Palestinian prisoner crisis; children dying of starvation, malnutrition; journalist under fire; West Bank deaths; Israeli security worries about Ramadan restrictions at Al Aqsa Mosque; Israeli “friendly fire”; Biden awaits “”credible and reliable written assurances” of proper use of US weapons from Netanyahu; mixed messages on Israel-Hamas-Biden agreement; US voters want a permanent ceasefire; Michiganders don’t want Biden; more
By IAK staff, from reports
Al Jazeera reports: Amani Sarhana, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoner Society, says the number of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel has risen from 5,250 to more than 9,000 since October 7 – and that excludes people detained in Gaza.
“The number of sick and injured prisoners is also growing because of the abuses against them since October 7 and the policies of torture and humiliation and starvation that Israeli prison authorities are pursuing,” Sarhana told Al Jazeera.
She added that it is difficult to know exactly how many Palestinian children are held by Israel because many children are being detained and some are released daily, but the group estimates around 200 minors remain in Israeli prisons.
RECOMMENDED READING (Mondoweiss): Thirty years after Baruch Goldstein’s massacre, his followers are now carrying out a genocide
Al Jazeera reports: A two-year-old Palestinian child named Khaled has died after eating bread made from animal feed in the northern Gaza Strip.
“The older children vomited what they had eaten and recovered”, Khaled’s grandmother Ibtisam Al-Kahlout said.
“As for the younger children, their condition worsened after they ate the bread,” she said.
The Palestinian health ministry said in a brief statement that several children suffering from dehydration and malnutrition have been received at Kamal Adwan Hospital. There have been growing reports of children dying in northern Gaza from lack of food and drinkable water due to Israeli siege.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum says an Israeli drone strike nearly hit him and his cameraman as they were driving a live news report location in Rafah.
We “were surprised by a drone attack just about a meter away”, Abu Azzoum said. “There was a loud explosion … luckily we haven’t been injured.”
He added that they were both “traumatized” by the attack.
“We are trying to take all safety measures but we no longer feel safe in Gaza, even in this area that was supposed to be a safe zone,” he said.
RECOMMENDED READING (Mondoweiss): New reports confirm months of Israeli torture, abuse, and sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners
WEST BANK – WAFA reports: Three Palestinian young men were killed by occupation forces in the city of Tubas and Al-Faraa camp, south of the city.
Red Crescent sources said that Ahmed Daraghmeh, 26, from Tubas, Osama Jabr Al-Zalt, 31, and Muhammad Samih Bayadsa, 32, from Al-Faraa camp, were killed, three others were wounded by Israeli fire.
Sources in the Red Crescent said that the occupation obstructed the work of its crews in Al-Faraa camp, and prevented it from transporting the body of slain Palestinian Osama to the hospital.
We recommend visiting the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) for more regional news.
WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM – Al Jazeera reports: Israel’s Army Radio is reporting that Israel’s military and Shin Bet, the internal security service, have called on PM Netanyahu to change his mind over the decision to restrict entry for Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
The military and security services cite the deteriorating security situation in the occupied West Bank as the reason for lifting restrictions.
Hamas had earlier warned Israel against such a move.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly barred Palestinians from entering Islam’s third-holiest site for Friday prayers since October 7, forcing many to pray on the streets near the Old City. In previous years, Israeli forces have also attacked Palestinian worshippers inside the mosque.
NOTE: In fact, Israel’s aggressions on worshipers at the Al Aqsa Mosque was one of Hamas’ stated reasons for its October 7th attack.
Ha’aretz reports: Israeli military tanks have unintentionally fired into Israeli territory on at least five occasions since the beginning of the war in Gaza, according to information obtained by Haaretz.
On at least two occasions, the firing caused damage to buildings. On one, a tank fired two shells into Kibbutz Hanita, on the Lebanese border. The platoon commander was dismissed from his post as a result.
NOTE: 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.”
Axios reports: The Biden administration gave Israel until mid-March to sign a letter, provided by the U.S. on Tuesday, that gives “credible and reliable written assurances” it will abide by international law while using U.S. weapons and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, three U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios.
The assurances are now a requirement under a memorandum issued earlier this month by President Biden. While it doesn’t single out Israel, the new policy came after some Democratic senators expressed concern over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. If the assurances aren’t provided by the deadline, U.S. weapon transfers to the country will be paused.
NOTE: Israel has not proven itself trustworthy in its dealings. Among Israel’s recent lies are numerous atrocity stories about the October 7th attack that have since been proven untrue (additional examples here). Previously, Israel has been caught in many lies – for example, this and this and this.
RECOMMENDED READING: Ignoring Immolators Lulls the Society to Sleep: Aaron Bushnell at the Israeli Embassy: “FREE PALESTINE!”
Al Jazeera reports: The State Department has backed Biden’s assessment that a deal that would see a temporary halt in fighting, freeing Israeli captives in Gaza and allowing more aid into the territory can be reached in the coming days.
“We do think it’s possible but … ultimately some of this comes down to Hamas and whether Hamas is willing to agree to a deal that would provide significant benefits to the Palestinian people that they claim to represent,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
However, “It has to be said so far, from the prime minister’s office, from the war cabinet, there has been no specific detail, no reaction, no response, no confirmation of any specifics of any deal in the works,” Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi reported from the occupied West Bank.
“In terms of what Israeli officials are talking about in the local Israeli press, they’ve been downplaying the significance of Joe Biden’s remarks. Last night, [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu was also reported as saying he was ‘surprised’ by what Biden had to say.”
A Hamas spokesperson said that, for any ceasefire deal to be acceptable, it must include:
-
- The return of people to their homes, especially in the north of the Gaza Strip
- The total withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gazan territory
- Support for rebuilding efforts
- Aid for Gaza’s population, particularly food and medicine
- A guaranteed ceasefire (Biden says the current offer includes stopping during Ramadan – March 11 to April 9)
- Palestinian prisoners being freed (one source says the deal on the table includes the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners and 40 Israeli hostages)
The New York Post reports that Aaron Bushnell told a friend he had secret knowledge of US troops fighting in Hamas tunnels under Gaza just hours before setting himself on fire.
The 25-year-old airman — who served in the Air Force’s 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing said that he had “top-secret clearance’’ for military intelligence data in the call to his friend Saturday night, he said.
“He told me on Saturday that we have troops in those tunnels, that it’s US soldiers participating in the killings,’’ claimed the pal, whose ties to Bushnell have been verified by The Post.
“His actual job involves the processing of intelligence data. Some of what he was processing had to do with the Israeli Gaza conflict.”
“One of the things he told me is that coming across his desk … was the US military was involved in the genocides going on in Palestine,’’ the friend said
A poll released by the progressive data firm Data for Progress has found that 67 percent of US voters support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, including 77 percent of Democratic Party voters. The Biden administration has consistently rejected calls for a permanent ceasefire.
The poll also found that substantial majorities of voters support making continued aid to Israel conditional on requirements such as allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza, committing to peace talks with the Palestinians and halting indiscriminate bombings to protect civilians.
The New Arab reports: On Tuesday, by voting “uncommitted” in the presidential primary, a coalition led by Arabs and Muslims in southeastern Michigan made a strong statement of resistance against US President Joe Biden’s re-election bid in response to his continued support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
As of 1 am Wednesday Michigan time, with around 81 per cent of the votes reported, more than 100,000 Michiganders had cast their ballots as “uncommitted“, largely as a protest against Biden’s Middle East policies. This number will likely approach the 150,000 votes that Biden won against Trump in Michigan in 2020, far exceeding the 10,000 votes that gave Trump his victory against Hillary Clinton in the state.
Stephen Zunes, a professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, told Al Jazeera, “What’s striking is that [Biden’s] position on Gaza is even more unpopular among young Americans than these other presidents including [Richard] Nixon and Vietnam.”
Meet Gaza’s 11-year-old war reporter Sumayya Wushah, who says she was inspired by Shireen Abu Akleh to tell Palestine’s stories. pic.twitter.com/a7vB99nkqa
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 27, 2024
Palestinian prisoner crisis; children dying of starvation, malnutrition; journalist under fire; West Bank deaths; Israeli security worries about Ramadan restrictions at Al Aqsa Mosque; Israeli “friendly fire”; Biden awaits “”credible and reliable written assurances” of proper use of US weapons from Netanyahu; mixed messages on Israel-Hamas-Biden agreement; US voters want a permanent ceasefire; Michiganders don’t want Biden; more
For our grandfather Khaled and the soul of his soul Reem,
For the 100,000 killed, wounded, and missing,
For the hope of a Free Palestine.
Vote “Uncommitted” on the Democratic Presidential Primary Ballot. pic.twitter.com/GDv8QG4SVi
— Abdullah H. Hammoud (@AHammoudMI) February 27, 2024
A statement from @RashidaTlaib on voting uncommitted in Michigan today. pic.twitter.com/xOfOcYTFQn
— #ListenToMichigan (@Listen2michigan) February 27, 2024
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – FEBRUARY 27:
Palestinian death toll from October 7 – February 27: at least 30,288* (29,878 in Gaza* (over 12,660 children, 8,570 women), and at least 410 in the West Bank (100 children). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 38,066 Palestinian deaths.
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 – February 27: at least 74,815** (including at least 70,215 in Gaza and 4,600 in the West Bank).
It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – February 27: ~1,391 (~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); 240 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza;, 12 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.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
For more news, go here and here. Broadcast news from the region is here.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
- Ignoring Immolators Lulls the Society to Sleep: Aaron Bushnell at the Israeli Embassy: “FREE PALESTINE!”
- No Access, No Information: Thousands of Gazans “Forcibly Disappeared” by Israeli Forces
- “Anti-cancel-culture” Bari Weiss has a history of working to cancel voices she dislikes
- These Are the Jewish Megadonors Helping Fund Biden’s – and Republican Congress Members’ – Reelection Campaigns
- If you love babies, this is a must-read
- A wave of new post-Oct 7th “antisemitism” bills completely miss the point
- CNN staff say network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to ‘journalistic malpractice’
- Facts For Peace: the billionaire-backed campaign attacking the Palestinian cause
- Top military expert Col. Douglas MacGregor warns against attack on Iran (video)
- October 7th myths are still out there, killing Palestinians
- NYT: Where Is Hamas Getting Its Weapons? Increasingly, From Israel.
- 12 Essential Facts for Understanding the Current Israel-Gaza Violence
- Falk: Israel used Oct 7 attack as a pretext for its plan to expel Palestinians
- Synopsis of ICJ’s decision on Israeli genocide, reactions, and take-aways
- The West’s complete contempt for the lives of Palestinians will not be forgotten
- Israel has repeatedly rejected Hamas truce offers
- Why the Guardian’s ‘Hamas mass rape’ story doesn’t pass the sniff test
- Israel’s torture and humiliation of female and male Gazan prisoners
- Coverage of Gaza War in NYTimes & other major papers heavily favored Israel, analysis shows
- Two reports debunk New York Times ‘investigative report’ of mass rape on October 7th
- Israel’s Assault on Gaza Is Unlike Any War in Recent Memory
- US poised to give Israel $18 billion in aid this year
- Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace
