Palestinians have warned of an imminent famine in the northern Gaza Strip as an ongoing Israeli blockade has forced five out of six functioning bakeries to shut down in the region.

“The supply of critical ingredients such as flour, sugar, and yeast has been significantly reduced for nearly a month,” according to one bakery owner. Fuel for running the bakeries is also in short supply.

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Gaza Civil Defense warns displaced people to prepare for heavy rains

The New Arab reports:

The Palestinian Civil Defense has issued urgent orders to residents in Gaza, calling on them to fortify and reinforce their tents, to protect themselves from heavy rains expected in the coming week.

“The meteorological forecast expects heavy rains to fall in Gaza, so we call upon our people in Gaza, especially the displaced in tents, shelters and damaged homes, to pay attention to fortifying their shelters to protect them from the effects and risks of rainwater,” Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson of the civil defense, told The New Arab. 

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High tides force further displacement for Gaza families

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reports from Gaza:

 

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Translation: Hundreds of tents for displaced people have been damaged by the rising tide along the entire coast of Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. With the start of the winter season, thousands of these tents are threatened with flooding, especially those closest to the water.

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About 4 percent of victims of Israel’s genocide are elderly, many were executed: Euro Med

Euro Med Human Rights Monitor reports:

During the 330+-day Israeli genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, 2,122 elderly men and women have been killed. This represents roughly 2% of the 107,000 elderly people who live in the Strip and roughly 4% of all Palestinian deaths there since 7 October 2023.

Most of these elderly victims were crushed to death under the debris of their homes or shelter centers after Israeli aircraft bombed them on their heads, or during their forced evacuations in the streets or visits to markets to meet their basic needs.

Shockingly, however, dozens of them were killed directly through field executions and liquidation operations.

Following the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Khan Yunis on Friday 30 August, the discovery of the bodies of the elderly man Wajih Misbah Shaath (71 years old) and his wife Sabah Shaath (65 years old) was documented by the Euro-Med Monitor field team. The Israeli army shot the couple in their Khan Yunis home, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

(Read the full report here.)

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Israel Releases Nine Gaza Detainees with Signs of Malnutrition, Abuse

Palestine Chronicle reports:

The Israeli army has released another nine Palestinian detainees, all displaying signs of malnutrition and physical abuse, according to doctors.

The detainees were released through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern city of Rafah and were transferred to the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis for medical treatment on Saturday, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Doctors at the hospital confirmed to Anadolu that the freed detainees were in poor health, displaying signs of exhaustion, malnutrition, and physical abuse.

The Israeli army has detained thousands of Palestinians from different areas across the Gaza Strip since its genocidal assault on the enclave began last October.

Since then, Israel has released dozens of detainees, who have confirmed in their testimonies that they were subjected to abuse, torture and harsh interrogation.

These testimonies, including cases of sexual abuse and rape, have been documented by Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organizations.

RECOMMENDED READING: Welcome to Hell: the Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps

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Israeli military admits ‘high probability’ it mistakenly killed hostages

The Guardian reports:

The Israeli military has said there is a “high probability” that three hostages found dead in a tunnel at the end of last year were mistakenly killed in a strike that also took the life of Hamas’s northern Gaza brigade chief, Ahmed al-Ghandour, in November.

The families of Col Nik Beizer and Sgt Ron Sherman, both 19, and the French-Israeli civilian Elia Toledano, 28, who were abducted by Hamas on 7 October, were informed in the last week by officials from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that a comprehensive inquiry revealed their loved ones had lost their lives as a result of IDF actions.

Their bodies were recovered on 14 December from a tunnel in Jabaliya but the most likely cause of death was only recently determined, the military said.

“The findings of the investigation suggest that the three, with high probability, were killed by a byproduct of an IDF airstrike,” a statement said. “This is a highly probable estimate given all the data, but it is not possible to determine with certainty the circumstances of their death.”

The families were initially told the hostages had been killed by Hamas captors and, in January, the IDF rejected Hamas’s assertions that they were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The November airstrike was aimed at al-Ghandour, who was taking cover in a tunnel. The IDF’s inquiry at the time concluded that the military was unaware of the presence of hostages in the area during the strike.

“At the time of the strike, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound,” the military said. “Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages.”

NOTE: The Israeli military’s explanation suggests that if they had known about the presence of the 2 Israelis, the strike would have been called off.

For an illustration of the perceived value of Israeli lives over Palestinian lives, consider the Nuseirat massacre, in which at least 274 people died, including at least 64 children, and more than 700 were injured – in order to rescue 4 Israeli prisoners.

One man who survived the massacre said he was surprised to find so many ways to die: tanks, attack helicopters, shells, missiles, and drones with small arms attached. 

Ironically, this mission also killed 3 Israeli captives, one of whom had US citizenship.

US President Joe Biden did not acknowledge the Palestinian deaths, only “welcome[d] the rescue.”

Both Israeli and American officials confirmed that U.S. intelligence assisted the Israeli military for its rescue.

NOTE: Israel is currently holding over 9,900 Palestinian prisoners in inhumane conditions where many are systematically tortured – 240 of them are children, 87 are women, and over 3,300 are administrative detainees – being held without charge or trial. Administrative detention is intended to be used only in “exceptional” circumstances, but Israel uses it widely. Read more here.

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Palestinian Authority to take Israel to world court over death of activist Aysenur Eygi

The New Arab reports:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that preparations are underway to lodge a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

The announcement was reportedly made during a phone call from Abbas to Eygi’s father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, in which Abbas reportedly expressed his condolences to the Turkish people and praised Eygi as a “brave daughter of both Palestine and Turkey,” calling her an “honest symbol of solidarity” between the two nations.

He referred to her death as an assassination by the Israeli occupation.

Abbas additionally announced that Eygi would be posthumously awarded the Medal of the Star of Jerusalem, that was “in recognition of her dearly sacrifice for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and independence.”

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Israel Is Recruiting African Asylum Seekers for Life-threatening Gaza War Operations, Promising Permanent Legal Status

Ha’aretz reports:

Israel’s defense establishment is offering African asylum seekers who contribute to the war effort in Gaza – risking their lives – assistance in obtaining permanent status in Israel. This, according to personal accounts obtained by Haaretz.

The ethical considerations of recruiting asylum seekers have not been addressed. To date, no asylum seekers who contributed to the war effort have been granted official status.

There are currently some 30,000 African asylum seekers living in Israel, most of them young men.

Defense officials realized they could use the help of the asylum seekers and exploit their desire to obtain permanent status in Israel as an incentive.

Sources who spoke with Haaretz revealed that while there were some inquiries about granting status to asylum seekers who assisted in the fighting, none were actually given status.

The relevant defense body told Haaretz in response that all of its actions are conducted legally.

NOTE: A statement at the end of the Ha’aretz article says, “The manner in which the Israeli army deploys the asylum seekers is barred from publication.”

ELSEWHERE, HA’ARETZ ADDS: Human rights organizations in Israel have harshly condemned Israel’s recruitment of African asylum seekers in its war in the Gaza Strip, as exposed by Haaretz on Sunday, describing it as a “dangerous precedent” and an “evil” and “cynical” practice.

“Israel must, first and foremost, to meet its moral obligation and grant proper status to refugees who have lived here for over 15 years. It must grant them permanent residency or citizenship, and then the issue of their enlistment will be redundant,” he said.

Assaf, the aid organization for refugees and asylum seekers in Israel, said that recruiting asylum seekers in return for a promise of help in obtaining residency is a “new low Israel has reached in its treatment of asylum seekers and refugees living here.”

“Israel has never taken responsibility for the refugees and asylum seekers and has never lifted as much as a finger to resolve their status or create a more of a suitable situation for them. If it truly wanted to do so, it would not act in such a twisted manner, as described in the report.”

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in response that “for years Israel has denied their refugee status and has abused asylum seekers through imprisonment, wage theft, incitement, brutal treatment and humiliation. Years without residency status and without rights.”

“The state, under the auspices of the same politicians who paved their path into a government [that boasts about] the purity of Jewish superiority, have realized that it is maybe possible to exploit these refugees to fight in Gaza.”

“There is no limit to this immorality and cynicism,” they added.

RECOMMENDED READING: African refugees in Israel: can welcoming voices prevail? 

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Yemen strikes in Tel Aviv outskirts, warns ‘more to come’

The Cradle reports:

The Yemeni army fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at central Israel on 15 September, which made impact just a few kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv.

The Armed Forces of Yemen’s Sanaa government, which is merged with the Ansarallah resistance movement, announced the operation in a statement on Sunday morning: “The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out an effective military operation through which it targeted a military target of the Israeli enemy in the Yaffa [Tel Aviv] area in occupied Palestine.”

Yemen warned that Israel “must expect more strikes and qualitative operations to come,” especially as the one-year anniversary of October 7th approaches.

The missile activated sirens across central Israel at around 6:30 AM, but according to the Israeli military, fell in an open area. Air defense systems failed to bring down the Yemeni missile. According to Al Jazeera, nine people were reportedly lightly injured while rushing to protected areas as sirens sounded.

A train station about 35 km (22 miles) outside of Tel Aviv was reportedly impacted by missile fragments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to “exact a heavy price” on the Houthi group.

#شاهد | سقوط أجزاء من صاروخ اعتراضي كان يحاول اعتراض الصاروخ الذي أُطلق من #اليمن على محطة القطار الإسرائيلية، “باتي موديعين”، في وسط #فلسطين_المحتلة. #الميادين pic.twitter.com/eczyKZzy5D

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) September 15, 2024

Translation: Falling pieces of a rocket that was shot by Israel as it tried to intercept a rocket from Yemen land on a train station in the Israeli city of Modi’in in the middle of occupied Palestine.

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A drone fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon penetrated more than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) into Israel’s airspace without being intercepted, according to Israeli media on Sunday.

The drone flew for at least 10 minutes in Israeli airspace before it exploded in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, Army Radio reported.

The broadcaster did not provide details about any injuries or damage from the drone fire.

There was no comment from the Israeli army on the claim.

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Netanyahu blasted by Israeli opposition leaders

Various outlets report:

Labor Party leader Yair Golan has called Netanyahu’s ruling coalition a “zero government” that is dragging the country to an “endless war”.

In a statement on X, Golan called on the Israelis to stage daily protests against the government, adding, “Only continuous popular pressure will bring down this government,” he added.

Golan said Sunday’s missile attack from Yemen was a “reminder of the right-wing government’s ongoing failure”.

“Instead of closing battlefronts, this zero government is pulling us into endless war, eternal internal conflict and an abyss.”

Israeli opposition leader Avigdor Lieberman said on Saturday that the “inept” government of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to go to restore security in the north, after dozens of rockets landed in the north from Lebanon, Anadolu news agency reported.

“Another unbearable Saturday in the north, with dozens of rockets launched since the morning, while our leadership remains silent and ineffective,” the leader of the Yisrael Beytenu party wrote on X.

while criticizing Netanyahu’s government, describing it as “paralyzed and disintegrated” for neglecting the residents in northern Israel.

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National Anti-War group plans to protest Netanyahu’s visit to UN

CodePink press release:

On September 26, Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to come to New York and speak on the floor of the United Nations. The people of New York won’t let a war criminal carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people peacefully walk the streets of our city. We say: arrest Netanyahu for genocide and crimes against humanity!

IMEMC Daily Reports.

شاهد مزارعو دير البلح يبدؤون قطف محصول البلح pic.twitter.com/YLo3jlVpzt

— حسن اصليح | Hassan (@hassaneslayeh) September 15, 2024

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 15:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 15, 2024: at least 41,927* (41,226 in Gaza* – 11,308 women (30%), 16,715 children as of September 5. [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 701 in the West Bank (~148 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 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 300,000 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 (at least 37 of them children)**.
• 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 – September 15: at least 101,113 (including at least 95,413 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 15, 2024: ~1,453 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 289*** 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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