Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Gaza Civil Defense reports retrieving bodies with hand tools, without protective gear
The Civil Defense Department in Gaza reported on Friday that its teams continue to recover the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel during over 15 months of mass killings using manual tools and without personal protective equipment.
Raed al-Dahshan, a spokesperson for the department, told Anadolu, “We are trying to break through the concrete surfaces piled on top of each other to reach the bodies of Palestinians buried beneath them using ‘manual hammers.”
Recovery teams often find decomposed bodies and are forced to handle them without protective gear leaving them exposed to disease or injury.
The Civil Defense spokesperson called for the “urgent entry of heavy machinery and protective gear to facilitate faster retrieval and proper burial of the martyrs.” Such equipment is part of the ceasefire agreement, which Israel has not been honoring.
Israel is only allowing in aid trucks carrying food, water, medical supplies and blankets. But it is blocking the entry of heavy machinery and mobile houses which are still lined up on the Egyptian side of the border.
BREAKING: On Saturday morning, the Israeli military reportedly bombed a bulldozer that was trying to remove the rubble of destroyed Palestinian infrastructure in central Gaza, despite the ceasefire.
RELATED: Gaza Ceasefire? Israel Has Violated It 270 Times—And Counting
Lancet: Life Expectancy in Gaza Cut in Half in First Year of Israeli Onslaught
A new study found that the average life expectancy in Gaza was nearly cut in half during the first year of Israeli military operations in Gaza. Tens of thousands of children have been killed in the bombing.
The paper, published by the prominent British medical journal, the Lancet, found, “life expectancy in the Gaza Strip decreased by 34·9 years during the first 12 months of the war, about half (–46·3%) the prewar level of 75·5 years.” It continues, “Life expectancy losses were larger for males (–38·0 years [–51·6%]) than for females, but nonetheless, females also suffered large losses (–29·9 years [–38·6%]).”
The authors say they only used data from those who were directly killed in the conflict and not indirect deaths. Often, indirect deaths exceed those directly killed in the war, and the authors predict the decrease in life expectancy is higher than what was shown in the analysis of the direct deaths data.
Prisoner exchange: most Palestinians to be released are from Gaza
The Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs has released the names of 369 Palestinians set to be freed on Saturday as part of the latest captive-prisoner exchange under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Only eight of those released will be welcomed home in the occupied West Bank, while four will return to their homes in occupied East Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Israel has decided to exile 24 prisoners serving life sentences to Egypt, denying them the right to return to their homeland. The remaining 333 were originally detained in Gaza following Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023 and will be sent back to the enclave.
Three Israeli hostages will be freed Saturday as well.
West Bank: Israel to continue assault on Jenin indefinitely, prevent the return of displaced people
Israel plans to destroy the refugee camp in Jenin and rebuild it as a suburb of the city, preventing more than half of its displaced residents from returning, according to a local Palestinian official.
“Officers from the Israeli Civil Administration explained to us that the military operation in the camp will continue indefinitely and that more than half of its residents will not be able to return to it after the destruction,” Ammar Abu Bakr, the head of the Jenin Chamber of Commerce, told The New Arab’s sister site Al Araby Al Jadeed.
Bulldozers have been flattening residential buildings, businesses and infrastructure in the besieged refugee camp as Israel continues its military assault on Palestinian fighters.
Some 26,000 Palestinians have been expelled from Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps, according to one estimate.
Following the destruction, the civil administration – Israel’s civilian governing body that administers the occupied territories – is now interested in re-opening shops and restarting economic activity in the city and has held talks with Abu Bakr and other local officials.
“I explained to [the civil administration] that we cannot invite people to lead a normal life in the city while all 14,000 residents of the camp have been displaced,” Abu Bakr told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
West Bank: Israeli forces killed several Palestinians on Friday
On Friday evening, Israeli soldiers invaded Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank’s northern part, and killed one Palestinian.
Medical sources have confirmed that the soldiers shot Adel Ahmad Adel Bishkar, 19, with several live rounds in the chest.
They added that Palestinian medics rushed the seriously injured young man to a hospital in Nablus before he succumbed to his wounds.
In related news, the General Authority for Civil Affairs, in a statement Friday, announced that three Palestinian citizens, including a child were executed in the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank.
West Bank: Israeli forces use UNRWA health center as detention site
US awaits Arab plan for Gaza, Trump plan remains default option: Washington
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the Trump administration is giving Arab nations time to present a viable proposal for post-war Gaza, adding, “Hopefully they’re going to have a really good plan to present to the president. Until then, the only plan is the Trump plan.”
Trump has repeatedly called to seize control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians to neighboring countries after Israel’s genocidal war to build what he calls “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
RELATED: A third option for Gazans: Return to their original land
Pentagon threatens to cut military aid to Egypt unless it accepts Trump’s Gaza plan
The US is attempting to pressure Egypt into accepting President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt, according to a report by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Citing Egyptian sources in Washington, the news outlet said that the Pentagon recently warned Egyptian military officials that it may begin restricting military aid, including supplies needed for weapons, if Cairo doesn’t cooperate with Trump’s plan.
Church leaders in Jerusalem denounce Israeli-backed calls for Palestinian expulsion
Christian leaders in Jerusalem have condemned proposals by Trump and Israeli officials to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza, warning of the “grave threat of mass displacement.”
“The people of Gaza, families who have lived for generations in the land of their ancestors, must not be forced into exile, stripped of whatever is left of their homes, their heritage, and their right to remain in the land that forms the essence of their identity,” the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem said in a statement.
They stressed that as Christians, they “cannot be indifferent to such suffering,” adding that the Gospel demands the defense of human dignity.
Trump’s EPA Kills Grant to Climate Nonprofit Over Its Support for Palestine
The Trump administration said Thursday that it canceled a federal grant to a climate nonprofit over the group’s protected First Amendment speech.
The Climate Justice Alliance, a nonprofit that organizes on climate issues in poor and Indigenous communities, was awarded a multimillion-dollar grant under former President Joe Biden’s climate infrastructure package. The Biden administration, however, later delayed that funding over the group’s support for Palestine, The Intercept reported.
Last month, the group received word that it would not receive the funding under President Donald Trump.
The Environmental Protection Agency, which issues the grant, previously said it was continuing to evaluate the funding. On Thursday, however, Trump’s appointee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency posted a tweet that seemed to confirm what the nonprofit has been saying all along: The government canceled its grant in retaliation over its public statements on Palestine.
“I just cancelled a $50 MILLION Biden-era environmental justice grant to the Climate Justice Alliance, which believes ‘climate justice travels through a Free Palestine,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin wrote in a tweet on Thursday. (The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading here.)
The Hind Rajab Foundation: Pursuing Israeli soldiers worldwide for Gaza war crimes
For over 15 months, Israeli soldiers have taken to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms to show off their handiwork in Gaza.
Now, this very evidence is being used to pursue war crimes charges against them across the globe, with the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation at the forefront of these efforts.
“You can’t massacre people, film yourself doing it, broadcast it to the world, confess to your actions, and then simply go about your life, sitting next to me at a cafe in Brussels,” says Dyab Abou Jahjah, president of the foundation.
He emphasizes that their mission is clear: “We are going after war criminals wherever they go.”
Abou Jahjah says that the foundation has gathered over 8,000 pieces of evidence related to alleged war crimes by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
So far, the Hind Rajab Foundation has sought to initiate nearly 100 cases against Israeli soldiers in 14 countries with universal jurisdiction: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Thailand (continue reading here).
‘Civilization has failed’: Malaysian statesman slams US, EU over Gaza genocide
MORE NEWS:
Middle East Monitor: The Gaza genocide and the unraveling of US hegemony
Anadolu Agency: Tech companies’ collaborations with Israel trigger AI ethics debate
Anadolu Agency: UN special rapporteur slams Trump’s sanctions on ICC as ‘direct attack’ on international justice
The Cradle: Israel blows up homes in south Lebanon, refuses to withdraw by ceasefire deadline
Drop Site News: Curfews, Roadblocks, House Raids—Israeli Military Entrenches Inside Syria
IMEMC Daily Reports
The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem speak firmly against the uprooting of the people of Gaza from their land. Will American Christians, who claim to care for Middle Eastern Christians, for once listen to the Heads of Churches and speak against this evil plan? pic.twitter.com/j2QFgiQcNR
— Munther Isaac منذر اسحق (@MuntherIsaac) February 14, 2025
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – FEBRUARY 14, 2025 (ongoing count):
At least 63,312 Palestinians killed, 118,638 injured – including:
- at least 62,403 killed in Gaza (~20,600 children)
- at least 909 killed in the West Bank (~180 children)
- at least 111,676 injured in Gaza
- at least 7,000 injured in the West Bank
WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 19, 2025 (Ceasefire):
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: at least 48,143 – including at least 47,283 in Gaza (~20,600 children), and 860 in the West Bank (~177 children). Palestinian injuries: at least 118,472 – including at least 111,629 in Gaza, and 7,000 in the West Bank.
Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: ~1,616 (or 1,590) – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 436 (or 405) military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
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- WATCH: Social Media’s Role in Israel’s War on Gaza
- What did Trump just say about Gaza, and what does it mean?
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