Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israeli forces reportedly killed at least 49 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The number includes at least five children who were killed in the Israeli-designated “safe zone” of al-Mawasi, and a 15-day-old baby.
The Israeli military claimed it targeted Palestinian fighters, and that “prior to the strikes, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”.
NOTE: Israel justifies every strike with essentially the same words, “the site was a Hamas command and control center”; it makes the same claims, “many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians,” often adding that it used “precise” munitions.
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Detained hospital director’s mother dies of heart attack: Reports
The mother of Dr Hussam Abu Safia has died of a heart attack, according to the Quds News Network and the Palestinian Information Center.
Israeli forces arrested Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, during a raid on the medical facility on December 27, accusing him of being a Hamas operative.
The 51-year-old pediatrician, who gained international attention for his video messages about the dire conditions inside the besieged hospital, has been held incommunicado in an unknown location ever since.
Gaza aid effort at ‘breaking point’, warns UN
The efforts of United Nations agencies to supply humanitarian aid in Gaza are at “breaking point”, a senior official has warned.
Aid efforts in Gaza are facing mounting obstacles as Israeli forces continue attacks on relief workers amid a breakdown of law and order in the war-torn enclave, the UN humanitarian agency’s (OCHA) chief said in a statement late on Monday. He also noted the threat from armed Palestinian groups.
Tom Fletcher, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said: “The reality is that despite our determination to deliver food, water and medicine to survivors, our efforts to save lives are at breaking point.”
The official noted an Israeli air attack had seriously injured three people at a known food distribution point where the World Food Program (WFP) partner was operating.
Israeli soldiers also fired more than 16 rounds at a clearly marked UN convoy at the checkpoint from the south to the north on Sunday, he added.
Armed Palestinian gangs are also hindering operations. They hijacked six fuel tankers entering from the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, leaving humanitarian agencies with hardly any fuel for aid operations, Fletcher said.
Is a ceasefire deal close? Depends on whom you ask.
Trump’s chief negotiator, the Middle East envoy [Steve Witkoff], has made multiple trips to Qatar to work with the negotiators.
He says that they are on the verge of a deal. He’ll be returning [to Doha] on Wednesday or Thursday.
The secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who currently works under [President] Joe Biden, has also reiterated that this [potential ceasefire deal] is something that they believe is on the verge of a breakthrough.
So you’re hearing it from not only Donald Trump’s negotiator but also from Blinken, but in the midst of all of this, they’re dealing with Hamas.
Hamas has been very clear, saying that there is not going to be a release of any of the captives as long as Israel continues its war on Gaza.
So, the messages that are coming out [from both camps] are very diametrically opposed.
Ha’aretz: Israel Blocks UN Probe Into Hamas Sexual Crimes From October 7 to Avoid Inquiry Into Abuse of Palestinians
Israel is blocking the United Nations from investigating sexual crimes committed by Hamas during its October 7 attack, fearing it would require granting access to probe allegations of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli detention.
A thorough investigation could have led to Hamas being added to the UN’s blacklist of entities suspected of sexual violence in conflicts.
Pramila Patten, the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, has requested permission to investigate Hamas’ alleged crimes. However, she stipulated that her team must also be allowed to access Israeli detention facilities to examine claims of sexual violence by Israeli soldiers. Israel has refused the request.
However, Patten’s office warned that Israel’s resistance to UN investigations into alleged crimes attributed to it could backfire: Israel’s approach could result in its inclusion on the UN’s blacklist of entities responsible for sexual violence in conflicts, while Hamas could remain off the list. Another source familiar with the matter confirmed these details.
NOTE: There are several reasons why Israel may not want this investigation: Israeli forces are already documented for wide, routine use of sexual violence, and Israel has yet to find a single Israeli rape victim from October 7th.
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Irony: Military option will not end Hamas’ rule in Gaza, says mastermind of Israel’s ‘Generals’ Plan’
A retired Israeli general who masterminded a plan for displacing [ethnically cleansing] Palestinians from northern Gaza believes that military option is not the solution to ending Hamas’ rule in the enclave.
“Israel must declare its willingness to end the fighting in Gaza in exchange for the return of all captives,” Giora Eiland told local radio 94 FM on Tuesday.
“The path to ending Hamas’ rule is not through the military solution, which has proven ineffective,” added Eiland, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council.
He said continuing the Israeli war on Gaza will lead to the death of more captives and soldiers in the Palestinian enclave.
“Except for the dozens of soldiers who will die every year under military rule, Israel will not achieve anything,” he added.
Eiland was the mastermind of the so-called Generals’ Plan, which calls for imposing a blockade on northern Gaza and forcibly displacing Palestinians from the area as part of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on the enclave.
According to Israeli military analysts, Israel has been practically implementing the plan since October 2024 without an official recognition.
RECOMMENDED READING: What is a war crime?
West Bank: Israeli Forces Assassinate 3 Palestinians
Israeli forces carried out a drone strike against a group of citizens, executing two Palestinian young men, on Tuesday at dawn, in the town of Tammun, south of Tubas.
Media sources announced that the young man, Suleiman Mustafa Qteishat, 18, succumbed to his critical injuries as a result of the drone strike.
Later in the morning, sources announced that a second Palestinian young man was killed by the Israeli bombing which targeted a group of citizens, in Tammun town.
The Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs was informed by the occupation authorities of the death of Abdul Rahman Mohammed Bani Odeh; Israeli soldiers retrieved the body of the young man and proceeded to confiscate the body, taking it to an unknown location.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man after invading the village of Al-Badhan, northeast of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank. Occupation forces also shot four Palestinian young men in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
Media sources said that undercover Israeli agents “Musta’ribeen” infiltrated the village of Al-Badhan, at dawn Tuesday, and opened fire at the citizen, Jafar Ahmad Faleh Dababseh, 40.
Amnesty Int’l suspends Israel branch, citing racism, hostility
The International Board of Amnesty has decided to suspend Amnesty International Israel’s (AI) membership in the global network for two years following the branch’s criticism of their recent reports, according to Israeli media.
“Amnesty Israel was given two reasons from Amnesty International for the suspension: first, the branch conducts itself in a racist manner against Palestinians; second, the reports and messaging coming from Amnesty Israel do not align with Amnesty International,” the Israeli i24 news channel reported on Tuesday, citing “a source inside Amnesty International.”
The source reportedly told the channel that there were “several disagreements” between the two sides, and that Amnesty Israel “has also been dissatisfied with the lack of emphasis placed on Israeli victims by the broader organization, which has contributed to the friction.”
The Jerusalem Post cited “leaked internal memorandums issued on Monday” that include allegations that the Israel branch “systematically excluded Palestinians.”
“We take this action in response to evidence of endemic anti-Palestinian racism within AI Israel, which violates core human rights principles and Amnesty values, and evidence of AI Israel’s misalignment with and hostility to Amnesty positions,” an email from the IB Amnesty International interim chair Tiumalu Lauvale Peter Fa’afiu reportedly stated, said the Jerusalem Post.
According to an executive at Amnesty, “Amnesty Israel had taken action against Amnesty International’s research, publicizing differing opinions against the 2022 report “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity” and the 2023 report “‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman:’ Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.”
He added that Amnesty Israel’s efforts “have been deeply prejudicial to Amnesty’s human rights mission, threatening our credibility, integrity and operational coherence” (continue reading here).
Ireland formally joins ICJ genocide case against Israel
Ireland has submitted a declaration to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide.
“Ireland, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” or South Africa versus Israel, the ICJ said in a statement on 7 January.
Under Article 63, any state party to a convention that is under judicial consideration has the right to intervene, making the ICJ’s interpretation of that convention binding on them as well.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin announced in December his government would join the ICJ case.
Israel closed its embassy in Dublin in response, while the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, described Ireland’s Prime Minister, Simon Harris, as antisemitic.
Harris responded by saying, “You know what I think is reprehensible? Killing children, I think that’s reprehensible. You know what I think is reprehensible? Seeing the scale of civilian deaths that we’ve seen in Gaza. You know what I think is reprehensible? People are being left to starve, and humanitarian aid is not flowing.”
Gaza genocide hidden by propaganda: American filmmaker Michael Moore
American documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has accused powerful propaganda campaigns of concealing what human rights groups describe as genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, following Israel’s attacks on the besieged territory.
Moore highlighted the ongoing humanitarian crisis in a film project called From Ground Zero that includes work by Palestinian filmmakers Aws al-Banna, Ahmed al-Danf, Basil al-Maqousi, and Mustafa al-Nabih.
The film project, which has been released in the US, features 22 short films spanning documentary, drama, action, and animation genres.
On his website michaelmoore.com, Moore further criticized media complicity, stating: “These are stories not being told anywhere. You do not see these stories on the evening news. Military leaders prohibit access so that journalists and filmmakers cannot bring us the truth.”
NOTE: As of this writing, Moore’s website is down.
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Middle East Eye: An Israeli army dog mauled a pregnant Palestinian woman. Then she lost the baby.
The mother of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has died today of a heart attack, as he has been missed for 12 days after the Israeli occupation army abducted him from the hospital. pic.twitter.com/orOTstBBvR
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 8, 2025
🚨A horrific night in the West Bank:
Israeli settler terrorists set Palestinian homes on fire in the village of Turmusaya, near Ramallah. This is part of a planned pogrom sweeping across the West Bank, fueled and backed by the Israeli government. pic.twitter.com/0bA3Fup9kP
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) January 6, 2025
🚨 Another horrific attack by Israeli settler terrorists on the village of Amatin in Qalqilya, West Bank.
Israeli settler terrorists are now carrying out pogroms in six Palestinian villages: Fara’ata, Amatin, Hajja, Turmusaya, Kafr Qaddum, and Funduq. pic.twitter.com/jesOSrA5Pa
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) January 6, 2025
Finally, the International Board of @amnesty suspended Amnesty International Israel’s (AI) membership for two years in response to the Israeli branch’s criticism of their recent report.
Was waiting for this for weeks. https://t.co/t68ygZ9RgI
— Ahmed Eldin (@ASE) January 7, 2025
Israeli soldier parades detained Palestinian workers
Israeli forces carried out a largescale raid against Palestinian workers in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Ram. Detained labourers were filmed being marched away by occupation forces, while individual troops boasted about… pic.twitter.com/b3zPPKCRF1
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) January 6, 2025
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – JANUARY 7, 2025:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 7, 2025: at least 46,778* – 45,936 in Gaza; in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers and/or settlers have killed at least 842 Palestinians (~172 of them children).
Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.
According to a report in the Lancet, by multiplying the reported deaths by five, it is possible to reach a conservative estimate of total deaths (including indirect causes like starvation and lack of medicine). Using the latest figure from AFP (45,936), it is reasonable to estimate at least 229,680 total deaths in Gaza since October 7th, 2023.
According to a recent report by the UN Human Rights Office of identified fatalities in Gaza, about 44% were children. It is reasonable to estimate that 20,212 of known direct deaths and 101,059 of the total deaths are children.
Palestinian injuries from October 7, 2023 – January 7, 2025: at least 116,274 (including at least 109,274 in Gaza and 7,000 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 – January 7, 2025: ~1,595 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 423*** (or 393) military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza (updated: Jan. 7, 2025); 46 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.
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS: Since October 7th, 2023:
- At least 54 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (at least 35 of them from Gaza).
- At least 43 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.
- About 345,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
*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.
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.
***The figure does not include the reportedly 59 Israeli soldiers – nearly 17% 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.
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