Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

Day 71 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Besieged and Starved Gaza Strip, More Deaths by Bombs and Hunger

December 16, 2023 

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Editor's Notes:  

Here are some initial (not final) statistics, which show the Israeli war crimes against humanity, during the current Israeli genocidal war on Gaza:  

By December 14, 2023, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strop is 26,547+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (18,787) and those who are still missing under the rubble (7,760+).   

The documented injuries exceeded 51,100. 

By December 16, 2023, there were 290 Palestinians who were killed, 3,442 who were injured, and 4528 who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023. 

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By December 10, 2023, the death toll included 7,875+ children and 6,130+ women.   

By December 14, 2023,  there was a complete destruction of 56,000+ housing units, and 224,000+ damaged housing units (60% of Gaza housing units). This forced about 1.5 million people to become homeless, taking refuge in crowded UN schools and ultimately sleeping in the streets.  

The Israeli refusal to allow international aid caravans to enter Gaza freely led the Palestinian population to be on the verge of mass extermination for the lack of food, water, medicine, and fuel.  

By December 6, 2023, 290 health personnel were killed and hundreds were injured, 102 ambulances were destroyed while on duty, killing and injuring their crews, and destroyed 56 health institutions. As a result of the strikes and lack of fuel, 26 hospitals and 46 primary care centers are not functioning.  

 

An injured Palestinian little girl, who survived an Israeli genocidal air strike on her home, December 16, 2023	'Hamza Ibraheem Bishkar, 30, was killed by Israeli occupation forces near 'Huwara, Nablus, December 16, 2023
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, December 16, 2023	Al-Jazeerah tv cameraman, Samir Abu Daqqa, who was killed by Israeli occupation forces while doing his job near Far'hana school, in Khan Younus, December 2023
Displaced Palestinians queue for food donations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafa'h on November 30, 2023	Palestinians crowd the UNRWA food distribution center in Al-Mawasi, hoping to get any food they can find, November 30, 2023 Washington Post

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

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While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

More detailed news stories can be found at the following sources:

http://english.wafa.ps/, https://english.palinfo.com/, https://imemc.org/, https://paltoday.ps/ar/


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Editorial Notes about terms & names of people and places:

1. Names of people and places have been standardized to match standard Arabic grammatical rules.

2. Underlined letters and letters preceded by an apostrophe are references to Arabic letter sounds, which does not exist in the English alphabet.

3. The English letter i is equivalent to the Arabic short vowel known as kasra, as in Ibraheem and Qasim as well as in the English words sit and bit. So, it is incorrect to use it as a long vowel for such Arabic names as Jameel and Jibreel.

4. The English letter e is equivalent to the Arabi short vowel known as fat'ha, as in A'hmed and Mu'hammed.

5. It is more accurate to refer to the land-grabbing Israelis, who establish illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, as illegal Israeli settlers, than referring to them as colonists.

The term colony is a reference to a large entity or a country, such as American states before independence. It was also a reference to Egypt, and India, when they were British colonies.

In addition, the term "colony" represents a positive nostalgic theme, in the minds of native speakers of English, particularly in America and Britain.

6. It is more accurate to use the verb "abduct" than the verb "detain," in reference to taking Palestinian citizens by force to prisons and interrogation centers, by Israeli occupation regime soldiers. This is because the presence of the Israeli occupation regime forces is illegal in the Palestinian territories, and they have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian people.

Click here for more about using the apostrophe and the underlining of letters in the transliteration of Arabic names.


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Widespread hunger in the Gaza Strip, and families are becoming increasingly desperate in their search for food

Sources: Al Mezan PCHR

OCHA, UN, 15 Dec 2023  

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan and Al-Haq warn of a real and unprecedented famine in the Gaza Strip, which began in northern Gaza and Gaza City as a result of the 69-day Israeli military offensive coupled with a tight siege preventing food and water supplies from reaching most people in Gaza.

The situation monitored by our teams confirms that tens of thousands of families in the Gaza Strip spend their entire day and several days without a meal and that they share crumbs of the little that’s available, due to the lack of distribution of the already limited humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Most of the humanitarian aid is concentrated in Rafah, since the start of the Israeli ground invasion in Khan Younis.

The 2.3 million residents of Gaza have serious daily challenges in accessing food and water, and our staff is no different. Our colleagues are reporting their inability to secure their families' food needs. After 69 days of the military offensive, markets and shops no longer have goods, and humanitarian aid is limited and does not reach the entire population. It mainly reaches shelters that are overwhelmed with hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Flour distribution is very slow, and hundreds of thousands of families are still waiting for their share.

According to our teams, residents are forced to wait for more than 10 hours near distribution centers, which are currently confined to the city of Rafah, and sometimes they return to their families empty-handed.

Our organizations indicate that the manifestations of hunger are evident in northern Gaza and Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are located, most of whom have suffered repeated and multiple displacement under continued Israeli shelling and mass killing. Each time they evacuate they are forced to leave behind their belongings and goods, including little food-related items they may have.

Except for the very limited number of aid trucks that entered northern Wadi Gaza during the days of the humanitarian truce “pause”, aid access to the northern Gaza district and Gaza City stopped completely after the end of the “pause” on December 1, 2023. Israeli shelling and attacks intensified, especially on Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, and the neighborhoods of Shujaiya and Al-Zaitoun in eastern Gaza, this was accompanied by a worsening of the humanitarian crisis.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), within one week (the days of the truce), the programme was able to deliver food aid to approximately 250 individuals north of Wadi Gaza, meaning that even during the days of the truce, no aid reached hundreds of thousands in Gaza city and its north. It is estimated that about 700,000-800,000 people are currently located in northern Gaza and Gaza City.

According to information obtained by our teams from some co-workers in other organizations, residents in northern Gaza and Gaza City are suffering from real hunger, and some of them go for several days without a meal, with no shops or markets available, and no humanitarian aid available.

During the past few days, the Israeli occupying forces attacked many shelters set up inside schools in Gaza City and the northern Gaza district, amidst ongoing shootings, field executions, abuse and arrests. They then forced the remaining displaced people to evacuate these shelters, and in most cases forced them to leave their belongings, including any limited food supplies they had. With each evacuation, people lost more supplies, and some have been displaced more than 10 times in a row.

The hunger crisis is also rampant in southern Wadi Gaza, at varying levels in different areas, depending on the level of intensity of the Israeli attacks. Currently, the suffering in Khan Younis is very high compared to other areas south of Wadi Gaza.

We have received testimonies that the distribution of meals has ceased in the majority of UNRWA-run shelters and that families are struggling individually to provide for their needs.

According to the follow-up of our teams, the families who remained in their homes or shelters in the areas witnessing a ground invasion by the Israeli occupying forces are trapped inside those homes and shelters without receiving any assistance or food supplies, in addition to being exposed to the risk of shelling and targeting.

Our organisations confirm that hundreds of thousands of families are unable to obtain milk for their children, as well as hundreds of children who are fed formula milk of a specific type that is not available.

According to WFP , 9 out of 10 people across the Gaza Strip spend a whole day, day and night, without eating anything, stressing that the threat of hunger is widespread and families are becoming increasingly desperate in their search for food.

According to our teams, with the depletion of all goods from the markets, residents who have money resort to buying from others who had received aid in previous times and are willing to sell them. These goods are bought at very high prices, which most residents cannot afford.

Before the Israeli aggression, the unemployment rate was 45% in the Gaza Strip, and around 67% among young people and graduates. Following the aggression, almost everyone became unemployed, and most of those who used to rely on daily wages, such as drivers, barber shop owners, and workers in factories, shops, bakeries and restaurants, are now without income. Additionally, the majority of public employees have not received their salaries, so the vast majority of the population does not have any money to buy scarce daily necessities which have increased dramatically in price.

Hundreds of thousands of people in shelters are waiting for assistance from UNRWA, government institutions such as the Ministry of Social Affairs, or charities and individual initiatives. Unfortunately, these institutions wait for the arrival of food and assistance through the crossing. As a consequence, residents may have to wait for a day or even longer to receive a meal or limited canned food to stave off the hunger of their children.

According to our teams, due to the scarcity of food, people limit their meals to one per day. The preparation of these meals involves significant efforts, which includes collecting fire-burning materials like firewood and cardboard, as alternatives to cooking gas, which has been unavailable since the start of the aggression. Adding to these challenges, the rainy and cold weather has further exacerbated people's suffering. Thousands of tents have been flooded, and residents have no winter clothes.

Here we recall the statement of the Israeli “Defense Minister” Yoav Galant on October 9, 2023: “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” he said, stating that it was all part of Israel's battle against "human animals." This statement represents an official and declared acknowledgement by the Israeli government of its genocidal campaign, imposing starvation, in parallel with killing and destruction, in an almost unprecedented silence by the international community amounting to complicity.

The Israeli occupying forces also shelled hundreds of bakeries, shops, food stores, markets and poultry farms and destroyed thousands of dunums of agricultural land, which indicates the existence of an executive decision to deprive Palestinian civilians of the benefit of the few remaining foodstuffs in the Gaza Strip and starve the population.

It is evident that Israel, the occupying power, uses starvation as a method of warfare, and uses it as a tool of collective punishment, revenge against civilians, and pressure for political concessions.

Our organisations recall that international humanitarian law prohibits starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare, as stipulated in Article 54(1) of Protocol I to the four Geneva Conventions, which is classified as part of customary international humanitarian law.[1]

In the face of this catastrophic reality, our organizations remind the international community of its responsibilities in the face of a systematic starvation process targeting 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. We further demand the opening of safe humanitarian corridors and the unconditional delivery of aid throughout the Gaza Strip.

We reiterate that the primary way to end this humanitarian crisis in Gaza is through serious and immediate action to stop the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip, protection of Palestinians from the unfolding genocide, and effective measures to ensure accountability for war crimes, unfolding genocide, and all violations committed by Israel against the Palestinian People.

Widespread hunger in the Gaza Strip, and families are becoming increasingly desperate in their search for food [EN/AR] - occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb

Download Report(PDF | 2.63 MB | Arabic version)

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Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in Ghazza (Gaza) by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

Dozens of civilians murdered by Israel on day 71 of its genocidal aggression on Gaza

GAZA, Saturday, December 16, 2023 (WAFA) -

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were murdered today by the Israeli occupation forces across the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli genocide campaign on the enclave completes 71 consecutive days, according to local and medical sources.

In the central Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes bombed a residential area near the Al-Da'wa Mosque in the Nusayrat refugee camp, resulting in dozens of casualties and injuries. The ongoing rescue efforts are facing challenges as civilians remain trapped under the rubble, with civil defense and medical teams struggling to reach them.

Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes, accompanied by artillery shelling, targeted the Shuja'iya and Al-Zaytoun neighborhoods in Gaza City, causing massive destruction to homes and infrastructure.

In northern Gaza, the Ministry of Health pointed out that Israeli occupation forces used military bulldozers to dismantle tents of displaced individuals at the yard of Kamal Adwan Hospital, burying patients and refugees alive.

The ministry further stated that Israeli occupation forces are targeting anyone moving in the vicinity of Kamal 'Adwan Hospital, which has been targeted by Israeli airstrikes over the last weeks, making it impossible to assess the current situation due to communication breakdowns in the region.

Minister of Health, Mai Al-Kaila, condemned the intentional evacuation of the wounded from Kamal 'Adwan Hospital into the open in freezing conditions by the invading Israeli troops.

She reported assaults by the forces on medical personnel, posing a serious threat to the lives of the injured and sick. Additionally, the southern part of the hospital has been destroyed by Israeli bombardments.

Al-Kaila highlighted the dire situation of 12 infants stranded inside the hospital incubators without access to water or food. The Israeli military has reportedly prevented their evacuation, according to statements from medical teams on the ground.

The southern city of Khan Younus witnessed similar Israeli attacks, resulting in the tragic murder of approximately five civilians and leaving dozens injured. 

Israeli warplanes reportedly targeted a residential building in the city, concurrently launching flares and continuous artillery bombardments in the vicinity of the Islamic University in Khan Younus.

In a parallel assault, Israeli naval forces fired shells and heavy machine gun rounds into the sea off Khan Younus and Rafa'h.

For the third consecutive day, Gaza experiences a complete blackout of communication and internet services, marking the longest period of disruption since the onset of the Israeli aggression on October 7.

The death toll has surged to over 18,800, including nearly 8,000 children, with more than 51,000 people injured since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on Gaza. 

M.N.

US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza enters Day 71

Saturday 16-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip entered Day 71 on Saturday, massive aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound and level whole blocks and homes and massacre more civilians, mostly children and women.

The Israeli occupation army carried out hundreds of aerial and artillery attacks on different areas of Gaza last night and in the morning.

According to local sources, 14 martyrs were transported in the past few hours to Jabalya Medical Center in northern Gaza after Israeli warplanes bombed two homes belonging to the families of Al-Najjar and Khadir.

A large number of victims are still buried under the rubble of these two homes in Jabalya.

A young man was reportedly shot dead by Israeli sniper fire during his presence in his house in Birkat Abu Rashid area in northern Gaza.

Several casualties were also reported when the Israeli occupation army bombed the areas around an UNRWA school in Dair El-Bala'h.

Dozens of other civilians were massacred in the morning during Israeli attacks on homes, schools and roads across the Gaza Strip.

Many civilians were also martyred and others were injured last night following Israeli attacks on homes in Al-Manara neighborhoods in the southeast of Khan Younus.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces continue to target the besieged hospitals of Kamal 'Adwan and Al-'Awda and open fire at anyone moving inside them.

According to the health ministry in Gaza, there are 12 children, six of them newborns in incubators, with no food or water in Kamal 'Adwan Hospital.

Gaza: Three rescuers, Al-Jazeera tv journalist killed in Israeli attack on school

Saturday 16-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

The general directorate of the Palestinian civil defense in Gaza announced the martyrdom of three members of its crews when Israeli warplanes on Friday bombed them and other citizens as they were trying to rescue one of Al Jazeera journalists in central Khan Younus, south of the Gaza Strip.

Civil defense workers reported that three of their colleagues were killed as they were trying to rescue Al-Jazeera tv  journalist Samir Abu-Daqqa at Far'hana School in Khan Younus.

Cameraman Samir Abu-Daqqa and correspondent Wa-il Al-Da'hdou'h, both Al Jazeera tv  journalists, were reporting at Far'hana School in Khan Younus when they were hit by an Israeli air strike on Friday.

Later, Al-Jazeera satellite channel said that an Israeli attack on a school in Khan Younus killed its cameraman Samir Abu-Daqqa after medical teams were prevented by Israeli forces from immediately reaching him.

According to Al-Jazeera tv, Abu-Daqqa remained lying on the ground suffering from critical injuries for about six hours while ambulance crews were unable to reach him and other wounded civilians.

The two Al-Jazeera tv journalists were apparently injured by fragments of a missile fired by an Israeli drone.

Al-Da'hdou'h was injured in the arm and transferred to Nasir Hospital in Khan Younus to receive treatment.

Al Jazeera tv channel held the Israeli army fully responsible for what it described as a “new crime against its journalists,” expressing its belief that “it is part of Israel’s systematic targeting of its journalists and their families in Gaza.”

Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

Ministry of Health confirms death of Palestinian shot by Israeli occupation soldiers last night

RAMALLAH, Saturday, December 16, 2023 (WAFA) –

The Ministry of Health confirmed today the death of 'Hamza Ibraheem Bishkar, 30, who was shot by Israeli soldiers last night near the town of 'Huwara.

Israeli occupation forces killed or caused the death of 288 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7.

M.K.

Abduction of Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Regime Soldiers

Woman with cancer among 16 Palestinians detained by Israel; 4520 detained in West Bank since October 7

RAMALLAH, Saturday, December 16, 2023 (WAFA) –

A woman ill with cancer was among 16 Palestinians the Israeli occupation forces detained today in the occupied West Bank, raising the total detained since the launch of the Israeli war on October 7 to 4520, according to prisoners’ groups.

The woman, identified as Fatin Majid Masalma, 21, a resident of Gaza but currently married and lives in the West Bank, and who has cancer, was detained at an army checkpoint south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus after getting medical treatment. She was arrested apparently because she is from Gaza even though she has been living in the West Bank for the last three years, according to her husband, who was with her when she was arrested. The soldiers would not let her even take her medicine with her, he said.

The others were detained in Bethlehem, Jericho, Tulkarm, Ramallah, Hebron, and Al-Quds (Jerusalem) governorates, said the groups.

M.K.

Israeli Occupation Forces abduct Palestinians in the West Bank raids

Saturday 16-December-2023, WEST BANK, (PIC)

Several Palestinian citizens were kidnaped at dawn Saturday when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed different West Bank areas.

According to local sources, the IOF kidnaped two young men from their homes in 'Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho.

The IOF also kidnaped three citizens from al-Khalil and the Bethlehem towns of Za’tara and Al-Khadir.

In Tulkarm, the IOF kidnaped two citizens from their homes in the city.

In Nablus, Israeli forces with a bulldozer stormed Balata refugee camp, raided homes, and spread throughout its streets and on rooftops of some buildings.

Local sources in Nablus said that Israeli soldiers assaulted a young woman and another citizen and wreaked havoc on public and private property during its campaign in Balata.

Meanwhile, armed clashes broke out between resistance fighters and Israeli troops during the IOF campaign in Balata and Nablus City.

The IOF also stormed other areas of the West Bank, with no reported arrests.

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

Israeli occupation forces demolish walls, confiscate excavator in Salfeet

SALFIT, Saturday, December 16, 2023 (WAFA) -

Israeli occupation forces carried out demolitions today in the village of Farkha, in the occupied West Bank province of Salfeet, according to local sources.

The sources reported that an Israeli army force broke into the village and demolished walls of a house under construction in the village and confiscated an excavator belonging to a local Palestinian resident.

Israeli occupation authorities frequently demolish Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank, citing unpermitted construction as a pretext for these demolitions.

M.N.

Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in Masafir Yatta

HEBRON, Saturday, December 16, 2023 (WAFA) –

Illegal Israeli settlers today attacked Palestinian citizens and their property in Masafir Yatta, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to local sources.

They told WAFA that several settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Izkhar Man attacked sheep herders in the Tuba area and forced them to leave their lands.

In the Saddat Al-Thaala area, the illegal Israeli settlers attacked the community at midnight, provoking the residents, vandalizing their property, and terrorizing children and women.

Residents of Masafir Yatta suffer from daily attacks by armed settlers with the protection of the occupation army to forcibly get them to leave their lands for the benefit of illegal Israeli settlements.

M.K.

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