Healthcare without health or care; Biden admin in denial about Netanyahu’s intentions, plans more weapons transfers; American Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church comes out against US military aid to Israel; Israel reportedly attacked Iran gas pipelines, and more
By IAK staff, from reports
Excerpt from Los Angeles Times op-ed: I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn’t war — it was annihilation:
I listened to my patients as they whispered their stories to me, as I wheeled them into the operating room for surgery. The majority had been sleeping in their homes, when they were bombed. I couldn’t help thinking that the lucky ones died instantaneously, either by the force of the explosion or being buried in the rubble.
The survivors faced hours of surgery and multiple trips to the operating room, all while mourning the loss of their children and spouses. Their bodies were filled with shrapnel that had to be surgically pulled out of their flesh, one piece at a time.
I stopped keeping track of how many new orphans I had operated on. After surgery they would be filed somewhere in the hospital, I’m unsure of who will take care of them or how they will survive.
On one occasion, a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head. These families were returning to their homes in Khan Yunis, about 2.5 miles away from the hospital, after Israeli tanks had withdrawn. But the snipers apparently stayed behind. None of these children survived.
Al Jazeera reports: Speaking in a televised address, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again come out against a two-state solution and an independent Palestinian state.
“We shall not bow down to international dictates in regards to a future deal with the Palestinians. Such a compromise should be through direct negotiations with no preconditions,” he said.
“How can we give recognition to such a state after the massacre of October 7. This would be a reward for terrorism,” he continued.
The stated policy of the United States, Israel’s closest ally and backer, is that a two-state solution should follow the end to the war in Gaza.
NOTE: In the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres: “the attack by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of occupation.. their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution.. have been vanishing.”
International law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, even 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.
Reuters reports: U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday he has had extensive talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days in which he pushed for a temporary ceasefire. The Biden administration has been prodding Israel to undertake a humanitarian pause that would allow for the release of hostages still being held by Hamas.
“I’ve had extensive conversations with the prime minister of Israel over the last several days, almost an hour each, and I’ve made the case, and I feel very strongly about it, that there has to be a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out, to get the hostages out,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
Thursday again told Netanyahu that he should not proceed with military action in Rafah without a credible and executable plan to protect Palestinian civilians, the White House said.
NOTE: The Biden administration continues to push for a humanitarian pause and a two-state solution, while Netanyahu has rejected both in no uncertain terms. Biden has yet to acknowledge the impasse.
Black Enterprise reports: The American Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Council of Bishops has urged the United States to withdraw financial support toward Israel amid its continued bombardment of Rafah. The coalition released the statement on Feb. 15.
Israel has trapped 1.6 million desperate Palestinians in the southern Gaza city called Rafah. Most of them are women and children. They have denied them access to food, water, shelter, and health care. After this torture, they plan to murder them. The United States of America will have likely paid for the weapons they use. This must not be allowed to happen.
There must be an immediate and permanent ceasefire between these two communities. We call for a solution to be negotiated by genuine representatives of the people of Israel and Palestine and condemn all violence as a means of resolving this conflict. Surely there is a grassroots solution that affirms the dignity and humanity of all God’s people in Palestine and Israel.
The tools of empire, colonialism, and domination will not solve the problems they created. The cycle of violence between historically wounded peoples will not be dissolved by the creation of more wounds or through weapons of war. We remain in solidarity with Jesus Christ of Nazareth, a Palestinian Jew, and the Prince of Peace.
We weep for the suffering being inflicted upon the children of God in the Holy Land and all the earth. We cry for freedom and implore those who say they love God to demonstrate a tangible love for their neighbors. We will travail in prayer and pursue justice until freedom reigns for all.
New York Times reports: Israel carried out covert attacks on two major natural gas pipelines inside Iran this week, disrupting the flow of heat and cooking gas to provinces with millions of people, according to two Western officials and a military strategist affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The strikes represent a notable shift in the shadow war that Israel and Iran have been waging by air, land, sea and cyberattack for years.
Israel has long targeted military and nuclear sites inside Iran — and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists and commanders, both inside and outside of the country. Israel has also waged cyberattacks to disable servers belonging to the oil ministry, causing turmoil at gas stations nationwide.
But blowing up part of the country’s energy infrastructure, relied on by industries, factories and millions of civilians, marked an escalation in the covert war and appeared to open a new frontier, officials and analysts said.
Al Jazeera reports: The Palestinian Prisoners Society says Israeli authorities are refusing to reveal the fate or whereabouts of people it detained from Gaza.
In a statement, the organization said, “134 days into the war on Gaza, and the ongoing genocide, our fears are rising that Israeli forces will commit horrid crimes to our detainees, especially as more testimonies are emerging from former prisoners, who say they were subject to torture.”
It added that the prisoners include women, children, and the elderly, as well as medics and doctors.
The Wall Street Journal reports the US plans to transfer more weaponry to Israel as it continues to bomb and kill Gaza civilians in staggering numbers.
The Journal noted an arms-transfer report was done by the American embassy in Jerusalem, which said “there were no potential human rights concerns with the sale”.
The arms-transfer report said, “Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and to hold security forces responsible that violate those rights. In the past, Israel has been a transparent partner in US investigations into allegations of defense article misuse.”
About 21,000 precision-guided missiles have been provided to Israel already since the war began in October, it said. Nearly 29,000 people have died in Gaza, mostly children and women, in Israeli attacks.
NOTE: The statement by the American embassy in Jerusalem opposes years’ worth of reports by globally recognized human rights organizations that have documented and published many human rights violations by Israel for years, as well as in the current conflict – including killing civilians, starvation of civilians, forced displacement, targeting hospitals and schools, and more
RECOMMENDED READING (Middle East Monitor): The bloodshed in Gaza excludes Israel from the civilized world
Statement from US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on Algeria’s resolution to demand an immediate ceasefire: “The United States does not support action on this draft resolution. Should it come up for a vote as drafted, it will not be adopted.”
“The United States is working on a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which would bring an immediate and sustained period of calm to Gaza for at least six weeks, and from which we could then take the time and the steps to build a more enduring peace.
“Over the last week, President Biden has had multiple calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, to push this deal forward. Though gaps remain, the key elements are on the table.
“All told, we believe this deal represents the best opportunity to reunite all hostages with their families and enable a prolonged pause in fighting, that would allow for more lifesaving food, water, fuel, medicine, and other essentials to get into the hands of Palestinian civilians who desperately need it.
“The resolution put forward in the Security Council, in contrast, would not achieve these outcomes, and indeed, may run counter to them.”
Al Jazeera reports: Doctors at Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip attempted to save the life of a fetus extracted from a mother’s womb an hour after she was killed by Israeli bombing.
Israel attacked the pregnant mother’s house in the Tal az-Zaatar area, according to footage obtained by Al Jazeera.
The medical team performed a caesarean section on Salam Sabbah and then fetal cardiac resuscitation. Despite the medical teams’ efforts, the newborn died from a lack of oxygen.
“What is the child’s fault for starting her life like this? This is a crime that is recorded among the crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people,” said Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
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WEST BANK: WAFA reports: Israeli occupation forces raided the funeral home of a slain Palestinian who was killed by Israeli gunfire earlier in the day, attacking mourners and leading to confrontations, said security and local sources.
Sources said that forces raided the funeral home of slain Palestinian Fadi Jamjoom in Hebron’s Jabal Abu Rumman area, forced mourners out and attacked them.
Forces further raided the homes of Jamjoom’s mother and brothers and banned them from holding a funeral or raising any banners and flags, spurring confrontations with youths in the said area.
A piece in +972 Magazine, “The obliteration of Gaza’s multi-civilizational treasures,” illustrates how, during Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, innumerable treasures of Palestine’s cultural heritage have been damaged or destroyed. Like so much of the rest of the besieged enclave, these priceless and beloved landmarks of our people’s history — archaeological sites, millennia-old religious structures, and museums with ancient collections — now lie in ruin.” Below are several photos from the article.
Pope Francis holds a private audience with Younis Al Khatib, President of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which provides humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and #Gaza.
Dr. Al-Khatib briefed Pope Francis on the catastrophic humanitarian conditions experienced by… pic.twitter.com/JCKRYSuMRA— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 17, 2024
#Rafah stands as the last line of Palestinian existence in Gaza, amidst the relentless anguish faced by the people trapped therein. How can we possibly allow another Nakba? Have we really lost our minds?? https://t.co/B1faTt4Skm
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) February 17, 2024
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – FEBRUARY 17:
Palestinian death toll from October 7 – February 17: at least 29,169* (28,858 in Gaza* (over 12,300 children, 8,400 women), and at least 394 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 36,671 Palestinian deaths.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – February 17: at least 73,055** (including at least 68,667 in Gaza and 4,503 in the West Bank).
It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – February 17: ~1,374 (~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); 234 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza;, 10 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
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