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 72 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza, 2 Million Palestinians Are Starving, Hundreds Killed and Injured on Daily Basis

December 17, 2023 

*** 

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:  

By December 14, 2023, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strop is 26,547+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (18,787) and those who are still missing under the rubble (7,760+).   

The documented injuries exceeded 51,100.   

By December 10, 2023, the death toll included 7,875+ children and 6,130+ women.   

By December 14, 2023,  there was a complete destruction of 56,000+ housing units, and 224,000+ damaged housing units (60% of Gaza housing units). This forced about 1.5 million people to become homeless, taking refuge in crowded UN schools and ultimately sleeping in the streets.  

The Israeli refusal to allow international aid caravans to enter Gaza freely led the Palestinian population to be on the verge of mass extermination for the lack of food, water, medicine, and fuel.  

By December 6, 2023, 290 health personnel were killed and hundreds were injured, 102 ambulances were destroyed while on duty, killing and injuring their crews, and destroyed 56 health institutions. As a result of the strikes and lack of fuel, 26 hospitals and 46 primary care centers are not functioning.  

By December 14, 2023, there were 286 Palestinians who were killed, 3,430+ who were injured, and 4,400 who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023. 

 

Starving Palestinian women and children waiting for days to get some food from a UNRWA center in Israeli besieged Gaza Strip, December 16, 2023	Starving Palestinians waiting for days to get some food from an aid center in Israeli besieged Gaza Strip, December 16, 2023
Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Day 72 of the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip, December 17, 2023	12 Palestinian civilians were killed in Dair El-Bala'h, 24 in Jabalya, dozens injured, on Day 72 of the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip, December 17, 2023
Seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the West Bank, on December 17, 2023	Two Palestinians were killed in Al-Khaleel and TulKarm, on December 17, 2023
Israeli occupation forces bulldozed Kamal 'Adwan hospital in Bait Lahya, burying wounded and displaced Palestinian civilians alive in the yard of the Hospital, December 16, 2023	Death and destruction inflicted by the Israeli occupation forces on Nour Shams refugee camp, in Tulkarm, December 17, 2023

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).

"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).

***

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.

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/


***
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.


***
***

Editor's Note:

The following WSJ news story is credited for addressing the looming famine and spreading hunger in Gaza Strip. However, it stops short of mentioning that the Israeli occupation regime genocidal war and siege is the intentional reason which led to this famine and hunger.

Hunger Spreads in Gaza as Fighting Rages

Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2023

Story by Margherita Stancati

Carrie Keller-Lynn contributed to this article.

Residents of the Gaza Strip are facing widespread starvation for the first time in recent history, as Israel and the United Nations trade blame over why aid deliveries are falling short of soaring needs.

An overwhelming majority of Gaza’s 2.2 million people don’t have enough food, with residents often skipping meals and some not having any food for multiple days, according to the World Food Program, a U.N. agency.

“We are literally starving,” said Mu'hammed Shamalakh, who is currently in the border town of Rafa'h with his small daughter. He says he has neither the tea, water or sugar he needs to make a cup of tea. “We put water in our child’s bottle because we don’t have any formula milk,” Shamallakh said.

Two months into the war, Gaza’s economy has largely collapsed, with the World Bank recently estimating that 85% of workers are now out of a job and struggling to afford food and other essentials whose prices have skyrocketed. The blockage of commercial imports also means that many shops have either closed down or face problem restocking basic items such as rice and cooking oil.

The World Food Program estimates that 56% of households in Gaza have experienced what it calls severe levels of hunger. Meat and dairy products have all but disappeared across the enclave, with people mostly consuming limited quantities of cereals and potatoes. Many are consuming wild or uncooked food.

Hunger Spreads in Gaza as Fighting Rages© Provided by The Wall Street Journal Hunger Spreads in Gaza as Fighting Rages© Provided by The Wall Street Journal

The little food that is available has become so expensive it is out of reach for many. A 55-pound bag of flour can cost $100, assuming it can be found, says Loai Mohammed, a 26-year-old Gazan currently displaced in Rafa'h. He said he had a single meal on Thursday: flatbread with cream cheese. Fresh vegetables are rarely available and cost four times as much as they did before the war.

“Our life is so hard,” said Mohammed. “Sometimes we eat, sometimes we don’t. It takes so much effort to get water and food.”

People often spend hours queuing for food handouts or clean water. Local food production, which before the war accounted for around 10% of Gaza’s needs, has been severely affected by the conflict, largely due to a shortage of water, energy and animal feed, said Maximo Torero, chief economist at the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

“Everybody is hungry. The majority of people are starving now,” said Arif Husain, head of research, assessment and monitoring at the World Food Program. The scale of the food crisis and the speed at which it has unfolded, has created “a situation I have never seen in my career,” he said.

Children are especially vulnerable and aid groups and residents say many are struggling to find baby formula. The U.N. Children’s Fund estimates that, over the next few months, as many as 5,000 children in Gaza could experience life-threatening malnutrition. An assessment is under way of whether Gaza already meets the formal definition of famine, meaning two out of every 10,000 inhabitants die from hunger a day and around one in three children is acutely malnourished, U.N. officials said.

Hunger Spreads in Gaza as Fighting Rages© Provided by The Wall Street Journal Hunger Spreads in Gaza as Fighting Rages© Provided by The Wall Street Journal

Israel began its military campaign to root out Hamas in Gaza in response to the group’s Oct. 7 attacks, which left some 1,200 Israelis dead, most of them women and children. The entry of humanitarian aid is limited to the Rafa'h border crossing with Egypt, and Israel approves all goods entering, with the U.N. overseeing the distribution of aid.

On Friday, the Israeli cabinet said food and aid trucks would now be allowed to enter through a second crossing between Gaza and Israel that had only been used for security screening. That step, the cabinet said, would ease congestion at Rafa'h that prevented it from allowing in the 200 trucks a day of food and other aid it had committed to as part of a deal to release some of the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Egyptian authorities, meanwhile, are still weighing whether or not to allow refugees from Gaza into the country in big numbers. Other countries in the region also haven’t committed to taking large numbers of refugees.

In recent days, just 40 to 170 trucks of humanitarian aid—including food, clean water, medicine and fuel—have gone by through the Rafa'h crossing, said a spokeswoman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. The U.N. says it needs 100 trucks of food alone every day to meet the population’s needs.

The situation is especially dire in northern Gaza, which has been the focus of the Israeli military’s campaign and cut off from most aid distribution. In southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled from the north of the enclave, half of the population is now dependent on food handouts, the U.N. says.

Before the war, a large number of Gazans received some food assistance, partly a consequence of the 16-year economic blockade imposed by Israel on the territory when Hamas took power.

Currently 85% of Gaza’s population, or 1.9 million people, have been displaced from their homes. Most of them are in southern Gaza, where infectious diseases have started spreading in overcrowded homes and shelters.

“Gaza historically had significant problems, but the war is taking the situation to an extreme,” said Torero.

Hunger Spreads in Gaza as Fighting Rages (msn.com)

***
***

WHO describes Al-Shifa Hospital's emergency department as "bloodbath"

GENEVA, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

 The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported alarming conditions at Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical center in Gaza, describing its emergency department as a "bloodbath."

The hospital is overwhelmed with hundreds of injured patients, WHO said, as new cases are arriving every minute. Trauma patients are being treated on the floor due to the lack of space, and pain management options are limited.

"The emergency department is so crowded that health workers must exercise caution not to step on patients on the floor. Critical patients are being transferred to Al-Ahli Arab Hospital for necessary surgeries," it said.

Tens of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in and around the hospital premises, highlighting the urgent need for a comprehensive humanitarian response to provide them with essential resources such as food, water, and shelter.  

The humanitarian crisis is further exacerbated by severe shortages of food and safe water for health workers, patients, and displaced individuals at Al-Shifa Hospital.  

The WHO said it was committed to strengthening Al-Shifa Hospital in the coming weeks to restore at least basic functionality, ensuring it can continue providing critical life-saving services during this crucial time.

Activation of up to 20 operating theatres, along with post-operative care services, is contingent upon a consistent supply of fuel, oxygen, medicines, food, and water, the organization said. Urgent requirements include additional specialized medical, nursing, and support staff, including emergency medical teams.

Currently, Al-Ahli Arab Hospital is the only partially functional hospital in northern Gaza, accompanied by three minimally functional hospitals – Al-Shifa, Al 'Awda, and Al-Sa'haba Medical Complex – a stark decline from the 24 hospitals operating before the start of the Israeli aggression.

M.N.

Euro-Med urges int’l probe into Israeli atrocities at Kamal 'Adwan Hospital

Saturday 16-December-2023, GENEVA, (PIC)

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has called for the launch of an independent international investigation into Israeli forces’ burial of wounded and displaced Palestinian civilians alive in the yard of Kamal 'Adwan Hospital in Bait Lahya — which had been exposed to nine days of blockade, raids and horrific atrocities.

In a statement on Saturday, Euro-Med said it received testimonies and information from medical and media workers asserting that Israeli army bulldozers buried Palestinians alive in the yard of the hospital before withdrawing on Saturday morning.

Euro-Med affirmed that its teams started to document what had happened at the hospital, including information about the mass killing of civilians, including people with injuries, through bulldozing them and burying them alive in the hospital’s yard.

Euro-Med stressed the need to launch an international investigation into all the horrific Israeli violations that happened to patients, displaced civilians and medical workers at the hospital over the past days.

***
***

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

Hundreds of Palestinian civilians killed and injured in Israeli bombardment on Gaza

GAZA, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

 The Israeli occupation forces continue their aerial and artillery bombardment on various areas of the Gaza Strip, which led to the killing and injury of hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

Local sources said that the occupation artillery fired its shells and weapons at the civilians as they tried to reach their homes inside the neighborhoods of Tel Al-Hawa, Al-Sabra, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Shaiya, Al-Daraj and Al-Sabra in Gaza City, which led to the killing of many.

The occupation warplanes targeted the house of Tota'h family in the Zaytoun neighborhood near the Salah al-Din Mosque. The house contained more than 50 displaced people.

They added that the ambulance and civil defense crew recovered about 40 dead bodies and a number of casualties after the occupation warplanes bombed the home of local resident Abu Ibraheem Murad in Al-Tuffa'h neighborhood in Gaza City.

The occupation forces opened heavy fire on Kamal 'Adwan Hospital in Gaza during a press conference.

A number of civilians were killed and injured when occupation aircraft bombed a house in Al-Sa'haba neighborhood in Gaza City.

In the northern Gaza Strip, about 60 civilians were killed in Israeli raids on citizens’ homes in the northern Gaza Strip since Sunday morning.

Dozens of civilians were injured as a result of an Israeli bombing that targeted Hira Mosque in Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip.

The occupation warplanes launched a violent bombardment targeting the northern and eastern areas of the Gaza Strip.

In the south, Nasser Hospital medical crews in Khan Younus said that 17 people were killed in the past hours as a result of the occupation aircraft and artillery bombing of various areas of the governorate, specifically the eastern one.

The occupation forces continue their incursions into the eastern, northern and central areas of the city, such as the towns of Khuza’a, Al-Qarara, Shaikh Nasir, and Al-Satar Al-Gharbi.

In Rafa'h, the occupation aircraft launched four raids on the border area near the Yibna camp, south of the city, and caused great destruction in the targeted areas.

K.T. 

Dozens of Palestinians killed as Israel's aggression on Gaza marks 72 days

GAZA, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and hundreds were injured over the last few hours in a series of Israeli strikes from the land, sea, and air on various areas of the Gaza Strip, marking the 72nd day of the genocidal aggression on the territory.

WAFA correspondent reported that at least 20 civilians were murdered in an Israeli airstrike which targeted several homes in the vicinity of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital and the Grand Al-'Omari Mosque in the Old City of Gaza.

He added that Israeli tanks are deployed in the Palestine Square in central Gaza City, besieging Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital and the Old City of Gaza.

Our correspondent pointed out that nine individuals from the 'Ammareen and 'Hamouda families were killed in an Israeli artillery shelling and drone gunfire which targeted them in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

Furthermore, six civilians were killed as Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the Shuja'iya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, he added.

Meantime, Israeli occupation forces are still besieging the Sa'haba and Yarmouk districts in the Daraj neighborhood, amidst intense artillery shelling, especially around the Sa'haba Medical Complex—now rendered out of service—which still houses a number of wounded, injured, and patients, including 50 women about to give birth.

In the neighborhoods of Nasr and Shaikh Radhwan in Gaza City, Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers continue their invasion into the two areas amid drone gunfire and missile and artillery bombardment, resulting in dozens of fatalities and injuries. The bodies of some of the victims are still on the streets, as ambulance vehicles cannot reach them due to the ongoing Israeli incursion.

WAFA correspondent pointed out that some residents managed to bury several victims in the courtyards of houses or their surroundings, including at least 20 martyrs from the Salem family, after Israeli fighter jets targeted their four-story house, reducing it to rubble.

In the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood, Israeli warplanes bombed two houses near the Barcelona Park, resulting in injuries to several civilians. Ambulance vehicles were unable to reach them due to the Israeli occupation forces advancing into the area.

In the town of Bait Lahya, north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli fighter jets targeted the home of the Barrawi family, resulting in the murder of two civilians and the injury of others. Some were transported to the Indonesian Hospital in the town.

In the central regions of Gaza, several houses in the vicinity of the Red Crescent Association in Al-Amal neighborhood, Khan Younus, were targeted by Israeli airstrikes, leading to casualties. The injured were transported to Nasser Hospital in the city.

Meantime, Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers are advancing into the eastern, northern, and central areas of Khan Younus, south of the Strip, including the towns of Khuza'a, Al-Qarara, Shaikh Nasir, and Al-Satar Al-Gharbi neighborhood.

In Rafa'h, Israeli aircraft launched four raids on the border area near Yibna refugee camp, south of the city, causing significant destruction in the targeted areas.

In Jabalya town, northern Gaza, at least 35 civilians were killed and dozens were injured as Israeli warplanes attacked several houses, reducing them to rubble.

Our correspondent reported that the civil defense and ambulance teams managed to retrieve 24 martyrs and at least 90 injured individuals from under the rubble, as Israeli warplanes destroyed the Shihab family's house in the town. Many are still trapped beneath the debris.

Additionally, 11 civilians were killed and dozens were injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Khilla family's house in Jabalya town.

The Israeli occupation regime warplanes also targeted a house in Dair El-Bala'h camp in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the murder of about 12 individuals and the injury of many, mostly displaced persons.

The Israeli genocidal war has so far resulted in the tragic murder of at least 19,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are innocent civilians, including nearly 8,000 children. The aggression has also displaced over 80 percent of the population of Gaza.

M.N.

47 Palestinians brutally murdered in Israeli airstrikes on Jabalya, Dair El-Bala'h

GAZA, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

At least 47 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes over the last few hours which targeted civilian houses in the town of Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip, and in Dair El-Bala'h refugee camp in the central province of Gaza, according to local sources.

These developments mark 72 days of an ongoing Israeli genocide campaign targeting the besieged enclave, resulting so far in the tragic murder of at least 19,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are innocent civilians, including nearly 8,000 children. The aggression has also resulted in the displacement of over 80 percent of the population of Gaza.

The sources reported that civil defense and ambulance crews retrieved the bodies of 35 civilian victims and at least 90 wounded individuals, after Israeli airstrikes destroyed the residence of the Shihab family in Jabaliy, with many still trapped under the debris.

Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the Dair El-Bala'h refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, leading to the murder of approximately 12 individuals and leaving numerous others injured. Many of the casualties were among the displaced residents seeking refuge in the camp.

Further south, Israeli artillery fired a shell—which luckily did not explode—in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younus, resulting in injuries to at least two young men. Additionally, Israeli naval forces targeted several areas north of Khan Younus and its western coastline.

The ongoing Israeli genocidal war has brought immense suffering to the Palestinian population especially in the Gaza Strip, with casualties, particularly among innocent children and healthcare workers, mounting around the clock.

M.N.

Dozens of Palestinians killed in an Israeli genocidal bombing of a house in Rafa'h

GAZA, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and injured last night in an Israeli genocidal airstrike which targeted a house in Al-Junaina neighborhood of Rafa'h, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to local sources.

The sources reported that civil defense teams retrieved a number of casualties from the rubble of a house belonging to the Abu Anza family in the south of the city.

Meantime, Israeli occupation artillery continued its shelling on various locations east and central of Khan Younus in the south of the enclave.

Meantime, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced the murder of four of its team members as a result of Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip over the last few hours.

The ongoing Israeli genocidal war has claimed the lives of more than 19,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are innocent civilians, including nearly 8,000 children, according to a non-final update by the Ministry of Health.

M.N.

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

Seven Palestinians martyred in Israeli attacks in W. Bank

Sunday 17-December-2023, WEST BANK, (PIC)

Seven Palestinian citizens, including a child, were martyred last night and at dawn Sunday during Israeli army attacks on different areas of the occupied West Bank.

According to local sources, five young men were killed and others were injured, some seriously, after the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm.

Local sources said that Ma'hmoud Jabir, 22, and Ghaith Shi'hada, 25, were killed and others were injured when an IOF drone bombed at dawn a neighborhood in Nour Shams camp, pointing out that the IOF prevented ambulances from entering the camp following the attack.

The Palestinian health ministry also said that two young men identified as Waleed Zahra and As'ad Zahra were killed and many others were wounded by IOF gunfire in the camp.

Later, the health ministry announced the martyrdom of another young man from the camp called Jihad 'Amarna.

Israeli forces with bulldozers stormed overnight Nur Shams camp and declared the area a closed military zone.

Eyewitnesses said that the IOF prevented ambulances from reaching the victims inside the camp and kidnaped a paramedic called Hani Siwwan as he was doing his job.

Local sources reported the occurrence of fierce clashes between resistance fighters and Israeli soldiers in the camp, pointing out that fighters detonated explosive devices at IOF vehicles during the events.

They added that the IOF bombed homes in the camp, including a house belonging to a wanted citizen identified as Iyad Al-Mu'een.

The IOF also kidnaped a number of citizens during raids on homes in the camp and Tulkarm City and deployed some snipers on rooftops of some tall buildings during its campaign.

The IOF reportedly used its bulldozers to wreak havoc on public and private property in the camp, including roads, cars and homes.

The IOF also stormed different suburbs of Tulkarm City, raided homes, interrogated local residents and damaged cars.

Meanwhile, medical sources at Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin said at dawn Sunday that a young man identified as Laith Abul-Nimr succumbed to a serious injury he sustained when an Israeli drone bombed a group of youths in the eastern neighborhood of Jenin.

Last night, a 16-year-old child called 'Atallah Badha was martyred and two others were injured by IOF gunfire during clashes with Israeli forces in Dair 'Ammar refugee camp in western Ramallah.

Two Palestinians killed by IOF gunfire in al-Khalil and Tulkarm

Sunday 17-December-2023, WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed on Saturday two Palestinian young men in Bait Ummar town, north of A-Khaleel, and near Tulkarm in the northern West Bank.

According to the Palestinian health ministry Salim 'Hajar, 25, was killed by the IOF near Tulkarm and Azeez Khaleel, 20, was killed in Bait Ummar.

Khaleel was seriously injured in his abdomen during violent clashes in Bait Ummar between local youths and Israeli soldiers, who intensively fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters.

Khaleel was rushed to the hospital where he died of his critical injury.

As for 'Hajar, he was shot in his head during his presence with his brother near the separation wall in the west of Dair Al-Ghusoun town, north of Tulkarm.

Local sources said that an Israeli soldier at the separation wall’s gate opened fire at Hajar and critically wounded him in his head before the IOF kidnaped him along with his brother, adding that the young man succumbed to his injury at an Israeli hospital.

 

Israeli occupation forces kill 5 Palestinians amid a large-scale raid in Tulkarm

TULKARM, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces killed five Palestinians over the last few hours in an ongoing large-scale military offensive in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to local and medical sources. The ongoing Israeli raid also resulted in the injury of others, including some seriously.

The sources reported that at least two of the victims were killed in a drone strike which targeted them while they were in Nour Shams refugee camp in the city. The strike also left several others wounded.

Simultaneously, the Israeli occupation forces initiated widespread arrests, infrastructure destruction, and declared the camp a closed military zone as large-scale forces stormed the city and the refugee camp from multiple directions.

WAFA correspondent reported the murder of Jihad 'Aarna, 25, Ma'hmoud Samir Jabir, 22, Ghayth Yasir Shi'hada, 25, Waleed As'ad Zahra, 22, and As'ad As'ad Zahra, 33, as a result of the Israeli airstrike, reportedly carried out by an unmanned drone. The two were left bleeding, as he occupation  forces prevented ambulance access to the camp.

Additionally, several individuals sustained injuries, some in critical condition, due to the Israeli drone strikes that targeted multiple locations within the camp.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that the Israeli forces obstructed emergency medical teams from entering Nour Shams camp to reach a critically injured person with a head injury, despite coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Furthermore, a volunteer paramedic was arrested by Israeli forces from inside an ambulance, the sources added.

Israeli drones also targeted locations in the Manshiya neighborhood of Nour Shams camp, although the precise nature of the targeted areas was not ascertainable, according to our correspondent.

During the Israeli offensive, forces conducted extensive house raids, leading to the arrest of several individuals, including Hani Sawan, 27, a paramedic, who was arrested from the ambulance he was present in at the entrance of Nour Shams refugee camp.

Earlier in the night, Israeli occupation forces stormed Tulkarm, imposing a strict siege on Nour Shams camp east of the city. Military vehicles and bulldozers were deployed on Nablus Street and the entrance to the Ikataba suburb in the vicinity of the camp. Intense gunfire and explosions were reported in various neighborhoods during the incursion.

Israeli snipers were positioned on the rooftops of several buildings, as the Israeli military imposed closures and restrictions on movement in the invaded areas.

M.N.

Occupation forces block access of ambulances to Nour Shams refugee camp amid Israeli raid

TULKARM, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces are obstructing access of ambulances to help the wounded amid an ongoing Israeli military offensive in the Nour Shams refugee camp in the city of Tulkarm, north of the West Bank, according to medical sources.

Ahmed Jibril, the Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services at the Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Nablus, reported that despite coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Israeli occupation forces re impeding the arrival of ambulance vehicles to the camp to transport the wounded to hospital.

He added that the occupation forces kidnapped a wounded child, 16, and a volunteer from inside an ambulance that managed to reach the wounded child with difficulty. Later, the injured child was handed over to Palestinian medical teams after being briefly detained by the forces.

Jibril noted that PRCS had established a medical point inside the camp to deal with injuries on the site. However, Israeli occupation forces expelled these medical teams and prevented them from carrying out their humanitarian work.

He emphasized that since October 7, 95% of coordination attempts to reach the wounded in areas under Israeli military raids have failed, highlighting the severe challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in providing assistance under the current circumstances.

M.N.

Palestinian youth succumbs to wounds by Israeli gunfire in Jenin

JENIN, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) – 

Medical sources at Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin Sunday said that Palestinian youth, Laith Abu Al-Nimr, died as a result of being injured by fragments of a shell fired by an Israeli occupation regime drone at a group of young men in the eastern neighborhood of Jenin, during the occupation forces’ storming of the city and its camp, which lasted for three days.

The occupation forces launched an aggression against the city of Jenin and its camp on the twelfth of this month, resulting in the killing of 11 citizens, the injury and arrest of hundreds.

With the killing of Abu Al-Nimr, the number of slain Palestinians in the West Bank rises to 294, since October 7th.

K.T.

Abduction of Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Regime Soldiers

Female prisoners from Gaza facing particularly inhumane conditions in Israeli detention, says Prisoners Authority

RAMALLAH, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

The PLO Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority has revealed that female Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, particularly those arrested since October 7, are facing inhumane conditions in Israeli jails.  

According to the Authority's lawyers, incarcerated Palestinian women from Gaza are enduring torture and abuse from the first moment of arrest, including beatings, insults, strip searches, solitary confinement, and deprivation of basic rights.

All female prisoners from Gaza undergo degrading treatment, it added, including the confiscation of their clothes replaced with summer attire. They also face relentless physical assaults, insults, and verbal abuse.

A shocking incident involved an elderly woman, aged 80, from Gaza who arrived at the Israeli prison of Damon, despite walking with a cane; she was brought to prison without a hijab, with her face covered in blood, said the authority.   

In another heartbreaking account, a Gaza mother, detained while she was accompanying her four young children, was forced to hand them over to an unknown man before being taken away by Israeli soldiers, uncertain about her children's fate.

The Authority stressed that the documented testimonies represent only a fraction of the reality, as prison authorities purposefully isolate Gaza detainees from others and the outside world, allowing them to continue their violations without scrutiny.

M.N.

The Israeli occupation regime refuses to disclose the whereabouts of imprisoned Fat'h official, Marwan Barghouthi

RAMALLAH, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

The PLO Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority said today that the Israeli occupation regime prison administration has been refusing to disclose the imprisonment location of senior Fat'h official Marwan Al-Barghouthi after his forcible transfer from the 'Ofer prison over one week ago.

In a joint press statement, the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the life of the detained official Marwan Al-Barghouthi.

Al-Barghouthi, who hails from the town of Koabar in the occupied West Bank province of Ramallah, has been detained since April 15, 2002. He is considered the first Palestinian member of parliament and the first member of the Central Committee of the Fat'h movement to be detained by the Israeli occupation regime.

He is sentenced to five life sentences plus 40 years in prison.

M.N.

 

 

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

Illegal Israeli settlers attack a Bedouin community near Jericho

JERICHO, Sunday, December 17, 2023 (WAFA) –

A group of illegal Israeli settlers launched a violent attack today on residential houses, pelting them with stones, and set fire to three livestock sheds in the Bedouin community of Arab Al-Mali'hat community, located to the west of Aree'ha (Jericho) in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

Hasan Mali'hat, a local activist who is an advocate of the rights of Bedouins, told WAFA that dozens of colonial settlers attacked the homes of local residents in the Arab Al-Mali'hat community, pelting them with stones.

The attackers also set fire to livestock sheds belonging to a local Palestinian resident.

Terror attacks by the illegal Israeli settler militias are a common feature of the daily life under the illegal settler occupation, but have seen exponential growth in recent months with the rise of far-right fascism to Israel's government coalition.

M.N

 

 

 

 

***