UNRWA: At least 7 children died of cold in Gaza since ceasefire – Day 6

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UNRWA: At least 7 children died of cold in Gaza since ceasefire – Day 6
Children returning to their ruined homes in north Gaza following Israel's 15-month long assault (Ahmed Dremly/MEE)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 339 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday.

According to the World Food Program, a total of 4,800 aid trucks have reached Gaza since the ceasefire deal.

Palestinian medical and rescue teams have recovered the bodies of 17 people from the rubble of destroyed homes in Rafah.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have killed 34 people, including six children, so far this year.

BREAKING: 200 Palestinian prisoners released

Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday, while Israel followed with the release 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire deal.

Three buses carrying 114 Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah, where crowds of Palestinians lined the streets to welcome them. The Palestinian Prisoners Club said among those to be released is Mohammed al-Tous, 69, who has spent the longest continuous period in Israeli detention.

Meanwhile, 16 prisoners have been transferred to the Gaza Strip, while 70 others – including Palestinians serving life sentences and long-term prison terms – have been released into Egypt, according to state-run Qahera TV.

According to the terms of the agreement, Israel is expected to free 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli female soldier released.

Read about Fox News’ misrepresentation of Palestinian prisoners: Fox News’ Trey Yingst misinforms Fox viewers about Palestinian prisoners
Red Cross’ buses that will transport Palestinian prisoners from Ofer Prison in Ramallah to sites across the West Bank arrived at the facility, in Jerusalem on January 19, 2025.
Red Cross’ buses that will transport Palestinian prisoners from Ofer Prison in Ramallah to sites across the West Bank arrived at the facility, in Jerusalem on January 19, 2025. (Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency)

UNRWA: At least 7 children died of cold in Gaza since ceasefire

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said at least seven children died of cold in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect on Sunday, amid a drop in temperatures and heavy rains.

“Winter and displacement have taken a heavy toll,” the agency said. “With very few homes left standing, displaced families continue to face these sub-human conditions.”

NOTE: At least 8 babies died of cold before the ceasefire.

State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted spending Friday on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days. The order, which shocked State Department officials, appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine.

Newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Nov. 4 2024
Newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Nov. 4 2024 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Rubio’s guidance, issued to all diplomatic and consular posts, requires department staffers to issue “stop-work orders” on nearly all “existing foreign assistance awards,” according to the document, which was obtained by POLITICO. It is effective immediately.

It appears to go further than President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, which instructed the department to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days pending review by the secretary. It had not been clear from the president’s order if it would affect already appropriated funds or Ukraine aid.

The new guidance means no further actions will be taken to disperse aid funding to programs already approved by the U.S. government, according to three current and two former officials familiar with the new guidance.

Still, the document leaves room for interpretation and does provide some exceptions. It specifies that foreign military financing for Egypt and Israel will continue (continue reading here).

NOTE: On April 24, 2024, legislation was signed into law giving $49 million per day in military aid to Israel and $2.7 million per day in foreign aid to the Palestinians. (For information on expenditures on behalf of both populations, go here.)

American guns in Gaza a “bad, bad idea”

The ceasefire in Gaza is not yet a week old, and Washington is already sending private U.S. security contractors to help operate checkpoints, a decision that one former military officer told RS is a “bad, bad idea.”

This will be the first time since 2003 that American security contractors have been in the strip. At that time, three private American contractors were killed by a roadside bomb while providing security for a diplomatic mission in Gaza.

Axios reports that two U.S. security companies will operate as part of a multi-national group, as laid out in the Gaza cease-fire deal, and Israel and Hamas have already approved them, as required by the deal.

The contractors will be inspecting vehicles that are moving into northern Gaza via the Netzarium corridor to ensure that no heavy weapons enter that part of the territory.

“This is a bad, bad idea. This is a cauldron of angry people who are quite hostile towards Americans because most of the bombs that have fallen on Gazans have been U.S. provided,” said Lt Col. (retired) Daniel L. Davis.

“Gaza has been turned into a moonscape by Israeli Defense Forces actions, and thus any operation inside the Strip going forward should be IDF, not American,” Davis added. “The chances that angry Palestinians may target and kill Americans are uncomfortably high, in my view. Nothing good will come of this.”

West Bank: Israeli army harasses prisoner’s family ahead of his release from prison

UNRWA warns 50,000 West Bank students may lose access to education

According to UNRWA – West Bank, around 50,000 children who go to UNRWA schools are at risk of losing their access to education. If the Israeli Parliament’s ban on UNRWA is implemented at the end of January, what will be the fate of these children?

The ban on UNRWA must not be implemented. All children must continue to have education.

NOTE: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that about 660,000 children in Gaza are still out of school, noting that 88% of schools in the Strip are destroyed .

Israeli army escalates 4th day of offensives in occupied West Bank

Palestinian Authority detains, tortures Palestinians in Jenin as Israel continues deadly assault

Palestinian Authority (PA) troops have been detaining and torturing resistance fighters in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, where a joint operation carried out by Israel and Ramallah’s forces has been ongoing for days. 

Photos from 24 January circulating on social media showed young Palestinians in PA custody bruised from being beaten and lying flat on the ground with their hands bound. 

Deputy head of Hamas in the West Bank Abdel Hakim Hanini condemned the PA on Friday and said these “scenes that offend human dignity will push the fighters and their families to take revenge on the authority.” 

“We would have liked to see the authority’s security forces confronting the settlers, not torturing our children,” Hanini added. 

At least 65 Palestinians have been detained by the PA in Jenin over the last few days, while dozens of others have been arrested by Israeli forces. 

Hamas added up to 15,000 fighters since start of war: Report

Hamas has recruited between 10,000 and 15,000 members since the start of its war with Israel, according to a report by Reuters that cited two congressional sources briefed on US intelligence.

The sources told the news agency that intelligence indicated a similar number of Hamas fighters have been killed during that period.

While the group recruited new members, many are young and untrained and are being used for simple security purposes.

‘How Are You?’: Pope Francis Has Called Gaza’s Parish Every Night since October 9

Pope Francis has been calling Gaza’s Holy Family Parish every evening since October 9, 2023, according to Vatican News. 

The Pope’s nightly calls, which reportedly take place at 7 pm, aim to “provide a moment of warmth and connection,” according to the official news portal of the Holy See.

The parish currently shelters over 600 people, including both Christians and Muslims, in its church and school, providing refuge from the devastation in the Gaza Strip.  

During these brief conversations, the Pope inquires about their well-being and daily lives, asking simple questions like, “How are you?” and “What did you eat?” 

On January 15, his call coincided with celebrations marking the start of a ceasefire, lifting the oppressive fear and violence that had gripped the area for over 15 months.  

At the end of Wednesday’s General Audience, Pope Francis reflected on his recent calls to the parish, remarking, “They’re happy. They ate lentils… and we must pray for peace.”  

Every night since October 9, 2023, Pope Francis has reached out to Gaza's parish.
Every night since October 9, 2023, Pope Francis has reached out to Gaza’s parish. (screengrab)

Israel delays withdrawal from southern Lebanon beyond Sunday’s deadline

The Israeli army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon will last beyond the 60 days agreed in a ceasefire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says, claiming the agreement has not yet been fully enforced by Lebanon.

Media reports on Friday said that Netanyahu’s government was seeking ways of keeping soldiers in Lebanon beyond the deadline stipulated in the ceasefire.

“There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement,” Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

“We’ve also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough and there is much more work to do,” he said, claiming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Israel has reportedly violated the agreement more than 1,000 times since it took effect. 

Residents of Bint Jubail in southern Lebanon return to their homes in Nabetiyah on Jan 21, 2025
Residents of Bint Jubail in southern Lebanon return to their homes in Nabetiyah on Jan 21, 2025 (Ramiz Dallah/Anadolu/Getty Images)

BBC confirms 68 non-Hezbollah Lebanese massacred in deadly September Israeli airstrike 

A BBC investigation has confirmed that on 29 September 2024, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Ain al-Delb in southern Lebanon killed 73 people, 68 of them civilians, in the deadliest Israeli attack on Lebanon in the past 18 years.

The BBC reported that the airstrike, consisting of four missiles, destroyed an entire six-story building. Among the 73 people killed when the building collapsed on top of them were 23 children. Evidence suggests only six of those killed were members of Hezbollah’s military, and none held a senior rank.

“Among the dead were babies only a few months old, like Nouh Kobeissi in apartment -2B. In apartment -1C, school teacher Abeer Hallak was killed alongside her husband and three sons. Three floors above, Amal Hakawati died along with three generations of her family – her husband, children, and two granddaughters,” BBC documented.

The British state media outlet observed that “This pattern of targeting entire buildings – resulting in significant civilian casualties – has been a recurring feature of Israel’s latest conflict with Hezbollah.”

In Gaza, Israel has similarly destroyed entire buildings, killing entire families to target low-level Hamas members. The targeting decisions were often determined by artificial intelligence programs using information gathered through cell phone and drone surveillance.

RELATED: US Identified 500 Cases Where Its Weapons Harmed Gazan Civilians, But Hasn’t Taken Action
The rubble following a massive bombing in Ain El Delb, on 30 September.
The rubble following a massive bombing in Ain El Delb, on 30 September. (screengrab)

Harvard doesn’t want to hear from Gaza genocide victims unless it can also hear from the soldiers who committed it

Harvard Medical School has cancelled a lecture on healthcare during war and a panel discussion featuring patients from Gaza getting medical care in Boston after complaints it would present only one side of the conflict and not the Israeli side as well, according to a report by Harvard Crimson. 

The lecture, by Tufts Professor Barry S Levy, was supposed to focus on wartime healthcare followed by a student-organized discussion with patients from Gaza and their families.

The decision has received widespread criticism online this week, with many calling it “censorious” of Harvard to take such a decision.

In an email, Harvard’s Medical School dean, George Q Daley wrote that Harvard Medical School supports research and teaching on the health effects of war on healthcare. However, it also aims to “avoid polarizing the school’s affiliates”.

In an email to Harvard Crimson, Anna RP Mulhern from Harvard Medical School said she was “deeply disheartened” by the cancellation.

“Respect for all patients and their stories is a fundamental tenet of the medical profession. This principle was not upheld yesterday,” she said.

The cancellation comes amid concerns about academic freedom at the university after it adopted the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, settling the discrimination case brought forward by students who said pro-Palestine protests at the university were antisemitic.

No Other Land: Film on Israeli occupation of Palestine gets Oscar nomination

A film exposing the brutality of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank has been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary.

Set in the town of Masafar Yatta, No Other Land is directed by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra.

Its shortlisting for the Oscar was announced on Thursday despite the film not having any distribution deal in the US.

Much of No Other Land is made up of footage dating back to Adra’s childhood showing his activist father squaring off against Israeli soldiers and settlers in order to stop appropriation of Palestinian land.

The movie previously won the Documentary Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February last year.

The film has already won several awards, including the Documentary Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, where Adra and Abraham caused controversy when they used their winners’ speech to condemn the ongoing occupation of Palestine.

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STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – JANUARY 23, 2025 (ongoing count):

At least 48,155 Palestinians killed, 118,472 injured – including:

  • at least 47,283 killed in Gaza (~20,600 children)
  • at least 872 killed in the West Bank (~177 children)
  • at least 111,472 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 47,772 – including at least 46,913 in Gaza (~20,600 children), and 860 in the West Bank (~177 children). Palestinian injuries: at least 117,725 – including at least 110,750 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.

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

 

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