Documentation of the Israeli abuse of power, mistreatment of humanity, and perpetration of the genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the  Gaza Strip.

*** 

On Day 442 of US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, 3 Massacres, 21 Palestinians Killed, 61 Injured, in the Past 24 Hours, with a Death Toll of  45,227 and 107,573 Injuries

by December 21, 2024

***

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 Strip, based on the reliable data reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza:

By December 21, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 55,227+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (45,227), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 10,000+). 

By December 21, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 107,573.

By December 21, 2024, 827 Palestinians who were killed, 6,591 who were injured, and 10,493*, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023, including 310 women and 640 children (Some of the detainees have been released).

* The number of the Palestinians detainees who remain in the Israeli occupation prisons has been updated today (December 5, 2024), by Wafa, to be 10,300.

***

Palestinian young man, 'Husain Khaddour, was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the village Faqqu’ah, east of Jineen, in the occupied West Bank, December 21, 2024.	Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip appealed to the international community to provide aid, medications, and food to Kamal 'Udwan Hospital, December 21, 2024.
The Israeli occupation army continued, for the 442nd day, to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians in the Gaza Strip, December 21, 2024.	The Israeli occupation forces kill citizens in the Gaza Strip and leave their bodies in the streets for stray dogs to devour, preventing their evacuation, December 21, 2024.
21 Palestinians were killed, 61 were injured, mostly children, by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip, on December 21, 2024.	At least 12 Palestinian civilians, including seven children and one woman, were martyred in a new Israeli massacre in Jabalya, in northern Gaza Strip, on December 21, 2024.
Seven-year-old Palestinian child, Mu'hammed Al-Rashayda was martyred when he stepped on a landmine left by the Israeli occupation army in Bait La'hm, on December 21, 2024.	Preparing Palestinian martyrs for burial, following the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on central Gaza Strip, December 21, 2024.
Carrying the Palestinian martyrs, who were killed by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment, to Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital, in Dair El-Bala'h, on December 21, 2024.	Getting the martyrs of Abu Samra family, who were killed by an Israeli genocidal air strike on their house, in Dair El-Bala'h, in central Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024.

***

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).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ " (الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"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).

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves" (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

***

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.

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza (Since October 7, 2023), which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

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.

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

***

Gaza: Death toll surges to 45,227 martyrs

Saturday 21-December-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that the Israeli army committed three massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, and killed and injured at least 82 civilians, while a large number of victims are still under the rubble of bombed buildings or lying on roads.

In a statement, the health ministry explained that the Israeli army killed and injured a large number of civilians in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours, but at least 21 martyrs and 61 wounded citizens arrived at hospitals.

The health ministry added that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli bombardments and shooting attacks climbed to 45,227 martyrs and the number of the wounded surged to 107,573 people.

The Gaza Strip has been under brutal bombardment since a cross-border operation was launched by Hamas’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, on October 7, 2023.

Besides the large number of casualties and the huge displacement of people, basic food, fuel, water and medical supplies have run out for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the tight Israeli blockade and the massive destruction of infrastructure and facilities.

***

Israeli genocidal war on Gaza enters day 442

Saturday 21-December-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

In the midst of catastrophic humanitarian suffering for more than two million Palestinians — half of them children, the Israeli occupation army continued, for the 442nd consecutive day, to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern areas.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said on Saturday that the Israeli occupation army carried out attacks on several homes, civilian targets and shelter centers in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours, killing and injuring dozens of citizens.

The Israeli army’s large-scale genocidal campaign in northern Gaza, especially in Jabalya and Bait Lahya, has entered day 76, where its forces continue to intensively bomb homes and shelters and attack civilians while imposing a tight siege on the entire area.

Deliberate Israeli attacks on ambulance and civil defense workers already deprived northern Gaza of any rescue services.

Local sources said the Israeli army attacked a group of civilians near the Kamal 'Udwan Hospital in northern Gaza, killing and injuring a number of them.

The Israeli army also bombed a group of civilians who gathered at a phone charging and internet distribution point in ash-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, killing seven of them and injuring others.

An Israeli airstrike on a house near Al-Tabi’een School in central Gaza killed a citizen and injured others.

More casualties were reported in other areas of Gaza following Israeli aerial, artillery and shooting attacks last night and today.

In a related context, the health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that the Israeli army committed three massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, and killed and injured at least 82 civilians, while a large number of victims are still under the rubble of bombed buildings or lying on roads.

***

12 civilians killed in new Israeli massacre in northern Gaza

Saturday 21-December-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

At least 12 Palestinian civilians, including seven children and one woman, were martyred in a new Israeli massacre in Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday evening.

Local sources said that those civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house belonging to the family of Khilla in Jabalya Al-Nazla area.

Footage showed the moment when a warplane bombed the house in northern Gaza.

Earlier, eight civilians were killed and at least 15 others, mostly children, were injured in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Al-Nusayrat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The health authorities in Gaza reported on Friday evening that at least 56 people had been martyred in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the dawn of Friday, 42 of them in northern Gaza.

***

Four civilians killed and several injured in Israeli airstrike on Al-Nusayrat, central Gaza

GAZA, December 21, 2024 (WAFA) – Four Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a home in Al-Nusayrat refugee camp, central Gaza, on Saturday evening.

WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli fighter jets struck the home of the Kabaja family, causing the murder of four civilians and injuring others. The attack also caused damage to neighboring homes.

Earlier in the day, another Israeli airstrike on Al-Mansoura Street in Al-Shuja'iya neighborhood east of Gaza City resulted in the killing of four more individuals and left others injured.

In a separate incident, an Israeli airstrike targeted a house belonging to the Filfil family, located near Al-Shaikh Zayid Mosque in northern Gaza. A woman and her three daughters were killed in the attack.

Additionally, seven Palestinians were killed, and others injured in a series of airstrikes on the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City. Israeli forces also continued to demolish and burn homes in the remaining parts of Jabalya and Bait Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip.

Local and medical sources reported that the total number of people killed in Gaza since the early hours of today has exceeded 20, with the majority of casualties from Gaza City and Northern Gaza governorates.

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023 has so far resulted in at least 45,227 documented Palestinian fatalities, with over 107,573 others injured.

Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.

Israel's genocidal attacks continue unabated despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

M.N

***

Mother and her three daughters killed in Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza

GAZA, December 21, 2024 (WAFA) –

A mother and her three daughters were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday evening in northern Gaza. The attack targeted the Filfil family home near Al-Shaikh Zayid Mosque in the region, according to local sources.

The bombing resulted in the murder of the mother, along with her three children, as their house was destroyed in the strike. The identities of the victims have not yet been confirmed.

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023 has so far resulted in at least 45,227 documented Palestinian fatalities, with over 107,573 others injured.

Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.

Israel's genocidal attacks continue unabated despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

M.N.

***

‎Gaza: Kamal 'Udwan Hospital under heavy Israeli attack

Sunday 22-December-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation army started on Saturday night an intense and indiscriminate attack on the Kamal 'Udwan Hospital in northern Gaza, targeting the facility with bombs, artillery shells, and sniper fire.

The attack caused significant damage to the hospital’s departments, equipment and power generators.

Meanwhile, medical staff and patients have sought shelter by gathering in the hallways and other secure areas of the hospital to protect themselves from the ongoing bombardment and sniper fire.

Medical sources at the hospital affirmed that the Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) ordered them to evacuate the facility immediately while continuing to bomb and shoot at it.

Director of the hospital 'Husam Abu Safiya said that the IOFs ordered the medical staff and patients inside the facility to evacuate and walk to the Indonesian Hospital in Jabalya, adding that the conditions are not suitable for evacuation as there are no ambulances to transport the patients and wounded people.

Abu Safiya also said such intense attacks on the hospital never happened before, adding that bullets penetrated the facility’s walls and damaged the remaining medical equipment.

He condemned the world’s silence on the genocide taking place at the hospital.

For its part, the Palestinian health ministry appealed to the world to urgently move to protect the medical staff and patients at the Kamal Hospital against Israeli attacks, which it described as heavy, violent and unprecedented.

The Kamal 'Udwan Hospital has been constantly targeted by Israeli forces in recent weeks, resulting in fatalities and injuries among medical personnel, patients, and civilians living in nearby homes and shelters. The frequent attacks have led to severe disruptions to medical services at the facility.

***

Civil Defense: IOFs deliberately leaves martyrs’ bodies in the streets for stray dogs to devour

Saturday 21-December-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Civil Defense said the Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) kill citizens in the Gaza Strip and leave their bodies in the streets for stray dogs to devour, preventing their evacuation in clear violation of international law.

The Civil Defense confirmed, in a statement on Saturday, that the Israeli occupation army bans their crews and medical relief teams from approaching the bodies, evacuating them to bury them decently, claiming those areas are dangerous combat zones, and directly fire at the crews whenever they approach them.

It stressed that such Israeli measures contradict the heavenly laws as well as international and humanitarian laws, as this illegal policy has led to exposing the bodies of the martyrs to being devoured by hungry stray dogs that feed on martyrs’ bodies before the eyes of Israeli occupation soldiers.

It pointed out that “when our crews dealt with dozens of bodies of martyrs after the Israeli army withdrew from some areas, they found the bodies mere skeletons, and in other cases, they saw dogs devouring other bodies.”

The IOFs also prevents civil defense crews from reaching the bodies of thousands of martyrs, decomposed under the rubble of destroyed homes, and deliberately destroy all heavy digging equipment and devices to prevent access to dead bodies and bury them appropriately.

The civil defense called on countries that ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention to take urgent action and oblige Israel, as the occupying power, to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law.

The civil defense called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the international community to exert pressure on Israeli occupation authorities to follow the guide to Treatment of the Dead in wartime.

It stressed the need to protect the civil defense and medical relief crews’ right to move freely in conflict areas in accordance with international protocols to immediately transfer the martyrs’ bodies scattered in the streets of the Gaza Strip in order to be buried properly.

***

‎***

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

***

Palestinian young man killed by Israeli gunfire in eastern Jineen

Saturday 21-December-2024

 Jineen, (PIC)

A Palestinian young man was shot dead by an Israeli soldier on Saturday in Faqqu’ah village, east of  Jineen in the occupied West Bank.

The Red Crescent said that 24-year-old 'Husain Khaddour suffered a critical bullet injury after he came under fire from the Israeli occupation army during his presence near the separation wall in the village.

Khaddour was pronounced dead later at a hospital in  Jineen City.

***

Palestinian child killed by Israeli landmine in the West Bank

Saturday 21-December-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

A Palestinian child was killed on Saturday morning when a landmine left behind by the Israeli occupation army exploded in Al-Rashayda area, east of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem) in the West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry said that seven-year-old Mu'hammed Sl-Rashayda was martyred when he stepped on a landmine left by the Israeli army in Al-Rashayda area.

Unexploded ordnance left behind by the Israeli army is particularly concentrated in the southern West Bank areas and the northern Jordan Valley, where its military exercises take place.

The Israeli army routinely uses Palestinian land in the West Bank for training and live fire exercises, leaving behind unexploded shells and bombs, which pose a deadly threat to local residents.

In this regard, senior Hamas official Ma'hmoud Mardawi mourned the seven-year-old boy from the family of Al-Rashayda who was martyred in a landmine explosion in the West Bank.

In a statement, Mardawi accused the Israeli army of deliberately leaving landmines and explosive objects in certain West Bank areas as part of its efforts to displace the local populations and take over their lands.

Mardawi also stated that the West Bank people and youths would remain a thorn in the side of the Israeli occupation and its agents until the liberation of the Palestinian land.

The Hamas official described the repeated Israeli raids and acts of rampage and destruction in the West Bank as “barbaric practices reflecting the nature of the fascist and criminal occupation state.”

He expressed his belief that the systematic attacks that are carried out by government-backed settler groups in the West Bank would not succeed in displacing Palestinians from their land and rather would increase their determination to remain steadfast in the face of Israeli plans.  

***

IOFs launch raid, kidnapping campaign in Nablus and Jineen

Saturday 21-December-2024

NABLUS, (PIC)

Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) launched at dawn Saturday a large-scale raid and kidnapping campaign in the towns of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, and Silat Al-'Harithiya in Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Israeli Special forces infiltrated Burqa town, followed by reinforcements consisting of 20 military vehicles, and broke into a big number of citizens’ homes.

The IOFs occupied the square area in the center of Burqa and turned it into an interrogation field.

The IOFs broke into the home of the young man Tamir Saif and sabotaged its contents, brutally assaulted him, and kidnapped him while he was bleeding, along with other detainees.

Among the identified detainees was the ex-prisoner 'Ammar Sala'h, who was kidnapped after destroying the car of his brother, ex-prisoner Munjid Sala'h.

The Israeli occupation soldiers deliberately destroyed citizens’ property during the storming of the town, breaking the windows of the cars parked in the streets and in front of residents’ homes.

Meanwhile, Palestinian resistance fighters confronted, at dawn Saturday, the IOFs storming of the town of Silat Al-'Harithiya, northwest of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

Clashes erupted between resistance fighters and the IOFs in several axes in the town, as the resistance fighters were able to detonate a number of anti-personnel and anti-vehicle bombs in infantry soldiers and military vehicles.

The resistance fighters also targeted the IOFs and their military vehicles with a volley of bullets.

Local sources reported that the IOFs encircled the house of the Al-Qassam Brigades martyr Rafat Dawasa (known as Al-Tayyib), while snipers were deployed on buildings’ rooftops in the town.

***

***

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

*** 

Illegal Israeli settlers block road to Wadi Fukeen village in Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), December 21, 2024 (WAFA) –

A group of the illegal Israeli Jewish settlers  blocked the entrance to Wadi Fukeen village, located west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday evening, according to local sources.

Ibraheem 'Hamamra, the head of the Wadi Fukeen Village Council, reported to our correspondent that a group of Israeli colonists from the nearby Beitar Illit settlement, which occupies Palestinian lands, blocked the village’s entrance with large stones, preventing both vehicles and residents from passing through.

This latest incident is part of a broader pattern of violence and intimidation by Israeli colonists against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. 

Over the years, such acts of aggression have become increasingly common, with colonists often engaging in physical attacks, land theft, and vandalism, all aimed at asserting control over Palestinian territories.

M.N.

***

IOAR force two Maqdisis (Jerusalemites) to demolish their homes in holy city of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Sunday 22-December-2024

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime (IOAR) forced on Saturday two Maqdisi (Jerusalemite) citizens to demolish their homes at their own expense in the holy city, claiming they had been built with no permits.

According to the Jerusalem mayor’s office, the Israeli municipality forced Hani Shuqairat to demolish parts of his home in Jabel Al-Mukabbir neighborhood, south of the holy city, at the pretext of unlicensed construction.

The municipality also forced another Jerusalemite citizen called Mahmoud Aqil to knock his house in Silwan district, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque. 'Aqeel was living with his wife and two kids in the house.

Meanwhile, another citizen from the family of 'Obaidat received an Israeli demolition order against his home in Jabel Al-Mukabbir neighborhood.

Jerusalemite citizens are forced to knock down their homes to avoid paying fines and demolition costs if Israeli demolition crews carried out the measure.

Hundreds of Maqdisi (Jerusalemite)  homes are threatened with demolition or appropriation as part of Israel’s Judaization plans in the occupied holy city.

The Maqdisis (Jerusalemites) have no choice but to build without licenses because there are no structural maps that respond to the natural increase in their numbers.

The IOAR also imposes building restrictions on the Palestinian natives in east Jerusalem and makes it hard for them to obtain construction licenses.

Israel’s systematic demolition of Palestinian homes in the holy city is believed to be aimed at psychologically destroying the Jerusalemite families in an attempt to force them to move from the city.

***

Villagers suffer from teargas attack by IOFs in Nablus village

Saturday 21-December-2024

NABLUS, (PIC)

Several citizens suffered from suffocation on Saturday during an incursion by Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) into Qusra, south of Nablus.

Anti-settlement activist Fawaed 'Hasan reported that the IOF stormed the southeastern area of Qusra, firing live bullets and tear gas, which resulted in several citizens suffering from suffocation.

Additionally, settlers attacked farmers in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, also on Saturday with no injuries reported.

Village activist Ma'hmoud Barakat said that a group of settlers invaded the southern area of the village known as Al-Sanan and attacked farmers in an attempt to force them to leave the area.

Settlers also attacked the home of citizen Mu'hammed 'Abdul 'Azeez Nawabit, but no injuries were reported.

In the same context, Israeli settlers attacked the homes of citizens in the village of Susya, located in the Masafir Yatta area south of Al Khalil in the West Bank, on Saturday. Local sources reported that the settlers threw stones at the homes, uprooted crops, and damaged property surrounding the houses in the village.

The settlers destroyed winter crops and trees around the home of citizen Hussein Al-Nawaj'a, and damaged property around the home of citizen Yousuf Al-Nawaj'a.

Since the Al-Aqsa Flood attack on October 7, 2023, the Israeli army and settlers have intensified their assaults on Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem. These assaults have resulted in the martyrdom of more than 806 Palestinians, approximately 6,500 injuries, and the arrest of over 11,000 others, according to Palestinian official data.

***

***

News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

***

The Palestinian Ministry of Health appeals to the international community for medicine, food for Kamal 'Udwan Hospital

Saturday 21-December-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has appealed to the international community to provide aid, medications, and food to Kamal 'Udwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

The ministry announced in press remarks on Saturday that the hospital, located in the town of Bait Lahya in northern Gaza, is subjected to continuous Israeli gunfire around the clock, noting that shells have fallen on the third floor and at the hospital’s entrances, causing panic among patients and medical staff.

For his part, the director of Kamal 'Udwan Hospital, 'Husam Abu Safiya, confirmed that the Israeli army targeted the third floor of the hospital with artillery shells, without causing injuries. He added that the hospital is under constant threat, with its walls filled with bullets and shells, making it appear as a military target.

He emphasized that the hospital has not received the necessary maintenance supplies to maintain electricity, water, and oxygen, despite promises, appealing to anyone who can provide what the hospital needs to save the injured.

He noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) has managed to send only 70 units of blood, despite the hospital’s need for 200 units. He stressed that the Israeli army did not allow all the required supplies to enter and prevented medical teams from accessing the site, amid a severe shortage of medical supplies, devices, medications, and pain relievers.

The hospital director also highlighted that food is very scarce, stating, “We cannot provide meals for the injured. We call on the world to urgently intervene even to allow the entry of food so we can provide at least one meal a day for the injured who clearly need nutrition during their recovery, as well as for the medical team working around the clock.”

He reported the evacuation of about 9 injured individuals in need of urgent surgical intervention to the city of Gaza, while there are currently more than 72 injured patients in Kamal 'Udwan Hospital.

The Israeli occupation army continues to target Kamal 'Udwan Hospital in Bait Lahya, particularly since Israel launched a new military operation in northern Gaza on October 5, under the pretext of preventing Hamas from regaining strength in the area.

With U.S. support, the Israeli occupation has been conducting a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in more than 152,000 deaths and injuries, the majority of whom are women and children, and around 10,000 missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings and in the streets, as the Israeli occupation forces prevent rescue teams from reaching them, alongside massive destruction of infrastructure.

***

Severe food shortages in Gaza push thousands to the brink of starvation, says ActionAid

GAZA, December 21, 2024 (WAFA) –

ActionAid, an international humanitarian organization, has reported that citizens in Gaza are facing an extreme struggle to survive, with many now surviving on less than a single loaf of bread per day. The acute food shortage has forced both bakeries and community kitchens to close their doors.

In a statement released on Saturday, the organization said many families rely on community kitchens as their last hope for a single meal each day. However, several of these kitchens have been forced to shut down, leaving people without any source of food. 

This dire situation is exacerbated by the severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza, imposed by Israeli authorities, as well as the skyrocketing prices of food products.

According to ActionAid, only four bakeries are currently operational in Gaza, managed by the World Food Programme, yet the demand for bread has grown so high that people are forced to begin queuing outside bakeries and flour trucks as early as 3:00 AM to secure their share.

The price of a 25 kg bag of flour has surged to approximately 1,000 shekels in Dair El-Bala'h, as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in northern Gaza.

The organization also pointed out that food supplies have been cut off for nearly 75,000 people in northern Gaza for over 70 days. Doctors and patients at Al-'Awda Hospital in northern Gaza are surviving on just one meal per day.

"The hunger and malnutrition in northern Gaza are escalating rapidly, and the threshold for famine has already been surpassed. Despite this, aid has been minimal and limited in reaching the region," ActionAid stated.

The organization emphasized that as Israeli airstrikes continue to target Gaza, even the act of stepping out to search for food puts lives at risk. On December 1, 13 people were killed and 30 others injured in an airstrike while civilians were waiting to collect food aid.

Riham Jafri, Communications and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid, said, "As hunger continues to be used as a weapon of war in Gaza, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to get enough food to stay alive. Our partners and humanitarian workers are doing their utmost to secure food parcels and hot meals where possible, but with the extremely limited supplies allowed into Gaza, even community kitchens have been forced to close."

She added, "With no safe place to go, people are faced with a tragic choice: either die from hunger or risk being killed or injured while waiting in food queues. The world cannot continue to watch in silence as the people of Gaza wither away. A permanent ceasefire is the only way to ensure that aid reaches over two million people in need and to prevent a widespread famine."

The ongoing crisis in Gaza is placing immense pressure on its population, already suffering from a years-long Israeli blockade and genocide. 

M.N.

***

===============================================================================================================================

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 verbs "abduct" and "kidnap" than the verbs "detain" and "arrest," 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. 

***

Names of some of the Palestinian cities, as pronounced in standard Arabic, and their foreign names in parentheses: 

Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

Al-Nusayrat

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Aree'ha (Jericho)

Al-Zaytoun (al-Zeitoun)

Bait (Beit)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Dair El-Bala'h

Jineen (Jenin)

Khan Younus (Khan Younis)

***

Person's names as pronounced in standard Arabic:

A'hmed, 'Hasan, Mu'hammed, Younus, Yousuf,  

'Hasan Mulai'hat,

***

Conflict terminology

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime (the Israeli government)

Illegal Israeli settlers (instead of settlers, colonists)

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers

***