Israel undecided about Iran response, but carries on against Gaza, West Bank

Palestinians returning to Khan Younis, Gaza after Israeli withdrawal try to maintain their daily lives under difficult conditions, April 14, 2024. (photo)

Northern Gaza starts to eat again; others unearth dead bodies; Rafah attack postponed; Gaza land stolen as “buffer zone”; Iran accuses US, others, of hypocrisy; Israeli diplomat accuses Iran of Nazism; questions of whether and how Israel will respond to Iran’s retaliation; West Bank attacks, deaths continue; after all this, Biden pushes for extra Israel funding

By IAK staff, from reports

Gaza

Flour, other food supplies increasingly available in northern Gaza–for now

Al Jazeera reports: Moath al-Kahlout, reporting from Jabalia, northern Gaza, says markets are witnessing a small recovery after flour, food and supplies entered through al-Rashid Street.

“Finally, you can see flour in the markets, food, tomatoes and potatoes. Sellers have something to offer after more than half a year of being closed and markets destroyed,” he said.

“They have expensive products, but the prices are dropping every day, so today’s prices are cheaper than yesterday’s.”

He added that while the influx of flour is alleviating the long lines at the only bakery operating in Gaza City, people are still asking for the arrival of more trucks to solve the humanitarian problem.

Palestinians wait in long queues for hours in order to buy bread in Gaza City (photo)

Gazans discover bodies under sand mounds in Beit Lahia

Al Jazeera reports: The withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Gaza revealed the bodies, which were discovered under mounds the forces had erected in northern Gaza.

The bodies were shown in a video published by Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat and verified by Al Jazeera.

“The land had served as a temporary cemetery, and Israeli forces constructed their base by excavating the land and placing their sand barriers on top of the deceased bodies,” Shabbat wrote on social media alongside a video of the sand mounds.

In the video, several Palestinians can be seen digging the bodies out from underneath the sand and placing them on white burial cloths.

Netanyahu postpones military offensive in Rafah

Andalou Agency reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to postpone the ground invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, following an unprecedented retaliatory attack by Iran on Israel, the country’s public broadcaster reported on Sunday.

Claiming it to be “the last stronghold of Hamas,” Netanyahu has insisted on invading Rafah, where around 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge from the incessant attacks.

Despite growing international outcry over the invasion plan, the prime minister last week, “This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date.”

According to the public broadcaster, the postponement of the ground operation came after consultations with the Israeli security apparatus.

Destruction in the vicinity of Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza, April 2, 2024 (photo)

UN: Israel has destroyed 90% of Buildings in “Buffer Zone” in Gaza

Ha’aretz reports: A UN Satellite Center report published last week examined the destruction and damage caused to buildings within a kilometer of the Israeli border, where the army is methodically demolishing structures.

It found that 90 percent of the structures within the buffer zone have been destroyed or damaged since the images were last analyzed on February 29. That translates into 3,033 buildings completely demolished, 327 seriously damaged and 266 moderately damaged, according to the report.

The actual number in the buffer zone could be higher. Haaretz recently published an analysis indicating that the damage from the project extends 1,200 meters from the border, which is 200 meters further than the area the report analyzed.

NOTE: If fully realized, the buffer zone would reportedly reduce the area of the 25-mile-long enclave by 16%. The Biden administration is opposed to the plan and has warned against any proposal that would threaten the territorial integrity of the Gaza Strip, which at around 140 square miles is about the size of Philadelphia. In some places, the strip is less than 4 miles wide.

According to UN human rights chief Volker Turk, “Destructions carried out to create a ‘buffer zone’ for general security purposes do not appear consistent with the narrow ‘military operations’ exception set out in international humanitarian law.”

Iran

US, UK, France have shown ‘hypocritical behavior’: Iran’s ambassador

Al Jazeera reports: Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said, “In response to the Israeli regime’s recurring military aggression, particularly its armed attack on April 1 2024 against Iranian diplomatic premises” and in line with the second article of the UN charter, the Iranian military “carried out a series of military strikes on Israeli military objectives” using missiles and drones.

The operation, he said, “was entirely in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defense”.

He then highlighted the US, UK and France as having chosen “to turn a blind eye to reality and overlook the root causes contributing to the current situation”.

“In hypocritical behavior, these three countries falsely blamed and accused Iran without considering their own failures: to uphold the international commitment to peace and security in the region.

“They made unsuccessful attempts to use lies, manipulate the narrative, spread disinformation and engage in a destructive blame game.

“For over six months now, these countries, especially the United States, have shielded Israel from any responsibility for the Gaza massacre.

“While they have denied Iran the inherent right to self-defense against the Israeli armed attack on our diplomatic premises, at the same time, they shamefully justified a massacre and genocide against the defenseless Palestinian people”.

No direct Israeli injuries were reported from Iran's overnight missile attack on Israel — No direct Israeli injuries were reported from Iran’s overnight missile attack on Israel (photo)

Israel’s ambassador compares Iran with Nazis

Israel National News reports: Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, says: “From the moment I began my tenure here, in every speech and in countless letters, I rang the warning bell regarding Iran.

“I called on this council to take concrete action against the Ayatollah regime. I made it clear that Iran and its hegemonic ambitions of global domination must be stopped before it drives the world to a point of no return, to a regional war that can escalate to a world war.

“Last night, the world witnessed an unprecedented escalation that serves as the clearest proof for what happens when warnings aren’t heeded.”

He then said that Iran’s goal “has been and continues to be world domination by exporting its radical [Shia] revolution across the globe”.

“The Islamic regime of today is no different from the Third Reich and Khamenei is no different from Adolf Hitler,” he added.

US won’t join any Israeli retaliation against Iran, says US official

AFP reports: The United States will not join any potential Israeli counterattack against Iran following Tehran’s aerial assault, a senior US official said Sunday.

“We would not be a part of any response they do,” the Biden administration official told reporters on a call. “We would not envision ourselves participating in such an act.”

US expert Ambassador Chas Freeman points out: The Iranian attack was a measured response to Israel’s assault on its embassy, a breach of the ancient norms of international relations, the UN Charter, & the Vienna Convention.

Iran’s counterattack targeted facilities in the sparsely populated Negev Desert and Mount Hermon, which were directly involved in the Israeli breach of international law. Iran cited the UN Charter’s right of self-defense in mounting its attack

The Israeli attack was an attempt by the Netanyahu government to escalate its conflict with the Palestinians into a confrontation with Iran, hoping to draw the United States into the fray…

Israeli cabinet wants response to Iran attack, divided over timing and scale

AFP reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet favors a retaliation against Iran for its mass drone and missile attack but is divided over the timing and scale of any such response, Israeli officials said on Sunday.

The five-member cabinet, in which Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz have decision-making powers, met on Sunday and was expected to convene again for further discussions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, said Saturday that Israel is “at war” with Hamas. (photo)

‘This is the distraction that Netanyahu wanted’

Al Jazeera reports: The Iranian attack is a useful diversion domestically and beyond for Netanyahu as it shifted the attention away from Gaza and from the criticism Israel is receiving for the way it’s conducting the war, according to an expert.

“These last 12 hours are a victory for Netanyahu – notice what we’re not talking about today. We’re not talking about aid getting into Gaza. We’re not talking about the massacres in Gaza. No one in Israel is talking about the hostages any more,” Mohamad Elmasry, from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera.

“This is the distraction that Netanyahu wanted and we’re seeing sympathies in the Western capitals be reversed as they embrace the Israeli narrative once again,” Elmasry said.

Victims of an Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza, last week (photo)

U.S. urges Israel to “be careful and strategic” in response to Iran attack; Iran warns US not to get involved

Axios reports: During phone calls on Saturday and Sunday, President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he needs to think carefully and strategically about the danger of regional escalation as a result of Israeli retaliation to the Iranian attack, a senior U.S. official said in a call with reporters.

“We will not be part of an Israeli offensive against Iran. Our goal is to avoid escalation and a regional conflict and contain the crisis to Gaza,” the official said.

Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, has warned that an Israeli response to the Iranian military operation would be “much bigger”, according to Tasnim.

Bagheri said Iran conveyed a message to the US through the Swiss embassy that if it participated “in further aggressive Zionist moves through its bases or military assets across the region, and this is proven to us, its bases and assets and personnel in the region will have no security”.

West Bank

Israelis killed four Palestinian civilians in West Bank Friday-Sunday

Al Jazeera reports: Israelis have shot and killed four civilians in the occupied West Bank since Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Telegram.

The ministry said that more than 65 other Palestinians were wounded in the same period, with the majority of injuries caused by gunfire from Israeli forces and settlers.

The ministry said Israelis have now killed at least 464 Palestinians and injured more than 4,800 in the occupied West Bank since October 7.

Middle East Monitor adds: Another Palestinian was killed and two others injured on Monday by Israeli army gunfire during its raid into the occupied northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody; circumstances unclear

Andalou Agency reports: A Palestinian prisoner died Saturday in an Israeli jail, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

Abdul Rahim Abdul Karim Amer, 59, from Qalqilya in the northern West Bank breathed his last in the Hadarim Prison in northern Israel, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.

It said Amer had been “detained since March 17, 2023 and sentenced to one month in prison for allegedly entering the 1948 occupied territories without permission.”

The statement said the groups held “the (Israeli) occupation fully responsible for his death,” noting that ”the circumstances of his death is not clear.”

United States

Biden urges House of Representatives to pass aid bill ‘as soon as possible’

Ha’aretz reports: President Biden convened a call Sunday afternoon with Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker of the House Johnson, and House Minority Leader Jeffries to discuss Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel.

On the call, the President discussed the urgent need for the House of Representatives to pass the national security supplemental as soon as possible.

If passed, the bill would grant Israel $14 billion dollars in military aid.

NOTE: The US already gives Israel $3.8 billion every year in no-strings-attached military aid; in addition, the Biden administration in recent days has quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel.

All this is despite Washington’s opposition to Israel’s promised military offensive in southern Gaza, and despite Americans’ overall opposition to arms transfers to Israel.

President Joe Biden speaks to the National Action Network Convention remotely from the South Court Auditorium of the White House, April 12, 2024. (photo)

IMEMC: In One Month, Israel Killed 60 Palestinians From One Family

Ha’aretz: Netanyahu Owes an Apology Not Just to Biden, but to Jordan Too

The Hill: Majority of Americans want Biden to encourage Israel to cease or reduce military action in Gaza

IMEMC News Reports

The moment Israeli occupation forces bombed displaced Palestinians whilst they were trying to return to the north of Gaza Strip through Al Rasheed street.

FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG: https://t.co/4MMpM0Uh79 pic.twitter.com/wRHWF60IjH

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 14, 2024

The Middle East is on the brink.

The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict.

Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate.

Now is the time for maximum restraint.

Now is the time to step back from the brink.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 14, 2024

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – APRIL 14:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – April 14: at least 34,582* (34,108 in Gaza* (at least 14,560 children, 9,582 women), and at least 474 in the West Bank (117 children). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 40,042 Palestinian deaths.

At least 42 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 14 from West Bank)

At least 31 Palestinian children and several adults have died due to malnutrition**

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 Catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – April 14: at least 80,933 (including at least 75,933 in Gaza and 5,000 in the West Bank).

It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – April 14: ~1,407 (~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); 259 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza;, 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF also 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.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

For more news, go here and here. Broadcast news from the region is here.

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

Israel undecided about Iran response, but carries on against Gaza, West Bank – Day 191