Another “flour massacre,” another Israeli lie – Day 162

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Another “flour massacre,” another Israeli lie – Day 162
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of Shuja’iya, northern Gaza, February, 2024 (photo)

Israel’s fabrication doesn’t hide the truth; 25 NGOs denounce maritime corridor as an “illusion” of aid for Gaza and a glaring distraction from the real problem; newborns in Gaza are consistently underweight, stillbirths and neonatal deaths are common; Biden anticipates unacceptable invasion of Rafah, mulls how to respond; West Bank death

By IAK staff, from reports

ISRAEL CAUGHT IN ANOTHER FLOUR MASSACRE LIE – Euro-Med Monitor reports: The Israeli army is yet again attempting to evade responsibility for massacring Palestinian civilians who were waiting for aid supplies. Israel’s most recent “flour massacre” occurred Thursday night near the Kuwait roundabout on the outskirts of Gaza City, and left more than 80 dead and 200 injured, a number of whom are in critical condition.

Israel’s army has released a video clip featuring an armed individual, in an attempt to claim that Palestinian gunmen were responsible for the deaths of the recent massacre victims…Those interviewed all confirmed that they were subjected to artillery shells and machine gun fire from helicopters, quadcopter drones, and tanks.

The video clip does not absolve the Israeli army of its crime, particularly given the fact that the clip’s date as well as the identity of the armed person in the footage are still unknown. Under no circumstances should the Israeli army’s footage be considered valid and credible…

The Israeli army has frequently released manipulated footage to support its targeting of Palestinian civilians. (Read the full report here.)

NOTE: Israel has not proven itself trustworthy in its dealings. Among Israel’s lies are numerous atrocity stories about the October 7th attack that have since been proven untrue (more examples here). In addition, a number of the Israeli soldiers and civilians killed on October 7 were shown to have been killed by Israeli fire – a fact that is absent from the official Israeli narrative. The Israeli military has also disseminated false stories about civilians captured. Previously, Israel has been caught in many lies – for example, this and this and this.
Friday prayers in Rafah
Friday prayers in Rafah (photo)

NGOs DEMAND BETTER FOR GAZA – 25 NGOs have called on world governments to prioritize ceasefire and ground-based humanitarian aid in Gaza as deaths from malnutrition and disease rise.

“States cannot hide behind airdrops and efforts to open a maritime corridor to create the illusion that they are doing enough to support the needs in Gaza: their primary responsibility is to prevent atrocity crimes from unfolding and apply effective political pressure to end the relentless bombardment and the restrictions which prevent the safe delivery of humanitarian aid,” the groups stated.

Signatories include Amnesty International, Oxfam, Action Aid International and the American Friends Service Committee.

The US plan for a temporary pier in Gaza “is a glaring distraction from the real problem: Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege,” Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said.

“This is not a logistic problem, it’s a political problem,” the group added.

“The food, water and medical supplies so desperately needed by people in Gaza are sitting just across the border.”

NOTE: Electronic Intifada points out: Satellite images show thousands of aid trucks stuck at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, unable to enter Gaza because Israel won’t allow them in and Washington refuses to use any of its enormous leverage to compel Tel Aviv to do so, or to end the siege on Gaza.
The demeaning airdrops amount to humanitarian aid theater that does nothing to end the systematic and intentional campaign of starvation Israel and its American and European allies, with the complicity of regional regimes, are waging against Palestinians.
Satellite images taken on February 21 showed more than a thousand aid trucks lined up waiting to enter the Rafah land crossing in Egypt, most of them waiting inside the logistics zone being established east of the crossing.
Satellite images taken on February 21 showed more than a thousand aid trucks lined up waiting to enter the Rafah land crossing in Egypt, most of them waiting inside the logistics zone being established east of the crossing. (photo)
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up at the Rafah crossing near Gaza’s border with Egypt
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up at the Rafah crossing near Gaza’s border with Egypt (photo)

NEWBORNS IN GAZA – Babies are being born already malnourished in Gaza, says Dominic Allen, a representative for the UN Population Fund Palestine, who recently visited the Emirati hospital in Rafah.

Conditions at the facility’s maternity ward are deeply disturbing, he said, with a stark rise in malnourished newborns and stillborn deaths.

“The doctors are reporting that they no longer see normal-sized babies,” Allen told Al Jazeera. “What they do see though tragically is more stillborn babies and more neonatal deaths.”

A baby, hospitalised due to malnutrition and dehydration, lies in an incubator at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza
A baby, hospitalised due to malnutrition and dehydration, lies in an incubator at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza (photo)

US ON RAFAH INVASION – NBC News reports: The White House is considering options for how to respond if Israel defies President Joe Biden’s repeated warnings against launching a military invasion of Rafah without a credible plan to protect Palestinian civilians, according to one former and three current U.S. officials.

The discussions are taking place amid growing concern in the administration and frustration among congressional Democrats that the president’s pleas will simply be ignored. Israel this week inched closer to initiating an incursion into the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.

“Time and again, President Biden calls upon the Netanyahu government to take certain actions, and for the most part, time and again, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu ignores the president of the United States. And so I think that makes the United States look ineffective,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in an interview.

Now, Biden and Netanyahu have not spoken in a month. Their last call was on Feb. 15 and focused largely on Rafah, according to the White House.

NOTE: Around two-thirds of voters (67%) — including majorities of Democrats (77%), Independents (69%), and Republicans (56%) — support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza. Biden’s insistence on having a “credible plan” for Palestinian civilian safety in the event of a Rafah invasion – as quasi-humane as it may sound – does not line up with what Americans want. At any rate, Netanyahu has ignored all Biden administration demands thus far.
President Joe Biden speaks as he meets Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel, July 14, 2022.
President Joe Biden speaks as he meets Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel, July 14, 2022. (photo)

WEST BANK – Times of Israel reports: A Palestinian gunman allegedly opened fire Saturday at an Israeli settlement neighborhood in the West Bank city of Hebron, according to the military, before being shot dead by troops.

Video footage showed the gunman shooting from a cemetery before he was fatally struck.

NOTE: Since October 7th, Israeli troops and/or settlers have killed at least 433 Palestinians in the West Bank (116 children). Israeli settlements and settlers on Palestinian land are a violation of international law. Settlers, moreover, have a history of violence against Palestinians, often with the assistance of Israeli military forces.
Israeli soldiers are seen in Balata, a Palestinian refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank, on Nov. 23
Israeli soldiers are seen in Balata, a Palestinian refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank, on Nov. 23 (photo)

More news:

Middle East Monitor: Genocide in Gaza has laid bare the weaponization of donor aid
WAFA: Human Rights Watch calls for sanctions on Israel after failing to comply with ICJ orders

Translation: A Red Crescent volunteer documents the extent of the destruction in besieged neighbourhoods in Khan Younis.

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – MARCH 16:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – March 16: at least 32,078* (31,645 in Gaza* (72% women and children), and at least 433 in the West Bank (116 children). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 40,042 Palestinian deaths.

At least 39 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 13 from West Bank)

At least 31 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**

About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.

About 2.2 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are facing Crisis, Emergency, or Famine levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – March 16: at least 78,366 (including at least 73,676 in Gaza and 4,690 in the West Bank).

It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – March 16: ~1,403 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~574 were civilians, 373 or 337 were security and/or military forces, ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 249 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza;, 15 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

NBC reports: “According to the latest available IDF data… nearly 1 in 5, or 17%, of all Israel’s losses have come not at the hands of Hamas but from mishaps on its own side.”

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. 

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

For more news, go here and here. Broadcast news from the region is here.

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

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