In a population that treasures education, no school for Gaza’s children – Day 337

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In a population that treasures education, no school for Gaza’s children – Day 337
Palestinians conduct search and rescue operations among the rubbles of Salah al-Din school following the Israeli attacks in Gaza, Gaza Strip on August 21, 2024. (photo)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff 

Calls for UN to save Palestinian schools from Israel’s “education genocide”

WAFA reports:

On the occasion of the International Day for the Protection of Education from Attack, observed on 9 September each year, several Palestinian associations and institutions issued a position statement calling upon the international community and the Member States of the United Nations to take immediate action to protect Palestinian education from Israeli military attacks.

The position statement called for an immediate ceasefire and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, educational infrastructure, and called to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against education and children.

They emphasized the need for immediate UN assistance to protect schools, continue the educational process, fund programs to compensate for the education lost, to help provide artificial limbs, polio vaccines, and the opening of border crossings for the treatment of Gaza children in hospitals abroad.

According to the UN, 80% of Gaza’s schools have been destroyed or damaged, preventing some 620,000 students from completing their education.

At least 10,000 students have been killed in Israel’s ongoing aggression on Gaza, and 13,444 others have been wounded; 397 teachers have also been killed.

The interim report issued in March 2024 by the World Bank, UNRWA, and the European Union estimated the cost of damages to the education sector at $341 million.

Anne Irfan, author of Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System, adds,

Palestinians reportedly have one of the highest literacy rates in the world, and have a long-running reputation as the world’s “best-educated refugees” – a claim often made by international organizations as well as regional actors.

Particularly but not exclusively in the Middle East, Palestinians have long had a reputation as high-performing graduates, often proficient in at least two languages, and frequently going on to pursue successful careers in engineering, business, or medicine.

At the same time, the Palestinians are the world’s largest refugee population, with the longest-running case of protracted displacement.

Culturally, education has remained a top priority. More than 95% of children aged 6-12 in Gaza attended school before the war, and most graduate from high school. Additionally, 57% of students at the Islamic University of Gaza were female.

NOTE: Since the war began on Oct. 7, schools have been bombed or turned into shelters for displaced people, leaving Gaza’s estimated 625,000 school-aged children unable to attend classes.
All 12 of Gaza’s higher education institutions have been destroyed or damaged, leaving nearly 90,000 students stranded, and more than 350 teachers and academics have been killed, according to Palestinian official data.
Palestinians inspect the area after an Israeli attack hit the az-Zahra school in the east of Gaza City on August 8 [Anadolu Agency/Dawoud Abo Alkas]
Palestinians inspect the area after an Israeli attack hit the az-Zahra school in the east of Gaza City on August 8 [Anadolu Agency/Dawoud Abo Alkas] (photo)

Israel attacks 16 schools-turned-shelter centers in Gaza in a single month

Euro Med Monitor reports:

Since the beginning of August, the Israeli occupation army has bombed 16 schools being used as shelters in the Gaza Strip, 15 of them located north of Gaza Valley. Two hundred and seventeen Palestinians have been killed in the reported attacks, while hundreds more have been injured, a large number of casualties being women and children.

In the past week, the Israeli army has increased its targeting of civilians in the Gaza City and North Gaza governorates by bombing residential buildings, civilian gatherings, and commercial stalls there, in addition to shelter centers and their surrounding areas.

There is no legitimate reason to target schools above the heads of displaced individuals, and this act is a blatant violation of the principles of distinction, military necessity, proportionality, and the obligation to exercise appropriate caution.

Every time it launches an attack, the Israeli army attempts to justify its actions by claiming that it is attacking military targets, but it never offers any proof to support these assertions.

By killing and forcibly displacing as many Palestinians as possible from their land, these attacks are a part of the genocide being carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

According to preliminary investigations conducted by the Euro-Med Monitor field team, the Israeli army has deliberately destroyed all of the remaining shelters in the north of the Gaza Strip, including schools and public facilities.

This destruction has been committed with the goal of establishing a coercive environment, in order to compel the civilian population to leave their neighborhoods and evacuate to the central and southern sections of the Strip.

Palestinians inspect the destroyed building after an Israeli attack at the Et-Tabiin school where displaced people took shelter in the Ed-Deraj neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinians inspect the destroyed building after an Israeli attack at the Et-Tabiin school where displaced people took shelter in the Ed-Deraj neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Mahmoud İssa – Anadolu Agency] (photo)

Health Ministry reports 69% of children in Gaza vaccinated against polio

WAFA reports:

The Ministry of Health announced  today that 69% of children in Gaza, aged from birth to 10 years, have received the first dose of the polio vaccine – an achievement reached within seven days of launching the campaign.

As of Saturday evening, 441,647 children have received the vaccination. The campaign is ongoing in several areas.

Health teams from the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNRWA, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF, are persevering with the vaccination efforts despite the ongoing Israeli aggression and the significant challenges posed by the current security situation affecting the movement between vaccination centers.

A baby receives a polio vaccine in Gaza
A baby receives a polio vaccine in Gaza (photo)

How did Israel starve 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza so quickly?

Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, reports (excerpts):

Certain actions inherently increase the risk of starvation and indicate intent to starve a population.

The most well-recognized starvation act is the weaponizing of humanitarian aid.

This can be the restriction and blocking of humanitarian aid, or it can be using humanitarian aid as leverage for political negotiations or means to control local populations.

Prior to 7 October 2023, approximately half of the people in Gaza were food insecure and more than 80 per cent relied on humanitarian aid; the total siege [of October 9] was an immediate catalyst for starvation.

Israel made its intentions to starve everyone in Gaza explicit [on October 9, when it announced a “total siege”], implemented its plans, and predictably created a famine throughout Gaza.

By destroying and poisoning agricultural land, decimating ports and fishing vessels, Israel has destroyed approximately 93 per cent of the economy of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector.

Israel has not only denied and restricted the delivery of humanitarian aid and violated its obligations to ensure that the aid that is let through reaches the population, it has also created a climate of horror by targeting humanitarian workers and civilians seeking humanitarian aid.

The total siege that began on 9 October 2023 was a continuation of Israel’s 24-year blockade, and 75-year attack against Gaza’s food system.

(Read the full report here.)

Displaced Palestinian children wait at a food distribution point in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.Eyad Baba / AFP - Getty Images
Displaced Palestinian children wait at a food distribution point in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.Eyad Baba / AFP – Getty Images (photo)

In major Israeli security breach, Jordanian gunman kills three guards at West Bank crossing

Andalou Agency reports:

Three Israelis were killed in a shooting attack at the border with Jordan on Sunday, according to Israeli media.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said a truck driver opened fire at King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service said three men were critically injured in the attack before they were pronounced dead.

The alleged attacker was shot dead, Haaretz newspaper said.

The Israeli army said the attacker arrived from Jordan, disembarked, and opened fire on guards at the crossing.

Israel Hayom adds:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that “we will stand together. We will wield the sword of David together and with G-d’s help, we will win,” referring not only to the attack but also to the ongoing war against Gaza.”There are those who ask – ‘Shall the sword devour forever?’ [II Samuel 2:26]. In the Middle East, without the sword, there is no ‘forever’.”

“Generals’ Plan” floated to take over northern Gaza seems to ignore one important point

Israel National News reports:

The ‘Commanders and Reserve Soldiers’ Forum presented to the public the “Generals’ Plan” to defeat Hamas, which was written at the initiative of several generals and other senior officers, since the current strategy is not effective enough to overwhelm Hamas and get the hostages back.

According to the plan, the entire area north of the Netzarim. Corridor, i.e. Gaza City with all its neighborhoods, would become a closed military area in which the entire population, estimated by the army to be approximately 250,000 people, would be required to leave within a week.

“We mark two fairly safe exit corridors that will be secured by IDF forces,” according to the plan.” Those who leave will receive food and water. But in a week the entire territory of the northern Gaza Strip will become a military zone, and as far as we’re concerned, no supply will enter this military zone.”

One of the generals stated that “therefore 5,000 terrorists who are in this area would in this situation either surrender or starve to death.”

The forum stated that the outline complies with the rules of international law because it allows the population to evacuate from the combat zone before the siege is imposed.

NOTE: This plan completely overlooks the fact that Hamas has tunnels all over Gaza, and would be able to get not only food, but also weapons. The hostages may also be kept in northern Gaza.
Palestinians examine the destruction left behind after the Israeli army’s withdrawal in Tal al-Hawa, Gaza City [File: Mahmoud İssa/Anadolu Images]
Palestinians examine the destruction left behind after the Israeli army’s withdrawal in Tal al-Hawa, Gaza City [File: Mahmoud İssa/Anadolu Images] (photo)

Israel knows ‘nothing’ about tunnels in Gaza, says released captive

The Cradle reports:

Adina Moshe, an Israeli woman formerly held captive by Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, stated that the Israeli military knows nothing about Hamas’ underground tunnel network, Channel 12 reported on 8 September.

Moshe was taken captive by Hamas on 7 October and released on 24 November as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the US between Hamas and Israel.

Moshe said that after her release, she was debriefed by the Shin Bet (‘Shabak’), Israel’s internal security service.

“The internal security service asked me to draw a map of the tunnels in Gaza because they know nothing about them,” Israel’s Channel 12 quoted her as saying.

During a speech she gave during the protests in Israel, Moshe indicated that the Shin Bet had sent her an engineer on its behalf who asked her to explain what Hamas’ tunnels, telephones, and wires looked like, what their branches were and where they were located.

She told the engineer that “the tunnels in the Gaza Strip are a huge, huge maze that extends underground throughout the Strip, and military pressure will not help bring back the prisoners.”

Adina Moshe, an Israeli woman formerly held captive in Gaza, said, "The [Israeli] internal security service asked me to draw a map of the tunnels in Gaza because they know nothing about them."
Adina Moshe, an Israeli woman formerly held captive in Gaza, said, “The [Israeli] internal security service asked me to draw a map of the tunnels in Gaza because they know nothing about them.” (photo)

West Bank resistance: attempted car ramming south of Hebron

Al Jazeera reports:

There was a suspected attempt to run over Israeli soldiers at the Negohot settlement south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

Israeli forces fired at the vehicle, with one Palestinian killed and another wounded, the broadcaster reported.

There were no casualties among the soldiers, it added.

The Israeli military has effectively transformed the city of Hebron and nearby towns in the southern West Bank into what resembles a “large prison” by severing access with military checkpoints and iron gates, Palestinians told Anadolu.
The Israeli military has effectively transformed the city of Hebron and nearby towns in the southern West Bank into what resembles a “large prison” by severing access with military checkpoints and iron gates, Palestinians told Anadolu. (photo)

Senior Israeli officers accuse government of encouraging escalation in West Bank

Andalou Agency reports:

Senior Israeli military officers have accused the country’s political leadership of inciting escalation in the occupied West Bank.

The officers said far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are “directly responsible” for the rise in violence in the occupied territory, warning that the situation could spiral into a full-blown uprising, with many young Palestinians already facing unemployment and lack of opportunities.

“We are trying to prevent the population from fully joining the violence,” a military officer told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, adding that the ongoing Israeli restrictions have exacerbated tensions in the area.

Attacks on Palestinians by illegal Israeli settlers also push young Palestinians to join armed groups in the West Bank, the daily warned.

“This situation can’t continue. We are on the verge of a major explosion in Judea and Samaria (West Bank),” another senior military officer said.

The Israeli officers warned that provocations by government officials as Ben-Gvir’s intrusions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and his attempts to allow Jewish prayers at the flashpoint site risk inflaming tensions in the West Bank and the whole Arab world.

Last week, the Israeli army launched its largest military operation in the northern West Bank in two decades, killing at least 40 people and causing massive destruction in the area.

Palestinian Authority calls on UN to enact Int’l Court of Justice ruling, removing 500,000 Jews living illegally in the West Bank

Jewish News Syndicate reports:

The Palestinian Authority is circulating a draft resolution asking the United Nations General Assembly to urge Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria [Israel’s name for the occupied Palestinian West Bank] and remove some 500,000 Israeli citizens living in the territory within six months.

NOTE: Israeli settlements and settlers on Palestinian land are a violation of international law.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 on Sunday, the resolution, which cites a July 19 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, is expected to be brought to a vote next week.

The ruling declared that “Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law.”

The draft text also urges U.N. member states to impose sanctions on officials in Jerusalem, ban trade with Jewish businesses in Judea and Samaria, and block weapons sales to Israel if they might be used in the area.

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, attacked the P.A.’s move and called on the 193 members of the General Assembly to “outright reject this shameful resolution and instead adopt a resolution condemning Hamas, calling on it to release all the hostages immediately.

In related news, Reuters reports:

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a speech at the start of the five-week U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva, “States must not – cannot – accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the [UN] Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation.”

He cited the opinion released by the UN top court in July that called Israel’s occupation illegal and said this situation must be “comprehensively addressed.” Israel has rejected the opinion.

A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on August 17, 2024. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on August 17, 2024. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency] (Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency)

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STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 8:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 8, 2024: at least 41,662* (40,972 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 691 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 death 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 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 8: at least 100,461 (including at least 94,761 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 8, 2024: ~1,452 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 288*** 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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