Israel has carried out over 3,400 massacres in Gaza since October 7th – Day 299

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Israel has carried out over 3,400 massacres in Gaza since October 7th – Day 299
Gaza struggles with widespread destruction of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, and infrastructure (screengrab)

Israeli airstrikes continue to kill in Gaza, Israeli soldiers torture two more Palestinian prisoners to death; Israel falsely accuses assassinated journalist of being in Hamas; Israel perpetrates over 3,400 massacres in ten months; Israeli lawmaker says raping Palestinian prisoners is “legitimate”; more land seizure in West Bank; update on Haniyeh assassination; US and others block UNSC statement condemning Haniyeh killing; Biden stands ready to defend Israel against retaliatory strikes, deploys warships to the region; WH Advisor Amos Hochstein’s “diplomatic disinformation campaign” against Lebanese officials; Uncommitted Movement demands DNC allow speaker on Gaza; AIPAC outspends Cori Bush campaign; more.

At least 15 Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on school in Gaza, emergency services say

Reuters reports: Israeli forces hit a school in Shuja’iyya in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 29, Palestinian civil emergency services said, as fighting continued in various parts of the Gaza Strip.

The military said it had targeted fighters operating in a compound within the school that it said was used as a hideout for Hamas commanders and fighters.

“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance and additional intelligence,” it said in a statement.

NOTE: Israel consistently frames its attacks as targeting Hamas members, mitigating risk to civilians, and using precise munitions. It has not in any case provided any evidence of the presence of Hamas, nor has it demonstrated mitigation of harm to civilians. “Precise” munitions are not really precise, and Israel has downplayed the size of the bombs it uses.
The “precise” bomb that Israel used on Rafah in May, which killed 45 mostly women and children, weighed 250 pounds. This is what a 250-pound bomb detonation looks like:

Two Palestinian prisoners tortured to death at notorious Israeli Sde Teiman base

The New Arab reports: Two Palestinians who were abducted by Israeli forces died from torture in detention, Palestinian rights groups and Gaza authorities confirmed on Thursday.

Shujaiya refugee camp resident Islam al-Sarsawi, 42, was taken by Israeli forces to the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility where he was tortured and killed in March, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.

“Al-Sarsawi is among dozens of detainees who have lost their lives in Israeli prisons and detention camps. The Israeli authorities continue to conceal their identities,” the statement said.

“He was arrested alongside many others during the initial raid on Al-Shifa Hospital, and their whereabouts remained undisclosed due to enforced disappearance,” it continued.

Also on Thursday, the Gaza Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees confirmed the death of 26-year-old Jabalia refugee camp resident Omar Junaid.

The ministry was informed by Junaid’s father, Abdul Aziz, that he had received a call from Israeli human rights group HaMoked, who said that he had died on 17 June due to severe torture.

The Sde Teiman facility where al-Sarsawi was held is the subject of an internal Israeli probe, amid allegations of rape, sexual abuse and torture committed by soldiers against detainees.

Earlier this week, nine soldiers were detained by Israeli authorities after reports that a prisoner was assaulted and raped. The prisoner, who was was hospitalised with severe injuries to his anus and was unable to walk, was returned to Sde Teiman by Israel.

The arrests of the Israeli soldiers resulted in protests at the base by far-right Israelis including politicians and cabinet ministers who demanded that there be no accountability for the soldiers’ actions.

At least 36 detainees have died in the facility, where thousands of Palestinian detainees from Gaza have passed through, since 7 October.

At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).

Al Jazeera refutes ‘baseless’ Israeli allegations against killed journalist

Al Jazeera has “strongly” rejected “baseless” Israeli allegations that the network’s correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza, was a Hamas operative.

The Doha-based network said on Thursday that the accusation, which Israel presented without proof, is an attempt to justify the “deliberate killing” of al-Ghoul and his companion cameraman, Rami al-Rifi.

Al Jazeera Media Network said the accusation against al-Ghoul “highlights Israel’s long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up its heinous crimes”, underscoring that the country has barred international journalists from entering Gaza.

(Read full story here.)

Israeli attack on journalists’ car also killed teenage cyclist delivering food to elderly

Israel’s deadly attack on the car of Al Jazeera staff has also killed Khaled Saed al-Shawa, a 17-year-old riding a bicycle “to do good”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera over the phone, his mother said the teenager was carrying food to an elderly man in the Shati refugee camp when the drone strike hit the nearby vehicle that killed Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi.

Israeli military has waged 3,457 massacres so far: Gaza media office

Three hundred days into the war on Gaza, Israel has carried out 3,457 “massacres” in the enclave, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, leaving:

  • 39,480 people killed
  • 10,000 people missing
  • 91,128 people injured

That means more than 6 percent of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.2 million is now killed, injured or missing, according to the media office’s figures.

Israeli Lawmaker Says Raping Palestinian Prisoners Is ‘Legitimate’

AntiWar reports: A member of the Israeli Knesset has defended the idea of raping Palestinian prisoners after Israeli soldiers suspected of sexually torturing a detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility were arrested.

The arrest took place on Monday, sparking protests from far-right activists, including several members of the Knesset and at least one minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

In a meeting of lawmakers on the day of the arrest, Hanoch Milwidsky, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, was asked if it was legitimate “to insert a stick into a person’s rectum?”

Milwidsky replied, “Yes! If he is a Nukhba [Hamas militant], everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”

According to Haaretz, the Palestinian prisoner who was raped suffered from a ruptured bowel, a severe injury to his anus, lung damage, and broken ribs and was taken to the hospital for an operation.

The Times of Israel reported that Honenu, a legal aid organization representing four of the soldiers, claimed the soldiers were acting in self-defense when they forcibly sodomized the Palestinian prisoner.

Israeli authorities announce more land seizure in occupied West Bank

WAFA reports: The head of the village council in Iskaka, West Bank, Osama Daher, said that the occupation authorities announced the seizure of 7,902 dunums (about 2,000 acres) of residents’ land in the Al-Qaniya area, northeast of the village for the benefit of the  illegal colony of Nofim Haniya, which was established on resident’s’ land in 2002.

According to statistics from the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in the first half of this year, the occupation authorities seized more than 26,000 dunums of Palestinian lands.

Israel cancels soldiers’ vacations in anticipation of imminent conflict

Middle East Monitor reports: Israel has decided to cancel the vacations of soldiers in combat units, according to the Israeli news site Walla.

The Israeli military’s decision is part of a state of alert in anticipation of a possible response from Iran and Hezbollah following the assassination of key figures, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah Commander Fuad Shukr.

The news site also reported that the Israeli army has increased its presence in the occupied West Bank due to the current security situation, fearing an escalation across various fronts.

The Israeli military stated that it is preparing and coordinating with security forces in the West Bank for various scenarios.

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

Brief statements from various camps:

Hamas says no confirmation of Israeli claim of Deif’s killing

In a post on Telegram, Hamas member Izzat al-Rashq says there is no confirmation over the Israeli claim that it killed Deif last month.

“Confirming or denying the martyrdom of any of the Qassam leaders is a matter for the leadership of the Qassam Brigades and the leadership of the movement,” the post said.

“Unless either of them announced, none of the news published in the media or by any other party can be confirmed.”

Netanyahu: Israel is prepared for ‘any scenario’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is “prepared for any scenario” amid growing expectations of a retaliation from Iran and its allies for the assassination of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.

“We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena,” he said in comments released by his office following a visit to the Home Front Command.

NOTE: “Aggression” describes Israel’s assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Nasrallah: The only solution is to end war on Gaza

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that the “only solution” to the escalating tensions between the group and Israeli forces is to “end hostilities in Gaza”.

“We will resume tomorrow morning; we have reorganized to continue on the support front,” he said, adding that Israel should “expect its response”.

Biden adds little to conversation about Israel’s killing of Haniyeh

When asked if Haniyeh’s assassination ruined the chances for a ceasefire agreement, Biden told reporters on Thursday, “It doesn’t help.”

Gaza struggles with widespread destruction of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, and infrastructure
Gaza struggles with widespread destruction of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, and infrastructure (screengrab)

Haniyeh killed by ‘device planted two months ago’ in Tehran guesthouse

New York Times reports: Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official.

The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran.

Mr. Haniyeh was in Iran’s capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard.

Israel has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the killing, but Israeli intelligence officials briefed the United States and other Western governments on the details of the operation in the immediate aftermath, according to the five Middle Eastern officials.

[NOTE: Israel’s choice to specifically kill Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar, in Iran had several results: ended growing efforts to improve U.S.- Iran relations, severely impeded chances of a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, and escalated danger of a wider regional war that would involve Americans in another disastrous conflict]

US, UK, France Veto Russia’s UNSC Resolution Condemning Haniyeh’s Assassination

The Cradle reports: The US, UK, and France blocked a Russian-proposed statement at the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting condemning the assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran’s envoy to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani said on 1 August.

“It is now absolutely necessary to hold the occupying [Israeli] regime accountable for the atrocities it committed,” the Iranian diplomat said after the statement was struck down. “This [Israeli] regime cannot be allowed to escape accountability and consequences for the violations it has committed.”

Iravani stressed that Tehran “reserves its inherent right to self-defense in accordance with international law” and, “This act could not [have] occurred without the authorization and intelligence support of the US.”

Permanent UNSC members Russia and China strongly condemned Israel’s attacks on the Iranian and Lebanese capitals, blasting Tel Aviv for once more sabotaging Gaza ceasefire talks and pushing the region to the brink of all-out war.

Russia’s first deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, pointed out, “Those behind this political assassination had to realize how dangerous the consequences could have been for the entire region.”

Feda Abdelhady Nasser, the deputy permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, said, “Israel has been the oppressor, tormentor, and murderer of Palestinians for decades, and it is the longstanding destabilizer of our region.”

Ultimately, however, the rhetoric of Palestine’s supporters lost when the US, UK, and France blocked the statement.

Embed from Getty Images

Promoting Peace And Stability In The Middle East By Unconditionally Backing Its Worst Aggressor

Caitlin Johnstone writes: President Biden — if you feel like pretending Biden is still serving as president and still making the decisions in the White House — has pledged to support Israel against any retaliations for its recent assassination spree in Iran and Lebanon which killed high-profile officials from Hamas and Hezbollah.

A White House statement asserts that Biden spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” and “discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments.”

Hilariously, the statement also claims that “the President stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region.”

Yep, nothing emphasizes the importance of de-escalating broader tensions in the region like pledging unconditional military support for the region’s single most belligerent actor no matter how reckless and insane its aggressions become.

Washington swamp monsters talk all the time about their desire to promote “peace and stability in the middle east”, while simultaneously pledging loyalty and support for a middle eastern nation whose actions pose a greater obstacle to peace and stability in the region than any other. These contradictions are becoming more and more glaring and apparent before the entire world.

RECOMMENDED READING: Haniyeh killing in Iran risks dragging US into war it says it doesn’t want

Biden Tells Netanyahu the US Will Defend Israel, Pledges New Military Deployments

AntiWar reports: President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and promised the US would help defend Israel from any reprisal attacks it may face from Iran or its allies in response to recent Israeli escalations.

Iran is vowing revenge for the Israeli assassination of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran, and Hezbollah is warning it will escalate in response to the Israeli strike in Beirut that killed one of its top commanders.

“The President reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” the White House said in a readout of the Biden-Netanyahu call.

Biden also said the US was deploying more military assets to the region. “The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments,” the readout said. The White House said Vice President Kamala Harris was also on the call.

US bracing for possible Iranian retaliation after Haniyeh’s assassination

Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle reports: US government officials are concerned on a number of fronts. First of all, there is the issue of what this means for the Middle East in general. There is talk that this could lead to a wider war in the region.

There are also concerns about what [Haniyeh’s killing] might mean for American interests, especially now that we’ve explicitly heard from the Iranian parliament speaker that the US is being held responsible. Obviously, the US is Israel’s main supporter, main backer, main arms supplier.

Will there be retaliation against the US and what form could that take? Could that be some kind of action in the mainland US, or, as many suspect is more likely, will there be action against a soft target – such as an embassy, a business or a US interest abroad – or even military targets?

There are a huge amount of military personnel scattered across the Middle East and they could well be targeted.

Senior White House Adviser Amos Hochstein misled Lebanon into thinking ‘Beirut is a red line’

The Cradle reports: Senior White House Adviser Amos Hochstein led a “diplomatic disinformation campaign” and deceived Lebanese officials into thinking Israel would not attack Lebanon’s capital or its southern suburbs, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on 1 August.

[Hochstein was reportedly born and raised in Israel and served in the Israeli Army.] 

According to the newspaper, Hochstein “informed officials in Beirut that the Israeli strike would be outside Beirut and the suburbs.

The report adds Hochstein was trying to obtain a guarantee from Lebanese officials that Hezbollah would not respond to any potential Israeli attack in response to the strike on Majdal Shams last weekend, claiming, “Hezbollah’s responsibility for the incident is not open to debate.”

This comes despite the eyewitness reports that an Israeli Iron Dome interceptor caused the deaths and the inconsistencies in Tel Aviv’s narrative which continue to emerge.

The US has also been reportedly trying to convince Iran not to launch a major retaliation against Israel, claiming that Israel has claimed they have no plans to carry out further operations.

NOTE: The assumption that Hezbollah carried out an attack on the Druze population in Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights fails the logic test. 
RECOMMENDED READING: Trigger happy Israel and its thirst for revenge
Isaac Herzog visit to to the United States, October 2022, meets with Amos Hochstein
Isaac Herzog visit to to the United States, October 2022, meets with Amos Hochstein (photo)

Uncommitted movement demands DNC allow a representative to speak on Gaza

The Guardian reports: The Uncommitted National Movement has announced a number of demands in the run-up to the Democratic national convention (DNC) later this month, part of an effort to use its voting power to influence Kamala Harris and the Democratic party’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza.

In a press call on Thursday, movement leaders demanded that the DNC allow Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American physician who’s worked in Gaza, to speak at the convention about the humanitarian crisis that she witnessed first-hand. They have also requested that an uncommitted delegate be given five minutes to speak at the convention, and for Kamala Harris to meet with movement leaders about their concerns.

Uncommitted leaders say that hearing from Haj-Hassan will help the Democratic party and Harris make informed policy decisions on Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, according to health officials.

More than 700,000 Americans voted “uncommitted” or its equivalent in the Democratic party primaries this year in a message to Joe Biden that he could not count on their support if he did not change his approach to the war. The movement has particular influence in Michigan, where more than 100,000 people cast “uncommitted” ballots in the primary. It will send 30 delegates to the DNC in Chicago.

“We will find a way for Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan to speak officially or unofficially, one way or another,” said Layla Elabed, a Palestinian American organizer with the Uncommitted National Movement, “in the tradition of Fannie Lou Hamer and the civil rights movement, who made moral witness in the 1964’s convention to human suffering.”

Activists hope grassroots outreach can overcome pro-Israel money as Cori Bush primary race enters final days

Mondoweiss reports: As Missouri’s August 6 primary election day rapidly approaches, over $9 million of AIPAC and AIPAC-adjacent dollars have already flooded the race to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Cori Bush who represents Missouri’s First District in Congress.

The asymmetrical deployment of resources against her may be paying off too as the latest Democratic Majority for Israel poll shows Bush’s challenger, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, with a 6-point lead just ahead of election day on August 6.

Bell pulled out of his race against right-wing Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley to primary his fellow Democrat in October 2023 shortly after Bush introduced the Ceasefire Now Resolution into the 118th Congress. With a king’s ransom of cash to spend in St. Louis’s relatively inexpensive media market, the money storm has led to so many false and misleading claims about Bush’s record in ads and campaign literature that they’re outpacing news organizations’ fact-checking capacity.

Jay Ozier is president of The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist St. Louis Chapter, one of nine labor unions who’ve endorsed Bush’s reelection campaign, and is a seasoned veteran of the rough and tumble of St. Louis politics.

(Read the full article here.)

UK’s St Andrews university fires rector from governing body for Israel criticism

Middle East Eye reports: A Scottish university has removed its rector from the institution’s governing body after she issued a statement that condemned Israel’s “genocidal attacks” on Gaza.

The University of St Andrews said on Thursday that it had removed Stella Maris from her position on the university court after an investigation concluded that she exercised “poor judgment” for sending an email out to all students last November that called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza.

”It is clear that I have been removed from university court because I called for an end to Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so,” said Maris.

”As a young, neurodiverse Black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide.”

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.
The Intercept: The crowdfunding campaign for deadly Israeli military drones
AntiWar: The smearing of Cori Bush for being truthful about the Gaza War
Scheerpost: Patrick Lawrence: The Murder of Ismail Haniyeh
Common Dreams: Blank Checks for War: Congress Has Abdicated Its Power From Tonkin to Gaza

 

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 1:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 1: at least 40,071* (39,480 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 591 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

  • At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
  • At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
  • About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
  • 2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 1: at least 96,548 (including at least 91,128 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 1: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals. 

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
 

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