Day: 7 January 2023

Two Palestinians were injured this morning in an Israeli bombing east of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to local sources.

WAFA correspondent said Israeli warplanes attacked with at least one missile an agricultural area in the town of al-Qarara, east of Khan Yunis, injuring at least two Palestinians.

The bombing comes a few hours after a major Israeli airstrike on the Al-Mudallal family house killed at least seven Palestinians, the majority of whom are civilians, including children, in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. Nearly 40 others were wounded in the airstrike, including many children and women.

Latest figures by the Ministry of Health show that the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on August 05 has risen to 32, including 6 children, while 215 others have been injured, including 96 children, 30 women and 12 elderly.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

At least 21 Palestinians were arrested last night by the Israeli occupation forces in a major arrest campaign across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian security sources.

In Bethlehem province, south of the West Bank, army forces stormed the village of Hindaza and arrested five Palestinian citizens after raiding and searching their homes.

Three other Palestinians were also arrested by the Israeli occupation forces who stopped their vehicle at the Container military checkpoint, to the northeast of Bethlehem city. The three are residents of the nearby village of Beit Fajjar.

In Hebron province, Israeli occupation army stormed al-Fawwar refugee and arrested four Palestinians after raiding and searching their homes.

In Tulkarm, north of the West Bank, Israeli forces stormed Tulkarm refugee camp and the nearby village of Seida, where three Palestinians were said arrested by the attacking forces.

In Jenin province, Israeli occupation forces stormed al-Marrah neighborhood in the city and arrested a young Palestinian woman, who was identified as Dina Nayef Jaradat, 22, after raiding her family home in the neighborhood. Two more Palestinians were also arrested in raids by the Israeli army on the neighboring town of Kafr Ra’i and the village of Anza.

In Nablus province, two Palestinian brothers, Udai and Mohammad Rawwash, were also arrested by the Israeli occupation forces who raided their home in Askar al-Jadid refugee camp.

In the northern Jordan Valley region, northeast of the West Bank, a young Palestinian man was also arrested by an Israeli army force which raided the village of Al-Hadidiya, according to witnesses.

Almost on a daily basis, Israeli occupation forces carry out raids targeting populated Palestinian communities for arrests or searches. The practice, mostly carried out at nighttime, has become a routine under Israeli military regime.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

Hundreds of Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli police broke today into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem and performed rituals across its courtyards, according to witnesses. The provocative tours are still going on until this moment.

This comes amid calls by so-called Temple Mount groups, who seek to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with a Jewish temple, on their followers to be present at the Muslim holy place today to mark the Tisha B’av holiday, a day of fasting marking the alleged destruction of the two Jewish temples more than two thousand years ago.

WAFA correspondent said groups of Israeli settlers led by extremist Israeli rabbi Yehuda Glick entered the holy site in groups starting at about 7:00 am, noting that other groups of settlers are still waiting near the Moroccan Gate to be allowed gradually into the holy site.

The settlers were reportedly confronted by a handful of Palestinian Muslim worshipers who held a night vigil inside the compound in an attempt to foil the Israeli raids into the holy site.

Earlier today, Israeli occupation forces arrested two Palestinians at one of the gates leading to the compound. The two were not yet identified.

Israeli police also imposed strict restrictions on the entry of Palestinians to the compound and placed strict restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshipers to the compound during the presence of Israeli settlers there.

Since 2003, the Israeli occupation authorities have allowed settlers into the compound almost on a daily basis, with the exclusion of Friday, the Muslim day of rest and worship.

The Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian authority in charge of the holy sites in Jerusalem, has repeatedly described the settlers’ presence in Al-Aqsa Mosque as “provocative”, saying that Palestinian worshippers and guards at Al-Aqsa feel uncomfortable with the presence of Israeli police and settlers touring the Islamic holy site.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the Six-Day War in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

South Africa has strongly condemned the Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip which has so far claimed the lives of 32 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, and injure more than 210 others.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said it is concerned that Israeli military statements indicate that the operation would “take a long time” and that the ongoing aggression continues to place innocent civilians at severe risk.

“Attacks that kill innocent civilians have no justification, and they are more abhorrent as they are committed by an occupying power which has besieged the Gaza Strip for over a decade in contravention of international law,” said DIRCO.

Pretoria also said as an occupying power, Israel has specific obligations in terms of international human rights and humanitarian law, which it continues to breach without being held accountable.

“The international community has an obligation to ensure that international law is not violated indiscriminately and to urgently stop the Israeli occupation forces repeated attacks against civilians, especially women and children as well as the illegal blockade in Gaza,’’ it said.

It added that the killing of children by the Israeli government must be urgently addressed.

“The UN Secretary-General’s report on Children in Armed Conflict states that there has been an alarming increase in grave violations against children, particularly the significant rise in the killing and maiming of children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by Israeli forces during hostilities, air strikes on densely populated areas and the use of live ammunition during law enforcement operations,’’ it added.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the latest Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that killed at least 30 people, including children and women.

“We strongly condemn the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. We find it unacceptable that civilians, including children, lost their lives in attacks,” said the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement.

It also added that Turkey was observing the development with deep concern and urged de-escalation before the situation triggers an all-out war.

“We are deeply concerned about the rising tension in the region after the attacks. We emphasize the need to immediately end these events before they turn into a new conflict, and call for restraint and common sense,” the statements read.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

Malaysia has condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza which has so far claimed the lives of 32 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, and injured more than 210 others.

In a statement, Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah called on the international community to urgently exert the utmost pressures on the Israeli occupation to cease immediately their violations and aggression against the Palestinians.

“This latest atrocity by Israel was indeed a blatant disregard of the international law and the many principles of humanity,” said Abdullah.

“The international community must censure Israel over its selfish provocative assaults and apartheid policy against the fundamental rights, lives, livelihood and dignity of the Palestinians of all faiths in their own land. There should not be any double standards in addressing conflicts,” he said.

The Malaysian Foreign Minister reaffirmed his country’s its unwavering support for and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their cause for achieving freedom from the Israeli occupation.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

The Palestinian Presidency has strongly condemned the dangerous Israeli escalation against our people in the Gaza Strip, which so far resulted in the killing of 32 Palestinians and the injury of nearly 250 others.

It also condemned the Israeli escalation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem by allowing groups of Jewish extremists to storm the holy site and perform Talmudic rituals there.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said “the persisting the Israeli aggression, whether in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Gaza Strip, Jenin and other Palestinian cities and villages, crosses all red lines and represents an Israeli attempt to push the situation into more escalation and tension.”

He urged the international community, especially the US administration, to intervene immediately to stop this Israeli aggression “before it is too late”.

Abu Rudeineh said that President Mahmoud Abbas is continuing his efforts with regional and international parties to stop this Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and their Islamic and Christian sanctities.

“The UN Security Council will hold a special session to discuss the attack on the Gaza Strip, and it must stand up to its responsibilities and stop this aggression.”

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) today urgently called on all parties to refrain from targeting civilians and work towards an immediate ceasefire, following Israel’s assault on Gaza that began on Friday.

At least 31 Palestinians have been killed since the escalation of hostilities, including a five-year-old girl killed in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

“Every single escalation of violence in Gaza comes at the cost of ordinary people, who pay the highest price for military actions. We urge all parties to protect civilians by all means, put an end to hostilities and work towards an immediate ceasefire,” NRC’s Middle East Regional Director Carsten Hansen said.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza began Friday afternoon and were met with retaliatory rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.

“Innocent children and families have been caught up in the vicious circle of violence for as long as they can remember. Many in Gaza are still recovering— both psychologically and physically — from last year’s eleven-day crisis,” said Hansen.

Israel closed the Erez/Beit Hanoun civilian crossing and Kerem Shalom/Karm Abu Salem commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip on 2 August, stopping the entry and exit of people and goods, including fuel, necessary to operate Gaza’s sole power plant, which was forced to cease operation on Saturday. The electricity supply in Gaza is expected to be only four hours per day, said NRC, calling on Israel to immediately allow the flow of fuel and other goods to enter Gaza.

“The repeated cycles of violence only entrench the conflict further, without addressing its root causes including lifting Israel’s 15-year blockade of Gaza and ending its occupation of Palestinians,” said Hansen.

Parties must cease fire at once as international law prohibits the use or threat of force, except in self-defense. Under international humanitarian law (IHL), an occupying power can only use lethal force against civilians as a means of last resort when facing an imminent threat of death or serious injury. Pre-emptive strikes, like the ones launched by Israel, are inevitably acts of aggression, and may amount to a grave breach of IHL, including willful killing or causing of serious injury to body or health, said NRC.

Under IHL all parties must take all necessary precautions to protect civilians and refrain from targeting civilians and civilian objects, it stressed.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said today that President Mahmoud Abbas is making contact with all concerned parties since the first moments of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip to immediately stop the war on the Palestinian people in the Strip.

Shtayyeh told reporters in Ramallah that President Abbas instructed the Palestinian representative at the United Nations to call for a special session of the Security Council to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza, noting the session will be held tomorrow with the support of France, China, Norway, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.

He stressed that the Security Council needs to take a serious and implementable decision to provide protection for the Palestinian people, adding that “we want this institution to do more than condemnation.”

“This is the third day of the Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip. Thirty-one people were martyred, hundreds were wounded, and a lot of destruction was caused, accompanied by the storming of settlers protected by the occupation army into Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a campaign of unprecedented arrests in the West Bank… This matter is not only propaganda for the Israeli parties competing in elections, but rather continuous and comprehensive aggression against our people, their land, their homeland, their cause and their legitimate national rights,” the Prime Minister said.

Shtayyeh affirmed that this “annually renewed” aggression against Gaza must stop immediately, revealing that these Israeli crimes will be added to the files submitted to the International Criminal Court.

He pointed out that the government, under the directives of President Abbas, and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, initiated a diplomatic and legal movement to explain and expose the dimensions of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, especially the crimes committed against children, innocent civilians, homes and infrastructure.

Shtayyeh stressed that the real and effective response to this aggression requires everyone to stand up to his responsibilities in achieving national unity, ending the division and giving priority to the supreme national interest.

“The President, the leadership and the government are following up the international and humanitarian efforts to ensure an immediate cessation of the war on Gaza, and we will dedicate the cabinet session tomorrow to discuss the aggression, its dimensions and consequences, as well as providing aid and support to our people in the Gaza Strip,” the Prime Minister affirmed.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency

The Ramallah-based human rights organization, Al-Haq, today sent an urgent appeal to UN Special Procedures calling for immediate and urgent intervention to cease the escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian supplies and to intervene to facilitate exit permits for critically ill patients to access treatment outside the Gaza Strip.

In a press release, Al-Haq said that on 5 August, Israel launched a military offensive, the so-called “Truthful Dawn,” on the occupied Gaza Strip, which indiscriminately targeted civilians and non-military structures, killing 31 Palestinians, including six children, and injuring 265 Palestinians. At least 40 families have been displaced after their homes were damaged or destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

This attack was preceded by several days of Israel’s escalation of hostilities, resulting in the dispensing of Israeli military aircrafts across the Gaza Strip. On 2 August, Israeli authorities closed all crossings into Gaza, prohibiting the freedom of movement of the protected Palestinian population within the Gaza Strip, in violation of international humanitarian law.

On 7 August 2022, Al Mezan, a Gaza-based human rights organization, issued a warning “of the serious health risks for Gaza patients due to the closure of Erez (Beit Hanoun crossing with Israel), who are banned from accessing life-saving treatments otherwise unavailable in Gaza due to Israel’s closure”.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health Coordination and Liaison Department, “none of Gaza patients with serious diseases who have medical referrals to hospitals and medical facilities outside Gaza were able to leave the Strip [since last Tuesday] and are still waiting for a decision from the Israeli authorities to allow them to travel”. According to Al Mezan’s field analysis, “the same sources also pointed out that the number of Gaza patients needing to travel via Erez is increasing, as the daily average of patients obtaining approval for Israeli exit permits is around 120.”

In addition, Israel’s closure of the Kerem Shalom (Karm Abu Salem commercial) crossing has prevented the passage of fuel into the occupied Gaza Strip, which Gaza’s sole power station, the Gaza Power Plant (GPP), requires to remain in operation. On 6 August, the Gaza Energy Authority stated that, due to the inaccessibility of fuel, GPP had completely shut down, significantly reducing the supply of electricity to only four hours per day.

The forced closure of the GPP, said Al-Haq, endangers the 2.17 million Palestinians, the protected occupied population living in the occupied Gaza Strip, threatening the collapse of basic essential public services, including access to healthcare, water, and sanitation. Due to the limited fuel supply, exacerbated by enforced border closures, it is expected that the general supply of electricity in Gaza will stop entirely in the coming days.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has announced that the cessation of health services would occur within 72 hours of the closure of the GPP. The impending stoppage of vital health services in the occupied Gaza Strip coincides with Israel’s escalation of violent attacks, which have wounded hundreds of Palestinians, many in need of ongoing urgent medical attention. Additionally, the significant restriction of movement on Gaza patients and health workers has obstructed crucial medical attention and supplies from entering the occupied Gaza Strip in violation of international humanitarian law and gravely endangering Palestinians, said Al-Haq.

Israel’s aggressive assault and bombardment of the civilian population and infrastructure in the occupied Gaza Strip is being conducted disproportionally and excessively, relative to Israel’s anticipated military advantage, constituting a grave breach of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, it said.

Al-Haq called on Israel to immediately cease its aggressive escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and take concrete actions to bring the aggression to an end.

It also called for the immediate and unconditional transfer of patients from Gaza to receive healthcare treatment, unimpeded access of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, for the full and immediate restoration of electricity to the Gaza Strip, including through the import of fuel through Karem Shalon crossing, for the UN Security Council to implement economic sanctions and other countermeasures until Israel adheres to its obligations under international law, and for the end of the weapons trade with Israel through a two-way arms embargo and end military-security cooperation.

It also called on Israel to guarantee the protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the occupied Gaza Strip, including immediate access to essential life-giving supplies and public services, and to dismantle its apartheid regime and end its military occupation of Palestine.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency