Famine everywhere now in Gaza; Palestinian detainees continue to report horrific torture; West Bank property for sale to American Jews; Lobby Watch: Avril Haines claims Iran is funding Gaza war protests; Archbishop of Canterbury weighs in on Gaza; Israeli violence all over West Bank; Netanyahu “deliberately complicates truce talks”; Israel runs low on ammo; more.
By IAK staff, from reports.
UN experts declare famine has spread throughout Gaza Strip
UN: The recent deaths of more Palestinian children due to hunger and malnutrition leaves no doubt that famine has spread across the entire Gaza strip, a group of independent experts* said today.
“Fayez Ataya, who was barely six months old, died on 30 May 2024 and 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi died on 1 June 2024 at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. Nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida died on 3 June 2024 in the tent sheltering his displaced family in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis. All three children died from malnutrition and lack of access to adequate healthcare,” the experts said.
“With the death of these children from starvation despite medical treatment in central Gaza, there is no doubt that famine has spread from northern Gaza into central and southern Gaza.”
The experts said the death of a child from malnutrition and dehydration indicates that health and social structures have been attacked and are critically weakened. “When the first child dies from malnutrition and dehydration, it becomes irrefutable that famine has taken hold,” the experts said.
“We declare that Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza. We call upon the international community to prioritise the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire.”
“When a 2-month-old baby and 10-year-old Yazan Al Kafarneh died of hunger on 24 February and 4 March respectively, this confirmed that famine had struck northern Gaza. The whole world should have intervened earlier to stop Israel’s genocidal starvation campaign and prevented these deaths,” the experts said. “Thirty-four Palestinians have died from malnutrition since 7 October, the majority being children. Inaction is complicity.”
Palestinian detainees subjected to abuse, humiliation in Israeli jails, says human rights organization
WAFA reports: New testimonies sent by Physicians for Human Rights to the occupation prison authorities, calling on them to “put an end to the use of systematic violence against Palestinian detainees, reveal a pattern of severe violations practiced by prison guards against them.”
The organization sent to the occupation authorities 14 testimonies collected during the last two months by lawyers who, on behalf of the organization, visited prisoners in the Katziot, Nafha, and Ramon prisons.
Testimonies show a similar pattern of violence: “Assaults occur outside cells in areas where there are no surveillance cameras, and often occur while detainees go to the clinic, to visit lawyers, or to attend court sessions.”
According to reports, “these acts of violence include serious physical assaults, severe bruising, sexual harassment and intimidation, in addition to other humiliating acts and various threats. In many cases, these violent attacks cause health, physical and psychological problems that last for long periods.”
KHAN YUNIS, GAZA – JUNE 25: Palestinian prisoner Rami Abu Mustafa, arrested by Israeli forces during operation in Khan Yunis months ago, receives medical treatment at Gaza European Hospital, Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 25, 2024. Disabled man, sustained injuries on various parts of his body and lost his vision as he stays in a serious condition at hospital. (Photo by Hani Alshaer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Palestinian emerges in harsh and shocking health condition after months in Israeli detention
WAFA reports: Palestinian prisoner Ma’zuz Abayat Tuesday evening emerged in harsh and shocking health condition after serving months in Israeli detention, according to the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
PPS said in a press statement that Israeli occupation authorities released 37-year-old Abayat, a resident of Bethlehem, from the an-Naqab desert prison in very poor and shocking health condition after serving nine months under administrative detention.
It added that during his term of imprisonment since October 2023, Abayat was subject to severe beating, particularly to the feet, and as well as to a series of torture, starvation and medical crimes, which manifested and evidenced in his appearance upon his release. Such torture, starvation and crimes have been the central reasons for the death of Palestinian prisoners after October 7.
The first words Abayat uttered after his release was that he was “subjected to attempted murder” more than once, the PPS added.
The companies making it easy to buy in a West Bank settlement
The Intercept reports: In late June, a company called My Israel Home hosted an expo at a Los Angeles synagogue catering to a specific clientele: Jewish Americans looking to buy a new home in Israel — or on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Similar real estate fairs have popped up across North America this year, in places such as Montreal, Toronto, New Jersey, Baltimore, and Brooklyn, and several have faced protests as the war on Gaza has brought the issue of Israeli settlements and Palestinian sovereignty to the fore.
An outbreak of violence at the LA event thrust the incident into the national spotlight. Protesters at the Adas Torah synagogue, who decried the sale of what they called “stolen land,” were met by pro-Israel counterprotesters on the West LA streets. Fights broke out among demonstrators, LA police said, while protesters reported being beaten by police with batons.
The fracas was cast in the national media as an incident of violence at a place of worship, rather than a political protest at a corporate event, prompting political leaders from both parties, including President Joe Biden, to characterize the demonstration as antisemitic. The Justice Department said it is investigating the incident.
But homebuyers interested in purchasing a property in the occupied West Bank have a more convenient option for making an offer: a simple scroll through online listings.
On websites largely tailored for Jewish American buyers looking to move to Israel, prospective homeowners can browse properties that include listings for homes in settlement communities, which offer the typical trappings of suburban life.
(Read the full article here.)
Archbishop of Canterbury condemns closure of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City
West Bank – Israeli forces kill 13 year old near Ramallah
WAFA reports: A thirteen-year-old child was killed today after being shot by Israeli forces’ gunfire in the town of Deir Abu Mash’al, in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate.
According to the Ministry of Health, the child, who was identified as Ghassan Gharib Zahran, succumbed to critical wounds he sustained after being shot by Israeli soldiers.
West Bank – School built with international aid reportedly demolished
A school for Palestinian children demolished by Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank’s southern Hebron Hills was funded by a consortium of donor governments from Europe, the UK and Canada, according to reports.
Commenting on the school demolition, Martin Konecny, director of the Brussels-based EuMEP (European Middle East Project) advocacy group, said the unwillingness of governments “to hold Israel to account is emboldening it to continue and accelerate these crimes”.
Yehuda Shaul, co-director of Ofek – The Israeli Center for Public Affairs, said “international aid was not enough to stop the Israeli authorities” from destroying the school that had catered to 60 children from kindergarten to fourth grade.
@MartinKonecny you're right. The school was built from international aid given by various international donors. Here's a picture of the sign of donors that was stuck on the now demolished school building. https://t.co/jSUfBbyoqK pic.twitter.com/apODtfZauD
— Yehuda Shaul (@YehudaShaul) July 9, 2024
West Bank – Israeli forces surround refugee camps, hospitals in Tulkarem
Israeli army vehicles have reportedly surrounded refugee camps and hospitals as part of a large raid on Tulkarem city in the occupied West Bank.
Here’s what we know:
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- Israeli military vehicles are currently stationed outside the Thabet Thabet Governmental and Al-Israa Specialised Hospitals in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reports.
- Israeli forces have set up checkpoints at all entrances to the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in Tulkarem and imposed curfews on residents there.
- The Israeli military is blocking internet access in Tulkarem and both of the refugee camps and Israeli soldiers have detained journalists trying to cover the operation and confiscated their identity documents, Wafa reports.
- Israeli military bulldozers have begun tearing up infrastructure, just more than a week after they destroyed several roads in the Nur Shams camp.
- The latest raid comes after at least eight Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids on Tulkarem and its refugee camps in recent days. A Palestinian woman and a child were among the victims.
Netanyahu deliberately complicates truce talks ‘to wink at his political base’: Lapid
Al Jazeera reports: Opposition leader Yair Lapid has told Israel’s 103FM radio that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a list of non-negotiable conditions for Israel to accept any ceasefire deal for his political games.
“Unnecessary damage … it’s a complicated negotiation even without Netanyahu deliberately complicating it to wink at his political base,” Lapid said.
His comments came a day after he reiterated to the Israeli prime minister that he would guarantee a parliamentary safety net should Netanyahu sign an agreement and therefore lose the support of two far-right ministers.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich oppose any ceasefire deal.
Israel’s munition shortage worsens as western states impose ‘informal boycott’
Israeli business publication Calcalist reports: Israel’s Ministry of Defense and its military are concerned about the possibility of a shortage of ammunition after several countries have informally stopped trading with Israel. Major suppliers of raw materials for making bombs have also stopped selling these to Israel.
The defense system’s solution to this boycott is the diversification of suppliers, the purchase ahead of time of a stock of raw materials that will be used in the future to make bombs, and the creation of huge reserves of raw materials in Israel.
Since the outbreak of the war, more and more reports have been received about countries and companies wishing to reduce or limit defense trade with Israel. Among other things, a problem was reported in the supply of F-35 spare parts with Dutch suppliers; the governments of Italy, Canada and Belgium announced the cessation of defense exports to Israel; the Spanish government even prevented a ship carrying a shipment containing 27 tons of explosive material from India to Israel from docking on the country’s shores.
On the other hand, Calcalist has also learned that Serbia has begun selling raw materials used by the Israeli defense industry.
All in all, Israel is in a difficult situation in terms of ammunition, and is trying to conserve its supply in case of a flare-up on the Lebanon border.
US citizen training Israeli military to operate drones injured near Lebanon border
Al Jazeera reports: A US citizen injured by Hezbollah rocket fire in northern Israel was reportedly teaching Israeli reservists how to use drones, according to Israel’s Ynet news site.
The 31-year-old employee of a drone company was “seriously injured” in the attack on the Western Galilee region of Israel on Sunday, Ynet added.
According to the US CBS news, a spokesperson from the US State Department confirmed that an American civilian had been injured, but did not provide any further details.
Lobby Watch: Avril Haines claims Iran is influencing and funding Gaza war protests
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 15: Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on April 15, 2021 in Washington, D.C. The hearing follows the release of an unclassified report by the intelligence community detailing the U.S. and its allies will face “a diverse array of threats” in the coming year, with aggression by Russia, China and Iran. (Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)
Jewish Insider reports: “Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Tuesday that the Iranian government has both provoked and provided funding for protests in the U.S. over the war in Gaza.
“The statement doesn’t specifically say which protests have been influenced by Iranian actors, how much funding has been provided and for what purpose, when the influence operations began or what the viewpoints of the protesters in question have been.”
Israel’s Jerusalem Post newspaper lists Haines number five in its 50 Most Influential Jews of 2021. Her “father once wrote in an account about a trip with Haines to Israel that she identifies as Jewish.” (Also here and here and here.)
Haines has been accused of being involved in a number of controversial activities, including the extrajudicial killing of civilians, covering up hacking of Congress, covering up torture, being a member of “consulting firm WestExec (“They avoid becoming registered lobbyists or foreign agents and are instead becoming strategic consultants”), and promoting the Russian threat hoax.
Israel and its partisans have long targeted Iran.
MORE NEWS:
IMEMC Daily Reports.
The Cradle: Israeli army’s ‘lasting occupation’ of Gaza lays ground for Jewish settlement: Report
Al Jazeera: Two terrified families’ desperation as Israel orders Gaza City evacuation
Mondoweiss: Huge majority of Middle East scholars say Gaza onslaught is ‘akin to genocide,’ but they self-censor their views
Palestine Chronicle: War on Intellectuals – France Arrests Renowned Political Scientist for Gaza Solidarity
A settler elbows an Israeli activist in the head and calmly walks away while soldiers on the scene look on.
This all took place yesterday on private Palestinian land near the village of a-Twani in Masafer Yatta.pic.twitter.com/0XQq0ebRC4— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) July 8, 2024
It's sick how the government of Israel intentionally targets Palestinian civilians over & over again while world leaders watch and say absolutely nothing. Some even fund it proudly.
This is genocide.
Targeting civilians like this is a war crime. ICC, where are the arrest… https://t.co/25gtXCJRpP— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) July 9, 2024
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JULY 9:
Palestinian death toll from October 7 – July 9: at least 38,764* (38,193 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 15,747 children as of June 17. [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 572 in the West Bank (~137 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 45,223 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 46 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
- At least 40 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
- About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
- 2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – July 9: at least 93,323 (including at least 87,903 in Gaza and 5,420 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 – July 9: ~1,478 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 324 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.
Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.
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.
† 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.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
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- ‘Buying Our Own Stolen Water’ in Bethlehem – Scorching Summer Awaits Palestinians in the West Bank
- Israel’s covert info bots targeting America met with hypocritical silence
- AIPAC: Has the pro-Israel lobby bribed and bought the US Democratic Party?
- Israel’s war on Gaza is the deadliest conflict on record for journalists.
- Israeli army hits Gaza family, uses them as human shields, and runs over their mother.
- Strangling Israeli restrictions were in place long before October 7th.
- The day Israeli tanks fired directly at AFP’s Gaza Bureau.
- The craziest ‘pro-Israel’ votes on the Hill today.
- Israeli documents show expansive government effort to shape US discourse around Gaza war.
- Why As A Christian, I Won’t Be Condemning Hamas Anytime Soon.
- Is “Israel Has a Right to Defend Itself” Code for “We Are Killing the Geneva Conventions”?
- ‘I heard all of my friends’ last breath’: Testimonies from the Nuseirat massacre.
- Rep. Thomas Massie: Every congressperson has an AIPAC babysitter.
- (VIDEO) Col. Douglas Macgregor: US seen as taking orders from Netanyahu.
- UN finds at least 14 Israelis likely intentionally killed by own army on October 7.
- ADL faces Wikipedia ban over reliability concerns on Israel, antisemitism.
- Fear, hunger and displacement follows Israel’s worsening abuse of Palestinians in Hebron.
- Rafah Attack: Netanyahu’s Lies Expose The Truth About Israel.
- Veterans For Peace: U.S. Army Major Quits Over Israel.
- While Gaza suffers physical genocide, the West Bank faces economic genocide.
- The Palestinians’ Ironclad, Inalienable Right To Resist.
- Candace Owens & Briahna Joy Gray say criticism of Israel is “red line” for media.
- The night Israel killed my family.
- A Deluge of Pro-Israel PAC Donations in 2024 Elections.
- The Destruction, Starvation and Death in Gaza Are Israel’s Defeat.
- Trump Is Desperate for Miriam Adelson’s Cash. Her Condition: West Bank Annexation.
- Nuseirat massacre: Slaughtered Palestinians do not exist for West’s media.
