Day: 8 March 2024

JERUSALEM: Israeli occupation forces closed several streets in occupied Jerusalem today to secure an annual marathon organized by Israeli colonists.

The controversial marathon coincides with the occupation forces’ restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshippers to the Old City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of the weekly Friday prayers.

The Israeli measures have resulted in traffic jams on the city streets and imposed hardships on the Palestinian citizens of the occupied capital.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Presidency expressed today its satisfaction and appreciation for the remarks made by U.S. President Joe Biden in his annual State of the Union address, where he addressed several issues, including the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement released today, the Presidency stated that President Biden’s comments align with the truth and the Palestinian demands repeatedly expressed by President Mahmoud Abbas.

These demands include the implementation of the two-state solution based on international and Arab legitimacy, the full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations, recognition by states that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine, a complete Israeli complete withdrawal from the land of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and resolving all permanent status issues.

In his address, Biden called for an immediate six-week ceasefire, stating that Israel cannot use aid as a bargaining chip. He instructed the U.S. military to le
ad an emergency mission to deliver food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.

Biden emphasized that the only true solution is the two-state solution, stating that the war has claimed the lives of over 30,000 innocent civilians, surpassing the casualties of all Gaza wars combined.

He added that thousands of children and women have been killed, many children have been orphaned, and over two million Palestinians have been subjected to bombardment and displacement. Homes have been destroyed, suburbs turned to rubble, and cities devastated, leaving families without food and medicine, added the U.S. president.

Biden underscored Israel’s primary responsibility to protect civilians and urged Israel to allow the entry of more aid. He warned Israeli leaders that humanitarian aid should not be treated as a secondary matter or used as a bargaining chip.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

JERUSALEM: Israeli occupation forces violently assaulted worshipers today at the Asbat Gate, one of the main entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem. Witnesses reported that forces assaulted worshipers, arrested two of them, and prevented many of them from entering the mosque for prayers.

Witnesses reported stated that the occupation forces targeted the worshipers at the Asbat Gate, brutally beating and arresting two individuals, prohibiting them many others from entering Al-Aqsa.

WAFA correspondent reported that the Israeli forces imposed strict restrictions at the entrances of Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Old City. They assaulted and harassed those arriving, conducting searches.

A group of young men resorted to performing the Friday prayer in the adjacent Ras al-Amoud neighborhood due to being barred from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque ahead of the Friday prayer.

Since the early morning hours, Israeli forces have boosted their presence at the entrances of the Old City of Jerusalem, includin
g Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, setting up iron barriers.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

GAZA: While the world celebrates International Women’s Day, Palestinian women continue to fall victim to the ongoing Israeli war of genocide, becoming martyrs, wounded, prisoners, and displaced from one place to another, fearing the relentless Israeli airstrikes.

During the 154 consecutive days of Israel’s war on Gaza, approximately 9,000 women, including thousands of mothers and pregnant women, have lost their lives due to Israeli occupation forces’ attacks. Additionally, around 60,000 women suffer from malnutrition and lack of healthcare.

According to statistics, around 5,000 pregnant women in Gaza give birth each month under harsh, unsafe, and unhealthy conditions caused by continuous Israeli bombardment, displacement, and forced migration. They constitute 49% of the population, most of them in childbearing age, facing exacerbated health and psychological conditions, according to international, regional, and local organizations.

Wissam Hamad lost her family members after being displaced from the Daraj n
eighborhood to Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City due to heavy tank shelling near the Al-Maliya Roundabout. Eight members of her family, including her six-year-old daughter Hind, were killed.

She stated, “My daughter Hind was killed by the bullets of the occupation in front of the whole world on live television without anyone moving or intervening to stop this war and massacre committed against us.”

On this International Women’s Day, she expressed her hope that the women of Palestine will live in peace and security, and that this insane war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip will come to an end.

Hajja Ni’ma Abu Sultan from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza said, “We are losing our sons and young people who are dying to save their children and mothers in tents and shelters, and to provide them with decent livelihoods, including sacks of flour.”

Abu Sultan lost her son while waiting for aid entering northern Gaza at the Nablusi Roundabout near the coastal Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City.

She tearfully
added, “Stop the war, oh people, and act for Gaza. Gaza is dying every day. Gaza is not a major country, but a point on the map. Our children died of hunger, ate the food of animals, and went to fetch flour but returned as martyrs carried on carts.”

Shaima Nasir, a 25-year-old mother from Beit Hanoun, holding her infant daughter Sela born during the war, said, “I am looking for milk for this baby because I cannot breastfeed her. I do not eat healthy food, and my daughter will die of hunger. We want food and a decent living.”

Nasir pointed to her other young daughter holding her hand, saying, “What is her fault to go hungry? We wait for hours in lines to get a box of milk, and we do not get it.”

Several women made an urgent plea to the world from the heart of the massacre, emphasizing that Palestinian women lack the most basic necessities of life. Many are subjected to systematic slaughter and intentional killing on live broadcasts. A large number of them are injured and detained by the occupation under inh
umane conditions.

These women have found no safe haven throughout the Gaza Strip and appealed to countries and international organizations to translate their words into actions when it comes to advocating for women’s rights, taking immediate and serious action to stop Israel’s unethical war on the Gaza Strip as a first step towards reclaiming the minimum human life essentials.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

JENIN: A 40-year-old Palestinian identified as Mohammad Adel Shalabi succumbed to his injuries this afternoon, hours after he had been shot and critically injured by Israeli occupation forces during the raid on the town of Silat al-Harithiya, located northwest of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

Special Israeli military units infiltrated the town, besieging the home of the late Shalabi. Shortly later, a large number of Israeli military vehicles stormed the town and imposed a blockade on the town’s center, specifically the Al-Jaradat neighborhood, sparking intense confrontations.

Palestinian security sources informed WAFA that Shalabi succumbed to his injuries after being showered with bullets at point blank range by the Israeli forces. He was arrested in critical condition by the forces, and was pronounced dead of his wounds a few hours later. His body is still held by the Israeli army.

According to eyewitnesses’ accounts, undercover Israeli army units executed Shalabi in cold b
lood after he sought refuge inside a closet in his home. The soldiers reportedly showered him with a hail of bullets after destroying the contents of the house.

Shalabi is a former prisoner who had been detained by the Israeli occupation for several years. He is married and has three children. His brother, Wael, has been in custody since last December, and has been placed in administrative detention without charges or trial for a period of six months.

More than 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza in early October 2023, according to the Ministry of Health.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

RAMALLAH: A group of Israeli colonists launched an attack this evening targeting the village of Burqa, located east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

The sources reported that the colonists attempted to set fire to a local resident’s home on the outskirts of the village, but vigilant villagers thwarted their attempts.

The assailants eventually withdrew from the village after facing resistance from the locals. However, an Israeli military force consisting of five vehicles later broke into the village.

This comes just a week after colonists attacked Burqa, setting a house on fire, vandalizing vehicles, and destroying a livestock barn.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

GAZA: More than 20 Palestinian civilians were brutally massacred this afternoon as Israeli occupation forces bombed several homes in the central and southern Gaza Strip, according to local and medical sources.

Israeli warplanes unleashed a series of airstrikes that targeted two houses in the town of Al-Qarara, located northeast of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. The strikes resulted in the tragic murder of over 12 Palestinians, with dozens wounded and several reported missing beneath the rubble.

Additionally, eight Palestinian citizens, mostly children, were killed, and others injured following Israeli shelling targeting the town of Zawaida in central Gaza.

Simultaneously, an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City claimed more lives and inflicted injuries upon others.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces targeted a group of civilians in the town of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Yunis, resulting in casualties and severe injuries to several Palestinian citizens.

The occup
ation forces further deployed white phosphorus bombs on the Al-Mashrou’ area in Khan Yunis. They further bombed a house belonging to the Wadi family in the western part of the city, resulting in its complete destruction.

The ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has so far resulted in over 30,770 reported fatalities, most of whom are children and women, with an additional 72,200 documented injuries, according to the Ministry of Health.

This toll remains provisional as thousands of victims are feared dead under rubble or left in the streets, with Israeli forces hindering access for ambulance and civil defense crews.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

JERUSALEM: A 15-year-old Palestinian child sustained an injury tonight after being shot by Israeli occupation soldiers at Qalandia military checkpoint, located north of occupied Jerusalem.

Local sources reported that a 15-year-old child was injured in the leg by live ammunition fired by Israeli occupation soldiers in the vicinity of the checkpoint.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

HEBRON: Two Palestinians, including an elderly man, sustained injuries this evening after being assaulted by Israeli colonists in Masafer Yatta region, located south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

The sources reported that a group of colonists targeted Palestinian civilians and their homes in the Al-Rakiz community in Masafer Yatta in yet a new terror attack, resulting in two Palestinians injured.

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that one of the victims was transported to the nearby Yatta Governmental Hospital to receive medical treatment for various bruises. Meanwhile, the second victim received on-site medical assistance.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA