November 19: Today’s news on Palestine & Israel – Day 44

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November 19: Today’s news on Palestine & Israel – Day 44
Israeli soldiers walk through a destroyed neighborhood in Gaza. (photo)

Fuel, humanitarian, preemie baby, hostage updates, recent bombardments, journalist deaths, West Bank news, Israel’s new racist legislation, and more

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here. For more news, go here and here. Live broadcast news from the region is here.

Some people are led to be skeptical of the Al Jazeera news network. However, the network has won several Emmys, a Peabody and the Overseas Press Association’s Edward R. Murrow award, among many other honors. The New York Times reports that “its reporting hews to international journalistic standards and provides a unique view on events in the Middle East.” it’s important to remember that all news sources may potentially have bias. For example, CNN uses anchors who used to work for the Israel Lobby, who have lifelong attachment to Israel, and who often exhibit pro-Israel spin and omission in their broadcasts. Similarly, Fox News is strongly influenced by Rupert Murdoch, who has a similarly strong attachment to Israel, and who may have fired Tucker Carlson, the network’s most popular host, in part due to the host’s opposition to war and his pattern of failing to exhibit sufficient devotion to Israel).

Latest statistics:

Palestinian death toll: 12,044* (~11,829 in Gaza** (including at least 5,000 children and 3,300 women), and at least 215 in the West Bank). *IAK does not yet include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile is being disputed; although much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, experts are still looking into the incident. Israel is blocking an international investigation.

Palestinian injuries: 35,078** (including at least 32,300 in Gaza** and 2,778 in the West Bank). **NOTE: it is impossible to offer an accurate number of injuries in Gaza due to the ongoing bombardment and communication disruption. 

It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. About 1.6 million people have been displaced; 6,000 are missing (4,000 children) and presumed to be under rubble.

Israel has now killed more Palestinians in a little over a month than in all the previous 22 years combined.

Reported Israeli death toll has been reduced to ~1,200*** (The Israeli spokesman said the original figure of deaths on March 7 was an “initial estimate” – 3 killed in West Bank, 66 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and ~5,400 injured). The names of the 1,191 identified (about 30 of them children) are here.

***NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel may have been caused by Israeli soldiers; additionally, since Israel has a policy of universal conscription, it is unknown how many of those attending the outdoor rave a few miles from Gaza on stolen Palestinian land were Israeli soldiers.

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

Fuel update: During a lengthy cabinet meeting, Israeli PM Netanyahu explained to disgruntled ministers why he’d decided to allow two daily trucks of fuel to enter Gaza. Apparently it is not for humanitarian reasons: he explained that without such a move, Israel would have lost international legitimacy to continue its military operation inside the strip, and could have been suspected of committing “war crimes.” (07:30 GMT)

A delivery of 123,000 liters (32,493 gallons) of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, the UN is reporting. (02:25 GMT)

Humanitarian update: Apart from the three fuel trucks, no humanitarian supplies entered Gaza through Egypt on 18 November.

Thirty-one prematurely born babies have been evacuated from al-Shifa Hospital and taken to the European and Nasser hospitals in the south.The 31 premature babies evacuated from al-Shifa have been transferred to 2 hospitals in southern Gaza, although there is no space for them. The NGO Save the Children sent six ambulances to al-Shifa Hospital to evacuate the babies. Before the evacuation, 4 babies had reportedly died.

A spokesman for Al Shifa Hospital said that Israeli forces purposely sabotaged equipment at al-Shifa Hospital, including ECG and MRI machines. (13:05 GMT)

Sewage flows in the streets of Gaza as all key sanitation services have ceased operating, raising the alarming prospect of an enormous surge of gastrointestinal and infectious diseases among the local populations – including cholera. (12:30 GMT)

RECOMMENDED READING: Diseases spread in Gaza amid water and sewage crisis, cholera feared

Sites of recent bombardment and casualties include:

  • Strikes at Nuseirat refugee camp and another refugee camp – about 31 killed, including 2 journalists (06:30 GMT)
  • Tal Az Za’atar school, in Beit Lahia – more than 50 killed
  • Al Fakhoura school in the Jabalia refugee camp – unknown
  • A home in Nuseirat camp – 13 killed
  • Khan Younis – a woman and her child were killed
  • A home in Jabaliya city – 11 killed
  • Wafa Geriatric Hospital in Nuseirat – 2 killed
  • Israeli aircraft destroyed 4 mosques in the Jabaliya camp

Other strikes listed here. Israeli attacks on schools, hospitals and public facilities “seem to be a trend right now”, said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza. (06:10 GMT)

Multiple evacuations: Israeli strikes in southern Gaza are not only destroying targeted homes, at least five to to seven more homes within the area are completely destroyed by each bombing. These attacks are forcing people into internal displacement one more time. Some evacuees say this is the third time they are evacuating. (01:30 GMT)

RECOMMENDED READING: Yousef, the Groom-to-Be, was Killed in an Israeli strike

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) has condemned a “deliberate” attack on a convoy transporting its staff in Gaza, which it says killed the relative of one worker and wounded another. The convoy of five vehicles carrying 137 staff and family members was attacked on Saturday near the MSF office located close to al-Shifa Hospital. The vehicles had all been clearly marked with MSF identification, including on the roofs, and that they had informed both the Israeli army and Hamas of their movement. Two of the MSF cars were deliberately hit. (03:30 GMT)

Journalists at risk: Six journalists and media workers were killed in Gaza overnight. (11:00 GMT) The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that as of November 18:

This war has seen more reporters killed in its first month than any other conflict since the CPJ first started collating statistics for journalists covering the conflict in 1992.

RECOMMENDED READING: Understanding Hasbara: Israel’s propaganda machine

Hostage update: A White House spokesperson said no deal had yet been reached between Israel and Hamas regarding the release of captives. The announcement came soon after The Washington Post reported the US was close to brokering one. Israeli PM Netanyahu said Saturday night that there was no agreement “as of now” and there had been “a lot of incorrect reports” about the release of the captives. (04:45 GMT)

West Bank news: On 18 November, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in two separate incidents, while an additional Palestinian died of wounds sustained on 9 November.

Five of these fatalities, including one child, were recorded in the Balata Refugee Camp (Nablus), during a military operation that involved armed clashes with Palestinians and Israeli airstrikes, which also resulted in extensive residential and infrastructure damage.

Another fatality was recorded during confrontations while search-and-arrest operations were underway in Tubas city.

A sixth Palestinian prisoner has died in Israel’s Negev desert prison. This comes amid reports of widespread physical and psychological torture, including the use of inhumane techniques to instill terror among the Palestinian prisoners and detainees, by Israeli occupation authorities.

Jordan has set up a field hospital in the city of Nablus, which has raised alarm in anticipation of a further deterioration of the situation in the occupied West Bank.

RECOMMENDED READING: A paradigm shift in the hundred years’ war on Palestine?

In Canada, guilty until proven innocent: Canada’s University of Alberta has fired Samantha Pearson, the director of its Sexual Assault Centre (UASAC), after her name appeared on an open letter questioning reports that Hamas raped women during its October 7 attacks on Israel.

In a statement on Saturday, President and Vice-Chancellor Bill Flanagan said the institution stands against all discrimination and hatred, including the “historical and ongoing harms of antisemitism.” It is unclear how this could be construed as antisemitism. So far, no proof has come to light to substantiate allegations of rape by Hamas members. (06:00 GMT)

Israel news: The Israeli army says two of its soldiers were killed during fighting in northern Gaza. The total killed in Gaza is 66. (06:45 GMT)

An Israeli police report on the music festival where hundreds of people were killed on October 7 has provided new details, including that an Israeli military helicopter fired on assailants but also hit some attendees, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported.

The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups towards Israel has continued over the past 24 hours, with no reported fatalities. (It appears that the last time a rocket killed an Israeli was October 7-8, as reported by Ha’aretz and the Times of Israel. 15 Israelis were killed – 10 of them Palestinian Israelis who reportedly had no access to bomb shelters. Rockets have killed a total of 45 people over the 22 years they’ve been fired.)

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