Israel has killed 1.8% of Gaza’s population – using American weapons – Day 308

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Israel has killed 1.8% of Gaza’s population – using American weapons – Day 308
Relatives of Palestinian children, who lost their lives following the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp, mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency] (photo)

The staggering death toll Israel has imposed on Gaza; update on horrific school bombing that killed 100: American-made weapon, Israel issues fake “terrorist” list, accuses Hamas of inflating fatality numbers; Israeli leaders speak openly about permanent occupation of Palestinian territories, tell US to mind its own business, support rapists over law; Uncommitted Movement says “arms embargo now”; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

Israel has killed 1.8% of Gaza’s population, official figures show

Andalou Agency reports: Israel has killed around 1.8% of Gaza’s population since 7 October amid a devastating war on the enclave, according to figures released by the Palestinian Center Bureau of Statistics.

In a statement, the center said more than 39,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

“This constitutes around 1.8% of the total population in the territory,” it added.

According to the center, around 24% of the Palestinian victims in Gaza were young people.

These figures do not include the approximately 10,000 buried under rubble and presumed dead.

Relatives of Palestinians killed by the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Relatives of Palestinians killed by the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images) (photo)

US weapon used in Gaza City school massacre that killed 100

Electronic Intifada reports: Israel killed at least 100 Palestinians at a school being used as a shelter for displaced people in central Gaza City on Saturday, according to Gaza officials.

Many of those killed were shredded or burned beyond recognition, as documented in horrific video and photos of the carnage. Others who were present at the school remained unaccounted for after the massacre.

Video broadcast by Al Jazeera showed what the broadcaster’s correspondent Anas al-Sharif said was an “indescribable” scene as a camera panned across a room containing countless bodies in pieces:

Ramy Abdu, director of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said that some of the supposed Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives that Israel claimed to have targeted at Tabaeen school on Saturday were known to be uninvolved civilians; some had in fact been killed in other locations in previous days:

The deadly attack destroying the bodies of dozens of Palestinians also came one day after the US State Department announced that Washington would provide Israel $3.5 billion for additional US weapons and military equipment.

Israel’s chief military spokesperson claimed without evidence that the number of fatalities given by Palestinian officials was inflated.

“This was verified by intelligence, and the strike was carried out using three small, precise munitions which cannot cause the scale of damage that the Palestinians are reporting,” the spokesperson said.

According to Al Jazeera, the spokesperson also claimed that “no women and children were present” in the area that was targeted by three bombs.

Israeli officials have told their American counterparts they used small munitions – as opposed to larger bombs – during the airstrike in Gaza specifically to mitigate civilian harm, a US official familiar with the matter said.

When asked about the strike, an Israeli military official earlier told CNN the Israel Defense Forces had used “three small and precise munitions that cannot cause the damage the Palestinians claim they have caused.”

CNN also reported earlier that Israel used at least one US-manufactured precision-guided bomb during the strike, according to weapons experts.

Footage of the aftermath filmed by CNN showed parts of an explosive device that Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, confirmed were from a GBU-39 small diameter bomb.

[NOTE: This “small diameter bomb” is housed in a 250-pound casing that is 6 feet long, with a 7.5-inch diameter. Its wingspan, when the wings are extended, is over 5 feet.
This is the same type of bomb that Israel used in its May attack on Rafah, which killed 45 mostly women and children in a location Israel had deemed safe. Again, the IDF spokesman claimed that care was taken to protect civilians, and precision bombs had been used. He added, “Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size,” implying that Palestinians themselves were responsible for the death toll.]
Here is what it looks like when this type of bomb explodes:

Netanyahu insists occupied West Bank is ‘part of our homeland’, saying Israel will not give it up

Middle East Monitor reports: Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that the occupation will not relinquish control of the West Bank to the Palestinians, putting the opportunity for a two-state solution further out of reach.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (photo)

In an interview with TIME Magazine which was published this week, Netanyahu stated that the occupied Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank are “part of our homeland. We intend to stay there”.

The Israeli premier reiterated his opposition to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, saying he would only allow limited self-rule for the Palestinians in the occupied territories while Israel maintains security control, as is currently the case as the Palestinian Authority (PA) is limited to administrative duties and partial internal security.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation controls the territories’ security, airspace, ports of entry, planning policy, and partly its economy and tax collection, giving Tel Aviv overwhelming advantages and leverage in the dynamic.

“We don’t rule their land. We don’t run Ramallah. We don’t run Jenin”, Netanyahu claimed. “But we go in and take action when we have to prevent terrorism”, referring to the Palestinian resistance fighters and factions that inhabit the West Bank towns and cities.

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. 

Ben Gvir calls for Gaza Strip to be under Israeli control ‘permanently’

Middle East Eye reports: Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted a message on X, calling for Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip permanently.

Ben Gvir voiced his opposition to US-backed ceasefire efforts, saying that Hamas must be “crushed” until it “completely surrenders”.

He proposed halting all humanitarian aid and fuel shipments into Gaza until all Israeli captives held by Hamas were released.

Ben Gvir also urged Israeli authorities to “encourage emigration” and advocated for permanent Israeli control over the Gaza Strip.

“Encourage emigration and occupy the territories of the Gaza Strip in order to keep them in our hands permanently. It’s in our hands,” he wrote.

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