Gazans used as human shields, subjected to cruel new types of torture – Day 268

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Gazans used as human shields, subjected to cruel new types of torture – Day 268
Palestinians in this displacement camp in Deir al Bala, Gaza struggle to cool down themselves and their children amid soaring summer heat on Saturday. (screengrab)

Israel’s inhumane practices toward Gazan prisoners and civilians; hospitals about to shut down for lack of fuel; such Israeli restrictions long predate Oct. 7, see this 2006 video; Ben-Gvir calls for Palestinian prisoners to be starved, then shot in the head; new racist bill making its way through Israeli legislature; female prisoners mistreated; West Bank assassination; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Video shows Palestinian prisoners used as human shields:

Al Jazeera reports: Exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows Israeli forces using Palestinian prisoners as human shields during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

In some scenes, we can see one man clearly beaten and bloodied, with his hands tied behind his back, going up the stairs of a building that has been completely destroyed, searching for weapons or more Hamas fighters.

In that same video, dead bodies are visible all over the floor from when the building was destroyed. Additionally, we know that another prisoner was walking behind him with a camera strapped to his chest.

In another part of the video, we see Palestinian prisoners who are dressed in army gear, without any weapons, in some of these other buildings, [also] searching for weapons or Hamas fighters.

The Israeli military, tying a rope across the body of one Palestinian prisoner, forces him into a tunnel where he is being essentially suspended by this rope, which can be tugged by the army.

This is not the first example we’ve seen throughout this war of the Israeli army using Palestinians as human shields in either Gaza or the occupied West Bank.

[Israel has used human shields long before Oct 7, including a British woman in Nablus.]

TW: the video contains disturbing scenes.

 

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Horror stories of torture from Euro-Med Monitor:

Euro-Med Monitor reports: The Israeli army continues to use its tanks to deliberately run over live Palestinian civilians and crush their bodies, in addition to using civilians as human shields, in the ground operations of its crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip that has been ongoing since 7 October 2023.

(Read the full report here.)

The Israeli military is also using police dogs to systematically attack Palestinian civilians during military operations in the Gaza Strip. The dogs are also used to intimidate, beat, and sexually assault prisoners and detainees in Israeli detention facilities. Euro-Med Monitor’s field team has recorded numerous incidents of Israeli forces using large police dogs during military operations in the Strip, including mauling, urinating, and raping Palestinian civilians.

(Read the full report here.)

Israel is committing widespread massacres in the northern part of the Shuja’iyya neighborhood and the Jadaida area.

Our field team is receiving reports of dozens, possibly hundreds, of victims being executed on the spot or having their shelters bombed.

As of February, an estimated 17,000 children were unaccompanied and separated from their families. This number is likely much higher now, with our team in Gaza finding more unaccompanied children every day.
As of February, an estimated 17,000 children were unaccompanied and separated from their families. This number is likely much higher now, with our team in Gaza finding more unaccompanied children every day. (collage)

Gaza hospitals will face shutdown within 48 hours – Health Ministry:

Andalou Agency reports: The Gaza Health Ministry cautioned on Sunday that hospitals and oxygen stations across the strip will cease operations within 48 hours due to fuel depletion caused by the ongoing Israeli war.

In a statement, the ministry warned that “the remaining hospitals, health centers, and oxygen stations will stop working within 48 hours.”

The ministry noted that this situation is anticipated “due to the depletion of fuel required for operating generators, which Israel restricts from entering Gaza, along with other essential supplies such as medicine and food, as part of tightening restrictions on the Strip.”

It indicated that the fuel supply is nearly depleted, “despite the stringent austerity measures implemented by the ministry to conserve the remaining stock for as long as possible, given the insufficient quantities available for operation.”

The ministry urged “all relevant international and humanitarian organizations to promptly intervene by supplying the required fuel, as well as electrical generators and necessary spare parts for maintenance.”

Recurring fuel shortages have frequently caused hospitals to go dark, putting patients’ lives at serious risk.

Such Israeli restrictions long predate Oct. 7. See this 2006 video:

NOTE: According to a recent OCHA report, between 15 and 23 June, Gaza received an average of only about 3,200 liters of fuel per day, which is less than five per cent of the estimated daily requirement of 70,000 liters to operate critical water, sanitation, and hygiene services that remain accessible.

Hardcore Israeli minister Ben-Gvir calls for Palestinian prisoners to be ‘shot in the head’:

WAFA reports: Hardline Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails by shooting them in the head.

In a video statement, Ben-Gvir insisted that Palestinian prisoners should be killed with a ‘shot to the head’. He urged the passing of a bill in the Israeli Knesset for executing prisoners, promising to provide minimal food to keep them alive until the law is enacted.

The Israeli Knesset’s General Assembly approved the preliminary reading of the bill in early March 2023, which imposes the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners.

The proposed law, requiring two more readings in the Knesset to become effective, mandates courts to impose the death penalty on those “committing a murder offense motivated by racism and intending to harm the State of Israel.” [NOTE: Ironically, it is Israel, through its military, that has committed thousands of racist murders – killing Palestinians because they are not Jewish.]

In April, Ben Gvir advocated the killing of Palestinian prisoners to alleviate “overcrowding” in Israeli prisons.

NOTE: Israel holds 9,300 Palestinian political prisoners; 250 of them are children. Overall, prison conditions for Palestinians are horrific, and include systematic torture (including for children), in violation of international law and medical ethics. This torture has been ongoing since at least 1968.​​ Over one third of Palestinian prisoners are administrative detainees – prisoners held without charge, trial, or access to lawyers. Administrative detention is intended to be used only in “exceptional” circumstances. Read more here.
In addition to the above, Israel has reportedly detained at least 4,000 Gazans since October 7th, of which 1,500 have been released. Many were restrained so tightly for so long, that they required amputation of limbs; others were sodomized with burning hot objects.

Israeli Ministers Approve Law That Would Reserve ‘Administrative Detention’ for non-Jews:

Ha’aretz reports: Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a bill on Sunday that would effectively bar administrative detention, or detention without trial, for Jews, leaving it permissible only for non-Jews (i.e. Palestinians).

The bill states that administrative detention would be allowed only if there are “reasonable grounds for assuming” that the person belongs to a terrorist organization (see note below) “whose goal is to undermine the existence of the state or commit terror against its citizens.”

This would make it very hard to issue administrative detention orders against West Bank settlers who attack Palestinians, since they are not considered an immediate threat to Israel or its citizens.

The bill would also create a fast-track process for adding new organizations to the official list of terrorist organizations should administrative detention orders be sought for members of an organization that isn’t yet on the list.

Even without this law, the vast majority of administrative detainees are Palestinians suspected of terrorism. According to Prison Service data, 10 Jews were put into administrative detention between October 7 and the beginning of May, compared to 2,733 Arabs.

NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the racist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. 

Israel continues its war of starvation against 78 female Palestinian prisoners in Israeli Jails:

WAFA reports: The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Authority stated Sunday that the Israeli Prison Service continues its policy of harassment and punitive measures against female prisoners in Israeli jails.

They say these policies intensified since October 7th, 2023, when the prisoners were completely isolated, deprived of basic rights,  and subjected to starvation and denial of medical treatment.

Cells meant for five prisoners now hold ten, amidst very high temperatures and the removal of fans. Furthermore, guards deliberately close small window openings on section doors to prevent airflow.

There are currently 78 female prisoners in Israeli jails, including two pregnant detainees.

West Bank – Israeli warplanes bomb house in Tulkarm-area refugee camp, killing one:

WAFA reports: Israeli occupation drone bombed on Sunday a house in Al-Manshiya neighborhood in Nour Shams camp, east of Tulkarm.

Saeed Izzat Jaber, 24, was killed and five others were injured during the bombing.

Jaber was subjected to an assassination attempt on June 2nd, when an Israeli drone fired a missile that missed him.

Illegal Israeli settlements expansion plans raise alarm across occupied West Bank

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank express deep concern over the Israeli government’s recent announcement to expand its illegal settlements. The move, which grants Israel control over zoning and construction in neighbourhoods designated as Area B, formerly managed by the Palestinian Authority, has sparked fears among local communities about their future security.

FILM NOTE: The irony of Israel’s ruling is that, while it claims it is combating “illegal Palestinian construction,” in reality, all Israeli construction in the West Bank is illegal. As occupier, Israel requires Palestinians wanting to build to apply for permits from Israel – but Israel rejects their applications. This is especially true in Area C, where between 2016 and 2020, according to data provided by the IDF’s Civil Administration, 99.1 percent of Palestinian requests for building permits were rejected.

Turkish airport workers refuse to refuel El Al plane after emergency landing:

Times of Israel reports: On Sunday, a flight on Israeli carrier El Al en route to Tel Aviv was not allowed to refuel after making an emergency landing in Antalya, Turkey to evacuate a passenger in need of medical attention.

Turkish workers at Antalya airport refused to refuel flight LY5102 before it could take off for Israel, El Al said in a statement.

The plane then took off to Rhodes in Greece, where it would refuel before taking off to Israel.

The war on Gaza has severely strained relations between Turkey and Israel, with all direct flights between the two countries cancelled since October 7, but Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed the plane was allowed to make an emergency landing for medical reasons.

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Daily Reports.
Al Jazeera: ‘Happening again’: Guantanamo victims say Israel using ‘US-style’ torture.
Al Jazeera: India exports rockets, explosives to Israel amid Gaza war, documents reveal.

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JUNE 30:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – June 30: at least 38,429* (37,877 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 15,747 children as of June 17.

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 553 in the West Bank (~134 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. (Ralph Nader has estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.)

  • At least 45 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 – June 30: at least 92,339 (including at least 86,969 in Gaza and 5,370 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 – June 30: ~1,473 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 318 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.

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

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