Biden and Blinken forget about 24,000 dead; Palestinian journalist killed; desperate calls for more humanitarian aid; 5 West Bank deaths; Israeli slapped with “treason” allegation; Israeli-run “Iron Truth” censors pro-Palestine content; and more
In a statement marking 100 days of war in Gaza, Biden made no mention of suffering Gazans, but said it is a “devastating and tragic milestone” for those still held captive in Gaza.
Today, we mark a devastating and tragic milestone—100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as 6 Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza. For 100 days, they have existed in fear for their lives, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. For 100 days, their families have lived in agony, praying for the safe return of their loved ones.
And for each of those 100 days, the hostages and their families have been at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom.(Freed hostages have reported being more afraid of Israel’s airstrikes than Hamas; others described conditions that were tough but not as bad as Palestinian prisoners regularly describe – torture and humiliation, for example.)
Since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7 (the facts of this day’s events are drastically different from what was originally assumed), my Administration has pursued aggressive diplomacy to bring the hostages home (while at the same time providing massive quantities of bombs and shells to Israel)…
I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100…(The Israeli hostages were subject to the same risks as the people of Gaza, but are not recognized by Biden.)
Israel is currently holding about 7,000 political prisoners, of which over 2,000 are administrative detainees, being held without charge or trial.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement also failed to mention the people of Gaza: “100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long. The United States will not rest until all remaining hostages, including six Americans, are reunited with their loved ones.”
President Biden and other senior U.S. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration’s recent requests related to the war in Gaza, four U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.
“At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has been in close contact with U.S. officials about the war, told Axios. “They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again.”
From The New Arab: Palestinian photographer Yazan Al-Zuweidi was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Sunday, his employers Al Ghad TV announced. In a statement, the channel urged international human rights groups to denounce Israel’s targeting of journalists and attacks on freedom of expression. Al-Zuweidi, who had been working with Al Ghad for six years, covered wars and various events in Gaza. His death brings the number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza to 118.
Two Palestinians who worked for Paltel were reportedly killed as they tried to restore Gaza internet service: The NetBlocks observatory says the more than 48-hour outage has left “most residents cut off” as the war in the enclave passes the 100-day mark.
On 14 January, UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, stated:
The crisis in Gaza is a man-made disaster compounded by dehumanizing language and the use of food, water and fuel as instruments of war.
The humanitarian operation has fast become one of the most complex and challenging in the world; largely due to cumbersome procedures for the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip and a myriad of obstacles to the safe and orderly distribution of aid, including ongoing hostilities.
Humanitarian aid alone will not be sufficient to reverse a looming famine. A flow of commercial goods must also be allowed in.
On 13 January, 108 trucks with food, medicine and other supplies entered the Gaza Strip through Rafah crossing. UNICEF Special Representative, Lucia Elmi, stated:
We still aren’t getting sufficient aid in. The inspection process remains slow and unpredictable. And some of the materials we desperately need remain restricted, with no clear justification.
These include generators to power water facilities and hospitals, and plastic pipes to repair badly damaged water infrastructure…
In addition, once aid gets in, there are significant challenges to distributing it across the Gaza Strip, particularly to the North and recently also the middle area.
RECOMMENDED READING (Mondoweiss): Weekly Briefing: Israel supporters have been treated with kid gloves for too long
Five Sunday deaths in West Bank, reported by Wafa include 3 teenagers:
Two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces at the northern entrance to the city of al-Bireh, near Ramallah, according to the Ministry of Health. Suleiman Muhammad Kana’an, by a direct gunshot wound that penetrated his heart, and Khaled Amer Hmaidat, also by gunshot wound. The Israeli army confiscated Hmaidat’s body.
Medical sources said that Louay Al-Sufi, 14, from Ain Al-Sultan camp, was killed by a bullet in the chest by Israeli soldiers after the occupation forces targeted Palestinian civilians with live bullets during their storming of the camp. He was transferred to Jericho Governmental Hospital.
Two more Palestinian young men were killed Sunday by Israeli occupation forces near the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron, according to the Red Crescent Society (RCS). Their names: Ahmed Musa Muhammad Jabareen and Jalal Issa Mohammad Jabareen.
The Guardian reports that an Israeli history teacher was fired from his job after a series of Facebook posts, mourning the number of Gazans killed. He was later arrested and placed in solitary confinement in a high-security jail. The charge: intent to commit treason.
It is a time of witch hunts in Israel, of political persecution,” he said. “The message is crystal clear: keep silent, watch out,” he told The Guardian after being released. “I thought to myself when I retire I might conclude this is the most significant lesson I ever gave in civics.”
The Intercept reports on a project, called “Iron Truth,” run by a group of volunteers from Israel’s tech sector. The group is working tirelessly to remove content critical of Israel on platforms like Facebook and TikTok, tapping personal connections at those and other Big Tech companies to have posts deleted outside official channels…
So far, nearly 2,000 participants have flagged a wide variety of posts for removal, from content that’s clearly racist or false to posts that are merely critical of Israel or sympathetic to Palestinians, according to chat logs reviewed by The Intercept……
….. many other terms commonly found in news coverage or general discussion of the war — including “Israel bomb hospital”; “Israel bomb churches”; “Israel bomb humanitarian”; and “Israel committing genocide” — were suggested as disinformation keywords as the Israeli military was being credibly accused of doing those very things. While some allegations against both Hamas and the IDF were and continue to be bitterly disputed — notably who bombed the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on October 17 — Iron Truth routinely treated contested claims as “fake news,” siding against the sort of analysis or discussion often necessary to reach the truth.
Even the words “Israel lied” were suggested to Iron Truth volunteers on the grounds that they could be used in “false posts.”
(Read the full article here.)
The Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson has responded with threats to a report that hundreds of US federal workers are planning to stage a walkout on Tuesday in protest over Washington’s continued support for Israel’s operations.
“Any government worker who walks off the job to protest US support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers. They deserve to be fired,” Johnson wrote.
Times of Israel reports: The Bank of Israel estimates that around NIS 210 billion will be spent on war expenses in 2023-2025, Channel 12 states in a report examining the impact of the war in Gaza on Israel’s economy.
Since the start of the war on October 7, Israel has invested NIS 24.7 billion ($6.6 billion) worth of state funds in various aspects of the war effort, including defense costs across all of Israel’s borders and funding for the more than 100,000 displaced people evacuated from the north and south of the country, the report says.
Deutsche Welle (DW) reports that the costs of rebuilding what has been destroyed through the Israeli bombardment of Gaza are not. Early estimates suggest they may be as high as $50 billion (€46.4 billion).
See South Africa’s presentations on Israel’s genocide against Palestinians here.
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JANUARY 13:
Palestinian death toll since October 7: at least 24,320* (~23,968 in Gaza* (over 10,000 children), and at least 352 in the West Bank, about 77 of them children). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 31,497 Palestinian deaths.
*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.
About 1.9 million people have been displaced (about 85% of the population).
Palestinian injuries since October 7: at least 63,264** (including at least 60,582 in Gaza** and 4,176 in the West Bank). **NOTE: it is impossible to provide an accurate number of injuries in Gaza due to the ongoing bombardment and communication disruption.
It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza**.
Reported Israeli death toll since October 7: ~1,139 (8 killed in West Bank, 187 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and 8,730 injured, approximately 36 children).
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel may have been caused by Israeli soldiers; additionally, since Israel has a policy of universal conscription, it is unknown how many of those attending the outdoor rave a few miles from Gaza on stolen Palestinian land were Israeli soldiers.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
For more news, go here and here. Broadcast news from the region is here
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
- 12 Essential Facts for Understanding the Current Israel-Gaza Violence
- Israel’s torture and humiliation of female and male Gazan prisoners
- 2023 in review: 12 months of blood on Israeli and American hands
- Coverage of Gaza War in NYTimes & other major papers heavily favored Israel, analysis shows
- Two reports debunk New York Times ‘investigative report’ of mass rape on October 7th
- John Mearsheimer: Genocide in Gaza
- Flashback: Israeli Journalist said Israel is pushing US into war with Iran
- Israel’s Assault on Gaza Is Unlike Any War in Recent Memory
- US poised to give Israel $18 billion in aid this year
- Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace
- Essential facts and stats about the Hamas-Gaza-Israel war
- What media reports fail to tell you about October 7
