Congratulations AIPAC on 500th air delivery of US weapons to kill Gazans – Day 324

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Congratulations AIPAC on 500th air delivery of US weapons to kill Gazans – Day 324

The conflict in the Gaza Strip is taking a catastrophic toll on children. More than 14,000 children have reportedly been killed, according to the latest estimate by the Palestinian Ministry of Health; thousands more have been injured. There are no safe spaces. All of Gaza’s children have been exposed to the traumatic experiences of war, the consequences of which will last a lifetime. (photo)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff 

US completes 500th air delivery of weapons to Israel since 7 Oct

The Cradle reports:

The US military has completed its 500th flight airlifting over 50,000 tons of weapons and equipment to the Israeli army for its over ten-month onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced on 26 August.

In addition to the weapons and equipment airlifted to Israel since 7 October, Washington has sent Tel Aviv 107 shipments of military supplies by sea.

The weapons shipments – that have enabled Israel to kill over 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and render Gaza uninhabitable – come as White House officials claim that US presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has been “working tirelessly” for a ceasefire agreement.

Muhammad Shehada of EuroMed Human Rights reported on 25 August that, according to multiple senior officials in Doha who were directly involved in the Israel–Gaza ceasefire talks, “There are currently no negotiations, only a sham theatre play.”

Shehada further stated that Israel and the US are only “negotiating between themselves” and that the US is issuing positive statements about the negotiations against the wishes of the mediators to deflect criticism from Vice President Harris during the Democratic National Convention for her role in supporting the genocide.

Shehada adds that another purpose is to “blame Hamas for refusing an impossible unworkable non-ceasefire deal to make it harder for Iran and Hezbollah to retaliate since they promised to hold fire as long as negotiations were ongoing.”

NOTE: Even AOC, who is embracing the establishment Democrats, states that the “US Congress votes in support of Israel from fear of AIPAC .”

Internal AIPAC documents revealed its legislative strategy to obtain an unconditional $14 billion military funding package to Israel that had been held up.

AIPAC opposed the Biden memorandum requiring countries who receive military aid from the US to provide “credible and reliable written assurances” of their adherence to international law, including international human rights law. The memo didn’t specify any particular country, but it was issued amid increasing calls in the US to condition aid to Israel due to concerns that American weapons are being used in the killing of civilians in Gaza.

A CBS poll found 61% of Americans oppose sending weapons and supplies to Israel.

The lobby for Israel is by far the most powerful and pervasive lobby in tne U.S. on behalf of a foreign country.

UN aid operations paused amid evacuation orders

Al Jazeera reports:

The United Nations’ humanitarian aid operations in Gaza have been halted after Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported, citing a senior UN official.

“We’re unable to deliver today with the conditions that we’re in,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We’re not leaving [Gaza,] because the people need us there. We’re trying to balance the need of the population with the need for safety and security of the UN personnel.”

The official said the UN had relocated its main command operations for the Gaza Strip and most UN personnel to Deir el-Balah after Israel ordered the evacuation of Rafah in the south of Gaza.

“Where do we move now?” said the official, adding that UN staff had to be moved so quickly that equipment was left behind.

Palestinians evacuate patients from Al-Aqsa Hospital after the Israeli army demanded evacuation in an area east of Deir el-Balah, Gaza, on August 25, 2024 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]
Palestinians evacuate patients from Al-Aqsa Hospital after the Israeli army demanded evacuation in an area east of Deir el-Balah, Gaza, on August 25, 2024 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu] (photo)

‘Slow authorizations and frequent refusals’ as Gaza aid drops

Al Jazeera reports:

Israeli authorities continue to challenge humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip as they expand their ground attacks, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.

According to the world’s largest humanitarian organization, “aid workers grapple daily with slow authorizations and frequent refusals when they ask for permission to move” while looting and public order issues are frequent, especially when convoys are forced to wait for hours at Israeli checkpoints.

“In the last two months, WFP has managed to bring in only half of the 24,000 MT [metric tonnes] of food aid required for operations serving 1.1 million people,” it said.

Palestinians wait in line to receive food from charities in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on August 25, 2024 [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians wait in line to receive food from charities in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on August 25, 2024 [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu Agency] (photo)

Amnesty Urges War Crimes Probe of ‘Indiscriminate’ Israeli Attacks on Gaza Camps

Amnesty International statement:

A new investigation by Amnesty International reveals Israeli forces failed to take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimise harm to civilians sheltering at camps for internally displaced people while carrying out two attacks targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and fighters in the south of the occupied Gaza Strip in May. These attacks likely were indiscriminate, and one attack likely also disproportionate. Both attacks should be investigated as war crimes.

On 26 May 2024, two Israeli air strikes on the Kuwaiti Peace Camp, a makeshift camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Tal al-Sultan in west Rafah, killed at least 36 people – including six children – and injured more than 100. At least four of those killed were fighters. The air strikes consisted of two US-made GBU-39 guided bombs, which project deadly fragments over a wide area, likely constituted a disproportionate and indiscriminate attack, and should be investigated as a war crime.

On 28 May, in the second incident investigated, the Israeli military fired at least three tank shells at a location in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah which was designated by the Israeli military as a “humanitarian zone”. The strikes killed 23 civilians and injured many more. Amnesty International’s research found that the apparent targets of the attack were one Hamas and one Islamic Jihad fighter. This strike, which failed to distinguish between civilians and military objectives by using unguided munitions in an area full of civilians sheltering in tents, likely was indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime.

(Read the statement in full here.)

A scene from the massive fire ignited when Israel struck Rafah
A scene from the massive fire ignited when Israel struck Rafah on May 26 (screenshot)

HRW: Palestinian Healthcare Workers Tortured

Human Rights Watch statement:

Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained Palestinian healthcare workers in Gaza since hostilities began in October 2023, deported them to detention facilities in Israel, and allegedly tortured and ill-treated them, Human Rights Watch said today. The detention of healthcare workers in the context of the Israeli military’s repeated attacks on hospitals in Gaza has contributed to the catastrophic degradation of the besieged territory’s healthcare system.

Released doctors, nurses and paramedics described to Human Rights Watch their mistreatment in Israeli custody, including humiliation, beatings, forced stress positions, prolonged cuffing and blindfolding, and denial of medical care. They also reported torture, including rape and sexual abuse by Israeli forces, denial of medical care, and poor detention conditions for the general detainee population.

“The Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinian healthcare workers has continued in the shadows and needs to immediately stop,” said Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The torture and other ill-treatment of doctors, nurses, and paramedics should be thoroughly investigated and appropriately punished, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC).”

(Read the statement in full here.)

‘Mission accomplished, for now’: Hezbollah

The Cradle reports:

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said on 25 August that the Lebanese resistance “reserves the right to respond” again against Israel if the results of Sunday’s operation prove “unsatisfactory.”

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah (Photo credit: Ratib al-Safadi/AA/Getty Images)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah
(Photo credit: Ratib al-Safadi/AA/Getty Images) (photo)

Operation Fortieth Day, as the resistance group dubbed it, was “accomplished just as it was meticulously planned,” Nasrallah said, adding that Hezbollah will “follow up on the outcome of the enemy’s silence regarding what happened at the two targeted bases [Glilot and Ein Shemer], especially Glilot.”

“If the result is satisfactory and achieves the intended goal, we will consider the retaliation complete. If the result is insufficient, we reserve the right to respond until further notice,” he added.

“We are facing an Israeli intelligence failure and a failure in preemptive action,” Nasrallah said, refuting the Israeli claim that the Hezbollah operation was thwarted before it began. “The enemy did not thwart anything.”

He also put to bed Israel’s claim that thousands of projectiles were intercepted and that thousands of rocket launchers were destroyed, confirming that all that was needed were 340 Katyusha rockets – fired at several decoy targets in the Galilee and Golan Heights to distract and overwhelm the Iron Dome system.

“The significant number of drones” sent to target the two military and intelligence sites in the Tel Aviv outskirts “reached these two targets, but the enemy is keeping it secret.”

RECOMMENDED READING: Five questions answered: Why did Israel, Hezbollah attack each other?

Netanyahu faces Israeli calls for broader strikes against Hezbollah

The Guardian reports:

Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a political backlash in Israel for the limited nature of Sunday’s airstrikes against Hezbollah, amid calls for a broader offensive in Lebanon.

Some of the fiercest criticism came from the far-right wing of the prime minister’s own fractious coalition.

Israel’s airstrikes and Hezbollah’s rocket and drone launches that followed soon after was the biggest cross-border engagement since the two sides fought a war in 2006 in terms of the number of aircraft sorties and munitions launched, though not in terms of casualties. Three Hezbollah and allied fighters were killed and one Israeli sailor, killed by fragments of an Israeli interceptor.

Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, claimed the pre-emptive strikes on Sunday morning prevented Hezbollah from launching up to two-thirds of the rockets it had intended to fire at Israel. Israel also claimed to have shot down almost all the incoming Hezbollah drones. Hezbollah denied these statements.

Netanyahu issued a warning that the airstrikes would not be “the end of the story”, but reports in the Israeli press cited military sources as saying there was no planned follow-up.

The prime minister was widely blamed on Monday, from both the center and right of the political spectrum, for the limited goal of Sunday’s air raids.

Netanyahu’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said, “Israel must not be content with a single, pre-emptive sortie. We must bring a decisive war against Hezbollah that will remove the threat in the north and allow the [evacuated] residents to return home safely.”

(Read the full article here.)

RECOMMENDED READING: Israel expands Netzarim corridor to include ‘permanent outposts’
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin, southern Lebanon, on 25 August 2024. Photograph: Kawnat Haju/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin, southern Lebanon, on 25 August 2024. Photograph: Kawnat Haju/AFP/Getty Images (photo)

Gaza-based journalist killed in Israeli attack

Al Jazeera reports:

A Palestinian journalist, Ali Nayef Ta’ima, has been killed in Gaza, according to the Government Media Office. This brings the total number of journalists killed since the conflict began to 171.

“The Government Media Office condemns in the strongest terms the targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists by the ‘Israeli’ occupation,” it said, adding that Ta’ima had worked with several media outlets.

Press freedom groups urge EU to punish Israel for violating media rights

Al Jazeera reports: 

Sixty global press freedom and human rights organisations have signed a letter calling on the European Union to take decisive action against Israel for its escalating violations of media freedom and the killing of journalists in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Israel.

The letter on Monday urged the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the imposition of targeted sanctions on responsible Israeli officials. It was signed by organizations including the International Press Institute (IPI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Free Press Unlimited (FPU).

(Read the full article here.)

Mourners and colleagues surround the bodies of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Refee, killed in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp, on July 31, 2024. Photo by Hadi Daoud / apaimages
Mourners and colleagues surround the bodies of Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Refee, killed in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza’s Al-Shati refugee camp, on July 31, 2024. Photo by Hadi Daoud / apaimages (photo)

Israeli shelling in Tulkarem kills five Palestinians, including two minors;  one killed near Hebron

WAFA reports: 

Five civilians, including two minors, were killed and others were injured tonight in an Israeli shelling targeting the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the bodies of five Palestinians killed in the occupation’s bombing of the Nur Shams camp were brought to the Tulkarm Governmental Hospital.

WAFA correspondent reported that four loud explosions were heard in the city of Tulkarem, its suburbs and its camps, following an Israeli drone shelling that targeted a house in the al-Manshiya neighborhood in the Nur Shams camp, resulting in the killing of five people, including two teenagers.

They were identified as Mohannad Qarawi, 19, Jibril Ghassan Jibril from Qalqiliya, 20, Adnan Jaber, 15, Mohammed Ali Yusif, 49, and Mohammed Ahmad ‘Elayyan, 16.

A Palestinian man was Monday killed by Israeli occupation forces in Khirbet Janba in the town of Yatta, south of Hebron.

The Ministry of Health said Iyad Ayed Abdul Najjar, 46, was killed after being shot in the head by the occupation soldiers near Yatta.

The killing of the six citizens brings the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, since October 7, 2023, to 650, including 147 children.

Six Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank, Monday, August 26
Six Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank, Monday, August 26 (photo)

Disturbing news in latest OCHA report

From the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

Thanks to constant evacuation orders, the population of Gaza is increasingly forced to concentrate within the Israeli-designated “safe” zone in Al Mawasi, which spans to only about 41 square kilometers (less than 16 square miles) or roughly 11 per cent of Gaza’s total area.

The severe overcrowding, with a density of 30,000 to 34,000 individuals per square kilometer has exacerbated the dire shortage of essential resources such as water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, health services, protection and shelter.

Evacuation orders and hostilities in close proximity to hospitals and medical points continue to place these vital facilities at risk of becoming non-functional due to insecurity and lack of safe access for patients, ambulances, and health partners to resupply them.

Delivering fuel and medical supplies to health facilities is extremely challenging in the context of repeated evacuation orders. On 21 August, both the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in northern Gaza renewed appeals for the urgent provision of diesel to keep electricity generators functional.

As of 20 August, WHO had recorded 505 health attacks in the Strip, which had resulted in 752 people killed, 982 injured, and 32 hospitals and 63 ambulances damaged.

Israeli government to fund Jewish settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time

The New Arab reports:

The Israeli government plans to fund the storming of Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem, for the first time, Israeli media reported late on Monday.

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu ordered the allocation of two million NIS (around $522,000) for the project, set to be implemented in later weeks, according to broadcaster Kan.

Eliyahu has been coordinating with the National Security Ministry, led by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to secure Israeli police approval for the settlers’ funded tours to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Eliyahu’s move comes amid ongoing incursions into the Al-Aqsa complex by illegal Israeli settlers, often under the protection of Israeli police, with Ben-Gvir involved in some of these raids.

This announcement follows repeated assurances by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to maintain the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on August 17, 2024. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on August 17, 2024. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency] (photo)

‘Deeply Disturbing’ NYU Policy Change Equates Anti-Zionism With Antisemitism

Common Dreams reports: 

After cracking down on anti-genocide campus protests this spring, New York University is under fire this week for its new policy equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism as Israel continues its U.S.-backed assault on the Gaza Strip.

The Anti-Defamation League—which has also been criticized for conflating the two—defines Zionism as “the movement for the self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.”

NYU’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy and Procedures for Students (NDAH), updated last week, states in part that “using code words, like ‘Zionist,’ does not eliminate the possibility that your speech violates the NDAH Policy. For many Jewish people, Zionism is a part of their Jewish identity. Speech and conduct that would violate the NDAH if targeting Jewish or Israeli people can also violate the NDAH if directed toward Zionists.”

(Read the full article here.)

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine says Instagram account ‘permanently deleted’

Columbia SJP tweeted:

The student group which helped organize the Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment, sparking a worldwide movement to end Israel’s war on Gaza, says it had 124,000 followers before Instagram took its account down.

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STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 26:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 26, 2024: at least 41,126* (40,476 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 650 in the West Bank (~147 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, 23 from West Bank).
      • At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
      • About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
      • Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 26: at least 99,067 (including at least 93,647 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, 2023 – August 26, 2024: ~1,452 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 288*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

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

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

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

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents. 

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

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

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

 

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