GMO reveals latest statistics on Israeli genocidal war on Gaza

Saturday 3-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Government Media Office (GMO) in the Gaza Strip revealed on Saturday the latest and most significant figures on the Israeli ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 7.

This announcement comes as the latest updates from the GMO, showing the scale of human and material damage that resulted from the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, on its 120th day.

The statistics demonstrated latest updates on the numbers of martyrs, missing, and wounded people in addition to the sick, displaced and prisoners as well as numbers of damaged structures and infrastructure.

Below are figures released by the GMO about Israel’s violations over the period of 120 days since the start of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

(2,325) Massacres (34,238) Martyrs and missing people. (27,238) Martyrs who arrived in hospitals. (12,000) Child martyrs. (8,190) Female martyrs. (339) Martyrs of medical staff. (46) Civil defense martyrs. (122) Journalist martyrs. (7,000) Missing, 70% of whom are children and women. (66,452) Wounded.

(11,000) Wounded people in need of travel abroad for treatment, (life-saving and critical cases). (10,000) Cancer patients facing the risk of death. (700,000) Wounded with infectious diseases as a result of displacement. (8,000) Cases of viral hepatitis infection due to displacement. (60,000) Pregnant women at risk due to the lack of health care. (350,000) Chronic patients at risk due to blocked medications.

(99) Cases of arrest among health personnel. (10) Cases of arrests among identified journalists. (2 million) Displaced people in the Gaza Strip.

(140) Government headquarters destroyed. (100) Completely destroyed schools and universities. (295) Partially destroyed schools and universities. (183) Completely destroyed mosques. (264) Partially destroyed mosques. (3) Destroyed Churches.

(79,200) Completely destroyed housing units. (290,000) Partially destroyed and uninhabitable housing units. (66,000) tons of explosives dropped on Gaza. (30) Hospitals knocked out of service. (53) Health centers knocked out of service. (150) Partially targeted Health institutions. (122) Destroyed ambulances. (200) Destroyed archaeological and heritage sites.

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Euro-Med calls for formation of international investigation committee to probe mass graves in Gaza

Thursday 25-April-2024

GENEVA, (PIC)

An immediate international action should be taken to investigate hundreds of mass and random graves in the Gaza Strip, which contain the bodies of thousands of Palestinian victims since the start of the ongoing Israeli military attack on 7 October 2023, the Euro-Med Monitor said in a statement on Wednesday.

Euro-Med field teams closely observed the recovery of hundreds of dead bodies from mass graves, some of which were found in different Gaza Strip hospitals.

The significant number of graves and bodies is concerning and calls for immediate international action, which should include the immediate creation of an independent international investigation committee to look into the circumstances surrounding the creation of these graves and the deaths of the victims buried there. This is especially important given that a large number of the victims were directly subjected to premeditated murder and arbitrary and extrajudicial executions while being handcuffed.

A technical committee of experts is needed to investigate the burial circumstances and determine the cause of death for the recovered victims. Additionally, a system for future identification of the deceased victims’ identities must be developed.

Gaza’s Civil Defense teams’ discovery of hundreds of bodies from mass graves in the “Al-Shifa” Medical Complex and the “Nasser” Hospital represents a dark chapter in the history of Israeli military violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Euro-Med field teams earlier observed the recovery of dozens of victims from the mass graves in the Shifa Medical Complex, belonging to handcuffed victims, others who were wounded but not provided medical care, and those who were executed despite their health condition.

The victims’ decomposing bodies were found in several places, with some having been run over by Israeli bulldozers and having only parts of their bodies torn away.

The presence of urinary catheters or splints that were still attached to some patients’ bodies during the exhumation process, as well as medical files that were buried with them in the Shifa Medical Complex confirm the execution of ill and injured people.

Due to the extended time span and the fact that Israeli forces had impeded their recovery over the previous few months, most of the recovered bodies had started to decompose, while others had also evidently been mauled by cats and dogs. 

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'Hamas accuses the Israeli government of deceiving families of Israeli captives

Thursday 25-April-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

A senior source in the 'Hamas Movement said that the Israeli occupation government is engaged in a systematic deception process of the Israeli public and the families of the captives held by the resistance, in order to evade any responsibility towards them.

The source denied the validity of what has been circulated by Israeli media outlets close to the occupation government, that Hamas proposed the release of only 20 prisoners instead of 40 during the first stage of the recently proposed agreement during the Cairo negotiations. The source said, “Following this claim, Hebrew media reports emerged indicating that the remaining prisoners alive do not exceed twenty, which contradicts reality.”

The source said, “It is certainly impossible to accurately determine the number of prisoners, who are still alive, but the number is certainly more than the figure circulated in the Hebrew media.”

He revealed that “the Movement alone has about 30 generals and Shin Bet officers who were captured on October 7th from highly sensitive military units and locations.” He emphasized that “these individuals are specifically in heavily secured and inaccessible locations far from the reach of the occupation, and it is impossible to reach them under any circumstances.” At the same time, he indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and some of his ministers hide a lot of information about the identities of some military prisoners, in order to avoid stirring anger among the fighting forces.”

He stressed that “the only way to release the Israeli prisoners is through serious negotiations followed by a complete commitment to a ceasefire and (Gaza) reconstruction.”

While the exact number of remaining Israeli prisoners in Gaza is unknown after the release of 112 prisoners, Netanyahu’s office had announced the deaths of 33 out of 129 claimed to still be held in the enclave.

However, the numbers of the military personnel among them are not specified, and this is a strategy adopted by Israel to try to classify some soldiers or retired officers or reservists as civilians in order to reduce the cost of negotiating them during the talks that were ongoing for the prisoner exchange, while the presence of prisoners with more than one party in Gaza also makes it difficult to locate them.

Shifting to another issue, the source said that 'Hamas leader in Gaza Ya'hya Al-Sinwar is not isolated from what is going on in the Strip, despite the ongoing war and Israeli intelligence operations that continue around the clock. He added that “the talk about Al-Sinwar being isolated in the tunnels is nothing but a claim made by Netanyahu to cover up his failure to achieve the declared objectives.” The source confirmed that Al-Sinwar “is carrying out his leadership role in the field.”

The source mentioned that Al-Sinwar recently inspected areas that witnessed clashes between the resistance and the occupation army and met with some fighters from the Movement above ground, not in tunnels.

Furthermore, he revealed that “discussions were made between the leadership of the Movement internally and externally, without specifying their nature, during which Al-Sinwar briefed the external leadership on the situation of the resistance in the Strip, and he confirmed, with precise numbers and field reports, the strength of the resistance’s position, its steadfastness, and its ability to confront the occupation forces.”

On the other hand, the senior source affirmed that the Movement deals seriously with all proposals to reach a ceasefire agreement, and added that the US administration revealed during the negotiation rounds its blatant indulgence in the war on the enclave.

The source denied that Hamas was under pressure from the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, confirming that the positions of Cairo and Doha have shown understanding of the resistance’s demands and conditions.

The spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Matthew Miller, had claimed two days ago that Hamas changed its demands in the hostage negotiations, he added in a press conference that “the United States will continue to exert pressure to achieve a cessation of hostilities in Gaza and reach an agreement for the release of the hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 attack.”

In response, Hamas condemned the US statements that held the Movement responsible for obstructing the attainment of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, affirming that they are statements that contradict the truth and that the Movement has shown flexibility in facilitating the reaching of an agreement, but it was met with procrastination on the part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

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Jamaica becomes 142nd country to recognize Palestine as a state

Thursday 25-April-2024

KINGSTON, (PIC)

The Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, has announced her country’s official recognition of Palestine as a state on Wednesday.

Smith said following a cabinet meeting that her country continues to believe in the two-state solution as the only viable settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

She said that her country’s decision conforms with the UN charter and with its respect for the rights of people to self-determination.

Expressing concern over the war in Gaza and the escalating humanitarian catastrophe there, Smith called for an immediate ceasefire and for enabling the entry of humanitarian relief aid to Gaza especially for the women and children who suffer daily as a result of that war.

The minister appealed to all those concerned to bear in mind the dire consequences of prolonging the conflict and to resort to diplomatic efforts that ensures safety and sovereignty of all.

Jamaica is the 142nd country to recognize Palestine as a state. 

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Yemen’s armed forces target three vessels in Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean

Thursday 25-April-2024

SANA’A, (PIC)

Yemen’s armed forces conducted three military operations in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in support of the Gaza Strip, military spokesperson Ye'hya Saree' said in a televised speech on Wednesday.

According to the spokesman, Yemen’s armed forces targeted a US warship destroyer and the Maersk Yorktown ship in the Gulf of Aden, as well as the Israeli vessel MSC Veracruz in the Indian Ocean.

Saree' stressed that these operations were launched in support of the victimized Palestinian people in Gaza and in response to the US-British aggression against Yemen, vowing that his group would take more military actions in the coming days.

Saree' pointed out that the armed forces used drones and naval missiles in their attacks on the vessels. 

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'Hizbullah Fires Dozens of Missiles at Israeli Settlements in Response to Hanin Crime: Videos

 Al-Manar, April 24, 2024

In support of the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza and in light of the Israeli aggression on the various South Lebanon villages, the Islamic Resistance continued striking the Zionist occupation sites near Lebanon border.

'Hizbullah military media issued consecutive statements to illustrate the attacks and their outcomes.

The first statement mentioned that, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, particularly the horrific massacre in 'Haneen resulting in the martyrdom and injury of civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the settlement of Shomera, the occupied Lebanese town of Tarbeekha, with tens of Katyusha rockets on Wednesday, 24-04-2024.

According to the second statement, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Al-Rahib site with artillery shells at 10:05 am on Wednesday, inflicting a direct hit.

The third statement indicated that, in response to the “Israeli” attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, specifically the massacre in 'Haneen resulting in the martyrdom and injury of civilians, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted on Wednesday, 24-04-2024, a building housing enemy soldiers in Avivim settlement with appropriate weapons, causing casualties, leaving them dead and wounded.

The Israeli media circulated videos which show the damage caused by the attacks.

The fourth statement maintained that, in response to the “Israeli” attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, especially the massacre in 'Haneen, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of several civilians, the Islamic Resistance targeted on Wednesday, 24-4-2024, a gathering of enemy soldiers in Netu’a Forest with appropriate weapons, causing direct hits.

The fifth statement indicated that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 4:40 pm on Wednesday, 24-4-2024, Ruwaisat Al-'Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfar Shouba with rocket weapons, inflicting direct hits.

The Israeli war jets carried out around 14 air raids on the outskirts of 'Aita Al-Sha'b and Ramya.

Israeli airstrike demolished a two-story house belonging to the Qashaqish family, killing a woman and her niece and leaving six others wounded in 'Haneen town south Lebanon.

In support of the resilient Palestinian people in Gaza and in solidarity with their courageous and honorable resistance, the Islamic Resistance carried out several operations against positions and deployments of the “Israeli” enemy army along the Lebanese-Palestinian borders on Tuesday, 23-04-2024, as follows:

South Lebanon: Woman and Niece Martyred, Six Wounded in Israeli Aggression

 Al-Manar, April 24, 2024  

An Israeli occupation regime airstrike demolished a two-story house belonging to the Qashaqish family, killing a woman and her niece and leaving six others wounded in 'Haneen town south Lebanon, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday. The casualties included 11-year-old Sarah Qashaqish and her aunt Maryam Qashaqish. 

Emergency response teams sprang into action, working to locate survivors buried beneath the rubble. Six wounded victims were rescued and rushed to the Martyr Sala'h Ghandour Hospital in Bint Jubail. 

The Lebanese Islamic Resistance – 'Hizbullah condemned the attack, vowing to respond to the “heinous crime” perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces.

The strike in 'Haneen comes after a previous Israeli aggression on Hebbariya, which targeted paramedics and killed seven, according to reports. The latest aggression joins a series of Israeli airstrikes that have targeted civilians in Lebanon, adding to the toll of innocent lives lost in the ongoing Israeli aggression. 

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Palestinian teen Lara  Jiryis Sayigh dies of sunstroke on her way from Gaza to Rafa'h

GAZA, Thursday, April 25, 2024 (WAFA) –

A Palestinian teen Wednesday died of a sunstroke crossing the safe corridor from the city of Gaza to Rafa'h, according to media sources.

They said that 19-year-old Lara Jiryis Sayigh suffered from a severe sunstroke as she was crossing the safe corridor from the Gaza City neighborhood of Al-Zaytoun to Rafa'h and ultimately to Egypt.

Displaced as a result of the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza, Lara Sayigh had been staying at the accommodation center of the church in Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood for over six months.

She was accompanied by her mother, and they were supposed to exit the blockaded war-torn Gaza Strip through the Rafa'h border crossing after they paid thousands of US dollars in coordination fees to the Egyptian authorities.

Lara, the sources added, lost consciousness due to the intense heat and lack of water, as the Israeli occupation forces obstructed the ambulance crew from reaching her and her mother, causing her to die and her mother to lapse into a coma.

Not only did the occupation forces deny Lara emergency treatment, but they also have prevented her body from being transported to be buried at her church, surrounded by her family.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, killing at least 34,305 Palestinians and injuring over 77,293 others.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

K.F.

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Arms exports to Israel must stop - UN Special Rapporteur

RAMALLAH, Thursday, April 24, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, today stressed the need for holding Israel accountable for its heinous crimes in the Gaza Strip.  

Albanese further called for the urgent need to stop arms exports to Israel.

She said in a statement that the situation in the Gaza Strip has not changed even after the International Court of Justice issued a decision to stop genocide.

 Albanese stressed that "the horror that the people of Gaza are experiencing is indescribable, and the situation is getting worse in the West Bank as well, and the United Nations must shoulder its humanitarian responsibility and provide safety for the displaced civilians."

The UN rapporteur further called for the necessity of imposing sanctions on Israel, an immediate ceasefire, and providing protection for the Palestinians.

Albanese pointed out that Israel still refuses her entry into the occupied territories to carry out her work.

Y.S.

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Red Crescent warns of rapid spread of infectious diseases in Gaza

GAZA, Thursday, April 25, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Executive Director of the Red Crescent Society in the Gaza Strip, Bashar Murad, today confirmed that there is no environment suitable for life in the Gaza Strip, anticipating a large spread of infectious diseases among displaced people.

In an interview with Voice of Palestine, Murad said that the health sector is facing a real catastrophe and crisis that threatens the elderly and children, pointing to the widespread spread of epidemic liver disease among  displaced people as a result of the serious overcrowding inside tents, the scarcity of water, and the lack of electricity to preserve food supplies.

Murad warned of the deterioration of the health conditions of patients with chronic conditions and the injured due to the lack of equipment, medical supplies and medicines, which makes it difficult to obtain health services.

Y.S.

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After 200 days of crisis, Gaza is becoming a graveyard for women and girls, says ActionAid

RAMALLAH, Thursday, April 25, 2024 (WAFA) – 

As the crisis in Gaza passes its 200th day, ActionAid is warning that Gaza is becoming a graveyard for women and girls. At least 70% of the more than 34,000 people killed in the last six-and-a-half months have been women and children, ActionAid said in a statement on Thursday.

According to UN Women, 10,000 women in Gaza have been killed - 6,000 of them mothers. 

The statement said that nowhere in Gaza is safe from the death and destruction. At least 18 children were killed during airstrikes on Rafa'h at the weekend, according to reports, along with a pregnant woman, whose baby doctors managed to save via an emergency caesarean. Airstrikes have been particularly intense in Rafa'h, Dair El-Bala'h and Gaza City, according to UNOCHA, leaving the hundreds of thousands of people sheltering there in fear of their lives.

'Hanifa, a mother who has been displaced to southern Gaza, told ActionAid: 

”The bombing is loud and audible, and sometimes we do not sleep all night, so we wake up and think about what we can feed our children, because there is no food security. We do not know whether we will wake up or not, and if we wake up, what edible things we could find to eat.” 

ActionAid said that women and girls have been impacted by the crisis in Gaza in unique ways over the last 200 days. With only three of the 11 partially functioning hospitals in the territory currently able to provide maternity care, according to UNFPA, pregnant women are having to give birth without adequate care or medical supplies, including antibiotics and painkillers. Extreme food shortages are leaving many women so malnourished that they are unable to breastfeed their newborn babies, while some expectant mothers have experienced miscarriages very late in their pregnancies as a result of malnutrition.

An estimated 690,000 women and girls are having to manage their periods each month amid a severe lack of period products, clean water, soap, toilets and privacy. A recent report by UNRWA claims that women and girls were among detainees in Gaza allegedly subjected to ill treatment by the Israeli forces, including potential sexual violence and harassment. 

Despite experts warning that famine is imminent in Gaza, aid is still not entering the territory on anything like the scale required. An analysis of data compiled by UNRWA shows that, during April so far, only 191 trucks have entered Gaza via the crossings at Karm Abu Salim and Rafa'h on average each day – far below the pre-October 7 average level of 500 trucks per day. So little aid has entered for so long that Oxfam believes 1,500 trucks are now needed per day to make up the shortfall.

Humanitarian workers continue to face unacceptable risks and danger when delivering life-saving aid in Gaza. Barely a week after seven aid workers were tragically killed by an airstrike, UNICEF said one of its convoys had been hit by live ammunition while waiting at a checkpoint. Meanwhile aid is still being blocked from getting to where it is most needed. According to UNOCHA, between April 6 and 12, 41% of humanitarian missions to the north of Gaza - where people are most at risk of famine - were denied, while the World Health Organization said a recent mission to hospitals in northern Gaza was only partially completed due to severe delays at checkpoints and ongoing hostilities. 

If there is to be any hope of averting famine in Gaza, the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza must be significantly scaled up immediately and full access given so that it can reach those most in need. We reiterate that aid workers and infrastructure have protected status under international humanitarian law and should never, ever, be targets. It is also imperative that all donor countries who have not already done so immediately restore funding to UNRWA, which is the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza and a lifeline to the population.  

Riham Ja'fari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine said: 

“For more than 200 days, people in Gaza have been living a nightmare they can’t wake up from. Instead of a place they can live and thrive, Gaza has become a graveyard for women and girls, who make up the majority of the staggering death toll. Those who have survived the near relentless bombing are struggling amid extreme shortages of food and water, while living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.  

“It is clear that the full extent of human rights abuses and horror in Gaza has yet to be fully revealed. We are horrified by recent reports of the discovery of up to 300 bodies in the courtyard of Nasir Hospital in Khan Younus, and demand that a full investigation is carried out without delay.    “Despite the urgent and overwhelming need in Gaza, the amount of aid currently getting in remains woefully insufficient. Humanitarian relief must be drastically scaled up, immediately. Ultimately, though, what women, girls and all those trapped in Gaza desperately need is a permanent ceasefire now – it is the only way to put an end to the killing and allow aid to be safely and efficiently delivered on the enormous scale required.” 

K.T.

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