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.

On Day 259 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, Massacres, 19 Palestinians Killed, 89 Injured, with a Death Toll of  37,450 and 85,742 Injuries

June 21, 2024 

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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 Strip:  

By June 21, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 44,450+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (37,450 and those who are still missing under the rubble (Corrected on April 18, 2024: 7,000+). 

By June 21, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 85,742 and more than 2,520 civilians have been abducted from Gaza Strip. 70% of deaths were for children and women.

By June 21, 2024, 552 Palestinians who were killed, 5,205 who were injured, and 9,300, 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).

By May 21, 2023, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza included 15,000+ children (43%).

By March 4, 2023, the death toll also included 13,420+ children, 8,900+ women (more than 72.8% of the accounted for victims), 364 doctors and medical staff, 132 journalists, and 48 civil defense workers. 

By May 25, 2024, the Government Media Office (GMO) said that the Israeli occupation forces killed 493 health personnel and kidnapped 310 others of them.

By January 17, 2024, about 661 detainees from Gaza are currently languishing in Israeli prisons as “illegitimate combatants” (the Israeli term for Palestinian fighters) in addition to more than 50 women from Gaza, who are detained in the Damon prison, noting that 8 women of whom have been recently released.

By March 4, 2024, the Government Media Office (GMO) said that the Israeli occupation forces killed 493 health personnel and kidnapped 310 others of them (May 25, 2024), destroyed 155 health institutions, 32 hospitals, 53 health centers, 126 ambulances, displaced 1.9 million Palestinians, and destroyed 360,000 housing units, about and 60% of the buildings and infrastructure in Gaza Strip.

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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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At least 25 Palestinian civilians were killed, 50 others were wounded by an Israeli genocidal attack on tents of displaced people in Al-Mawasi, northwest of Rafa'h on June 21, 2024	Palestinian mothers grieving the death of their little children, who were massacred by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip, file, June 21, 2024

UN experts call on states and companies to end arms transfers to the Israeli occupation apartheid regime immediately, poster, June 21, 2024	Despite the various Israeli restrictions, at least 30,000 of the Palestinian Muslim worshipers performed Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, June 21, 2024
UN OCHA says that there are families in Gaza who eat one meal every 2 or 3 days, while others share whatever they have, due to the Israeli-imposed famine, June 21, 2024	36 Palestinian detainees from Gaza die of torture in the Israeli occupation regime prisons, as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, June 21, 2024
Al-Aqsa TV journalist, Salim Al-Shurafa, was martyred in an Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip, which raised the number of martyred Journalists to 152, June 21, 2024	A bleeding Palestinian child who was among those who were injured and martyred by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip, June 21, 2024
As severe famine spreads in Gaza Strip, due to the Israeli tight siege, Palestinian civilians share whatever food they can find, such as rice-only meals, June 21, 2024.	A school in Khan Younus, which shelters displaced Palestinian civilians, after it was bombed by Israeli occupation forces, June 21, 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). 

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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.

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.

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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30,000 Palestinians perform Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the Israeli security restrictions

Friday 21-June-2024

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

At least 30,000 Palestinian worshipers performed Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), despite Israeli restrictions.

According to the Islamic Endowments Department in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), around 30,000 Muslims performed the Friday prayer at the holy shrine.

Since the early morning hours, the Israeli police have blocked several roads leading to the Old City of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) and hindered the movement of Palestinian citizens.

The preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Shaikh Mu'hammed Sarandah, slammed during the Friday sermon the failure of the Islamic and Arab nations to support the besieged people of the Gaza Strip.

“The rulers must care about Al-Aqsa Mosque and the people of Gaza,” he added.

He also healed the strong steadfastness of the people of the Gaza Strip.

Since the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces have imposed more restrictions on West Bankers’ entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Earlier Friday, thousands of Maqdisis (Jerusalemites) performed the Fajr prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque despite the Israeli security restrictions at its gates.

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UN experts: States and companies must end arms transfers to Israel immediately

Friday 21-June-2024

NEW YORK, (PIC)

The transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws and risk State complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide, UN experts said Thursday evening, reiterating their demand to stop transfers immediately.

In line with recent calls from the Human Rights Council and the independent UN experts to States to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, arms manufacturers supplying Israel – including BAE Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Oshkosh, Rheinmetall AG, Rolls-Royce Power Systems, RTX, and ThyssenKrupp – should also end transfers, even if they are executed under existing export licenses.

“These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws,” the experts said. This risk is heightened by the recent decision from the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, having recognized genocide as a plausible risk, as well as the request filed by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“In this context, continuing arms transfers to Israel may be seen as knowingly providing assistance for operations that contravene international human rights and international humanitarian laws and may result in profit from such assistance.”

“An end to transfers must include indirect transfers through intermediary countries that could ultimately be used by Israeli forces, particularly in the ongoing attacks on Gaza.”

The UN experts said that arms companies must systematically and periodically conduct enhanced human rights due diligence to ensure that their products are not used in ways that violate international human rights and international humanitarian laws.

“Arms initiate, sustain, exacerbate, and prolong armed conflicts, as well as other forms of oppression, hence, the availability of arms is an essential precondition for the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights, including by private armament companies,” said the experts.

They said the ongoing Israeli military assault is characterized by indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on the civilian population and infrastructure, including through extensive use of explosive and incendiary weapons in densely populated areas, as well as in the destruction and damage of essential and life-sustaining essential civilian infrastructure, including housing and shelters, health, education, water and sanitation facilities. These attacks have resulted in more than 37,000 deaths in Gaza and 84,000 injured. Of these deaths and injuries, an estimated 70 per cent are women and children.

“Today, children in Gaza are the largest group of amputee children in the world due to grave injuries sustained in the war. These operations have also resulted in severe environmental and climate damages.”

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‎'Hamas plans a legal response to ICC arrest warrants

Friday 21-June-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The 'Hamas Movement declared that it is planning a legal response against the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against three of its top leaders.

Calling the war crimes accusations against three of its top leaders – Ya'hya Al-Sinwar, Isma'eel Haniyya and Mu'hammed Dhaif – “baseless”, 'Hamas said it would argue Palestinians have “the right, indeed the duty, to resist occupation by all means available, including armed resistance.”

The ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan said in May the three Hamas leaders bore responsibility for the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1,139 people with 250 captives taken to Gaza.

The same day, Khan announced he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war minister Yoav Gallant.

In its statement, 'Hamas described Khan as biased in Israel’s favor.

It said the prosecutor “erred in considering that the state of conflict began on October 7,” asserting it began in 1948 with Israel’s establishment.

The Movement pointed out that the Public Prosecutor believed the Israeli sexual assault accusations, although the occupation was unable to provide a single piece of evidence for its claims.

“The bias of the Public Prosecutor appeared blatantly when he brought charges and requested the issuance of an arrest warrant against the head of the Movement, who is a political figure residing outside Gaza.,” the statement reads.

However, the Public Prosecutor, the statement continued, did not direct any charges against the Israeli Chief of Staff, who ordered all killing, destruction, and genocide operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Movement further affirmed its respect for international law, while the Israeli occupation rebels against it and against the resolutions of international legitimacy.

The Public Prosecutor and the International Criminal Court are facing a historical test of their credibility, it concluded. 

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UN OCHA: Families in Gaza eat one meal every 2 or 3 days

Friday 21-June-2024

NEW YORK, (PIC)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that a number of families in southern Gaza Strip eat one meal every two or three days, while other families depend on sharing food with each other.

This was stated in press statements by Far'han 'Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations, as reported on the UN News website.

OCHA explained that hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza are suffering from limited access to shelter, healthcare, food, water and sanitation.

It added that between June 7 and June 14, 2024, the office conducted humanitarian assessments at displacement sites in Dair El-Bala'h, Khan Younus and the Al-Mawasi area of Rafa'h, and found that people are living in tents in overcrowded temporary shelters that are in dire need of repair and provide no protection from the intense heat.

The Office also explained that access to water is extremely low, and people are forced to stand in long queues for hours to obtain it, and they are compelled to rely on seawater for domestic use.

The UN office mentioned that there is a continuous spread of infectious diseases with sewage flooding, the proliferation of insects, rodents and snakes, and an almost complete lack of hygiene materials and sanitation facilities.

OCHA said that many families reported that they only eat one meal a day, and some eat one meal every two or three days, relying mainly on bread and sharing food with other families and rationing supplies.

It explained that access restrictions have continued to seriously undermine the delivery of essential humanitarian aid and services throughout Gaza.

The UN Deputy Spokesperson stressed the need to fully facilitate humanitarian operations in Gaza and remove all obstacles.

By June 20, 2024, the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip continued for the 258th day, with the death toll rising to 37,431, the majority of them children and women, in addition to 85,653 injured, in a non-final toll, as thousands of victims remain under the rubble and on the streets, while the occupation forces prevents ambulance and rescue teams from reaching them. 

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Palestinian Ministry of Detainees: 36 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza die of torture in Israeli occupation regime prisons

Friday 21-June-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees in the Gaza Strip has said that the number of prisoners who have been martyred in Israeli occupation jails because of inhumane detention conditions rose to 54 martyrs.

The ministry explained in a statement on Thursday evening that 36 Palestinian prisoners from Gaza have died due to torture and systematic beating they have been subjected to over the course of the ongoing genocide war on Gaza for more than eight months.

The statement pointed out that the tally of Palestinian prisoners who have been detained since the beginning of the Israeli genocidal war has risen to 9,000 including 300 women, 635 children and 80 journalists.

The ministry stressed that the Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) persist in committing heinous crimes against Palestinian prisoners, most notably the crime of enforced disappearance.

It added that Israeli prisons have become mass graves of thousands of prisoners, amid shameful silence of international institutions such as the Red Cross.

The Palestinian detainees are held inside small prison sections with rooms turned into isolation cells, a limited number of beds compared to the number of prisoners which sometimes reaches 15 detainees in one room, forcing most of them to sleep on the floor due to overcrowding.

According to testimonies by some recently released detainees, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are subjected to various forms of torture and inhumane and degrading treatment, the statement highlighted.

The ministry listed some of these oppressive practices, such as forcibly and repeatedly stripping detainees, shackling their hands and legs, covering their eyes for long hours, shocking them with electricity, and starving them.

Other methods of torture include preventing detainees from sitting down or standing up by fixing them to chairs or hanging them down while shackled and restrained and drilling their bodies with a sharp tool, depriving them of sleep, bathing, and medical care, letting police dogs attack them, and exposing them to low temperatures, the ministry added.

Another form of psychological torture is calling on Israeli officials and civilians to come and watch the torture process as means of insult and humiliation.

The ministry concluded its statement by condemning in the strongest terms these serious violations against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, urging all human rights and international organizations to denounce such practices and to visit Israeli prisons and investigation centers to investigate these violations and brutal crimes.

The ministry stressed the need to pressure the IOFs to stop these offences immediately and to hold the Israeli officials, who are responsible for committing crimes against humanity, accountable before international courts.

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UN urges ease of access for humanitarian missions into war-ridden Gaza

WASHINGTON DC, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) -

A UN official has voiced concern over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and called on the Israeli occupation authorities to allow aid delivery.

"Humanitarian operations in Gaza must be fully facilitated and all impediments must be lifted," deputy spokesman Far'han Haq told reporters.

Haq stressed that access constraints continue to "severely undermine" the delivery of humanitarian assistance and services across Gaza.

He added that between June 1-18, out of the 61 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza, 28 were facilitated by Israeli authorities, eight were denied access, 16 were impeded, and nine were canceled due to logistical, operational or security reasons.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza suffer from poor access to shelter, health, food, water and sanitation, he stressed.

"From 7 to 14 June, OCHA led humanitarian assessments in four displacement sites in the south of Gaza; Dair El Bala'h, two in Khan Younus and two in Al-Mawasi area of Rafa'h," Haq said, adding access to water is "critically" low, and people have to queue for long hours to collect it and are forced to rely on sea water for domestic use.

"Many households report having only one meal every day, with some having one meal every two or three days, relying mostly on bread, food sharing with other families, and rationing stocks," he added.

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UN official: What I have seen defies description

Friday 21-June-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

After nearly nine months of the war that started on Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza population has been almost entirely dispossessed of the means to ensure food security, shelter, health, and livelihood, a UN official told journalists on Friday.

Maryse Guimond, from the Palestine office of the UN Women, spoke at a UN news conference after completing a one-week mission inside Gaza.

“What I have seen defies description,” said Guimond. “The moment you enter at the Karm Abu Salim crossing, and the fence closes behind you, you feel locked into a world of devastation.

“Homes, hospitals, schools, universities, daycare centers have been demolished. As you move toward the middle area, you see crowds of people — men, women, and children — in makeshift tents, trapped in a world of scarcity.”

She said that more than 1 million people in Gaza are in constant displacement, and nowhere is safe for women and girls in Gaza, many of whom have already been displaced multiple times.

Guimond said people are moving to any available open space, including roads, agricultural land, and damaged buildings, as they are displaced into increasingly smaller areas that are unable and unequipped to support them.

“After nearly nine months of war, the population has been almost entirely dispossessed of the means and capacities to ensure food security, shelter, health, and livelihood,” she explained.

“Women were asking me, ‘When can we go back to our homes?’ Each displacement has brought more loss and fear,” said Guimond, noting that “Gaza is more than two million stories of loss.”

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

On June 21, 2024, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, the Spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip resulted in massacres, which resulted in the killing of 19 Palestinian civilians, and the injury of 89 others, in the past 24 hours. This increased the accounted for death toll in Gaza Strip to 37,450 and the injuries to 85,742, since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on October 7, 2023.   

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25 Palestinian civilians killed, 50 wounded in a new Israeli massacre in Al-Mawasi

Friday 21-June-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

At least 25 Palestinians were killed, 50 others were wounded by an Israeli genocidal attack on tents of displaced people in Al-Mawasi northwest of Rafa'h on Friday evening.

The massacre caused a new and large displacement wave in Al-Mawasi area, after Israeli tanks bombed the displacement tents.

Israeli tanks pushed deeper into western Rafa'h in south Gaza, firing shells at displaced people’s tents, leaving many casualties among them.

The Israeli occupation forces burned several Palestinian homes before withdrawing from Rafa'h, which increased the suffering of the local residents.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society confirmed that its crews are dealing with a large number of martyrs and wounded people following Al-Mawasi massacre.

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US-backed Israeli genocidal war on Gaza enters Day 259

Friday 21-June-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip entered Day 259 on Friday, aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that the Israeli occupation army continued to bomb homes and attack citizens in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours.

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces also continued their ground invasion of large neighborhoods in Rafa'h, amid aerial and artillery bombardment.

Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Fakhari neighborhood, southeast of Khan Younus.

Another person was killed by Israeli gunfire in Al-Mawasi area, west of Rafa'h.

Meanwhile, the Israeli warplanes launched several raids west of the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli warplanes also bombed east of Dair El-Bala'h, in Al-Musaddar, and east of Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip and in the vicinity of the Saudi neighborhood, west of Rafa'h.

Israeli warplanes also targeted northern Nusayrat in conjunction with violent artillery shelling.

The Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza affirmed that the Israeli deliberate targeting of health facilities and residential areas increases the number of victims and disrupts their work.

The health society also pointed out that the situation in the northern Gaza Strip is catastrophic, amid widespread famine.

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Israeli genocidal airstrike on central Gaza kills five Palestinians, injure others

GAZA, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) –

 An Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces airstrike on the central part of the Gaza city today killed at least five Palestinians and injured others, according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that Israeli warplanes targeted the apartments of the Mushtaha and Abu Al-'Atta families, located behind the Catholic Convent in the city of Gaza.

He added that the emergency and rescue teams managed to recover the bodies of five people and several casualties from the rubble of the apartments.

Meanwhile, the occupation fighter jets bombed a house of the Sala'h family in Al-Shati refugee camp, west of the city of Gaza, resulting in a number of fatalities and casualties, at a time when the occupation artillery shelled Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of the city.

Another airstrike targeted the vicinity of Wadi Gaza (Gaza Valley) in the central Strip, resulting in a number of casualties.

In the Rafa'h city, Israeli fighter jets slammed Khirbet Al-'Adas, north of the city, resulting in two fatalities and several casualties, at a time when a number of people were injured due to occupation artillery shelling that targeted the vicinity of tents sheltering displaced people.

Tried 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 37,431 Palestinians and injuring over 85,653 others.

Moreover, approximately 10,000 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 Rafa'h near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

K.F.

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Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli attack on Gaza

Friday 21-June-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

Broadcaster Al-Aqsa TV announced via Telegram that one of its journalists, Salim Al-Shurafa, was targeted in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening.

According to the Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza, Al-Shurafa’s death raises the tally of media workers who were killed by the Israeli genocidal attacks on Gaza since October 7 to at least 152.

By June 20, 2024, the Palestinian death toll from relentless Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last October has reached 37,431.

In addition, many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.

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17 civilians killed and dozens injured in continued Israeli genocidal airstrikes on Gaza

GAZA, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) -

At least 17 civilians were killed and dozens injured over the last night in continued Israeli genocidal airstrikes targeting populated areas across the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.

In central Gaza, two civilians were killed and 12 others injured when Israeli warplanes bombed a house in Al-Nusayrat refugee camp. Additional injuries were reported following tank shelling in the nearby Al-Maghazi and Al-Buaeij refugee camps.

In Dair El-Bala'h, one person was killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting the city.

Eight more people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike on a house in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City. The victims were taken to Al-Ahli Al-Arabi Baptist Hospital in the city.

Meanwhile, rescue teams recovered the bodies of three children and their mother from the Al-Rai family from the rubble of their home, which was bombed two days ago in Al-Nusayrat refugee camp.

In Khan Younus, south of the enclave, three people were killed, including a father, Ma'hmoud Al-Najjar, and his son, 'Aadil, when an Israeli occupation army drone attacked a location in the neighborhood of Fukhari, east of the city.

The three were transported to the Gaza European Hospital.

Simultaneously, local sources reported that the Israeli occupation army demolished residential buildings in the Saudi neighborhood west of Rafah City. 

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7th of last year has so far resulted in 37,431 documented Palestinian casualties, with 85,653 injured, the majority of whom are children and women.

Many victims remain under the rubble and in the streets, with rescue and medical teams unable to reach them.

M.N.

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

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Israeli occupation forces kill two Palestinians in shooting attack targeting vehicle in Qalqilya

QALQILYA, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) -

Israeli occupation forces Friday afternoon killed two Palestinians in the city of Qalqilya, north of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Health Ministry announced that it was informed by the General Authority of Civil Affairs that Ma'hmoud 'Hasan Abdul Rahman Zayd, 28, and Ihab Abdul Kareem Mousa Abu 'Hamid, 29, were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the city.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli special forces, accompanied by soldiers, who sneaked their way into the city, fired live ammunition at a vehicle as it was passing through the main street in the city center.

They added that the vehicle, hit by the gunfire, collided with the side of the road in front of a shop before coming to a halt.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces prevented medical teams and people from approaching the scene.

A video clip showed Israeli soldiers surrounding the vehicle and extracting the two young men who sustained bullet injuries across various parts of their bodies.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces withdrew from the city after seizing the vehicle and abducting the two young men’s bodies from inside it and noted that two bystanders sustained minor injuries during the deadly attack.

This deadly attack came less than 24 hours after Na'eem Abdullah Sam'ha, 15, was killed by the occupation forces Thursday afternoon in Qalqilya.

The Health Ministry’s statistics indicate that since October 7, Israeli occupation forces have killed 552 Palestinians, including 135 children, in the occupied West Bank.

M.N./ K.F.

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Israeli occupation soldiers injure a young man in Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) — 

A Palestinian young man was injured early this morning by live fire from Israeli occupation forces in the Qaddoura refugee camp, located in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Medical sources reported that the young man sustained a gunshot wound to his thigh and was subsequently transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex. The transfer was delayed as Red Crescent teams were initially prevented by the Israeli occupation army from reaching the injured individual.

Additionally, Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas in the vicinity of the medical complex.

In a related incident, Israeli forces detained another young man after raiding and searching his home within the camp.

M.N.

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IOFs launch raids, kidnappings in the West Bank

Friday 21-June-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) launched at dawn Friday a large-scale raid and kidnapping campaign across the West Bank, which led to the outbreak of violent clashes.

In Ramallah, a young man was injured by IOFs gunfire in the thigh and transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.

Local sources affirmed that the Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas bombs in the vicinity of the medical complex.

Also in Ramallah, the IOFs detained at least ten Palestinians in Al-Jalazoan camp.

In Nablus, four more youths were detained after the IOFs troops stormed Baita town. 

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

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Illegal Israeli settlers block northern entrance to Al-Beerih under Israeli military protection

RAMALLAH, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) —

Dozens of the illegal Israeli settlers blocked the northern entrance to the city of Al-Beerih in the occupied West Bank this afternoon.

Local sources reported that the colonists, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, gathered outside the colonial settlement of Beit El, illegally built on Palestinian lands north of the city.

The illegal settlers raised Israeli flags and prevented Palestinian vehicles from passing through.

M.N.

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Illegal Israeli settlers attack homes in Yatma, south of Nablus

NABLUS, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) -

Early this morning, a group of the illegal Israeli settlers attacked the homes of local residents in the village of Yatma, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

The sources reported that mobs of Israeli colonists, protected by Israeli occupation forces, targeted several homes in the village with stones, shattering their windows.

In addition to the damage to the homes, the colonists also broke the windshields of several parked vehicles in the village. 

Attacks by Israeli colonists are commonplace across the occupied Palestinian territory, but have seen exponential growth with the rise of Religious Zionism to the Israeli political echelon.

M.N.

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The Guardian: Israeli occupation army transfers powers in West Bank to pro-settler civil servants

LONDON, Friday, June 21, 2024 (WAFA) — 

The Israeli occupation military has quietly transferred significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, according to a new report by the Guardian.

An order posted by the Israel occupation army on its website on 29 May transfers responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration – the Israeli body governing in the West Bank – from the military to officials led by Smotrich at the defense ministry, the report says.

Smotrich and his allies have long seen control of the Civil Administration, or significant parts of it, as a means of extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. According to the report, "their ultimate goal is direct control by central government and its ministries. The transfer reduces the likelihood of legal checks on settlement expansion and development."

​Israeli politicians have long sought to​ find ways to permanently seize, or annex, the occupied West Bank​, which it captured in 1967 and where millions of Palestinians live.

Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, said: “The bottom line is that [for] anyone who thought the question of annexation was foggy, this order should end any doubts. What this order does is transfers vast areas of administrative power from the military commander to Israeli civilians working for the government.”

The Civil Administration is principally responsible for planning and construction in Area C of the West Bank – the 60% of the Occupied Palestinian Territories under full Israeli administrative and security control – as well as enforcement against unauthorised construction, whether by Israeli colonists or by Palestinians.

The transfer of laws, which was largely unremarked upon in Israel, follows a years-long campaign by pro-settlement politicians to accrue many of the legal powers previously wielded by the military chain of command.

M.N.

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