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 215 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, 7 Massacres, 55 Palestinians Killed, 200 Injured, with a Death Toll of  34,844 and 78,404 Injuries

May 8, 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 May 8, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 41,844+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (34,844) and those who are still missing under the rubble (Corrected on April 18, 2024: 7,000+). 

By May 8, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 78,404, and more than 2,520 civilians have been abducted from Gaza Strip. 70% of deaths were for children and women.

By May 8, 2024, 499 Palestinians who were killed, 4,950 who were injured, and 8,610, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023 (Some of the detainees have been released).

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, 2023, the death toll 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. 

The total number of detainees in the occupation prisons until the end of December was 8,800, and the number of administrative detainees was 3,484.

By March 4, 2024, the Government Media Office (GMO) said that the Israeli occupation forces killed 364 health personnel, 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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Two injured Palestinian children, who were victims of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, in addition to 200 injured and 55 dead, on May 8, 2024	After the 'Hamas acceptance of the cease-fire proposal, Osama 'Hamdan says that the Ball is in now in Netanyahu’s court, May 8, 2024
Smoke rising from the Rafa'h residential neighborhood, which were attacked by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment, May 8, 2024	Scenes of the rubble of houses, which were destroyed by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Al-Nusayrat, May 8, 2024
Grieving the death of family members who were massacred by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Rafa'h, May 8, 2024	Corpses of 49 Palestinian civilians, who were massacred by the Israeli occupation forces, were recovered from a third mass grave in the vicinity of Al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza city,  May 8, 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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Israel shuts down Gaza's Karm Abu Salim Rafa'h crossing

GAZA, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Israeli occupation authorities shut down again Karm Abu Salim crossing after the entry of one fuel truck for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), and after a closure period that lasted four days.

Sources reported that the occupation authorities closed the crossing after the fuel truck entered.

UNRWA denied the occupation army’s allegations that it had reopened the Karm Abu Salim crossing, according to its spokeswoman, Juliet Touma, who said, “The two crossings are closed, and we demand their reopening,” noting, “We usually get fuel through Rafah, not through Karm Abu Salim.

She added, "Humanitarian aid has not arrived during the past three days. We have begun rationing fuel, and the daily needs for humanitarian purposes reach 300,000 liters of fuel."

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a post on X yesterday that the crossings must be reopened without any delay.

The Palestinian death toll from Israel's deadly aggression against the Gaza Strip since October 7th, 2023, has now surged to 34,789, medical sources confirmed this morning.

The sources added that at least 78,204 others have also been injured since the beginning of the onslaught.

Y.S.

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Any form of guardianship over Rafa'h border crossing is rejected: PLO official

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) –

Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO Hussein Al-Sheikh has strongly slammed on Tuesday any forms of guardianship over the Rafa'h border crossing.

He said in a post on X that such attempts aim to undermine Palestinian sovereignty over the said crossing.

“We reject any form of guardianship over the Rafa' crossing and attempts to undermine Palestinian sovereignty over it in partnership with our brothers in the Arab Republic of Egypt," he confirmed.

K.T. 

'Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama 'Hamdan says that the Ball in now in Netanyahu’s court

Wednesday 8-May-2024

BEIRUT, Lebanon, (PIC)

Osama' Hamdan, a leader in the 'Hamas Movement, confirmed during a press conference in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Tuesday evening that despite the scale of massacres, genocide, displacement, and the destruction of all aspects of human life, carried out by “the Nazi occupation for more than seven months, using all kinds of excessive military force with open and continuous American support, Netanyahu and his extremist government did not achieve any of their aggressive goals, and their plans were shattered one after another against the rock of our people’s resilience and the bravery of our resistance.”

'Hamdan said, “The Movement’s acceptance of the proposal of the mediators in Egypt and Qatar is the result of long, difficult, complex, and continuous negotiations over the past weeks and months, during which several proposals were presented that did not meet the conditions of the resistance or the national demands of our people. We insisted on our demands and showed flexibility where necessary.”

He added that despite the pressure and severity of the aggression, fierce negotiations, and the enemy’s attempts to intensify its aggression and fire during the rounds of negotiations and at critical moments, “we remained steadfast with the resilience of our people and the effectiveness of our resistance, and we set red lines that cannot be violated or compromised.”

He pointed out that this acceptance emanates from the responsibility of “the Movement towards our people in the Gaza Strip and its deep concern for its interests, rights, constants, and sacrifices, and in positive response to the role of the mediators in achieving this deal.”

Positive spirit

'Hamdan stressed that the Movement, in all stages of these negotiations, displayed a positive and responsible spirit and tried to overcome all obstacles that hindered reaching a satisfactory deal, while safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and ensuring a complete cessation of aggression, withdrawal from all areas of the Gaza Strip, unconditional return of displaced people to their homes and areas, imposing reconstruction and relief for the Palestinian people, and reaching a serious deal for prisoner exchange.

'Hamdan said, “We express our deep appreciation and thanks to the mediators in Cairo and Doha, who made strenuous and continuous efforts to reach this agreement.”

Minimum demands of the Palestinian people

He pointed out that “this agreement, in its provisions, conditions, and stages, has secured the main issues of our people’s demands and our resistance in permanently stopping the aggression, the withdrawal of the occupation from the entire Gaza Strip, the free return of the displaced, relief and reconstruction, and achieving a genuine and serious prisoner exchange deal.”

He emphasized that this agreement has aborted the Israeli wish in having only one stage in which it would release its detainees held by the resistance, then resume its aggression against the Gaza Strip.

'Hamdan said, “We received assurances and guarantees from the mediators that, upon accepting their proposal, they would have a role in completing all stages of the agreement and pressuring the occupation to commit to its texts and implement them without procrastination or evasion. These assurances and guarantees were repeated after announcing the acceptance of their proposal.”

An agreement that represents national consensus

He also noted that the Movement, throughout the stages of this agreement, maintained constant and continuous communication and consultation with the brothers in the resistance factions, led by the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziyad Al-Nakhala, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Jameel Mizhir, and all the Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip.

'Hamdan said, “The Movement’s acceptance of the mediators’ proposal puts the American administration before a litmus test. It is necessary for this administration to abandon its bias towards the Zionist war criminals, its partnership in the genocide, and instead pressure them to stop the aggression and the genocide against innocent civilians and to stop the planned crime in the city of Rafah.”

He stressed that Netanyahu’s futile maneuver, through attempts to evade the obligations of the agreement does not deceive anyone.

The ball is in Netanyahu’s court

The 'Hamas leader said, “We affirm that the ball is now in Netanyahu’s court and his extremist government, and their behavior after the Movement’s announcement reflects Netanyahu’s insistence on obstructing all efforts of the mediators, including the American administration. He doesn’t care about the lives of his detainees held by the resistance, who are threatened with death every day by the shells and missiles of his army.”

He added that the ball is also in the court of the American administration, which must demonstrate its seriousness and credibility in compelling the “terrorist Netanyahu government” to implement the agreement.

Invasion of the Rafa'h Crossing is a Crime

He pointed out that the Israeli occupation army’s invasion of the Rafa'h border crossing with Egypt is a crime and a dangerous escalation against a civilian facility protected by international law, and a blatant violation of all norms and international conventions.

'Hamdan also warned that the Israeli invasion and occupation of the Rafa'h crossing aims to exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip by preventing the flow of emergency relief aid to the besieged people who are subjected to a systematic genocide and starvation by the Nazi occupation army.

He added that the occupation army’s invasion of the Rafa'h crossing, and its savage and criminal shelling, with the insistence of Netanyahu and his extremist war cabinet, is an overt attempt to sabotage all the efforts of the mediators in achieving an agreement to cease the aggression. It is also a desperate attempt to create an illusory image of victory to save face, which will only result in further defeats and humiliation if the aggression continues.

Call on Arab and Islamic World to act

'Hamdan said, “To confront the Zionist attack on the Rafa'h crossing, we call on the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold an urgent meeting at the level of foreign ministers and take an immediate and effective stance to stop this violation and compel the occupation to halt its aggression against the resources of our people and our nation.”

He added, “We highly appreciate the stance of our brothers in Egypt in condemning the occupation’s shelling and occupation of the Rafah crossing. We commend their rejection of the occupation’s request to open the crossing under these shelling and occupation conditions, except according to the previous mechanism. We affirm that the Rafa'h crossing has been and will remain an exclusively Egyptian-Palestinian crossing.”

He also emphasized that Netanyahu and his Nazi government must understand that the Movement and the Palestinian resistance will not respond to any initiative to cease the aggression or exchange deal under military pressure and escalation of aggression.

The Hamas leader called on the United Nations and the international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop this escalation that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians in Rafa'h and throughout the Gaza Strip, as well as jeopardizing all the efforts of the mediators to halt the aggression and the genocide.

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

On May 8, 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 7 massacres, which resulted in the killing of 55 Palestinian civilians, and the injury of 200 others, in the past 24 hours. This increased the accounted for death toll in Gaza Strip to 34,844 and the injuries to 78,404, since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on October 7, 2023.   

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55 Palestinian martyrs in 7 Israeli massacres in Gaza over the past 24 hours

Wednesday 8-May-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation army committed seven massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, claiming the lives of at least 55 civilians and wounding 200 others.

The Ministry confirmed in a statement that the toll of the Israeli aggression had risen to 34,844 martyrs and 78,404 injuries since October 7, 2023.

“A score of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, as ambulance and civil defense crews have been prevented by Israeli occupation forces from reaching them,” the Ministry underlined.

Since October 7, the Israeli occupation forces have been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in tens of thousands of martyrs, wounded and missing, in addition to the displacement of two million people and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure that affected more than 70% of the buildings, with a suffocating siege and a stifling humanitarian crisis, and an unprecedented famine, especially in Gaza City and the northern governorates. 

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Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip enters day 215

Wednesday 8-May-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip entered day 215 on Wednesday, aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians, especially in Rafa'h.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that the Israeli occupation army continued to bomb homes in different areas of Gaza, especially in Rafa'h where dozens of causalities were reported during the past 24 hours.

According to media sources, the Israeli army bombed several homes across Rafa'h, killing and injuring an unidentified number of civilians, adding that some martyrs and wounded citizens were evacuated to the Kuwait Hospital.

The Israeli army also bombed a motorcycle in southern Rafa'h, killing two civilians and injuring others.

Meanwhile, seven people, including five children, from the same family were killed and others were injured when an Israeli airstrike bombed their apartment near Al-Fala'h School in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

Two women were killed and other citizens were injured in an Israeli artillery attack on Khuza’a town in eastern Khan Younus. 

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49 bodies of Palestinians massacred by Israeli occupation forces found in three mass graves inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex

GAZA, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Rescue and ambulance crews recovered the bodies of 49 Palestinians, who were massacred by the Israeli occupation forces, so far from a third mass grave that was discovered inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City.

By uncovering this new mass grave inside Al-Shifa Hospital, the number of mass graves found inside hospitals has risen to seven mass graves, one in Kamal 'Udwan Hospital, three graves at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, and three graves at Nasir Medical Complex. Around 520 bodies were recovered from these graves.

According to local sources, rescue and recovery operations are still ongoing.  

Y.S

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Israeli warplanes target residential buildings, killing several Palestinian civilians in Rafa'h

GAZA, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation warplanes today bombed residential buildings in the center of the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip.

Local sources reported that occupation artillery targeted the buildings of Zo'rob, Qishta and Al-Masry in central Rafa'h, causing them to catch fire.

Ambulance and rescue crews are facing difficulties in reaching the targeted areas due to the ongoing Israeli artillery shelling.

Earlier yesterday, Israeli occupation forces took over the Palestinian side of the Rafa'h border crossing and stopped the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip.

Additionally, Israeli occupation warplanes launched a series of violent raids on the eastern areas of Rafa'h, resulting in the killing of several civilians and causing multiple injuries.

The Palestinian death toll from Israel's deadly aggression against the Gaza Strip since October 7th, 2023, has now surged to 34,789, medical sources confirmed this morning.

The sources added that at least 78,204 others have also been injured since the beginning of the onslaught.

Y.S. 

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Day 215 of Genocide: Civilians killed in intense Israeli bombing of Gaza

GAZA, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) –

Dozens of Palestinian citizens, the majority of whom were children and women, were killed, and others were injured, in the intense Israeli occupation bombardment on various areas of the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources said that 35 people were killed, and 129 others were injured with various injuries, in the city of Rafa'h during the past 24 hours.

WAFA correspondent stated that one person was killed and others were injured as a result of the occupation army artillery shelling the last floor of al-Qishta Tower in central Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip.

A citizen was also killed , and others were injured, as the occupation forces bombed a group of citizens west of the city of Rafa'h.

The occupation aircraft bombed a house in Al-Junaina neighborhood, east of the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip.

Two people were injured, according to the Kuwait Specialized Hospital, as a result of the occupation aircraft targeting a group of citizens west of the Rafa'h crossing.

Two women were killed and a number of others were injured in the Israeli artillery shelling of the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younus.

The occupation artillery and helicopters also targeted the eastern area of Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, and Al-Mughraqa area in the center of the Gaza Strip, amid heavy fire from army vehicles in Netzarim Martyrs Junction axis.

K.T. 

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

 

8,610 Palestinian detainees in the West Bank since October 7

Wednesday 8-May-2024

RAMALLAH, (PIC)

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs announced on Tuesday that the number of detainees who have been kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) since October 7, 2023 in the West Bank has risen to 8,610, following the kidnapping of 22 Palestinians on Monday night.

In a joint statement, the Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said that “the total number of arrests carried out by the IOF since October 7, 2023 reached more than 8,610, as at least 22 citizens from the West Bank, including a girl, a wounded 8-year-old child, and former prisoners were rounded up.”

According to the two human rights groups, the arrests were carried out in the governorates of Toulkarm, Nablus, Toubas, Ramallah, Aree'ha (Jericho), and Bait La'hm (Bethlehem).

The PPS revealed that Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire at the 8-year-old Palestinian boy, Jude Humaidat, from 'Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Aree'ha (Jericho), injuring him in the neck, before he was detained from Hadassah Hospital in Al-'Aisawiya.

Since the Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip started on October 7 last year, the IOF has been escalating its military operations in the West Bank, claiming the lives of 497 people, and injuring about 4,950 others in addition to daily arrests, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

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IOFs kidnap several Palestinians in West Bank raids

Wednesday 8-May-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) kidnapped last night and at dawn Wednesday a number of Palestinian citizens from different West Bank areas.

According to local sources, the IOFs kidnapped one citizen from his home in Nablus City and two others from their homes in Asira al-Qibliya village.

In Al-Khaleel, Israeli occupation forces kidnaped three citizens, including two brothers, from Al-Shuyoukh town, and another one from Sa’ir town.

In Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), the IOFs carried out raids on several homes in Tequa town and kidnapped one citizen.

Another citizen was taken prisoner during an IOFs raid in Iktaba suburb of Toulkarm City.

The IOFs also kidnapped a young man from Ya’bad town in the southwest of Jenin and two brothers from the family of Radhi in Al-Lubban Al-Gharbiya town in Ramallah.

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Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces detain 34 Palestinians in West Bank raids

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) –

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces Tuesday evening to Wednesday detained at least 34 Palestinians from various parts of the occupied West Bank, according to the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission (PAC) and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS).

PAC and PPS said that the occupation forces rounded up at least 34 Palestinians, including a woman and several former prisoners, with the majority of the detainees coming from the West Bank districts of Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus.

They added that as part of the raids, the occupation forces usually practice torture, beating, destruction of Palestinian property and confiscation of cash savings on a large scale.

According to the PAC and PPS statistics, approximately 8,640 Palestinians have been detained since October 7, and they include those rounded up in house raids, at army checkpoints in addition to those who were forced to turn themselves in and those held as hostages.

As part of the detention raids, the occupation forces rounded up six Palestinians, including a 40-year-old father along with his 22 and 20-year-old sons, from the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem and searched their houses.

The occupation forces also raided the town of Tuqu‘, southeast of Bethlehem, and searched several houses, tampering with their contents.

Several hours later today, the occupation forces attacked students on their way back from school in the town of Al-Khadir, south of Bethlehem, unleashing barrages of tear gas canisters and concussion grenades toward them and eventually brutally beat and detained a 16-year-old student.

Elsewhere in the southern West Bank, the heavily armed soldiers barged their way into the town of Al-Shuyoukh, northeast of Hebron, and detained three residents, including two brothers.

They conducted a similar raid in the nearby town of Sa'ir, resulting in the detention of two residents.

They showed up at a house in the city of Hebron, muscled inside, conducted a thorough search and detained another.

In the Ramallah district, a convoy of army vehicles stormed the Am’ari refugee camp, where the gun-toting soldiers detained another and ransacked a house, turning it upside down.

The occupation troops re-arrested two formerly imprisoned brothers and searched their houses in the village of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi, west of Ramallah, just a week after their release from imprisonment.

The sources confirmed a similar raid in the villager of Dair Jareer, east of Ramallah, leading to the arrest of another.

Later today, Israeli soldiers detained two farmers, in their 40s, from the vicinity of 'Ain Samia spring near Kafr Malik village, northeast of Ramallah, and undercover Israeli forces abducted a university student from his workplace near Jalazoan refugee camp, north of Ramallah.

Meanwhile, the occupation forces detained three Palestinians and searched the houses of their families in the city of Nablus.

Still in the Nablus district, the sources confirmed a raid in the village of ‘Aseera Al-Qibliya, leading to the detention of two villagers.

In the northern West Bank, the soldiers forcibly entered a house in Iktaba neighborhood, east of the city of Toulkarm, woke up all the residents, turned the houses topsy-turvy, and re-arrested a former prisoner.

Also in the northern West Bank, dozens of soldiers showed up at two houses in the Ya‘bad town, south of Jenin, muscled in, conducted a thorough search, seized cash and detained two occupants.

The sources added that soldiers manning a checkpoint near Ramallah stopped and detained a resident of Jineen refugee camp.

The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

According to the latest figures from Al-Dhameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 200 child prisoners and 80 female prisoners.

This number includes approximately 3,660 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

The mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Al-Dhameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.

K.F. 

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

 

Illegal Israeli Jewish settlers set up an illegal outpost on the Palestinian land, in southern Nablus

Wednesday 8-May-2024

NABLUS, (PIC)

A horde of the illegal Israeli extremist Jewish settlers set up last night a new illegal settlement outpost on swaths of Palestinian land, in Qusra town, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Local residents said that the illegal settlers placed mobile homes in the southeastern area of Qusra town and near its houses.

Those illegal settlers started on Tuesday evening to bulldoze swaths of private land in Ras Al-Nakheel area of the town before they embarked on placing trailer homes.

Such land thefts in the West Bank are supported by different Israeli Jewish organizations, which seek to build dozens of illegal settler outposts across the West Bank.

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The Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces raze dozens of Palestinian homes in Al-Naqab (Negev)

Wednesday 8-May-2024

Naqab (Negev) , (PIC)

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime forces demolished on Wednesday morning 47 Palestinian houses in the Wadi Al-Khaleel area near Umm Batin village, north of the Naqab (Negev) desert.

According to local sources, the houses belonged to the Abu 'Asa family in the Naqab (Negev)  desert, whose members clashed with Israeli police officers who protected the bulldozers.

Police officers reportedly assaulted members of the Abu 'Asa family as they tried to prevent the demolition of their homes.

This was the largest Israeli demolition campaign in one day in several years in the Negev region, according to the Higher Steering Committee of the Negev Arabs.

The Committee said that these demolitions were carried out at the behest of far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Amichai Chikli, accusing them of seeking to ignite the Naqab (Negev)  region in order to deepen racial discrimination.

“The Israeli authorities are trying to force the Abu 'Asa family to move to another place under threat and intimidation in order to expand Road 60 southwards, but they refuse and insist on living in an agreed-upon neighborhood in Tel Al-Sabi' town,” the Committee added. 

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Israeli forces tear down four dwellings in Aree'ha (Jericho)-district village

Aree'ha (Jericho), Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (WAFA) –

The Israeli occupation forces today tore down four Palestinian dwellings in Al-Jiftlik village, north of the city of Aree'ha (Jericho), according to a local source.

A'hmed Ghanim, Head of Al-Jiftlik Village Council, said that the occupation forces escorted a bulldozer into the village, where the heavy machinery demolished dwellings belonging to the Bani 'Odah, Jahalin and al-Ka‘abnah families.

Qadri Bani 'Odah said that the occupation forces demolished his 140-square-meter tin-roofed shed purportedly for being without a license, rendering his 11-member family homeless.

Horizontally located 33 kilometers to the north of Jericho, Al-Jiftlik has a population of some 3,500, who predominantly depend on agriculture and livestock for their main source of livelihood. The village occupies a total area of 185,032 dunums.

Under the Oslo Accords, an agreement made 25 years ago that was supposed to last just five years towards a self-governing country alongside Israel, Israel maintains full control over the village, classified as Area C, and has allowed the villagers to build within a small pocket of 972 dunams, which accounts for 0.5 percent of the total village area.

Israel has severely restricted Palestinian access to water in the area, particularly the 23 underground wells used for agriculture. Local water springs are susceptible to dryness and depletion as a result of Israel’s control over water.

The Israeli water company of Mekorot has depleted the wells and has been granted monopoly on the excavation, restoration, distribution and selling of water. In contrast, Palestinians have been forbidden from constructing new wells and restoring existing ones.

Israel has seized at least some 6,750 dunams belonging to the village for the construction of seven nearby colonial settlements, 4,550 dunums for the construction of a military base, in addition to more land for opening settler-only by-pass Roads No. 90, 50, 505 and 508, and constructing colonial outposts, pushing the villagers into a crowded enclave, a ghetto, surrounded by walls, settlements and military installations.

K.F.

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