Gerechtshof gisteren, vrijdag 20 juli. Het Palestijnse recht op zelfbeschikking wordt geschonden, en natuurlijke bronnen, waaronder water, worden door Israël illegaal geplunderd. Het Gerechtshof oordeelt dat de bezetting van Palestijns gebied onmiddellijk moet worden beëindigd.

Het is een historische uitspraak met grote gevolgen voor Israël, Palestina, de internationale gemeenschap, en voor Nederland.

De rechters van het Internationaal Gerechtshof betreden de zaal voorafgaand aan de uitspraak, 20 juli 2024. [c] UN Web TV

Israël is onder meer juridisch verplicht de nederzettingen te ontruimen, Palestijnen te laten terugkeren naar hun land, en hen te compenseren. De wereldgemeenschap is verplicht onderscheid te maken tussen Israël zelf, en de bezette gebieden, ook in zijn economische relaties. Dat kan niet anders dan met een totaal verbod op handel met de illegale nederzettingen.

Grondige beleidsverandering nodig
De uitspraak van het Internationaal Gerechtshof  schept een onweerlegbare uitleg van het internationaal recht.

De uitspraak van het Gerechtshof vereist een grondige herziening van het Nederlandse beleid, dat de bezetting altijd heeft gedoogd. Dat kan nu niet meer. Er moeten effectieve maatregelen worden genomen om de bezetting te doen stoppen:

1. Stoppen met de samenwerking met het Israëlische leger dat de bezetting in stand houdt.
2. Verbod op alle economische relaties met de illegale nederzettingen.
3. Opschorting van het EU Associatieverdrag met Israël.
4. Erkenning van Palestina.
5. Steun aan het Palestijns maatschappelijk middenveld en de Palestijnse economie om de negatieve effecten van (mede door Nederland gedoogde) bezetting, annexatie en apartheid te compenseren.

Als Nederland, gastland van het Internationaal Gerechtshof, nu geen maatregelen tegen Israël zou nemen, dan zou dat een schoffering zijn van het volkerenrecht, waar dit kabinet zich aan heeft gecommitteerd.

Uiteraard zullen wij u de komende dagen en weken uitgebreid op de hoogte blijven houden van de consequenties van en de reacties op deze uitspraak.

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

395.

20 juli 2024

Today's headlines

In a historic ruling, ICJ declares Israeli occupation unlawful, calls for settlements to be evacuated, and for Palestinian reparations

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is unlawful, the settlements must be evacuated, and Palestinians must be compensated and allowed to return to their lands.

The end of Israel’s economy

As Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza continues unabated, the Israeli economy is facing a catastrophe. The physical destruction in Israel from the war has been minimal, but one thing has been destroyed: its future.

Donald Trump's closing speech to the Republican National Convention threatening Gaza ended a week of speeches featuring full-throated support for Israel, false allegations of campus antisemitism, and condemnations of pro-Palestine protests.

394.

19 juli 2024

The International Court of Justice Finds Israel’s Occupation of Palestine Illegal; Demands End to Apartheid and Reparations for Palestinians​

In the face of pressure from Israel, the U.S., and the West, the World Court has ruled that the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, is illegal. The ICJ also found that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). This ruling is not a revelation but a solemn affirmation of what Palestinians have been declaring for decades. The true measure of justice will be seen not in the proclamation of the law but in its enforcement.

This landmark decision reinforced the illegality of Israeli settlements and Israel’s illegal occupation, asserting that no agreement, including the Oslo Agreements can override the obligations of international law. The World Court’s ruling mandates that Israel must:

1. End the occupation, evacuate all settlers, and dismantle the settlements and the wall.
2. Allow all Palestinians the right to return to their homes.
3. Provide full reparations to Palestinians.

Moreover, the court has called on all countries and international organizations to end any aid or assistance to the occupation and to take decisive action to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law, and the immediate end of the occupation.

This historic decision validates the long-standing assertions of the international legal community and strengthens the global struggle for Palestinian liberation. It is a significant stepping stone towards ending apartheid, settler-colonialism, and genocide in Palestine. The U.S., by continuing to support Israel’s illegal actions, is further isolating itself from the international community and standing on the wrong side of history. 

“Today, the highest judicial body in the world ruled what we all know to be true: Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land and is practicing oppression and apartheid. This seminal ruling marks a turning point in the international fight for justice and the freedom of all Palestinians from oppression,” said Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid in response to the ruling.

AJP Action stands firmly with the Palestinian people in their pursuit of freedom and justice. We call on the international community to uphold this ruling and take concrete actions to dismantle the structures of oppression and apartheid in Palestine.

Together, we will continue to advocate for the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people, and we will not rest until justice is achieved.

In solidarity,

Ayah Ziyadeh

Advocacy Director, AJP Action

393.

19 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Netanyahu accused of obstructing prisoner talks while Israel and PA negotiate future of Rafah crossing

UNRWA reports Israel has bombed eight schools in 10 days. The Red Cross warns of “total collapse” of health care in Gaza.

Here’s how a collective of tech professionals shut down the Israeli army’s extortion website — twice

The Zionism Observer collective took down an IDF extortion website, reverse-engineered the site's data, and released it to the public

392.

19 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #193
Gaza Strip

Children navigate a sewage-filled street in Gaza. Photo by UNICEF

Key Highlights

• About 1,500 hospital beds are currently available in Gaza to cover the needs of more than two million people, compared with 3,500 beds before the war, according to the Health Cluster. 
• Variant poliovirus (VDPV) type 2 detected in environmental surveillance samples collected from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, warns WHO.
• At least three mass casualty events took place on 16 and 17 July, two of them in schools hosting internally displaced persons. In total, eight schools have been hit in the space of ten days, reports UNRWA.

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, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 15 and 18 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 184 Palestinians were killed and 362 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 18 July 2024, at least 38,848 Palestinians were killed and 89,459 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering the period until the afternoon of 19 July are not available as of the time of reporting. 
• At least three mass casualty incidents took place on 16 and 17 July. On the afternoon of 16 July, the Israeli military reportedly struck Al Attar Street in Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis, where many internally displaced people (IDPs) were gathering, including to buy food from a market of street vendors. According to the MoH in Gaza, 17 people, including at least four children, were killed, and more than 26 others were injured. On the same day, at about 14:15, the guard room inside the UNRWA Nuseirat Boys' Preparatory School (also known as Al Razi school), where IDPs were sheltering, was hit; according to the Government Media Office (GMO), the incident resulted in the killing of 23 Palestinians and the injury of another 73. According to the Israeli military, armed Palestinians were operating from inside the school. Additionally, on 17 July, at about 13:00, 11 Palestinians, including children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a strike hit the entrance of Cairo Governmental School in Al Rimal, in Gaza city. On 17 July, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, noted that at least eight schools, including six UNRWA schools, were hit in the past 10 days, and stated: “The war robbed the girls and boys in Gaza of their childhood [and] education. Schools must never be used for fighting or military purposes by any party to the conflict.” 
• The following are among other deadly incidents reported between 14 and 18 July: 
  • On 14 July, at about 19:00, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed when the project area (Al Mashrou’ area) was hit east of Rafah city.
  • On 14 July, at about 23:50, at least five Palestinians, including three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when an apartment was hit near As Salehat roundabout, northwest of Al Maghazi Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 15 July, at about 17:10, five Palestinians, including a girl, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near Ad Da’wa mosque in Al Maghazi Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 15 July, at about 20:30, 11 Palestinians, including five children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in An Nuseirat Camp 1, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 16 July, at about 16:45, five Palestinians, including three females, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit on Al Ashrin Street, east of An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 16 July, at about 22:50, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near As Sunna Mosque, south of An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 17 July, at about 13:50, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and several others injured when a house was hit near Al Awda Schools in Abasan Al Kabira, east of Khan Younis. 
  • On 18 July, at about 1:15, seven Palestinians, including at least one girl, were reportedly killed and several others injured, including at least three children and one woman, when a house was hit near Ibn Rushd School in Az Zawaida, north of An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
• Between the afternoons of 15 and 19 July, no Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 19 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,526 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath and including 326 killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,134 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 19 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• On 18 July, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stressed that repeated mass casualty events “have stretched to breaking point” the response capacity of the 60-bed Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, which is nearly at full capacity. Following the 13 July airstrikes on Al Mawasi area in Khan Younis, the facility treated 26 wounded patients (including children), eight of whom required immediate surgeries due to severe life- and limb-threatening injuries. The field hospital’s outpatient department also received 850 patients in the second week of July, nearly half were women and a third children, ICRC stated. 
• Conditions are similarly critical at other health facilities in central Gaza. Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) reports that, so far in July, its teams at the MSF clinic and Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah have responded to four mass casualty incidents, most recently on 16 July. The pediatric emergency department at Nasser hospital, which is already overstretched and under-resourced, provided consultations to a daily average of more than 300 children between 29 June and 5 July, and children admitted for inpatient care are being forced to share beds, MSF added. Visiting Nasser recently, UNFPA reported seeing “babies, children, newborns and mothers on mattresses in the corridor” due to the lack of sufficient capacity. Pre-term deliveries and maternal complications, including eclampsia, haemorrhage and sepsis, have been rising, according to MSF, as pregnant women struggle to access health-care facilities, being forced to navigate unsafe routes to reach hospitals amid active conflict. After giving birth, they are rapidly discharged, returning to tents and shelters where they and their newborns face manifold health risks. Nasser Medical Complex is currently the only tertiary hospital providing maternal and pediatric care in Khan Younis, and efforts have begun to restore services at the European Gaza Hospital, also in Khan Younis, after it was evacuated on 2 July, according to the MoH.
• About 1,500 hospital beds are now available at functional hospitals and field hospitals across the Gaza Strip to cover the needs of over two million people, compared with 3,500 beds that were available prior to the war, according to the Health Cluster. The lack of bed capacity is compounded by the lack of medical supplies and equipment, leading to “unnecessary deaths, infected wounds and unnecessary amputations,” warned the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Balkhy. She further noted that WHO’s mission requests on 16 July to deliver health supplies to Al Ahli and Patient Friendly hospitals in Gaza governorate were denied. 
• Infectious diseases continue to spread due to shortages of clean water, overcrowding, and abysmal sanitation and hygiene conditions. According to WHO data, 990,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, 574,000 of acute watery diarrhea, 107,000 of jaundice syndrome and 12,000 of bloody diarrhea were recorded as of 7 July, with the real number of infections likely much higher. Rashes and skin infections, particularly among children, are also on the rise, highlights UNRWA.

• In a particularly worrying development, WHO reports that the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN) detected variant poliovirus (VDPV) type 2 in six environmental surveillance samples collected on 23 June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. Thus far, the virus has only been isolated from the environment, with no associated paralytic cases detected. As part of response efforts, WHO is working with the MoH, UNICEF, UNRWA and partners to assess the scope of poliovirus spread and decide appropriate responses, including prompt vaccination campaigns. According to WHO-UNICEF routine immunization data, polio vaccination coverage in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was estimated at 89 per cent in 2023. However, nine months of hostilities have lowered routine immunization rates and increased the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, for children; this is due to the decimation of Gaza’s health-care system, lack of security, access obstructions, repeated population displacement, medical supply shortages, poor water quality and dire sanitation conditions. To effectively mitigate the risk of poliovirus spread in Gaza, the MoH, the UN and partners are urging all stakeholders to support polio eradication efforts by ensuring that all children are vaccinated against polio at every opportunity. “A ceasefire is essential to allow an effective response,” underscored WHO.
• On 29 June and 12 July, the UN and its partners conducted two inter-agency assessments in Gaza city to identify priority needs following the evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces on 27 June, 7 and 8 July in the eastern and central parts of Gaza city and intensified hostilities in the area. The 29 June assessment covered three schools, including two UNRWA schools, hosting 2,670 IDPs, and the 12 July assessment covered 1,512 IDPs sheltering at one UNRWA school and two informal displacement sites. Key assessment findings include:  
  • Overcrowding and lack of safety: Displacement sites are overcrowded, with up to five or six households sharing the same classroom. They are also largely unsafe due to damage and potential explosive ordnance contamination. 
  • Lack of shelter materials: While all households face severe shelter shortages, conditions are particularly difficult for hundreds of people who arrived from Ash Shuja'iyeh and other parts of eastern Gaza city in late June and are in dire need of mattresses and bedding, in addition to clothes, shoes and food. They are among tens of thousands of people who were forced to hastily flee amid active hostilities and were unable to collect even the most necessary belongings. 
  • Water scarcity: Desalinated water for drinking purposes is distributed by water trucks at highly irregular intervals. Coupled with storage challenges, this often prompts households to rely on highly saline water for drinking, which causes stomach pain. Water on the market is expensive, costing 5NIS (US$1.4) for a jerrycan.
  • Degrading sanitation conditions: Most toilets in collective sites are not functional, due to network damage and septic issues, resulting in sewage spillage onto streets at some sites and a limited number of toilets available that had doors missing or lacked water for flushing. Personal hygiene is compromised due to the lack of privacy and water and extremely limited hygiene supplies, including sanitary pads for women. The scorching heat and nearby solid waste accumulation attract insects and mosquitos, and piles of waste are often burnt by communities in an effort to contain the proliferation of insects and disease transmission, with toxic fumes posing additional health hazards.
  • Widespread food insecurity: Food assistance is deeply insufficient and not reaching all households equally. Lack of dietary diversity is widespread, partly owing to the lack of private sector commodities, especially in northern Gaza, and the exorbitantly high prices of the few commodities available on the market. For example, there has been a 50-fold increase in the prices of green peppers, from NIS10 ($2.7) prior to 7 October to NIS500 ($137) per kilogramme (kg), and a 45-fold increase in the price of tomatoes, from NIS3.3 ($0.9) to NIS150 ($41) per kg. At one site, IDPs reported having lost over 15 kgs of body weight over the past eight to nine months.
  • Poor health access and nutrition: Lack of transportation and ambulance services, combined with a critical shortage of essential medications, limit access to health care. Women are struggling to breastfeed their newborns due to nutritional deficiencies, lack of privacy, stress and trauma, amid a lack of milk formula, limited screenings to detect malnutrition and erratic distributions of nutrition supplements. At one site, IDPs reported that stillbirth is increasing. A widespread increase in Hepatitis A was reported, alongside gastroenteritis (stomach flu), dysentery (intestinal infection), and skin and eye infections. Assistive devices for people with disabilities, including children, are lacking. 
  • Lack of materials for educational activities: Limited non-formal education activities have been organized by volunteers and UNRWA at some sites for children between five and 10 years of age but lacked dedicated spaces and essential materials. Children above the age of 10 at one site were found to be mainly collecting wood for energy and fetching water.
• A surge in population movements from northern to southern Gaza has been observed by aid actors over the past two weeks, after the Israeli military airdropped flyers instructing residents of Gaza city to evacuate southward via two designated routes. According to the Site Management Working Group (SMWG), initial estimates by aid actors monitoring the movement of IDPs at ‘welcome points’ indicate that about 2,550 people have been displaced from northern Gaza between 11 and 18 July, primarily arriving in Deir al Balah via Salah ad Din Road, and humanitarian partners provided them with relief assistance, including drinking water, food, hygiene supplies, and some shelter materials. Efforts are ongoing to provide additional assistance to vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities, and to incoming IDPs. High risks, however, continue to face IDPs, staff at ‘welcome points’, and relatives waiting for IDPs to cross. For example, on 17 July, several people were injured when Israeli tanks stationed near the Netzarim corridor reportedly fired at a group of people who were assembled 800 metres south of the checkpoint, waiting for their relatives to cross, as observed by aid actors. On 18 July, a military strike on a building in An Nuseirat Refugee camp prompted nearby humanitarian staff at ‘welcome points’ on Salah ad Din Road to withdraw and a multi-agency protection cluster mission to cancel its operations.
• Access constraints, combined with ongoing hostilities, damaged roads and the breakdown of public order and safety, continue to severely disrupt and destabilize the entry of humanitarian aid supplies and their collection and distribution by aid actors to people in need across the Gaza Strip. Between 1 and 15 July, 1,288 truckloads of aid supplies entered Gaza, according to the UN, the majority being food aid. This is an average of 86 trucks per day, which is higher than the June daily average of 76 humanitarian aid trucks per day but lower than the May average of 94 aid trucks per day. These numbers refer to humanitarian supplies collected from the Palestinian side of any of the crossing points and exclude commercial goods. Within Gaza, between 1 and 18 July, out of 72 planned humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 29 were facilitated, 20 were impeded, 18 were denied access, and five were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In southern Gaza, out of 240 coordinated humanitarian assistance movements, 177 were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, 22 were impeded, 17 were denied.

391.

19 juli 2024

Last night, FIFA, the world football governing body, stepped in at the last minute to shield genocidal Israel from accountability by postponing Saturday’s vote on banning Israel until after the Olympics.

FIFA is guaranteeing the Israeli football team’s participation in the Paris Games as Israel escalates its genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and continues its sporticide against Palestinian sports.

In just the past few days, Israel has killed footballers Sayeed Yousef Odeh (16), Yazan Al-Sarsawi (11) and Shadi Abu Al-Arraj (36).

On July 9, Israel bombed a UN school sheltering Palestinians forcibly displaced by its #GazaGenocide as children played football, killing at least 30. Israel has bombed nine schools sheltering Palestinians in Gaza in recent days.

Israel has killed at least 240 Palestinian footballers, including 67 children from the football academy, injured at least 15 and imprisoned 12. 

Israel has targeted and damaged or destroyed 49 Palestinians sports facilities, including stadiums, pitches, and club houses. Stadiums in Gaza have been occupied by the Israeli military and used as detention and torture centers.

There’s only one way to vote for FIFA:

­

Ban Genocidal Apartheid Israel from football!

FIFA could have and should have acted years ago to ban apartheid Israel from the beautiful game, as organizations representing millions, UN officials, footballers, and nearly 200 members of parliament demanded.

By continuing to shield Israel from accountability, FIFA is helping to create what the UN Secretary General calls “total impunity,” which allows Israel to carry out a livestreamed genocide and escalate its 76-year-old apartheid regime, with impunity.

This must stop now.

Contact FIFA Council members:
Don’t sportswash genocide. #BanIsrael from football!

The 47-member Asian Football Confederation, a FIFA organization, has called for Israel to be banned from FIFA. Petitions calling on FIFA to ban Israel have garnered more than 500,000 signatures.

One thing we know: FIFA and Israel are worried. Let’s step up the pressure.

As sports journalist Dave Zirin has said, international sporting bodies will only expel Israel if we make them.

Given FIFA’s corruption and the fact that it is largely a tool of the colonial West, and given its persistent failure over many years to uphold its own rules and expel Israel, we must resort to people power to disrupt the participation of genocidal Israel in world sports. We call for the peaceful disruption of ALL Israeli participation in regional and international sports.

When governments and institutions fail to uphold justice and stop Israel's #GazaGenocide, people of conscience must shoulder the moral responsibility to isolate apartheid Israel, just as apartheid South Africa was isolated.

In solidarity,
 
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

The nonviolent BDS movement for freedom, justice and equality is supported by the absolute majority in Palestinian society. BDS rejects all forms of racism and racial discrimination.

390.

18 juli 2024

Veel lezers  zijn met vakantie en trekken er met een tent op uit. Maar dat is een pretje.Voor de ontheemde inwoners van Gaza is het allerminst een pretje, maar barre noodzaak  in een verschroeiende hitte. Met nauwelijks toegang tot water, voedsel of medische zorg.Hun huizen vernietigd. Opgejaagd. Zonder enige rust of veiligheid. Vluchtend van de ene “veilige” zone naar de andere. Zones die vervolgens ook gewoon worden platgebombardeerd door Israël.

Nederland en de rest van de internationale gemeenschap laten het gebeuren. Onze regering weigert actie te ondernemen. En blijft via Amerika onderdelen leveren voor de straaljagers die dood en verderf zaaien in Gaza.

Hoop
Maar er is op een ander front hoop. Morgen (19 juli) doet het Internationaal Gerechtshof in Den Haag een belangrijke uitspraak. Het Hof presenteert een juridisch oordeel over de Israëlische misdaden in bezet Palestijns gebied.

De uitspraak zal aanknopingspunten bieden voor nieuwe maatregelen tegen Israël. En tegen organisaties en bedrijven die actief zijn in de illegale nederzettingen, en zo bijdragen aan onderdrukking en apartheid. Met de uitspraak van het Hof in de hand kunnen wij politici, ministeries en bedrijven aanspreken op hun verplichtingen. Al dan niet via de rechter.

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

Geheime AIPAC-bijeenkomst CIDI

Het CIDI organiseerde afgelopen week een geheime bijeenkomst met de Amerikaanse Israël-lobbyclub AIPAC. Onder andere oud-minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Uri Rosenthal kwam langs.

Left Laser stond voor de deur van het CIDI en confronteerde bezoekers. Waarom voelden zij zich zo betrapt?

Al-Mawasi | Israëlische aanval kost negentig Palestijnen in Gaza het leven

Afgelopen weekend bombardeerde Israël een tentenkamp voor ontheemde Palestijnen dat het zelf als ‘veilige zone’ had aangewezen. Negentig Palestijnen vonden de dood in de jacht op twee kopstukken van Hamas. Of die werden gedood is onbekend.

Het bloedbad vond zaterdagochtend 13 juli plaats in Al-Mawasi, een uitgestrekte verzameling huizen, hutten en tenten die dienst doen als onderdak voor ontheemde Palestijnen. Het ligt ten westen van de stad Khan Yunis aan de kust van de Gazastrook.

Een Palestijns jongetje loopt op 14 juli door een bomkrater in het kamp voor ontheemde Palestijnen Al-Mawasi in de Gazastrook. Een dag eerder werd een deel van het kamp bij een Israëlisch bombardement weggevaagd. © Abed Rahim Khatib / dpa / Alamy Live News

"Veilige zone"
Er verblijven tienduizenden of zelfs honderdduizenden Palestijnen in het gebied – schattingen lopen op tot een miljoen –, op de vlucht voor het Israëlische geweld dat hun woonplaatsen in puin heeft gelegd. Israël heeft Al-Mawasi tot ‘veilige humanitaire zone’ bestempeld en ontheemde Palestijnen opgeroepen er hun toevlucht te nemen.

Zo ontstond de zee van tenten en andere bouwsels, die zaterdag door Israël werd gebombardeerd. Voor de aanval gebruikte Israël vijf Amerikaanse MK-84-bommen van ruim negenhonderd kilo per stuk. Die slaan metersdiepe kraters ‘zo groot als een schoolplein’, aldus een getuige, en richten binnen een straal van 350 meter totale verwoesting aan.

Bij het bombardement, gevolgd door beschietingen met drones, vielen negentig doden en raakten ruim driehonderd Palestijnen gewond. Getuigen spreken van rondvliegende lichaamsdelen en beschrijven de paniek onder de overlevenden.

Opinie | Help Palestijnse boeren op de Westbank. Landroof is het paradepaardje van deze regering-Netanyahu

Voormalig Europarlementariër Peter van Dalen en Tent of Nations-betrokkene Meta Floor vragen aandacht voor de positie van de Palestijns-christelijke familie Nassar in Bethlehem.

De ogen van de hele wereld zijn begrijpelijkerwijs gericht op Gaza. Tegelijkertijd bereiken ons berichten van ernstig geweld door zowel het Israëlische leger als de Joodse kolonisten op de Westbank.

Zo wordt ook de situatie van de Palestijns-christelijke familie Nassar van Tent of Nations in Bethlehem steeds nijpender. Zij kochten in 1916 het land, hebben hiervan de eigendomsdocumenten, maar zijn sinds 1991 in een uitputtende juridische strijd verwikkeld met de Israëlische autoriteiten die claimen dat het land aan de staat Israël zou toebehoren. Dat is een strategie waardoor van veel Palestijnse boeren hun land is geroofd..

Ondertussen op de Westoever...

4 juni 2024. Israëlische troepen slopen een Palestijns huis in het dorp al Jawaya in Masafer Yatta, op de Westelijke Jordaanoever. Door de sloop raakten 11 mensen dakloos. Volgens de VN zijn sinds begin dit jaar 489 gebouwen door de Israëlische bezettingsmacht gesloopt, waardoor 917 Palestijnen uit hun huizen zijn verdreven.

389.

18 juli 2024

Beste BDS-er,

Opnieuw een nieuwsbrief, want er speelt veel en de mooipraters van genocide zijn ook druk. Uiteraard rond de Spelen in Parijs, maar heel acuut in Amsterdam, waar zionisten in de Pride marsen moeten mogen en Queer Amsterdam dus door het stof moest.
Ook hebben we in een speech die Palestina, Congo en Koerdistan verbindt met waar het om gaat: het bewaken van westerse belangen. Lees en luister!

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

Geen Pride in genocide! Stop pinkwashing!

Ban Israel uit OS 2024 Parijs! Geen medailles voor genocide!

De Olympische Spelen komen eraan. En de machtigen weigeren Israël uit te sluiten. Liever een door arrogantie verknald feestje en potentieel de winsten niet tekort doen, dan doen wat goed is, wat moet. Het Wereldhof is duidelijk: iedereen moet stoppen de genocidestaat te steunen. Ondertussen moordt Israël ongestoord door, met de steun van, boven alles, de Verenigde Staten en ook het merendeel van de westerse landen

Humanity has failed. And make no mistake! This is our fault and our responsibility! This wouldn't be happening without the support of the United States and Europe, the colonial West. In the words of James Baldwin, American writer and civil right activist: "Israel was not created for the salvation of the Jews. It was created for the salvation of Western interests.

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18 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Mercenary or scholar: disrupting military-funded research at the University of California

Militaries need universities to develop technologies of war. Student researchers who are vital in developing these technologies are uniquely placed to disrupt them.

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17 juli 2024

War criminals are not welcome here!

Next week, on July 24th, the wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress by invitation of both the House and Senate. Providing this platform to Netanyahu, a war criminal carrying out genocide as we speak, is a severe insult to the over 140,000 Palestinians who have been killed or injured in the past nine months. It also disregards the sentiments of the American people, a majority of whom reject the ongoing U.S. collaboration with Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people and have been actively protesting against it.

Join AMP and our partners on Wednesday, July 24th, in Washington, D.C., as we reject Benjamin Netanyahu and convene from across the country in the largest rejection of a foreign diplomatic visit in U.S. history. We will call for his arrest and the end of U.S. aid and weapons to Israel.

• What: National Mobilization to Protest Netanyahu
• When: July 24th, 2024 - 11 AM
• Where: U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

   

  Now more than ever, we must come together to show that we stand with Gaza and that Netanyahu is not welcome in our legislative halls or our country.

In solidarity,
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

386.

17 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Israel’s legalization of settlements in the northern West Bank, explained

Qassam Muaddi

Israel is launching a political and military assault on the West Bank. Its  so called ‘legalization’ of settlements in the north is a crucial part of the story.

There is no path to peace that does not involve Hamas

The PLO, ANC, IRA, Algerian resistance, and other liberation movements committed atrocities against civilians and were labeled terrorist organizations in de western world.  But they were eventually invited into the political process. The same must happen with Hamas.

385.

17 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #192
West Bank

Destruction in a residential area of Nur Shams refugee camp, the West Bank, following a large-scale operation carried out by the Israeli military on 10 July 2024. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Israeli forces kill two Palestinian children in the West Bank. 
• More than 600 structures have been demolished in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the beginning of 2024 due to the lack of building permits, displacing more than 750 people.
• An Israeli court ruling rejects the appeal of 11 Palestinian families against eviction from their homes in East Jerusalem, placing 66 people at risk of displacement. 
• Dozens of residential buildings and commercial stores as well as sewage and water networks were damaged by military bulldozers during an operation by Israeli forces in Nur Shams Refugee Camp, a UN-led inter-cluster assessment mission finds.

Latest developments (after 15 July)

• After midnight on 16 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man, originally from Gaza, during a raid into money exchange shops and stores selling agricultural fertilizers in Al Bireh city. The man was reportedly shot and arrested before Israeli forces handed over his corpse to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) at the Beit El DCO checkpoint. According to the Israeli military, the man stabbed and slightly injured an Israeli soldier before he was shot, a claim that was refuted by local community sources. 
• On 16 July, according to Israeli media, three Israeli settlers were injured when Israeli forces mistakenly shot at their vehicle near Beit El checkpoint in Ramallah.
• On the morning of 16 July, Israeli forces closed all checkpoints between Nablus and Tulkarm cities in the northern West Bank for about two hours, following a shooting incident at Israeli vehicles travelling near Ramin village and Shavei Shomron settlement, east of Tulkarm. According to Israeli media sources, three Israeli settlers sustained glass shrapnel injuries. Subsequently, Israeli forces carried out a search operation in Ramin village. 

Humanitarian Developments (9-15 July)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including two children, during search-and-arrest operations in Jenin and Ramallah governorates. Thirty-seven Palestinians, including 13 children, were also injured in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank, and four Israeli soldiers were injured by a Palestinian man in Israel.  
  • On 9 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian child at the entrance to the village of Deir Abu Mash’al, west of Ramallah, near Road 465. The child was reportedly playing with two other children when three Israeli soldiers travelling in a civilian vehicle fired live ammunition toward them. Community members indicated that Israeli forces, and settlers who arrived at the scene, prevented them from reaching the child, who was left bleeding on the ground for about 15-20 minutes before an ambulance could reach him. 
  • On 11 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian child during a search-and-arrest operation in Meithalun village, south of Jenin, and injured five other children, all by live ammunition. During the operation, clashes were reported between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli forces. 
  • On 12 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 26-year-old Palestinian man with live ammunition during a search operation in Abwein village, in Ramallah. Clashes were reported between Israeli forces who fired live ammunition, gas canisters, and sound bombs and Palestinian stone throwers. 
  • On 14 July, four Israeli soldiers were injured in Nir Zevi junction near Ramle city in Israel during a ramming attack carried out by a 27-year-old Palestinian man from East Jerusalem. The Palestinian man was shot by Israeli forces at the scene and his family was officially informed about his death on 16 July. Israeli forces subsequently raided the man’s home in Ar Ram town, north of Jerusalem, arrested his parents and two brothers, and fired teargas canisters toward Palestinians and properties in the area, setting a Palestinian vehicle ablaze.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 15 July 2024, 554 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. These include 539 killed by Israeli forces, ten by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 14 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of eight Israelis and four Palestinian perpetrators.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 23 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in two injuries and damage to property. Between 7 October 2023 and 15 July 2024, OCHA recorded 1,122 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 105 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, 898 led to damage to Palestinian property, and 119 led to both casualties and property damage. The following are some of the key incidents documented by OCHA during the reporting period:  
  • On 9 July, an Israeli settler believed to be from Talmon settlement was seen by residents of Al Janiya village, in Ramallah governorate, throwing a Molotov cocktail on agricultural land on the outskirts of the village, causing a huge fire. About 40 dunums of land planted with several types of trees were burnt. Residents reported that they used to cultivate olive, grape and almond trees in this area but it has been inaccessible to them since 7 October. 
  • On 10 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from a settlement outpost established on 18 June 2024 near Shilo settlement, in Ramallah governorate, burned down a farm-related structure and agricultural equipment in Area B of Khirbet Abu Falah village. Moreover, Israeli settlers broke into a nearby barracks and sprayed anti-Arab graffiti. Frequent attacks by settlers from the newly established outpost have been reported over the past month, including burning trees, destroying farming structures and taking over agricultural equipment belonging to the surrounding villages of Khirbet Abu Falah, Turmus'ayya and Al Mughayyir. 
  • A number of settler attacks during the reporting period affected several Bedouin and herding communities in the West Bank. On 10 July, a group of Israeli settlers believed to be from Tene settlement outpost cut approximately 1000 metres of water pipes, affecting one family in Khirbet ar Rahwa community in Hebron governorate. Two water pipes were similarly damaged by settlers on 11 July in Ras ‘Ein Al ‘Auja community, in Jericho governorate, affecting 10 families. In addition, seasonal crops were damaged by settlers who grazed their sheep on agricultural land in Mantiqat Shi’b al Butum (Hebron) and Kisan village (Bethlehem), and one camel was killed by live ammunition fired by settlers in Khashem ad Daraj community, in Hebron governorate.
  • On 13 July, Israeli settlers reportedly from the Karnei Shomron settlement attacked and injured a Palestinian woman near the village of Kafr Laqif, east of Qalqiliya. According to the injured woman, she and her husband were in their car near the village when a group of Israeli settlers standing near Karnei Shomron roundabout began throwing stones at Palestinian cars. She was transported to hospital for treatment. 
• On 10 July, four Palestinian Bedouin families comprising 30 people, including 21 children, were forced to leave their primary place of residence near Sabastiya plain, northwest of Nablus city, due to repeated attacks by Israeli settlers believed to reside in a nearby outpost established in the immediate aftermath of 7 October. The most recent attack on this community took place on 9 July when Israeli settlers attacked with nail-studded sticks two young herders, one of whom lost his finger. Since 7 October, some 249 Palestinian households comprising 1,474 people, including 720 children, have been displaced in mostly herding communities amid settler violence and access restrictions. 
• Between 9 and 15 July, the Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 42 Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. These include 32 structures in Area C, nine in East Jerusalem, and one under-construction artesian well in Area A (in Tubas). As a result, 78 Palestinians, including 39 children, were displaced and around 60, including 22 children, were otherwise affected. Around 70 per cent of the displaced people (55) were recorded in East Jerusalem, the majority (39) in Al Walaja village in Bethlehem, where five homes located within the Israeli-defined municipal boundary of Jerusalem were demolished. In Hebron governorate, 17 people were displaced by the demolition of a four-storey building in Qalqas village. Between 1 January and 15 July, 615 structures were demolished and 755 were displaced for lacking Israeli-issued building permits in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, compared with 452 structures demolished and 568 people displaced in the corresponding period in 2023. 
• On 9 July, Israeli forces raided Nur Shams Refugee Camp (Tulkarm) with bulldozers, causing significant damage to essential infrastructure within and around the camp, including about 1,600 metres of sewage and water networks and resulting in disruptions of water, electricity, and internet services. During the 15-hour operation, sounds of exchanges of fire and detonations of explosive devices were reported. A UN-led inter-cluster assessment on 10 July found that 24 residential structures sustained severe damage and were rendered uninhabitable, displacing at least 36 families comprising 149 people. In addition, UNRWA is currently assessing the shelter needs of at least 150 families whose homes sustained minor to moderate damage. Dozens of livelihood structures and commercial stores also sustained moderate to severe damage. Rubble removal by Tulkarm Municipality to assess the full extent of infrastructural damage is ongoing. 
• Between 7 October and 15 July, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,179 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, of which 40 per cent (474 structures) were inhabited homes. As a result, 2,756 people, including 1,113 children, were displaced. Almost half of those displaced (1,410) had their homes destroyed during military operations, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and the surrounding refugee camps; 43 per cent (1,176 people) were displaced due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; and six per cent (170) were displaced by punitive demolitions. 
• On 8 July, the Jerusalem District Court rejected appeals submitted by 11 Palestinian households in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem against eviction cases filed against them by a settler organization, placing 66 people at risk of displacement. The 11 families are among 97 families, comprising over 450 people, including about 200 children, who are at risk of forced displacement due to eviction cases filed against them by Ateret Cohanim settler organization in Batn al Hawa area of Silwan. In total, 217 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem have eviction cases filed against them in Israeli courts, the majority by settler organizations, placing at least 968 people, including 424 children, at risk of displacement.  

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17 juli 2024

383.

16 juli 2024

Thanks to a leaked internal ADL memo just published by the Guardian, what we’ve long suspected is now confirmed: the ADL is still spying on leftwing activists.

For decades, the ADL has surveilled and targeted social justice movements, including civil rights, anti-apartheid, immigrant, farmworker, queer, Palestinian rights, and labor movements.

Now the Guardian reveals that, during the height of the Movement for Black Lives protests in 2020, the ADL spied on progressive Black organizer, Tatjana Rebelle, keeping a file on their political activity and personal information.

Tatjana is a powerful and visionary leader, a poet and coalition builder, an organizer and an artist working for a more just and liberated future for all. Any civil rights organization would agree they should be celebrated for their critical work.

But the ADL is not a civil rights organization, it only masquerades as one.

In fact, it is a pro-Israel lobbying group, focused on co-opting and abusing accusations of antisemitism to smear critics of Israel as bigots.

As far back as the 1960s, the ADL smeared the Black-led Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panthers as “negro extremists” and compared them with the KKK. And in the 1980s, the ADL helped lead a propaganda campaign against Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC), and spied on nearly 10,000 activists and at least 700 organizations in South Africa.

The ADL shows again and again that its work has always worked to thwart progressive movements.

As I said when the reporter at the Guardian reached out to me:

“The ADL continues to demonstrate that it is willing to trample on civil rights, smear racial justice activists, and harm progressive movements to advance its primary work: ensuring Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide go unchecked and unchallenged.”

It’s time we stand up to these pro-genocide bigots and the $100 million budget they use to target our movements for justice.

More to come, soon.
Stefanie

382.

16 juli 2024

Demand Change, Revive Your Voice: Hearts in Gaza, Feet in Congress

We're excited to announce the 10th Annual Palestine Advocacy Days, which will take place from September 22nd to 24th, 2024 in Washington, DC. 

Almost a full year of death and destruction in Gaza weighs heavily on our hearts. We have taken to the streets and marched on the White House in historic numbers. Now, we must channel our grief and outrage. Show up for Gaza and for Palestine: help us make this the largest Palestine Advocacy Days Congress has ever seen.

Every year, we gather at our nation’s capital to meet with Members of Congress  to push for tangible policy change. As Americans, we have the power to be heard in many forums, and we cannot let the Halls of Congress be silent on the genocide of Palestinians as billions of US tax dollars bolster the Israeli regime. The days of minority support for Palestinian human rights are over — and we need to make sure Congress knows it. 

Thanks to dedicated efforts across the movement, we are stronger than ever. Our polling shows over 60% of Democrats and Independents in key states believe in conditioning aid that abets war crimes, and across likely voters nationwide, 55% support withholding all military aid until Israeli attacks on Gaza stop. 

This September, we can make clear that the will of the people is on the side of ending military aid to the Israeli regime, on the side of guaranteeing aid to UNRWA and rebuilding Gaza, and on the side of ending genocide and apartheid across Palestine. 

We will not stop, we will not rest until U.S. government has halted the flow of weapons fueling this genocide. Together, we face a unique opportunity in election year in which positions on Gaza may determine the outcome. We can use this moment to advocate for lasting change if we continue to apply strategic pressure.

In solidarity,

Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid

Executive Director, AJP Action

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) is a nonprofit organization advocating for legislation supporting the human rights of the Palestinian people and endorsing candidates for office who support those rights.

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16 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Israel is falling apart, and American leaders are in denial

Philip Weis

Israel's inability to solve the Palestinian issue except through apartheid and massacres has fostered a fascistic and racist political culture in the country. But this truth must be kept from Americans, because it would discredit Zionism and put politicians at odds with the Israel lobby.

Israel bombs three Gaza displacement centers, killing hundreds

Hamas confirms that ceasefire talks will continue despite the latest massacres, while differences rise between Netanyahu and Israel’s negotiating team headed by the security services.

380.

15 juli 2024

Today's headlines

The destruction of healthcare in Gaza and the scientific assessment of settler colonial violence

The Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council held a distinguished panel of experts that addressed the settler colonial determinants of health in light of the Gaza genocide.

379.

15 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #191
Gaza Strip

An injured girl brought to Nasser Medical Complex, Khan Younis. Photo by OCHA, 13 July 2024

Key Highlights

• Three mass casualty incidents took place on 13 and 14 July; in Khan Younis, patients filled the already overwhelmed Nasser Medical Complex, amid lack of beds, sheeting and hygiene equipment.
• Sixty-three per cent of permanent crop fields in Gaza have been damaged, a recent preliminary analysis by UNOSAT finds. 
• Digital wallets introduced as a means of providing humanitarian assistance to address cash liquidity challenges.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between the afternoons of 11 and 15 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 319 Palestinians were killed and 802 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 15 July 2024, at least 38,664 Palestinians were killed and 89,097 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. 
• At least three mass casualty incidents took place on 13 and 14 July. On the morning of 13 July, the Israeli military reportedly hit Al Mawasi area in Khan Younis, including tents of internally displaced people (IDPs), a food kitchen, and a water point. MoH in Gaza reported that the incident resulted in the killing of 90 people, half of them women and children, and the injury of 300 others, including some critically (additional information on the injured is available below). Fatalities include three members of Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) teams that  were reportedly targeted when they arrived at the scene. On the same day, at about 13:00, a makeshift prayer site was hit in Ash Shati' (Beach) Refugee Camp, west of Gaza city, resulting in the killing of 22 people according to a health official at Al Ahli Hospital quoted in the media. On 14 July, the UNRWA An Nuseirat Elementary Co-educational "B"& "D" school (also known as Abu Oreiban school), where IDPs were sheltering, was hit; according to the Government Media Office (GMO), 15 people were killed and 80 others were injured.
• The following are among other deadly incidents reported between 11 and 14 July:  
  • On 11 July, at about 11:20, at least six Palestinians, including two women and a girl, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Ash Shuja’iyeh area, in Gaza city.
  • On 11 July, at about 21:35, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of people were hit near IDP tents on Al Saleeb road in the centre of Khan Younis city.
  • On 13 July, at about 20:10, four Palestinians, including two women and a girl, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in the vicinity of Al-Ihsan Mosque in Camp 1 of An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 14 July, at about 2:00, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and dozens injured when an apartment was hit near Al Sha’biya junction, in Gaza city.
  • On 14 July, at about 5:30, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed and seven others injured when a house was hit in Abu Iskander area in Ash Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza city. 
• Between the afternoons of 12 and 15 July, there were no Israeli soldiers reported killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 15 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,526 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath and including 326 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,128 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 15 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• The 13 July strikes on Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis resulted in a mass casualty influx at the Nasser Medical Complex, which was already operating beyond capacity after absorbing the majority of patients evacuated from the European Gaza Hospital in early July. WHO reported that 134 severely injured people were admitted to Nasser hospital, 120 to the International Medical Corps (IMC) field hospital in Deir al Balah, and others were treated at the Kuwait, Al Quds and UK-Med field hospitals in Khan Younis and the ICRC field hospital in Rafah.  WHO staff and two emergency medical teams were present at Nasser hospital to treat the injured and WHO dispatched 50 foldable beds and 50 stretchers to the facility, which became unable to accept new patients as of the afternoon of 13 July. WHO also supported the IMC field hospital with medical and trauma care supplies. In a statement on 14 July, the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Scott Anderson, described the abysmal conditions he witnessed during his visit to Nasser hospital, where “many patients were treated on the ground without disinfectants” and there were “not enough beds, hygiene equipment, sheeting, or scrubs.” 
• Pregnant women in Gaza are finding it increasingly challenging to access the life-saving care they need due to repeated displacement, insecurity and attacks on healthcare facilities, coupled with unaffordable transportation costs and the lack of ambulance services. At present, according to UNFPA, comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care are available at only 11 hospitals and field hospitals, where dire fuel shortages are hampering the functioning of neonatal incubators and other vital equipment. UNFPA also reports that anecdotal information suggests that some emergency deliveries are taking place in tents without medical support. Water scarcity and limited maternal health medicines are also exposing pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) to various risks, as doctors continue to report rising numbers of preterm and low-birth weight babies, which are common indicators of severe malnourishment compounded by stress, fear and exhaustion. An estimated 30,000 pregnant women are facing acute levels of hunger (IPC Phase 3), more than 10,000 are on the verge of famine (IPC Phase 4) and close to 7,000 are in famine conditions (IPC Phase 5), with a total of 155,000 PBW in urgent need of increased food assistance and nutritious supplements, according to UNFPA. Protection and Health Cluster partners and coordinators have been working to scale up sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including by recruiting, training and equipping displaced health workers, particularly midwives, to provide antenatal and postnatal care services and attend emergency deliveries in selected health facilities. UNFPA, in collaboration with WHO and other SRH service providers, is implementing the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for SRH in crisis situations through the provision of SHR equipment and supplies to medical facilities and by maintaining up-to-date information on SRH services.

• A recent UNOSAT preliminary analysis, based on satellite imagery collected in June 2024, shows that 63 per cent of permanent crop fields in the Gaza Strip (94.2 out of 150 square kilometres) exhibited a significant decline in health and density, compared with the average over the previous seven years. This constitutes a nine-per-cent increase in the proportion of damaged cropland since the May 2024 analysis, and is attributed to razing, heavy vehicle activity, bombing, shelling, and other conflict-related dynamics. In North Gaza governorate, 75 per cent of cropland was assessed as damaged in June 2024, while the assessed levels of damage in the other governorates were 69 per cent in Gaza, 56 per cent in Deir al Balah, 58 per cent in Khan Younis, and 52 per cent in Rafah. The analysis included a damage assessment of orchards and other trees, field crops and vegetables, and found that in June 2024 there were particularly notable increases in the proportion of damaged cropland in Gaza and Deir al Balah governorates compared with the preceding month. For example, the level of crop damage in Gaza governorate increased from 61 per cent in May 2024 to 69 per cent in June 2024.
• The cash liquidity crisis in Gaza has significantly diminished consumers’ spending power, jeopardized people’s access to essential goods, limited the capacity of businesses to procure goods and pay wages, and increased reliance on humanitarian aid, among others. To address some of these cash liquidity challenges, humanitarian actors have expanded the use of e-wallets, enabling aid recipients across Gaza to make digital transactions and purchases, according to the Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) Working Group. UNICEF, which covers 60 per cent of all humanitarian cash transfers in Gaza, has rolled out digital cash transfers, reaching more than 40,000 families since mid-May, noting that recipients can activate e-wallets through an application or through the support of service providers without the need for a smartphone. UNICEF highlighted that, while cash withdrawal remains an option, 40 per cent of post-distribution survey respondents used digital transfers to other e-wallets. Overall, between 7 October 2023 and 7 July 2024, the MPCA Working Group reports that about 190,000 households received at least one MPCA payment, of whom about 74 per cent have cashed out their assistance, but assistance continues to fall short of needs due to price volatility and the collapse of formal markets, especially in northern Gaza.
• On 12 July, Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) published the findings of a recent study that examines the impact of war and halted education on children with and without disabilities. According to the study, more than 70 per cent of parents reported that displacement shelters were unsuitable for children and have contributed to the spread of infections and 90 per cent reported a lack of toilets that consider privacy issues, with related figures consistently higher among parents of children with disabilities (CWD). Moreover, 87 per cent of parents stated that their children are susceptible to physical abuse at displacement shelters and 65 per cent reported that their children do not receive suitable medical care. Slightly over half of parents (51 per cent) reported that they lack the ability to calm their children during bombings and other emergencies, with the related percentage lower among parents of CWD (43 per cent). The psychological impact on children is significant, with increased anxiety, stress, and behavioural issues reported. To mitigate the long-term impact of interrupted education and improve the overall well-being of children, especially CWD, the study recommends inter alia improving living conditions in shelters, supporting families with relief aid and training, implementing programmes to reduce violence within shelters, establishing e-learning services, and developing strategies to facilitate the safe return of children to school.

Funding

• As of 15 July, Member States have disbursed about US$1.19 billion out of $3.42 billion (35 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. On 10 July, the Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi stated that “more funding is urgently needed – as is a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza. Increased funding now will enable the humanitarian community to scale up operations as soon as conditions permit. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard.  (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and it will be using this updated number for programmatic purposes.)
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 111 ongoing projects, for a total of $88 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). Of the total, 63 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $112 million from Member States and private donors to support urgent humanitarian and life-saving programmes across the OPT. Of total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in June 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the oPt HF.

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14 juli 2024

Support Gaza War Resisters 

Samer challenged that. Here too was a Palestinian living his day-to-day life in fear of physical violence, prevented from making a livelihood and forced to live in the shadows. But we were in Tel Aviv rather than Hebron.

At the same time as I was hosting Samer, Tal Mitnick, an Israeli refuser, published a letter where he called Israel’s assault on Gaza a “revenge campaign.” He described the indiscriminate bombings of residential neighborhoods and refugee camps in Gaza, full military and political support for settler violence in the West Bank and political persecution on an unprecedented scale inside Israel. In one move, he made lucid connections between the conditions in the West Bank, Gaza and within the Green Line, illustrating the underlying political agenda that determines life across these geographies. Reading his letter in the wake of my experiences with Samer was an important political lesson: refusal is not a circumscribed response, it’s a rejection of the entire state of affairs that connects all people living from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Mitnick’s and other war resisters’ ability to make these political connections is what brought me to RSN to amplify their voices: we are not just opposing Israel’s daily massacres in Gaza, but a regime that affects all people between the river and the sea, including people like Samer. Together, we can reject the status quo and strengthen the growing number of Israelis refusing to take part in war and occupation.

In solidarity,
Tal
International Solidarity Coordinator
Refuser Solidarity Network

 Support Gaza War Resisters

377.

14 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Testimonies from the Mawasi massacre: 90 people buried in the sand

Tareq S. Hajjaj

The Israeli army committed another massacre against displaced Palestinians in tent encampments, this time in the coastal Mawasi area, which Israel had designated as a "safe zone."

The reluctant memoirist exposes the academy

Marcy Newman

At a time when Palestine activism and free expression at U.S. universities are under attack, Steven Salaita's new memoir disabuses us of the notion that these universities are anything other than hedge funds with a campus.

Now the anemone flowers will decorate his grave

Haidar Eid

Saadi Mdoukh and the thousands of young men whose lives were cut short wanted a better life. But woe unto us, because they were not allowed to live a normal life.

376.

13 juli 2024

AJP Action Condemns Latest Israeli Massacres in Gaza and Holds Biden Administration Responsible

[WASHINGTON D.C., July 13, 2024] - American for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) condemns two more brutal massacres committed by Israel in Gaza today resulting in over 350 Palestinian casualties. Israeli forces targeted a refugee camp in Khan Younis and another in the Shati refugee camp, both previously designated by Israel as "safe zones." Despite Israeli claims of targeting militants, the reality is clear: these attacks are war crimes, violating fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality. These principles mandate that parties in conflict distinguish between combatants and civilians and ensure that any military action is proportional to the threat posed.

The Biden administration is complicit in these atrocities, having recently approved the transfer of a new massive shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel on July 10, 2024. These weapons are being used to perpetuate the killing and maiming of innocent civilians like we have seen today, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and genocide in Gaza. The continuous supply of arms to Israel despite its blatant disregard for human life is a gross violation of international norms and U.S. obligations under the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act.

As Congress prepares to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2024, AJP Action reminds every member of Congress that supporting this visit and continued arms sales makes them complicit in genocide. Netanyahu considered, but ultimately decided against, stopovers in Europe on his way to the U.S. amid fears that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was readying an arrest warrant against him. This is a stark warning to U.S. officials that their support for these war crimes could lead to similar consequences. The ICC is intensifying its investigations into Israel's actions in Gaza, and those who aid and abet these crimes may soon find themselves facing international justice.

Since October 2023, the Israeli genocide has resulted in the deaths of 38,443 Palestinians and injuries to 88,481 more, most of whom are women and children. Additionally, over 10,000 Palestinians are missing, amidst unprecedented destruction and a severe humanitarian catastrophe. 

AJP Action demands an immediate end to U.S. military support for Israel and calls for accountability for those perpetuating these crimes against humanity. Members of Congress and officials in the administration must halt all arms transfers to Israel and impose sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for these atrocities.

In solidarity,

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

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Corrigendum
Humanitarian Situation Update #190
Gaza Strip

Please note that two changes have been made to yesterday's Humanitarian Situation Update, which pertain to the number of fatalities and that of injuries as reported by the Ministry of Health in Gaza (MoH) between the afternoons of 8 and 11 July. We mistakenly published numbers pertaining to the previous reporting period. The corrected numbers are 152 killed and 392 injured, as reported by MoH.
 
The updated report is available at https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-190-gaza-strip with asterisks indicating where the changes have been implemented.

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Today's headlines

Biden or not, U.S. policy on Palestine stays the same

Realistic contenders to replace Biden won't be better on Palestine than Genocide Joe. And when it comes to Dems and Republicans, you pick your poison, but there's no healthy choice.

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Your Activist Scoop

• Biden just released half of a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel that he’d previously suspended. The shipment consisted of 500-lb bombs, double the size of the U.S. bomb that killed Palestinians in this week’s Soccer Massacre.
• As Palestinian analysts such as the late Refaat Alareer reported from day one, Israel used the “Hannibal directive” to fire upon and kill its own soldiers and settlers to prevent their capture.
• Today Biden suggested that a “framework” for a ceasefire had been agreed upon, but there have been no new breakthroughs. Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will keep fighting, refusing to agree to a ceasefire deal while Biden covers for him.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NEXT

• No warm welcomes for war criminals! Make your plans to come to DC on July 24th to protest Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. Surround the Capitol and shut down DC!

• March on the DNC in Chicago this August! USCPR will be there as part of the coalition behind the march.

 JOIN THE USCPR CONTINGENT AT THE NETANYAHU PROTEST

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Last September, Eyewitness Palestine relaunched it's monthly newsletters to highlight various cities, towns and villages all over historic Palestine. We kicked these newsletters off with interviews and information on the beautiful city of Akka. Although we had an amazing write up which featured artist Kher Fody (read more here), we had yet to start our virtual delegations. Akka is considered the third oldest city in the world and is breathtaking, from the famous wall protecting the old city, to the port, to the zigzag alleys of the old city market, this city is one to visit. On Wednesday July 31, 2024, we will be hosting a special virtual delegation in Akka with Nawaya Cafe owner, Yazid Saadi. Sign up below!

REGISTER FOR THE LIVE FROM AKKA VIRTUAL DELEGATION HERE

EYEWITNESS PALESTINE IS HIRING!

Please continue to support Eyewitness Palestine's efforts by donating, as we navigate through these dark times in order to educate, facilitate and collaborate!

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Humanitarian Situation Update #190
Gaza Strip

People in a destroyed residential area of Jabalya. Photo by OCHA, 19 June 2024

Key Highlights

• Displaced people continue to face harrowing conditions in Gaza; in one school hosting families in Deir al Balah, 14,000 people are sharing 25 toilets, according to UNRWA.
• Only 25 per cent of the daily fuel required to sustain humanitarian operations entered Gaza so far in July, causing a near 40 per cent drop in public water distribution, according to humanitarian actors.
• The concurrent lack of access to adequate food, clean water, sanitation and basic health services is trapping people in a “vicious cycle,” as malnutrition continues to increase vulnerability to disease infections, warns the World Health Organization.

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, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 11 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 182 Palestinians were killed and 458 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 11 July 2024, at least 38,345 Palestinians were killed and 88,295 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering the period until the afternoon of 12 July are not available as of the time of reporting.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 7 and 11 July:
  • On 7 July, at about 23:00, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Jabalya an Nazla, in North Gaza governorate.
  • On 7 July, four Palestinians were reportedly killed when a group of people were shot at upon being purportedly released from Israeli detention through Kerem Shalom/Karm Abu Salem Crossing.
  • On 9 July, at about 19:00, 27 Palestinians were reportedly killed and more than 53 others were injured, according to the MoH in Gaza, in an airstrike that purportedly hit the area near the entrance to Al Mutanabi school (also known as Al Awda school) in Abasan al Kabira town east of Khan Younis city, where internally displaced people (IDPs) were sheltering.
  • On 9 July, 17 Palestinians, including three women, seven girls, five boys and an elderly man, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in An Nuseirat New Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 9 July, at about 12:10, nine Palestinians including a woman and four children, were reportedly killed when a group of Palestinians was hit in Bloc 4 of central Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 11 July, at about 10:30, four Palestinians, including a child, were reportedly killed and others injured in the area of Tal as Sultan in western Rafah.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 12 July, one Israeli soldier was killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 12 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,526 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath and including 326 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,122 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 12 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• On 10 July, the Israeli military airdropped leaflets informing residents of Gaza city that two designated “humanitarian routes” were available for them to evacuate southwards to Deir al Balah city and Az Zawayda area. This announcement followed two evacuation orders by the Israeli military on 7 and 8 July, which instructed tens of thousands of civilians to immediately evacuate 19 blocs in central and western Gaza city. Addressing the press on 10 July, the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, warned that the level of fighting and destruction seen in Gaza in recent days is “truly shocking,” and stressed that, regardless of the latest evacuation orders, “civilians must be protected, and their essential needs must be met, whether they flee or whether they stay.” The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) said on 9 July that it was appalled that the Israeli military has again ordered residents of Gaza city to evacuate to areas where “military operations are ongoing and where civilians continue to be killed and injured.” On 11 July, following the latest announcements by the Israeli military concerning the designation of “humanitarian routes” for exiting Gaza city, humanitarian partners deployed at two locations where displaced people were expected to cross from northern to southern Gaza, and provided them with water, hot meals, food parcels, as well as health and nutrition support. On 11 July, a few hundred people were estimated to have crossed southwards, mainly on donkey carts, but also cars, tuk-tuks, and on foot, carrying only a few belongings with them.
• On 11 July, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Ash Shuja’iyeh neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) stated that the area has become a disaster zone, where 85 per cent of residential buildings have been destroyed and rendered uninhabitable and infrastructure was massively damaged. Heavy destruction was also witnessed by PCD teams in Tal Al Hawa area of western Gaza city, where “tens of bodies” were found scattered in the streets and inside destroyed buildings, and several houses were reportedly set on fire before the withdrawal of Israeli forces. PCD emphasized that many lives could have been saved if PCD teams were allowed by Israeli forces to safely reach the injured in time, noting that it has so far retrieved 60 bodies in Ash Shuja’iyeh and that more than 50 people, mostly women, are estimated to have been killed in As Sina’a area of Tal Al Hawa in western Gaza city. According to MoH, Sabha Al Harazeen medical clinic in As Shuja’iyeh was destroyed, affecting more than 150,000 people it used to serve in the area. The clinic, MoH added, contained a pharmaceutical warehouse and a public health laboratory, which was the only laboratory in the Strip dedicated to performing public health tests of water, beverages, food, and pharmaceuticals for the purpose of disease control and prevention. As Salam clinic in western Gaza city was also destroyed after it was directly hit, MoH said, noting that it was the only clinic in Tal Al Hawa and As Sabra areas providing primary health-care services to thousands of people.
• Over 1.9 million people displaced throughout Gaza continue to face harrowing conditions, including in Deir al Balah. On 10 July, OCHA led an inter-agency mission to two informal sites in Al Bureij and Al Maghazi refugee camps in Deir al Balah. In Al Bureij, 3,800 IDPs are sharing 388 tents and humanitarian actors have been struggling to regularly access and provide support to camp residents. Only basic health-service points are available, and there are dire shortages of drinking water, hygiene products, solar panels, and clothing. The second site, in Al Maghazi, hosts over 1,000 IDPs who are crammed in an UNRWA school, which was hit in late 2023 and, since then, no UNRWA services could be provided there. IDPs reported a critical lack of medical care, clothing, water and adequate food, with seven cancer patients in the shelter all unable to receive treatment. On 10 July, UNRWA visited another school-turned-shelter in Deir al Balah, which is currently hosting over 14,000 people in classrooms as well as in makeshift structures in the courtyard. UNRWA staff on site reported that no food could be distributed since 11 March, with children being now “unrecognizable” due to malnourishment. Only 25 toilets are available at the shelter – one for every 560 people approximately – with diseases proliferating and a shortage of water “due to lack of fuel to pump water from the water well.”

• In a meeting with the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, during his mission to Gaza on 9 July, women’s groups highlighted the particularly bleak conditions faced by displaced women, who are being forced to cut off their hair, due to lice and lack of hygiene products, and are increasingly unable to provide for their families, particularly their children who “go to bed without eating and drinking” as well as disabled or sick relatives. Due to the breakdown in public order and safety, women are also facing an increase in sexual and gender-based violence, further exacerbating their suffering.
• On 10 July, UNRWA was able to reopen one of its health facilities in Khan Younis – the Japanese Health Center – six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close due to heavy fighting. On its first day of operations, the centre had 33 medical staff able to support more than 900 patients, offering both pre- and post-natal care, blood tests, treatment for non-communicable diseases and critical outpatient services. As there are no other health facilities in this part of Khan Younis, the facility is crucial for displaced families sheltering in the area and will be operating double-shift rotations to manage the high influx of patients. Overall, as of 6 July, only nine out of 26 UNRWA health centres, alongside 86 medical points, remain operational throughout the Strip due to ongoing fighting and damage and destruction of UNRWA facilities.
• In the Gaza governorate, Al Ahli Baptist and Public Aid hospitals resumed partial functionality on 11 July, after the evacuation orders issued on 7 and 8 July rendered them temporarily out of service, while the Patients Friends Association Hospital remains non-functional, according to the Health Cluster. Following the evacuation of these health facilities, the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in the North Gaza governorate have been absorbing a large influx of patients while continuing to face severe scarcity of fuel, beds and trauma medical supplies. The Indonesian Hospital is now operating at three times its capacity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and the hospital’s administration called on citizens on 10 July to urgently donate blood to allow it to cope with the high casualty caseload. WHO also warned that, while Al Helou, As Sahaba and Al Shifa hospitals, which are all in close proximity to areas recently placed under evacuation orders, so far remain partially functional, the expansion of hostilities and access obstructions risk rendering them non-functional at any time. Meanwhile, the malnutrition situation is increasingly alarming; citing MoH figures, WHO reported that 34 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration since the war began, with 60 cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition detected at Kamal Adwan Hospital alone during the first week of July. Malnutrition contributes to reducing the immunity of children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Overall, the concurrent lack of access to adequate food, clean water, sanitation and basic health services is trapping people in a “vicious cycle,” underscored WHO.
• The Gaza Strip continues to be under an electricity blackout since October 2023, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply and fuel reserves for Gaza’s only power plant (GPP) were depleted, forcing it to shut down. Electricity generation has been largely dependent on the entry of fuel, which remains restricted by the Israeli authorities to specific humanitarian and service provision activities. Between 1 and 10 July, only 987,970 litres of fuel entered Gaza, or an average of about 99,000 litres of fuel per day, which is attributed to limited movement along the main humanitarian cargo route between Kerem Shalom Crossing and central Gaza due to active hostilities, damaged roads, access limitations, and the lack of public order and safety. This amount constitutes about 25 per cent of the minimum daily requirement of about 400,000 litres necessary to sustain humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip. These shortages have severely undermined the ability to run backup generators to operate life-saving service facilities, including hospitals, bakeries, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.
• The WASH Cluster reports that inadequate fuel supplies in June have severely compromised the ability of critical WASH facilities to sustain minimal functionality. Despite some increase in fuel delivery at the beginning of June that allowed for improved water production and distribution in southern Gaza, access to fuel became increasingly constrained by the second half of the month. Overall, the WASH Cluster noted that critical WASH facilities only received in June about a quarter of the 70,000 litres of fuel they need per day to operate. The water pipeline coming from Israel to Gaza city, one of three in the Strip, sustained damage due to the hostilities, resulting in a further loss of 18,000-20,000 cubic metres of water per day. Due to the lack of sufficient fuel consignments, water supply from groundwater wells and water desalination plants dropped by 25 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, in the first week of July compared with June, and public water distribution went down by 38 per cent since early July. Overall, field observations and site visits by WASH partners suggest that the range of water availability and consumption in the Gaza Strip is between two and nine litres per capita per day. According to humanitarian standards, the minimum amount of water needed in an emergency is 15 litres per capita per day, which includes water for drinking, washing, and cooking.
• Intensified hostilities, access constraints, fuel shortages and the breakdown of law and order continue to create a highly volatile and risky operating environment for aid workers, further disrupting the delivery of life-saving assistance across the Gaza Strip and forcing aid actors on some occasions to cancel planned activities. Between 1 and 11 July, out of 38 planned humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 14 (37 per cent) were facilitated, 13 (34 per cent) were impeded, seven (18 per cent) were denied access, and four (11 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In addition, out of 147 coordinated humanitarian assistance movements in southern Gaza, 118 (80 per cent) were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, nine (six per cent) were impeded, five were denied (three per cent) and 15 (10 per cent) were cancelled. Overall, in both northern and southern Gaza, missions that involved water trucking and the delivery of fuel to critical health facilities and bakeries were especially affected by access challenges.

Funding

• As of 12 July, Member States have disbursed about US$1.19 billion out of $3.42 billion (35 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. On 10 July, the Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi stated that “more funding is urgently needed – as is a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza. Increased funding now will enable the humanitarian community to scale up operations as soon as conditions permit. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and it will be using this updated number for programmatic purposes.)
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 111 ongoing projects, for a total of $88 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and West Bank (11 per cent). Of these projects, 63 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 41 out of the 77 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented with national NGOs. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $112 million from Member States and private donors to support urgent humanitarian and life-saving programmes across the OPT. Of total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in June 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the oPt HF.

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Today's headlines

Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse

The West Bank's economic crisis and the expansion of Israel's settlements are connected. Here's how.

Israel orders Gaza City residents to flee south — again

Qassam Muaddi

Israel ordered Gaza City residents to leave as Shuja’iyya has become “uninhabitable.” Meanwhile, ceasefire talks are set to continue in Egypt as Netanyahu is accused of sabotaging a potential deal.

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12 juli 2024

Kort Geding
In februari oordeelde het Gerechtshof dat Nederland iedere door- en uitvoer van F-35 onderdelen met eindbestemming Israël moet (doen) staken, in verband met het reële risico op ernstige schendingen van het internationaal recht. De Staat houdt zich wat ons betreft niet volledig aan deze uitspraak. Nederlandse onderdelen komen nog altijd in Israëlische gevechtsvliegtuigen terecht, bijvoorbeeld via de VS. Daarom stapten wij vorige maand opnieuw naar de rechter, en vroegen wij de rechtbank om de Staat een dwangsom op te leggen voor het handelen in strijd met het verbod.

Geen Amerikaanse onderdelen, wel Nederlandse
In het besluit van vandaag baseert de rechtbank zijn oordeel op een beperktere interpretatie van het in februari opgelegde verbod. Onze directeur Gerard Jonkman legt uit: 'de rechter stelt nu dat het Gerechtshof in februari oordeelde dat Nederland geen Amerikaanse onderdelen via Woensdrecht naar Israël mag doorvoeren; maar dat het Hof níet oordeelde dat Nederland geen Nederlandse onderdelen mag uitvoeren die via een gezamenlijke pool in Israëlische gevechtsvliegtuigen terechtkomen. Daarvoor zou een nieuwe rechtszaak nodig zijn. Eigenlijk adviseert de rechter ons dus om een nieuw kort geding aan te spannen, gericht op de uitvoer van Nederlandse onderdelen. Wij beraden ons nu op verdere (juridische) stappen.'

Crisis in Gaza duurt voort
Het is onacceptabel dat Nederland op deze manier bewust medeplichtig blijft aan schendingen van het oorlogsrecht door Israël in Gaza. Dag in dag uit zien wij het leed in Gaza. Een conservatieve schatting in het medische tijdschrift The Lancet zet het vermoedelijke aantal doden in Gaza op 50.000, een getal dat de komende maanden en jaren naar alle verwachting zal vermenigvuldigen. De infrastructuur is verwoest en er is catastrofale hongersnood, onder meer omdat hulpgoederen worden tegengehouden.

Daar moeten en zullen wij ons tegen blijven verzetten. 

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

Waarschuwing | ‘Israël pleegt genocide in Gaza, op de Westoever en in Oost-Jeruzalem’

Verdrijving
Het instituut concentreert zich bij zijn waarschuwing op de door Israël sinds 1967 bezette Westoever, inclusief Oost-Jeruzalem. Onder dekking van de oorlog in Gaza is het Israëlische geweld daar geëscaleerd. En net als in Gaza is de verdrijving van de lokale Palestijnse bevolking het doel. Dat Israëlische streven is niet nieuw, schrijft het instituut, maar heeft zich sinds 7 oktober 2023 verdiept.

Explosieve trend
Het instituut onderbouwt zijn waarschuwing met harde cijfers. Zo werden door Israëlische militairen en burgermilities in 2023 op de Westoever 509 Palestijnen gedood; tweehonderd vóór 7 oktober, de overigen erna. In 2022 werden op de Westoever 154 Palestijnen gedood; dat was toen een recordaantal.

Die explosieve trend is zichtbaar op elk terrein. Niet eerder werden op de Westoever zoveel Palestijnen uit hun huizen of van hun land verdreven (ruim vierduizend in 2023). Niet eerder werden door Israëlische militairen en kolonisten zoveel Palestijnse huizen en andere bouwwerken gesloopt (ruim elfhonderd in 2023).

De komende dagen zullen we deze trends en cijfers actualiseren in artikelen over de Westelijke Jordaanoever en Oost-Jeruzalem.

Onderzoek | Dodental Gaza niet overdreven, maar juist veel hoger

Kritiek dat het aantal Palestijnse doden door de Gazaanse autoriteiten wordt overdreven, is onterecht. Dat blijkt uit een artikel in het medisch-wetenschappelijke tijdschrift The Lancet. Daarin schrijven gespecialiseerde onderzoekers dat de door de Gazaanse autoriteiten verstrekte cijfers van het aantal door Israël gedode Palestijnen betrouwbaar zijn. Daarover was door Israël en zijn lobby twijfel gezaaid. Dat is echter het onvermijdelijke gevolg van de verwoesting die Israël heeft aangericht aan gebouwen en infrastructuur.

Werkelijke aantal doden
Sterker, het werkelijke aantal doden ligt hoogstwaarschijnlijk veel hoger. Zo liggen naar schatting ruim tienduizend doden onder het puin. Die zijn niet inbegrepen in de cijfers van de Gazaanse autoriteiten (38.193 doden per 8 juli). Opgeteld zou het aantal doden als direct gevolg van het Israëlische geweld – de zogenoemde ‘directe doden’ – circa 50 duizend bedragen.

'Indirecte doden'
Dat aantal houdt echter geen rekening met de ‘indirecte doden’, die het gevolg zijn van ziektes die de komende jaren zullen (blijven) uitbreken. Op grond van onderzoek van recente conflicten blijkt dat het aantal indirecte doden drie tot 15 maal het aantal directe doden bedraagt.

Een conservatieve berekening op basis van de huidige cijfers van de Gazaanse autoriteiten leidt tot een plausibel totaal aantal doden van 186 duizend of meer, schrijven de auteurs van het onderzoek. Dat is zo’n 8 procent van de bevolking. Maar wie uitgaat van het bovengenoemde aantal van 50 duizend doden, komt tot een totaal van een kwart miljoen – 10 tot 11 procent van de bevolking.

Staakt-het-vuren en hulp essentieel
De onderzoekers benadrukken dat een direct staakt-het-vuren essentieel is, hand in hand met de ongehinderde aanvoer en distributie van water, voedsel en medische hulp. Verder dient het leed en de verwoesting grondig te worden gedocumenteerd, zodat er door de schuldigen verantwoording voor kan worden afgelegd.

Opinie | Deelname aan de Olympische Spelen door misdadigers: het worden dan olympische misdaden

'Dit olympisch familielid slaat de komende Zomerspelen in Parijs over,' schrijft van Noord in een opiniestuk. 'Ik kan er niet enthousiast voor worden, kan het familiefeest niet verdragen. Dat komt doordat Israël mag meedoen en de Russen niet. Dat eeuwige meten met twee maten!'

Opinie | Groningen heeft band met Jabalya, maar Jabalya ligt in puin

De stedenband tussen Groningen en Jabalya in de Gazastrook is weliswaar nooit officieel bekrachtigd, maar de gemeente Groningen bouwde er een prachtig jeugdcentrum. Er was jarenlang contact tussen Groningse en Palestijnse ambtenaren, onder andere over het jongerenbeleid in Jabalya. Daarnaast onderhielden, zo goed en kwaad als dat ging, bestuursleden van de Stichting Groningen-Jabalya contacten met Palestijnse vrienden en kennissen en bezochten ze Jabalya verschillende malen.

'De band met Jabalya voelt nu treuriger aan dan ooit,' schrijft Jan Keulen in een opiniestuk. 'Jabalya ligt namelijk in puin.'

Een groot deel van de bevolking van Jabalya is gevlucht voor het misdadige Israëlische geweld. In de hele Gazastrook is 90 procent van de bevolking minstens eenmaal gevlucht naar een zogenaamde ‘veilige zone’, die in de praktijk nooit veilig bleek. © UNRWA

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11 juli 2024

Deze nieuwsbrief staat vol actualiteiten. De campagne tegen Israëlische spullen bij Albert Heijn is van start gegaan met een eerste inspectie. Het FNV hoofdbestuur is met actieve leden in gesprek gegaan en belooft beterschap. Zaterdag jl. hebben antimilitaristen het wapenhandelcentrum van Nederland, in de Kromhoutkazerne in Utrecht, geblokkeerd. Wij hebben een verslag. Naast dat het aantal gemelde doden in Gaza blijft stijgen, is het aantal dat we zien maar een schijntje van het aantal uiteindelijke slachtoffers, volgens The Lancet.

En zaterdag as. 13 juli organiseert Plant een olijfboom nog een landelijke demonstratie in Amsterdam

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

Plant een olijfboom organiseert as. zaterdag demonstratie in Amsterdam

Vraag samen met ons aandacht voor mensen & rechten. Wij die vrij zijn moeten iedere actie ondernemen die we kunnen bedenken. Sta samen met ons op voor mensenrechten in Palestina!

Campagne tegen Israëlische waar bij AH van start

Afgelopen donderdag 4 juli is de campagne tegen de verkoop van Israëlische waar bij Albert Heijn van start gegaan. Op diverse plaatsen in het land werd een groot filiaal van Albert Heijn onderworpen aan een BDS inspectie. Bij inspectie In Utrecht, Alkmaar, Amsterdam, Diemen en Enschede werd een AH filiaal bezocht en gecontroleerd op illegale producten.

Read more

FNV bestuur steunt leden rond Palestina

Afgelopen zaterdag hield het hoofdbestuur van de FNV een open huis voor de leden die zich zorgen maken over de opstelling van de bond jegens Palestina en die vinden dat de bond actiever en luider moet zijn. Er is een genocide aan de gang die, niettemin volledig door de regering gesteund word!

Read more

Antimilitaristen blokkeren wapenhandelcentrum voor Palestina

Afgelopen zaterdag hebben activisten uit verschillende groepen het wapenhandelcentrum van de Nederlandse krijgsmacht, de Kromhoutkazerne in Utrecht, geblokkeerd. Hier vindt een groot deel van de Nederlandse import en export van wapentuig plaats. Een coalitie van antimilitaristen, Stop Wapenhandel, studenten voor Palestina, Extinction Rebellion Justice Now heeft het Nederlandse wapenhandelcentrum in de Kromhoutkazerne een tijd belegerd.

Niet tienduizenden maar honderdduizenden doden?

Vrijdag 5 juli heeft gerenommeerd medisch tijdschrift The Lancet een onderzoek gepubliceerd dat aangeeft dat het totaal aantal doden van de genocide in Gaza veel hoger zal liggen dan de dikke 39.000 die genoemd worden. De schrijvers schatten dat het werkelijk aantal zeker 15 keer zo hoog ligt. De massasterfte in de totaal vernietigde Gaza-strook, waar voor levende mensen niets geen plaats meer is en alle noodzakelijk-heden om te leven en overleven door de fascistische Israëli´s grondig zijn uitgewist, is nu pas begonnen!

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11 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Israel’s leading paper says its own army deliberately killed Israelis on October 7. But in the U.S. media: silence

Israel ordered the "Hannibal Directive" on October 7 by ordering the killing of captive Israeli soldiers and civilians. But the U.S. media continues to hide the truth.

The duty of mental health professionals in the struggle for Palestine

Palestine Mental Health Networks

We call on mental health professionals around the world to follow the example of renowned American psychoanalyst Dr. Jessica Benjamin in respecting the BDS picket line and boycotting conferences in Israel.

In Bad Faith: A Satire

Mohammed El-Kurd

When a Palestinian is brought onto Western media to talk about what’s happening in Palestine, it’s never in good faith.

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Break Through News

11 juli 2024

Six Israeli soldiers confessed how the Israeli military has not only allowed but actively encourages soldiers to commit war crimes in its ongoing genocide in Gaza and to then cover them up.

In anonymous interviews with +972 Magazine and Local Call, the soldiers explained that there are virtually no firing regulations on soldiers, that they often shoot things out of boredom and were allowed to kill virtually anyone. The interviews also corroborated claims that the Israeli military has been knowingly counting civilians killed as militants. They also revealed an intentional policy of burning down Palestinian homes as a means of denying people shelter when they return. Multiple soldiers confirmed that the Israeli military has a policy of hiding corpses and other evidence of war crimes when international aid convoys were present.

In response to +972’s request for comment, the IDF issued a statement saying that they follow international law.

Follow @btnewsroom

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10 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #189
West Bank

The remains of a primary school demolished by Israeli forces on 8 July in Khallet Amira (Hebron). Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Israeli forces in the West Bank killed 14 Palestinians between 2 and 8 July, including 12 in two operations in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and their adjacent refugee camps.
• A Palestinian family was displaced and 13 were otherwise affected by a settler attack in Hebron. Since October 2023, OCHA has documented more than 1,000 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians and the displacement of about 1,390 people, including 660 children, in 29 Bedouin and herding communities due to settler violence and access restrictions.
• A donor-funded school, serving 39 school students and ten kindergarten students, was demolished by the Israeli authorities for lacking a building permit in Area C of Hebron governorate.

Latest developments (after 8 July)

• On 9 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in Deir Abu Mash’al village (Ramallah) and injured three other boys (aged between 9 and 13 years) in Askar Refugee Camp (Nablus).
• On 9 July, Israeli forces besieged and raided Nur Shams Refugee Camp (Tulkarm) for 15 hours, during which sounds of fire exchanges and detonation of explosives were reported. According to initial information, military bulldozers reportedly destroyed several road sections in and around the camp, causing significant damage to essential infrastructure and disrupting water, electricity, and internet services. External walls of homes, commercial shops and other structures also sustained damage. 

Humanitarian Developments (2-8 July)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces in the West Bank killed 14 Palestinian men, including five by airstrikes. All but one were killed in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and their adjacent refugee camps (see details below). In addition, a 20-year-old man died of wounds sustained on 30 June in Nur Shams Refugee Camp (Tulkarm). Also during the reporting period, 85 Palestinians, including nine children, were injured across the West Bank, 83 by Israeli forces and two by settlers.  
  • On 2 July, Israeli forces carried out an airstrike, killing four Palestinians in Al Betaqa neighbourhood of Nur Shams Refugee Camp, east of Tulkarm city. An explosion was heard throughout the camp and the electricity went off in some neighbourhoods. 
  • On 3 July, Israeli forces, including an undercover unit, shot and killed a 22-year-old Palestinian man in Jenin city. The Israeli military, cited in the media, said that the man was suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.
  • On 5 July, Israeli forces killed eight Palestinian men while operating in Jenin city and its adjacent refugee camp. Five of the fatalities were hit by an airstrike, including four who were killed on the spot and one who succumbed to his wounds on 7 July. Two brothers were killed when Israeli forces, including an undercover unit, besieged a two-storey residential building in Hursh As Sa'adeh area of Jenin city, evacuated their family members, and exchanged fire with Palestinians in the area. Israeli forces also  used shoulder-fired explosive projectiles and Energa Rifle Grenades. The building was destroyed, displacing a family of four people. During the same incident, a 54-year-old Palestinian bystander was killed by live ammunition, and his son was critically injured, while they were standing on the rooftop of their house. According to the Israeli military, the operation targeted armed Palestinians who have previously carried out attacks against Israeli forces. 
  • At midnight on 6 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 22-year-old Palestinian man, and injured three others, near Road 443 in Beit ‘Ur at Tahta village (Ramallah). The Israeli military, cited in the media, said that the men were attempting to throw Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles travelling on the road. One of the injured sustained a critical head injury when he was hit by live ammunition. Israeli forces arrested the three injured men and handed the fatality’s body over to the community.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 8 July, 553 Palestinians, including 131 children, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; these include 536 killed by Israeli forces, 11 by Israeli settlers, and six where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. Of the total, 86 Palestinians, including 14 children, were killed in airstrikes. In addition, some 5,500 Palestinians were injured during the same period, including about 850 children. More than a third of the total injuries were caused by live ammunition. During the same period, 14 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians and at least 105 Israelis, including about 90 members of Israeli forces, were injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, during the same period, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of eight Israelis and four Palestinian perpetrators in Israel.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 22 attacks, resulting in the injury of two Palestinians and damage to hundreds of Palestinian-owned trees and other property (see key incidents below). Moreover, cars were damaged when Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian-plated vehicles travelling in Ramallah and Nablus governorates (three incidents) and when Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli-plated vehicles travelling in the Ramallah governorate (one incident). 

• • On 2 July, Palestinians from Qusra (Nablus) discovered that about 260 of their trees and vines had been vandalized. The plants included 210 olive trees, seven cypresses, and 45 grapevines. The perpetrators are believed to be from the nearby settlement of Migdalim. In addition, settlers took over a plot of land planted with olive trees privately owned by Palestinians from Majdal Bani Fadil village (Nablus). 
  • On 3 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from Eyvatar outpost physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian farmer in Beita village (Nablus) and threatened him not to return to his land.
  • On the night of 3 July, armed Israeli settlers from a newly established outpost near Avigayil settlement raided Khallet Athaba’ herding community (Hebron). The settlers set fire to grazing areas, used stones and clubs to damage vehicles and houses in the community, physically assaulted five Palestinians, set fire to one house, and stoned a Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) vehicle when it arrived to extinguish the fire. Palestinian residents threw stones and engaged in physical altercations with the attackers, seeking to prevent further damage to their properties, and contacted the Israeli police and forces. Israeli forces subsequently arrived at the scene and arrested one Palestinian. The attack culminated in massive damage: one home, a latrine unit and 30 solar panels were destroyed; five homes, 16 bags of fodder, and four vehicles, including the PCD vehicle, were damaged; and 83 sheep were stolen. The community was left with almost no electricity, as only four solar panels remained functional, providing about two hours of electricity a day. One family comprising four people, including two children, was displaced, and 13 families comprising 88 people, including 20 children, were otherwise affected.
  • On 7 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from Talmon settlement raided Al Mazra’a al Qibliya village (Ramallah), where they threw stones at houses, injured one Palestinian by stones, and set fire to vehicles. 
  • During the reporting period, at least three Israeli outposts were reportedly established near the villages of Turmus’ayya and Burqa (Ramallah), and settlers believed or known to be from these outposts have been perpetrating daily attacks against Palestinians in the area. In Turmus’ayya, on four consecutive days, settlers burned or cut down hundreds of mainly olive trees, as well as burned farmhouses, generators and solar panels, and stole water tanks and other belongings. In Burqa, settlers threw stones at houses on two consecutive days, and tried to set one house and trees on fire. 
  • In four incidents, Israeli settlers cut down 27 pine trees belonging to the Palestinian youth centre in Kafr Ni’ma village (Ramallah), destroyed 200 almond trees while grazing their sheep for two consecutive days on Palestinian land in Umm ad Daraj village (Hebron), and ran over and killed six sheep and injured six others in Umm Safa village (Ramallah). 
• Between 7 October and 8 July, OCHA recorded 1,084 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 107 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, 859 led to damage to Palestinian property and 118 led to both casualties and damage to property. As a result, about 46,500 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings were destroyed by people known or believed to be Israeli settlers. During the same period, some 235 Palestinian households comprising 1,392 people, including 663 children, have been displaced in 29 Bedouin and herding communities due to settler violence and access restrictions. In a statement on 6 July, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) highlighted that a new wave of settler attacks “fit within long-standing trends of organized violence against Palestinians committed with impunity and with the backing of” Israeli forces. OHCHR added that these attacks “come as Israel’s government takes overt measures that could facilitate the annexation of Palestinian land in violation of international law.” 
• The Israeli authorities punitively demolished five structures, displacing 11 people, including two children. Two residences and two water cisterns, demolished on 5 July, were located in Beit Ta’mir village (Bethlehem) and belonged to two Palestinians who had carried out a shooting attack on 22 February killing one Israeli; one of them was killed and the other injured during the attack. The other residence was demolished in Duma village (Nablus) on 2 June; it belonged to a Palestinian prisoner accused of killing an Israeli boy in April 2024. 
• The Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 41 Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, including five in East Jerusalem and 36 in Area C of the West Bank. As a result, 19 households comprising 91 people, including 45 children, were displaced, and 155 people, including 92 children, were otherwise affected. Forty-seven per cent of the displaced (43 people) were in Birin village (Hebron) and 44 per cent (40 people) were in six herding communities in Jericho, Nablus, and Hebron governorates. All the structures in East Jerusalem, including three homes, were demolished by their owners. In Area C, demolished structures included 16 homes, four uninhabited residential structures, 13 livelihood structures, seven latrines, and a donor-funded primary school. The school was in Khallet Amira (Hebron) and used to serve 39 pupils and 10 kindergarten students. According to the Education Cluster, this was one of 58 Palestinian schools at risk of demolition for lacking building permits in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
• Between 7 October and 8 July, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,117 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, of which 38 per cent (427 structures) were inhabited homes. As a result, 2,524 people, including 1,113 children, were displaced. Almost half of those displaced (1,261) had their homes destroyed during military operations, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and the surrounding refugee camps; 43 per cent (1,093 people) were displaced due to the lack of building permits; and seven per cent (170) were displaced by punitive demolitions.

365A.

10 juli 2024

Weekly Highlights

365.

10 juli 2024

This is solidarity.

Take collective action for Gaza.

364.

10 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Huge majority of M.E scholars say Gaza onslaught is ‘akin to genocide,’ but they self-censor their views

Philip Weiss

Middle East scholars see anti-Palestinian bigotry as far more of a problem on campuses than antisemitism. And they say administrations are wildly out of touch with student and faculty sentiment on protests of the war.

Biden was already a vulnerable candidate because of the genocide

Biden was already plummeting in the polls before his disastrous presidential debate with Trump. The reason was his ongoing complicity in the Gaza genocide and the Uncommitted movement.

363.

9 juli 2024

Our friends and families in Gaza are reporting that the last 48 hours have been the scariest and bloodiest since the genocide began !

As the carnage continues, we need to keep up the pressure here in the U.S. to force a ceasefire now. This is what our loved ones are demanding of us.

Last week, 12 Biden administration officials who resigned in protest of the President’s support for Israel’s genocide released a joint statement demanding a change in course. They also urged their former colleagues to speak up and not be complicit in the administration’s inhumane and criminal policies.

This statement further exposes the cracks within the Biden administration and its total failure to address the growing internal dissent. It also opens the gates for more officials to take a moral stance and refuse to work on behalf of a genocidal administration.

Last week, yet another State Department official, Maryam Hassanein, resigned with a letter saying that she came to the understanding that “serving in the administration in any capacity does essentially make you complicit in the genocide of the Palestinians.”

362.

9 juli 2024

Today's headlines

The multinational publishers are complicit in the Gaza genocide

Publishers for Palestine

German-owned publishing multinationals are implicated in Israel's genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Why the Israeli army is expanding its invasion of Gaza City

The Israeli army is besieging Gaza City a week after its Shuja'iyya invasion began. People are forced to sleep in the streets with nowhere left to go and residents say Israeli forces are encountering fierce resistance.

Top Israeli security officials ‘shocked’ by Netanyahu’s attempts to sabotage ceasefire proposal

Israel has committed a new massacre in Nuseirat as it launches a new invasion of Gaza City. Meanwhile, Hamas says it has recruited thousands of new resistance fighters.

361.

9 juli 2024

Today marks 19 years since the historic BDS call from the largest Palestinian coalition to boycott, divest from, and impose sanctions on Israel’s regime of military occupation, settler-colonialism, apartheid, and now genocide.

On this anniversary, we acknowledge the immense loss, suffering, and anger that continue to grow as a result of Israel's genocidal crimes against Palestinians over the past 9 months. As painful and devastating as all this is, the failure of Israel’s live-streamed genocide to force Palestinians to surrender is a sign that the foundations of its 76-year-old regime of oppression are shaking and we are closer to liberation. With miraculous steadfastness and resistance, the Palestinian people is insisting on justice, liberation, and our inalienable rights.­

The impact of the BDS movement in fighting state, corporate and institutional complicity with apartheid Israel has grown immensely in these times of genocide, beginning to influence policy in some states. The movement has grown its partnerships with racial, social, economic, gender and climate justice movements worldwide, intensifying pressure on policymakers to end complicity.

For our 19th anniversary we have highlighted a sample of significant BDS impacts since the beginning of Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip.

In solidarity, 
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)

360.

8 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #188
Gaza Strip

A school in Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza city, which today came under a new evacuation order by the Israeli military. People who fled eastern Gaza city, under fire, following a previous evacuation order, have been sheltering in this facility. Photo by OCHA, 29 June 2024.

Key Highlights

• The Israeli military orders tens of thousands of people in central and western Gaza city to immediately evacuate.
• Only seven out of 18 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners remain operational across Gaza due to lack of fuel and ongoing hostilities, reports the Food Security Sector.
• Patients and medical staff evacuated three hospitals in one week in fear of intensified military activities that could render the health facilities non-functional or inaccessible; only 13 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are now partially functional.

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, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 4 and 8 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 182 Palestinians were killed and 458 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 8 July 2024, at least 38,193 Palestinians were killed and 87,903 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are among the deadly incidents reported between 4 and 6 July:
  • On 4 July, at about 19:20, four Palestinians, including at least one child, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in northern An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 5 July, at about 1:00, six Palestinians, including three children and a woman, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit on Old Gaza Street in Jabalya city, in North Gaza.
  • On 5 July, at about 10:00, at least four Palestinian police officers were reportedly killed and eight injured when a police vehicle was hit in Saudi neighbourhood, west of Rafah.
  • On 5 July, at about 20:00, six Palestinians, including three children, were reportedly killed when a grocery store was hit in a residential building in Ma’an area, east of Khan Younis.
  • On 5 July, at about 21:20, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and several others, including children, were injured when a residential building was hit near Al Zuhour Pharmacy in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 6 July, at about 17:55, an UNRWA school in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp was hit. According to the MoH, 16 people were reportedly killed and 50 others were injured in this incident. According to UNRWA, the school was home to 2,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and since the war began, more than half of UNRWA facilities (about 190 facilities) have been hit.
  • Between 4 and 6 July, six journalists, including a female journalist, were reportedly killed in three incidents in Gaza city and Deir al Balah, some along with their family members. As of 6 July, the Government Media Office (GMO) reported that the number of journalists killed since the beginning of the war has increased to 158 journalists.
• Between the afternoons of 5 and 8 July, one Israeli soldier was killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 8 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,524 Israelis were killed, including 324 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,097 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 8 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• On 7 and 8 July, the Israeli military instructed tens of thousands of people residing in 19 blocs in Gaza city to immediately evacuate. The 7 July order covered five blocs and instructed residents to evacuate to western Gaza city while the 8 July order covered 14 blocs, including areas where people had fled to a day earlier, and instructed people to evacuate southwards to shelters in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Deir al Balah. The two directly affected areas encompass 13 health facilities that were recently functional, including two hospitals, two primary healthcare centres and nine medical points. In addition, four hospitals are located in close proximity to the evacuation zones. As of 8 July, two of the six hospitals were evacuated, namely, Al Ahli Baptist Hospital and the Patients Friends Association Hospital in fear of intensified military activities that would render them inaccessible or non-functional, and critical patients were transferred to the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan Hospitals in North Gaza governorate. Considering that the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis was hastily evacuated on 2 July following the issuance of an evacuation order for areas in eastern Khan Younis, three hospitals have become non-functional since early July, leaving only 13 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip partially functional at present; these include four in Gaza governorate, three in North Gaza, three in Khan Younis, and three in Deir al Balah.
• Assessments carried out by OCHA and partners over the last ten days at sites hosting new waves of IDPs show critical levels of need across all sectors. With nine out of every 10 people estimated to be displaced in Gaza, new waves of displacement are mostly affecting people who have already been displaced multiple times, only to find themselves forced to flee again under shelling. They are compelled to re-set their lives repeatedly without any of their belongings or any prospect of finding safety or reliable access to basic services. For example, on 4 July, aid actors visited IDPs who recently moved to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis from areas in eastern Khan Younis placed under an evacuation order three days earlier; at two sites that host more than 10,000 IDPs, humanitarian agencies highlighted the continued dire need for safe drinking water, noting that people, especially children, spend long hours queueing to collect water each day. Access to emergency health care is also a challenge, particularly given limited communications coverage to contact emergency services, high transportation costs to reach hospitals (US$26 for a roundtrip), and the long walking distance of at least three kilometres to reach the nearest medical point. In northern Gaza, OCHA and partners especially highlighted the lack of safe shelters for up to 80,000 IDPs who were forced to hastily flee from Shuja’iyeh and other parts of eastern Gaza city following the issuance of evacuation orders in late June; many were found sleeping amid solid waste and rubble, with no mattresses or enough clothing, and some had sought shelter in partially destroyed UN facilities and residential buildings. As the Israeli military designated these same areas as evacuation zones on 7 and 8 July (see above), many of the same families, including young children and elderly people, have been going through successive waves of displacement over the past two weeks.

• Insecurity, damaged roads, the breakdown of law and order, and access limitations continue to hamper movement along the main humanitarian cargo route between Kerem Shalom Crossing and Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. This has resulted in critical shortages of fuel and aid commodities to sustain humanitarian operations, in addition to increasing the risk of spoilage and infestation of stranded supplies (especially food) due to extremely high temperatures. The Food Security Sector (FSS) reports that these shortages forced partners to provide reduced food rations in central and southern Gaza in June and undermined their ability to keep bakeries and community kitchens running. As of the time of reporting, only seven out of the 18 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners remain operational in Gaza, all in Deir al Balah. A total of six bakeries - four in Gaza city and two in North Gaza - which were already working at partial capacity, have now been forced to completely cease operations due to the lack of fuel. The four bakeries that ceased operations in Gaza city include the largest bakery in the Strip and all four are in areas that were slated for evacuation on 7 and 8 July, bringing the total number of bakeries that shut down due to ongoing hostilities to nine, with the other five located in Rafah. In the absence of cooking gas and a stable flow of food supplies, community kitchens are also struggling to operate, resulting in a reduced number of cooked meals prepared throughout Gaza; as of the end of June, about 600,000 cooked meals prepared in 190 kitchens were distributed daily to families across the Strip, compared to more than 700,000 in the first half of June. Meanwhile, displaced households continue to rely on burning wood and plastic from furniture and waste to cook, exacerbating health risks and environmental hazards.
• In northern Gaza, while humanitarian partners continue to distribute wheat flour and canned food that enter Gaza via the Erez West Crossing, no commercial trucks have been entering the area for months. This has culminated in a near total lack of protein sources (e.g. meat and poultry) on the local market and only a few types of locally produced vegetables available at unaffordable prices, according to FSS. Already as of May 2024, about 57 per cent of Gaza’s cropland and a third of its greenhouses were estimated to have been damaged, according to a joint assessment by FAO and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT). Continued military operations in Rafah, and recent displacement from eastern Khan Younis, where significant agricultural production was concentrated prior to the war, have resulted in additional damage to greenhouses and forced more people to leave their farms unattended, further destabilizing food systems. FSS emphasized that resuming agricultural activities, including on a limited scale at the household or community level, would contribute to enhancing diet diversity and reducing food gaps in the Gaza Strip. However, a key obstacle to rehabilitating food systems is ensuring a constant flow of seeds, fertilizers and other agriculture inputs via all crossings.
• Hospitals that remain partially functional throughout the Strip are struggling to maintain vital operations amid chronic fuel shortages. On 7 July, the Head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hosam Abu Safia, reported that the lack of fuel has forced the hospital to suspend dialysis services, which has deprived 21 kidney patients of life-saving treatment, and is placing the lives of newborns in the neonatal department and critical patients in the intensive care unit at risk. The Kuwaiti Specialized Field Hospital received a small quantity of fuel through WHO and UNRWA on 5 July, which can help it to maintain operations for a few days. Meanwhile, the Health Cluster is seeking to urgently address the soaring needs at Nasser Medical Complex, which is currently the last tertiary hospital available in southern Gaza. WHO prepositioned four trucks of medicines and medical supplies at the hospital last week and is set to deliver 11,000 litres of fuel to the facility on 8 July and to expand bed capacity by 100 beds in coordination with the MoH. All hospital beds are currently fully occupied, and the hospital is facing critical shortages of supplies, particularly abdominal gauzes, wound dressing materials and surgical gowns for operations due to the high number of trauma cases requiring urgent intervention.
• On 5 July, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that its teams at Nasser Medical Complex were “running on emergency medical stocks” and all departments were overwhelmed by patients, far exceeding available bed capacity. For instance, while the paediatric department has 56 beds, 100 patients were received on 3 July alone, forcing children to lie on the floor in the absence of mattresses. The MSF nurse activity manager described the situation as nearing breaking point, with patients in the corridors, lying on blankets and sitting on stairs, and health workers being forced to place nails on the walls to hang the intravenous fluid and medication bags that patients need. MSF also warned that the Nasser Medical Complex is the main site on which field hospitals rely to sterilize their equipment and, should the facility be left without electricity, several field hospitals would also cease functioning. According to the NGO, it has been unable to bring any medical supplies into Gaza since the end of April, including most recently on 3 July when trucks carrying MSF medical aid were denied entry into the Strip by the Israeli authorities due to ongoing hostilities.

359.

8 juli 2024

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Today's headlines

Silenced at School: NYC Public Schools Chancellor suppresses Palestinian voices

New York City Public Schools has been suppressing Palestinian narratives and activism. NYC Educators for Palestine has attempted to meet with Chancellor David Banks for months, but he keeps dodging our meeting.

Why Big Tech’s control of social media cannot stop anti-colonial resistance

Big Tech’s control over social media has made it a site of censorship and repression, but since October 7 it has also grown as an important tool for resistance.

358.

7 juli 2024

Today's headlines

To a hollow Palestinian state?

Muhannad Ayyash

Spain, Ireland, and Norway recently made headlines for recognizing the State of Palestine. But necessary for any state recognizing Palestine is also the diplomatic and economic isolation of Israel. There is no other way.

If you support Israel in the middle of a genocide, you’re an awful person

Let's cut to the chase. If you're fretting about antisemitism and the fears and insecurities of Jewish students in the middle of a genocide, you're an awful human being.

357.

6 juli 2024

Today's headlines

Why there is no uprising in the West Bank – yet

The West Bank remains unusually calm as Israel carries out its genocide in Gaza. But while Israeli repression has dissuaded an uprising in the streets, the tectonic plates underneath continue to shift.

Liberal Zionists answer the Gaza genocide by appealing for ‘nuance’

Liberal Zionists are trying to rehabilitate Israel's image among young American Jews after the Gaza genocide by appealing for "nuance" and sending them to indoctrination camps. But these attempts ring more hollow than ever.

356.

5 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update
Gaza Strip

OCHA visiting a school in Gaza city where displaced people are sheltering. Photo by OCHA, 29 June 2024.

Key Highlights

• Nine out of 10 people in Gaza are currently internally displaced, the UN estimates.
• About 250,000 people are estimated to live in areas in eastern Khan Younis 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, and 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 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 4 July 2024, at least 38,011 Palestinians were killed and 87,445 were 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 Ash Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 3 July, at about 9:30, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and 17 others injured when people trying to return to 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 Al Mashahra area, in 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 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 Younis 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 Younis 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-story building near Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis 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 Younis 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 Younis – 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

Funding

• As of 5 July, Member States have disbursed about US$1.24 billion out of $3.42 billion (36 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and will be using this updated number for programmatic purposes.)
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 109 ongoing projects, for a total of $78.9 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and West Bank (14 per cent). Of these projects, 69 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 26 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in May 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the oPt HF.

355.

5 juli 2024

It is hard to believe that in just a few days, Gaza will have been under near-constant bombardment for nine months.

Despite the immense challenges this war on Gaza brought, and a landscape we have never navigated before, Mondoweiss is pushing back against anti-Palestinian narratives and Zionist discourse seeking to obfuscate the reality of this genocide.

In a sea of misinformation, Mondoweiss stands out as a trustworthy and reliable source for news and reporting from Palestine. We remain dedicated to telling the truth about the human cost of this genocide.

Our Gaza correspondent, Tareq Hajjaj, consistently provides evidence that Israel’s policy of starvation in Gaza is forcing people to eat expired food, animal feed, and even tree leaves.

354.

5 juli 2024

We honor Palestinians by telling their stories. We share those stories to fuel the movement for liberation.

Today's headlines

Israelis urge Netanyahu to accept U.S. ceasefire deal as Hamas gives its response

Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets on the Galilee after Israel's assassination of one of its senior commanders.

Inside the congressional effort to provide Palestinians with Refugee Status

Mondoweiss U.S. Correspondent Michael Arria speaks to Mohammed Khader from the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights about the push in Congress to resettle Palestinian refugees in the U.S.

353.

5 juli 2024

Deze week stond de Nederlandse politiek in het teken van de regeringsverklaring van het nieuwe PVV-kabinet.

Inhoudelijk kwam Palestina summier aan bod. Premier Schoof gaf aan een ‘grote consistentie’ in het beleid ten opzichte van het vorige kabinet aan te houden op dit dossier. Hij weigerde in debat met Stefan van Baarle (DENK) iets te zeggen over Israëlische oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza, of over het verzoek van de aanklager van het Internationaal Strafhof tot arrestatiebevelen van Netanyahu en Gallant en kopstukken van Hamas. Toch zijn de voortekenen voor een nog verdere achteruitgang van het beleid waarneembaar.

Zo gaf de premier geen helder antwoord op de vraag van Esther Ouwehand (PvdD) wat het kabinet vond van de grootste annexatie van Palestijns land sinds de Oslo-akkoorden. Hij kwam niet verder dan de constatering dat ‘de Israëlische nederzettingenpolitiek indruist tegen een duurzame tweestatenoplossing’. Schoof liet zich door de nieuwe minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Caspar Veldkamp (NSC) influisteren dat zijn kabinet sancties ‘niet effectief’ en ‘niet de weg vooruit’ acht, terwijl het vorige kabinet juist net akkoord was gegaan met sancties tegen een handjevol kolonisten. Veldkamp was eerder de Nederlandse ambassadeur in Tel Aviv.

Een rechtvaardig en rechtmatig Palestina-beleid vanuit Nederland lijkt hiermee verder weg dan ooit. The Rights Forum zal zich hier niettemin harder dan ooit voor blijven inzetten.  

Kort Geding tegen de Nederlandse staat vanwege de levering van onderdelen voor F-35 vliegtuigen aan Israël

Vorige week diende bij de Rechtbank Den Haag een nieuw kort geding van Oxfam Novib, PAX for Peace en The Rights Forum tegen de Staat om de (door)levering van Nederlandse F-35-onderdelen naar Israël te stoppen. Die lijkt namelijk, ondanks de uitspraak van het Gerechtshof gewoon door te gaan, maar nu met een omweg via de Verenigde Staten.

Als je het Nederlandse buitenlandbeleid ontdoet van alle franje, blijft maar één ding over'

'Als je het Nederlandse buitenlandbeleid ontdoet van alle franje, blijft maar een ding overeind: de onvoorwaardelijke loyaliteit aan oude bondgenootschappen. Wie een beetje in de gaten houdt wat zich aan de andere kant van de Atlantische Oceaan afspeelt [...] weet dat deze sleetse visie niet toekomstbestendig is. En levensgevaarlijk.'

'Want laten we niet uit het oog verliezen waar het om gaat: tienduizenden mensen vermoord, hondderduizenden zwaar gewond, een half miljoen mensen met ernstige honger – and counting. Met actieve steun van Nederland.

352.

4 juli 2024

We honor Palestinians by telling their stories. We share those stories to fuel the movement for liberation.

Today's headlines

The philosophy of Hamas in the writings of Yahya Sinwar

The concepts of self-sacrifice, asceticism, and security awareness were crucial to Yahya Sinwar's philosophy of resistance. The revolt that culminated on October 7 was the direct application of his political thought.

Israel’s starvation policy in Gaza is forcing people to eat tree leaves

The state of hunger in Gaza has not ended. Its long-term health effects are starting to show.

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3 juli 2024

Later this month, Congress will cross a major red line by inviting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli war criminal currently committing genocide in Gaza, to address a joint session of Congress. This bipartisan invitation from both Democrat and Republican leaders solidifies the U.S. government's active normalization and support of the genocide in Gaza, which Washington has not only collaborated on, but also financed.

Write to your representatives now and tell them they must reject Netanyahu’s speech.

Amidst all the pressing issues in our country— the exorbitant healthcare costs,  skyrocketing grocery bills, and most recently, the Supreme Court’s decisions to criminalize unsheltered people—the U.S. government is diverting your tax dollars that could be used to address our communities’ needs to kill displaced Palestinian children in their tents.

If Netanyahu’s speech goes forward, it will be the fourth time Netanyahu has addressed Congress -  the highest number of formal Congressional addresses that any foreign official has ever given in history.

Allowing Netanyahu to speak sends a dangerous message that war crimes are not only acceptable but even rewarded by our government. His address will provide him with a significant platform to spread propaganda and justify his actions, with U.S. media amplifying his narrative and overshadowing the nightmarish realities on the ground. We all have a duty to change the course of history.  In 2015, 58 members of Congress boycotted Netanyahu’s address, marking a historic shift in bipartisan support for Israel's government. This act of dissent shattered the myth that criticizing Israel was political suicide, and many of those who boycotted went on to have successful political careers.

We need to cancel Netanyahu’s visit before he even sets foot in D.C.

Your voice is crucial. We’ve heard reports that members of Congress are already feeling pressure to pick a side. Hearing from their own constituents could be what makes the difference for those who are currently weighing their options.

Our tool will help you identify your representatives so you can send them a pre-written email or craft your own message in minutes.

Together, we can prevent Netanyahu from using our government to further platform his genocidal agenda and normalize Israel’s ethnic cleansing project in Palestine.

Take action now.

Only collectively can we alter the path toward a more just future.

Onward,
Izzy Mustafa
Adalah Justice Project

350.

3 juli 2024

AJP Action Condemns Israeli Minister's Admission of Human Rights Violations, Calls for U.S. Accountability

[WASHINGTON D.C., July 3, 2024] - American for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) strongly condemns the abhorrent remarks made by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir regarding the horrific and illegal treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

The statement by Ben Gvir, in which he admits to deliberately worsening the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and proposes the death penalty as a solution to prison overcrowding, is not only inhumane but also deeply hypocritical. It reflects a blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law that the United States, Israel, and their allies claim to uphold.

Since October 2023, many members of the Israeli government have blatantly announced their violations of international law. Ben Gvir’s comments reveal a disturbing acceptance of torture and maltreatment as methods of control, a stark violation of international humanitarian rights. His acknowledgment that “everything published about the abominable conditions was true” confirms what the public already knows— the systemic brutality faced by Palestinian detainees, including torture and rape is true. Such admissions should alarm the international community and prompt immediate action by President Joe Biden, including cutting off all aid and weapon sales to Israel.

AJP Action calls upon U.S. policymakers to denounce these appalling remarks and demand President Biden take concrete steps to protect the rights and dignity of Palestinian prisoners. The systematic oppression and dehumanization of Palestinians must end. Justice and equality must be upheld for all, regardless of ethnicity or nationality. The United States must address these blatant violations and hold the Israeli government accountable.
 

In solidarity,

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

349.

3 juli 2024

Join AMP and our partners to demand to arrest Netanyahu!

As we approach nine months of this brutal genocide, Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle have chosen to invite the wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress on July 24th. This decision comes as the death toll has surpassed 40,000, and the Gaza Strip has been utterly decimated.

For nearly nine months, our community has relentlessly protested the U.S.-funded genocide in Gaza. Now, more than ever, we need to amplify our voices and demand justice. We are calling on you to join us as we demand to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, the war criminal responsible for these heinous atrocities.

Demand Action: Contact your member of Congress and insist they disinvite Netanyahu through this action alert led by AJP Action.

On July 24th, AMP and our partners are calling on all people of conscience to join us in Washington, D.C. to protest this impudence..

Join to demonstrate that the American people will not tolerate the presence of a war criminal in our legislative halls.

It is imperative to make clear again that the American people stand firmly against the genocide in Gaza. Stand with us and be a part of the change

Sincerely,
American Muslims for Palestine

348.

3 juli 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #186
West Bank

A residential area where infrastructure was heavily damaged in the Jenin Refugee Camp following an operation carried out by Israeli forces. Photo by UNICEF-SoP/2024/Alaa Badarneh, 25 May 2024

Key Highlights

• Israeli authorities approve plan to “legalize” five settlement outposts unauthorized under Israeli law; settlers from those outposts have carried out 27 attacks against Palestinians in 2024. 
• Since 7 October, OCHA has recorded 28 incidents of airstrikes, during which 77 Palestinians, including 14 children, have been killed in the West Bank, including two during the reporting period.
• At least 200 houses sustained damage during a recent operation by Israeli forces in Nur Sham Refugee Camp in Tulkarm, a UN assessment finds.

Latest developments (after 1 July)

• On 2 July, an assessment led by the United Nations estimated that at least 200 houses were damaged during an operation carried out by Israeli forces in Nur Shams Refugee Camp (Tulkarm). These include seven structures that have been rendered uninhabitable due to severe damage from military bulldozers or explosions; resulting in the displacement of 11 families comprising 47 people, including 19 children. The main road connecting Tulkarm city with Nablus and Jenin governorates also sustained extensive damage, which has led to the disruption of water supply, and the temporary disruption of electricity and internet services in the camp. 
• Before midnight on 2 July, according to initial reports by the Israeli military and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, an Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians in Nur Shams Refugee Camp, Tulkarm. According to the Israeli miliary, the four Palestinians were planting a roadside explosive device when they were struck.

Humanitarian Developments (25 June – 1 July)

• During the reporting period, three Palestinians, including a child, were killed by Israeli forces and 40 Palestinians, including seven children, were injured by Israeli forces and settlers. Two members of Israeli forces were killed by Palestinians and 17 were injured in the same period. Most casualties took place during operations carried out by Israeli forces, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm cities, and their adjacent refugee camps. Two out of the three Palestinians were killed from airstrikes. Since 7 October, OCHA has recorded 28 incidents of airstrikes, during which 77 Palestinians, including 14 children. In addition, on 28 June, a 25-year-old Palestinian succumbed to injuries sustained when an explosive device detonated while he was reportedly planting it to be used against Israeli forces in Tubas city on 20 June. 
• Between 7 October and 1 July, 539 Palestinians, including 131 children, have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; these include 522 killed by Israeli forces, ten by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli soldiers or settlers. In addition, over 5,420 Palestinians have been injured in the same period, including about 830 children. More than a third of the total injuries were caused by live ammunition. During the same period, 14 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians and at least 105 Israelis, including about 90 members of Israeli forces, were injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, during the same period, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of eight Israelis and four Palestinian perpetrators in Israel.
• The following are deadly incidents reported between 25 June and 1 July: 
  • On 26 June, one Israeli soldier was killed, and 16 others were injured by explosives planted underground by Palestinians during an eight-hour search-and-arrest operation in Jenin city and Jenin refugee camp. Israeli forces, including undercover forces, had entered the camp and arrested three Palestinians, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a doctor who had recently been released from Israeli prison. Israeli forces exchanged fire with Palestinians, who also used pipe bombs. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that one Palestinian was injured by live ammunition and shrapnel, and another was physically assaulted by Israeli forces. Extensive damage has been reported to the road infrastructure in and around the camp.
  • On 30 June, an Israeli airstrike struck a three-story building, killing a Palestinian and injuring five others in Nur Shams Refugee Camp, Tulkarm. Three of the injured were transported to a hospital and two received medical treatment on site. Six households comprising 36 people, including 15 children, were displaced. 
  • On 1 July, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians and injured five others during an overnight 12-hour search-and-arrest operation, which included the use of airstrikes, in Nur Shams Refugee Camp that extended to Tulkarm city and Tulkarm Refugee Camp. In one of the airstrikes, shrapnel hit and killed a Palestinian woman, while a 15-year-old boy (the second fatality) was reportedly killed when he was shot in the head by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces. According to the Israeli military, they had suspected the child was planting explosives. The Israeli military cited in Israeli media stated that in the same operation, one Israeli soldier was killed, and another was injured by a roadside bomb planted by Palestinians. The Israeli operation included the use of four bulldozers and air drones, which damaged infrastructure and multiple road sections within and around the camp. 
• On 27 June, Israeli authorities advanced the “legalization” of five West Bank settlement outposts, which are considered illegal under Israeli law. All Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal under international humanitarian law. They deepen humanitarian needs by affecting livelihoods, food security and access to essential services. The outposts set to be legalized are Evyatar (Nablus) in the northern West Bank, Sde Efraim and Givat Assaf (Ramallah) in the centre, and Heletz and Adorayim (Hebron) in the south. Since the beginning of 2024, OCHA has documented 27 attacks against Palestinians by settlers believed to reside in three of these five settlement outposts, including two attacks from Evyatar, nine from Sde Efraim and 16 from Givat Assaf. Palestinian landowners from Dura town have hundreds of dunams of lands adjacent to the Adorayim outpost, which the Israeli army has prevented them from accessing since 7 October. According to farmers from Dura, in two separate incidents since 7 October, Israeli forces attacked, beat, threatened and threw them off their land when they attempted to access it. The zoning map of Adorayim settlement outpost reportedly includes an additional 120 dunams of land belonging to Dura town that have not been accessed by the owners since 7 October.  
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 15 attacks, including three incidents that led to ten Palestinian injuries and five that damaged about 190 Palestinian-owned olive trees and other property. Moreover, Palestinians perpetrated three attacks that led to the injury of one Israeli and damage to two cars travelling on West Bank roads. Between 7 October and 1 July, OCHA recorded 1,050 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 107 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, 828 led to damage to Palestinian property and 115 led to both casualties and damage to property. In this period, over 45,600 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings were destroyed by people known or believed to be Israeli settlers. 

• The following are some of the key settler attacks documented between 25 June and 1 July: 
  • On 25 June, Palestinians residents discovered that people believed to be Israeli settlers  from Ma’ale Amos settlement vandalized about 80 olive trees (about 18 years old each) near Kisan village, in Bethlehem. The owners discovered the damage upon receiving approval by Israeli authorities to gain access to their land, which they have been prevented from reaching since October 2023 due to settler attacks.
  • On 26 and 27 June, Israeli settlers believed to be from a newly established outpost near Adei Ad settlement, between Turmus'ayya and Al Mughayyir villages, in Ramallah, trespassed on private Palestinian land in Turmusa’yya town and vandalized property. The settlers stole 20 haybales, burned a stationed metal water tank, broke at least three windows, three beam-light devices and recording cameras, and destroyed furniture.
  • On 27 June, Israeli forces physically assaulted and injured two Palestinians while the forces accompanied a group of Israeli settlers, reportedly affiliated with the Ateret Cohanim settler organization, when the latter were raiding Al Khaldi family home in Bab As Sinisleh neighbourhood in the Old City of Jerusalem. The settlers broke the house’s metal door and took over the property. The family filed a petition at an Israeli court and on 28 June, the court ruled in their favour and the settlers were removed from the property on the same day. The family subsequently found that their furniture and belongings had been vandalized.
  • On 29 June, Israeli settlers injured two Palestinian women with live ammunition and stones in Madama, south of Nablus. According to the head of the village council and those affected, a Palestinian from the village was shepherding nearby when armed Israeli settlers, reportedly from Yitzhar, attacked him. His two sisters and his mother tried to help him, at which point the settlers shot at them and threw stones. One of the sisters was injured by bullet shrapnel and the other sustained injuries to her head as a result of stone throwing.
  • On 29 June and 1 July, Israeli settlers injured eight Palestinians, including one child, during two raids on the Bedouin community of Umm al Kheir, south of Hebron. On 29 June, one Palestinian man was pepper-sprayed by settlers and required medical treatment. On 1 July, seven Palestinians were injured when an armed Israeli settler believed to be from an outpost near Carmel settlement took his sheep into a Palestinian-owned animal shelter to feed on its fodder. Palestinian residents threw stones at the settler, after which more armed settlers arrived, shot at them, and physically assaulted community members with sticks, bats and pepper-spray. The seven injured Palestinians included five women, one of whom was 80 years old, and a 17-year-old child. Three of the injured were transported to hospital for treatment.
• During the reporting period, the Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 35 Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, including two in East Jerusalem and 33 in Area C of the West Bank. As a result, ten households comprising 60 people, including 25 children, were displaced and 270 others, including 130 children, were otherwise affected. Between 7 October and 1 July, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,061 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, of which 38 per cent (398 structures) were inhabited homes. As a result, 2,368 people, including 1,047 children, were displaced. Over half of those displaced (1,208) were during military operations, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and the surrounding refugee camps; 42 per cent (1,001 people) were due to the lack of permit; and 7 per cent (159) were displaced by punitive demolitions.
• The following are the list of incidents that resulted in displacement during the reporting period: 
  • Half of the people displaced (27 people) were in Umm al Kheir herding community (Hebron), where the Israeli Civil Administration demolished on 26 June three donor-funded residential structures, two animal pens, a community centre and a room for electricity. 
  • On 26 June, five households comprising 19 people, including six children, were displaced in Area C of Jericho, when the Israeli Civil Administration demolished 12 structures, including six homes.
  • On 30 June, a family of six adults was displaced after they were forced to demolish their home located within the Israeli-defined municipal boundary of East Jerusalem in Al Walaja village, in Bethlehem governorate.

Funding

• As of 3 July, Member States have disbursed about US$1.22 billion out of $3.42 billion (36 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and will be using this updated number for programmatic purposes.)
• The oPt HF has 109 ongoing projects, for a total of $78.9 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and West Bank (14 per cent). Of these projects, 69 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 26 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 43 out of the 83 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented with national NGOs. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $100 million from Member States and private donors, designated for programmes throughout Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in May 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the Humanitarian Fund.

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3 juli 2024

We honor Palestinians by telling their stories. We share those stories to fuel the movement for liberation.

Mondoweiss’s on-the-ground reporting has informed the Palestine solidarity movement for 18 years. Today more people than ever depend on our reporting to educate themselves and others. With your support, we will continue to amplify voices from around the world who are shifting the discourse on Palestine. Help us push back against Zionist lies. Donate today and your donation will be matched up to $25,000!

Today's headlines

The Toronto Jewish community has a genocide problem

Tens of thousands of Toronto Jews oppose Israel's holocaust in Gaza. But the mainstream Toronto Jewish community still promotes anti-Palestinian and Muslim racism and supports the ongoing genocide.

CUNY encampment felony charges could set a dangerous precedent for Palestine organizing

Ten CUNY students are still facing felony charges from the police raid on City College’s Gaza encampment. If convicted, the ruling would set a precedent for prosecuting pro-Palestinian students and organizers across the United States.

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3 juli 2024

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2 juli 2024

Today's headlines

‘For the resistance’: Tulkarem residents face Israeli airstrikes and assassinations

Members of the Tulkarem resistance in the northern West Bank remain defiant as community members rally around them after an Israeli airstrike assassinated one of their leaders.

Emergency statement on the health and human rights crisis in the West Bank

Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council

Alongside the catastrophe in Gaza, another crisis is unfolding in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Israeli military has launched land incursions, conducted airstrikes, restricted access to resources, and targeted health infrastructure.

Israeli leaders slam prison services over release of al-Shifa Hospital director

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including a woman and a teenager in Tulkarem’s Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

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2 juli 2024

Corrigendum
Humanitarian Situation Update #185
Gaza Strip

In yesterday's Humanitarian Situation Update, the date range "7 October 2023 to 27 June 2024" was incorrect; the correct end date is "1 July 2024."

We have revised the sentence to read: "Between 7 October 2023 and 1 July 2024, at least 37,900 Palestinians were killed and 87,060 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza."

The updated report is available at https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-185-gaza-strip with an asterisk indicating where the change has been implemented.

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Humanitarian Situation Update #185
Gaza Strip

Displaced Palestinian women staying in an improvised shelter in Gaza. Photo by UNRWA

Key Highlights

• A nine-year-old girl was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Khan Younis.
• The Palestine Red Crescent Society and its partners inaugurate the first shelter site for displaced people with disabilities.
• The unaffordability of many food items, combined with limited humanitarian access, are further hindering access to nutritious food across Gaza, aid organizations report.
• Concerns are growing about the risk of cholera spreading in Gaza, warns UNRWA.

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, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported, particularly in Beit Hanoun, Ash Shuja’iyeh, and Rafah. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups toward Israel was also reported.
• Between the afternoons of 27 June and 1 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 135 Palestinians were killed and 631 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 27 June 2024, at least 37,900 Palestinians were killed and 87,060 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 27 and 30 June:
  • On 27 June, at about 20:00, at least 13 Palestinians, including at least one woman, were reportedly killed and at least 30 others injured when tents for internally displaced persons (IDPs) were hit in Ash Shakush area of Al Mawasi in western Rafah.
  • On 28 June, at about 22:00, four Palestinians, including two children, were reportedly killed and ten others injured when a house was hit near Al Yarmouk Stadium, in central Gaza city.
  • On 29 June, at about 9:00, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and six others injured when a house was hit in As Sidra area of Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 29 June, at about 10:00, seven Palestinians, including a boy, were reportedly killed and several others injured when a car and a house were hit in As Sabra neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 29 June, at about 13:30, four Palestinians, including two girls, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Bloc 4 of Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 30 June, at about 1:25, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northern Rafah city.
• Between the afternoons of 28 June and 1 July, three Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October and 1 July, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,517 Israelis were killed, the majority on 7 October. These include 317 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,018 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 1 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• On 1 July, about 50 Palestinian prisoners, including the director of Al Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, were released from Israeli detention, according to Israeli media. Abu Salmiya was arrested in November 2023 and spent over seven months in Israeli custody. As of July 2024, according to data provided by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 9,623 Palestinians in Israeli custody, including 3,379 administrative detainees (35 per cent) held without trial and 1,402 people (15 per cent) held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023 and their number remains unknown.
• On 30 June, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), in collaboration with the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees and Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, inaugurated the first shelter site for displaced people with disabilities (PwD) in Deir al Balah. Under the supervision of a specialized PRCS team, this site will host about 100 families and make available tailored support and services for PwD, including relief programmes, health care, rehabilitation, and psychological support. PwD are among the vulnerable groups in the Gaza Strip who have been worst affected by hostilities, displacement, the lack of critical infrastructure, and a range of security and protection risks. According to UNICEF’s multi-sectoral assessment of accessibility conditions at 39 shelters in Rafah in March 2024, only 41 per cent reported that water distribution points were accessible to PwD and a third of shelters reported that their latrines were inaccessible to people with mobility disabilities. On 29 June, the Rehabilitation Sector for PwD in the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) similarly noted that displacement exacerbates the challenges facing PwD, owing to the prevalence of overcrowded and non-inclusive shelters, where women with disabilities are especially vulnerable to the risk of abuse. PNGO added that about 10,000 people, half of them children, are estimated to have become disabled since October 2023. Calling for their urgent protection, PNGO warned that the destruction of hospitals and rehabilitation centres, restrictions on the evacuation of patients, and the limited entry of assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids and medical mattresses, have placed the lives of PwD at risk.
• Explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose significant risks of injury or death to people across the Gaza Strip, with IDPs, people returning to areas that have been bombarded or seen heavy fighting, and children being particularly affected. On 29 June, a nine-year old girl was reportedly killed, and three others were injured, by UXO in the Qizan An Najjar area, south of Khan Younis. Earlier on 5 June, six children were reportedly injured when a UXO reportedly exploded near Al Aqsa University in western Khan Younis. On 31 May, a displaced man and his two children were injured by UXO at a school in southern Khan Younis, UNRWA reported on 28 June. UNMAS estimates that over 37 million tons of debris in the Gaza Strip contain about 800,000 tons of asbestos, other contaminants, and UXO, noting that at least 10 per cent of fired ammunition potentially fails to function. According to the Protection Cluster, there are ongoing efforts to conduct explosive hazard assessments, deploy additional Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers, and raise public awareness about the risks of explosive ordnance, despite a range of challenges that prevent the scaling up of mine action work, including lack of funding, administrative hurdles (e.g. delayed visas), insecurity, and the denial of entry of critical mine action supplies.

• The breakdown of law and order is making it difficult for humanitarian actors to collect humanitarian aid from Kerem Shalom Crossing for distribution inside Gaza, compounding challenges facing humanitarian operations, including insecurity, damaged roads, lack of fuel, and access limitations. In parallel, food items available on the market are largely unaffordable to vulnerable households, many of whom have lost their income sources or exhausted their savings, highlighted the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children International (SCI) this week. In northern Gaza, improved access has enabled the World Food Programme (WFP) to bring in large amounts of canned food and wheat flour, but this improvement is “fragile” and there are severe shortages of meat, vegetables, fruits, and sugar. Overall, across the Gaza Strip, WFP reiterated that nearly the entire population is food insecure and “they do not have enough food to keep going. Many of them go to bed hungry, having one meal a day if they are lucky.” WFP further stressed: “Famine is not just about food. People need nutrition. They need access to healthcare. They need clean water, and they need shelter.”
• On 27 June, UN Women highlighted that at least 557,000 women in Gaza are facing severe food insecurity, with the most concerning situation being the one of mothers and adult women, who are bearing increased caregiving and domestic responsibilities in tents and makeshift shelters, “leading many to skip meals or reduce their intake to ensure their children are fed.” A survey conducted by UN Women throughout the Strip in April found that 76 per cent of interviewed pregnant women reported suffering from anaemia, and 99 per cent reported facing challenges in accessing necessary nutritional supplies and supplements. Moreover, 55 per cent of new mothers reported suffering from health conditions that undermined their ability to breastfeed, and 99 per cent faced challenges in securing enough breastmilk, compromising infant survival, growth and development. Faced with no alternatives, women are also largely relying on burning wood, plastic and other waste materials to cook, being particularly exposed to hazardous smoke and pollutants that cause respiratory and other health issues, the survey found.
• Piles of garbage and sewage continue accumulating in Gaza, rotting in the heat near displacement sites, with the stench being so pervasive as to cause nausea, reported the UNRWA Director of Planning, Sam Rose. Amid desperate sanitary conditions, the extreme heat and the lack of clean water continue to fuel the spread of infectious diseases, exacerbating the burden on already overwhelmed and severely under-resourced health facilities. On 30 June, the Ministry of Health highlighted that hospitals are struggling with over 10,000 reported cases of Hepatitis A and 880,000 cases of respiratory illnesses, with diarrhea, skin infections and lice outbreaks also being rampant. Rates of diarrheal infections are already 25 times higher than prior to the conflict, according to WHO. As the situation worsens, growing concerns exist that cholera may become prevalent, “further deteriorating inhumane living conditions,” warned UNRWA.
• Between 1 and 30 June, out of 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 53 (46 per cent) were facilitated, 41 (35.7 per cent) were impeded, 11 (9.6 per cent) were denied access, and 10 (8.7 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In addition, out of 299 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to areas in southern Gaza, 213 (71.2 per cent) were facilitated by Israeli forces, 34 (11.4 per cent) were impeded, 16 (5.4 per cent) were denied access, and 36 (12 per cent) were cancelled.

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Today's headlines

Communities of faith have a duty to fight for Palestinian freedom

At an event in March, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith leaders  conveyed a single message: our fight for the oppressed in Palestine is also a fight for the integrity of our country and the survival of democracy.

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Israel/Palestine: On June 26, HRW submitted recommendations to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Our take: “all victims of gross human rights violations in Palestine and Israel are owed reparation.”

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