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.

 

20,000 Accounted for Palestinians Killed,  6,700+ Under Rubble, 53,000 Injured, in US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Starved Gaza Strip

December 21, 2023 

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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:  

By December 21, 2023, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strop is 26,700+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (20,000) and those who are still missing under the rubble (Corrected on December 11, 2023: 6,700+).   

The documented injuries exceeded 53,000.   

By December 21, 2023, there were 304 Palestinians who were killed, 3,484 who were injured, and 4,655 who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023.

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By December 20, 2023, the death toll included 8,000+ children and 6,200+ women.   

By December 21, 2023,  there was a complete destruction of 53,000+ housing units, and 255,000+ 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 21, 2023, 99 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, 23 hospitals and 53 primary care centers are not functioning.  

 

A scene representing the daily preparation of vicims for burial, for Palestinians killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, December 21, 2023	Injured Palestinian civilians on a hospital floor, receiving the little available medical care, due to Israeli destructions of most hospitals, December 21, 2023
A Palestinian child in Gaza, representing the most targeted category for death, thirst, and hunger inflicted by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, December 21, 2023	Children receiving handouts of cooked food, as more than two million Palestinians are starving due to the Israeli genocidal war and siege of Gaza Strip, December 21, 2023
Courtyard of Kamal 'Adwan hospital in Jabalya, in which Israeli occupation forces bulldozed the living injured and refugees, together with the dead, on December 18, 2023 pic	Due to the Israeli genocidal war, Gaza has been left without a functional hospital due to a lack of fuel, staff and supplies, December 21, 2023 pic
Martyrs, injured, and destruction inflicted on Palestinians in Rafa'h by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment, December 21, 2023	Injured Palestinians, who survived the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment, receiving treatment in Nasir hospital, in Khan Younus, December 21, 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).

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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.

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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UNICEF: Gaza children have barely a drop of water to drink

Thursday 21-December-2023, AMMAN, (PIC)

The Gazan population’s failure to access clean water and sanitation amid Israel’s relentless attacks are posing a grave risk to their children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned.

Huge masses of displaced people, who were already forced to flee to southern Gaza by the war, are accessing only 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day, well below the recommended requirement for survival, the UN agency stated on Wednesday.

The crisis, antagonized by limited aid deliveries and the destruction of infrastructure, puts huge numbers of vulnerable children at risk of disease, it added.

As a result of the Israeli army’s ongoing massive bombardments, hundreds of thousands of people, around half of them estimated to be children, have been pushed into Rafah since early December, and are now in desperate need of food, water, shelter, medicines and protection, UNICEF said.

“According to humanitarian standards, the minimum amount of water needed in an emergency is 15 liters, which includes water for drinking, washing and cooking. For survival alone, the estimated minimum is three liters per day,” UNICEF underlined.

“Access to sufficient amounts of clean water is a matter of life and death, and children in Gaza have barely a drop to drink,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said.

“Children and their families are having to use water from unsafe sources that are highly salinated or polluted. Without safe water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease in the coming days,” he added.

Using unsafe water and lack of hygiene, Gaza children are more vulnerable to waterborne disease, dehydration and malnutrition, according to UNICEF.

“In shelters across the Strip, long queues of exhausted women and children wait to use the, on average, one toilet for every 700 people, pushing people to resort to other coping strategies, such as the use of buckets, or open defecation. Showers are even less available reducing hygiene options to nearly non-existent, impacting especially women and girls. This could further lead to an increase in the spread of disease,” UNICEF said.

Humanitarian aid deliveries simply do not meet the needs of the population for basic survival. This causes a shortage in water and hygiene products that is further compounded by the fact that a large percentage of sanitation facilities have been either destroyed or simply cannot serve the large number of displaced Palestinians gathering in specific locations.

“We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of the people in Gaza, but the equipment and supplies we’ve managed to provide are far from enough,” Russell said.

“The constant bombing, along with the restrictions on materials and fuel allowed into the territory, are preventing critical progress. We urgently need these supplies to repair damaged water systems.” 

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WHO: No functional hospitals left in northern Gaza

Thursday 21-December-2023, OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that northern Gaza has been left without a functional hospital due to a lack of fuel, staff and supplies.

“There are actually no functional hospitals left in the north,” Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the West Bank and Gaza, told reporters via video link from Occupied Jerusalem on Thursday.

“Al-Ahli (Hospital) was the last one, but it is now minimally functional.”

“Our staff are running out of words to describe the beyond catastrophic situation facing remaining patients and health workers,” Peeperkorn said.

“Now, Al-Ahli is a shell of a hospital,” he said, adding that it was the only hospital where injured people could get surgery in northern Gaza until two days ago.

“But there are no operating theatres anymore due to the lack of fuel, power, medical supplies and health workers, including surgeons and other specialists,” he said. “It has completely stopped functioning and is only operating as a hospice currently, with no or very little care services provided.”

The WHO official said that Al-Ahli Hospital is in “utter chaos, completely congested and a disaster zone.”

He noted that only nine out of 36 health facilities are partly functional in the whole of the Gaza Strip, but all of them are in the south.

In a related context, the health ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that hundreds of wounded civilians had died because of the failure to provide them with medical treatment at Al-Shifa Hospital.

Spokesman for the ministry Ashraf al-Qidra stated that Al-Shifa Hospital lacks the medical services needed to treat wounded citizens, adding that all the hospital in Gaza City and northern Gaza “have become out of service.” 

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Palestinian photojournalist: I stopped filming because my children and I are starving

Thursday 21-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

Since Al-Aqsa Flood operation started on October 7, the French newspaper La Croix has been communicating with the Palestinian journalist and photographer Abed Zaqqout, to report on his daily life under the ongoing Israeli bombardment to document the destruction that befell his homeland, the Gaza Strip. However, three days ago, he had to stop filming due to the hunger he and his children are suffering from. Today, he is appealing to everyone to save him and his family.

Zaqqout, 37 years old, says in his last message: “Before the war, I lived in the south of the Gaza Strip. I work as a freelance journalist and photographer for numerous press agencies.”

He explained how he was displaced by saying, “At the start of the conflict, I took refuge with my family in Nasir hospital, in the heart of the city of Khan Younus. It is from there that I travel to the bombed areas and cover the events.”

“Since Israel escalated its military offensive on the South after the truce and stormed Khan Younus, I moved to the city of Rafa'h. There, I write to you from the tent where I live, in the freezing cold of Rafa'h. My children are sick and suffering,” he added.

“We, the journalists and photographers, work on empty stomachs. We face considerable challenges in providing our children with food and finding little bread. We produce photo and video stories about hunger and thirst, while our own children are hungry and thirsty,” he highlighted.

Zaqout stressed that “As an independent journalist, I am not a party to this conflict affecting my country, but the Israeli army does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. I stopped filming two days ago. I cannot do it anymore. I’m starving. Sorry if I can’t find the right words.”

He concluded his message by saying, “Journalists affiliated with agencies were able to be evacuated but no one is helping independent journalists. Help us, we are heading towards death.”

Since October 7, Israel has been waging a large-scale aggression on the Gaza Strip, claiming the lives of more than 20,000 people, and wounding more than 52,000 others, amid a tight siege on the coastal enclave where a genocidal war has been carried out against the Palestinian people. 

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

Gov’t Media: Israel bombed our headquarters in Gaza

Thursday 21-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza has condemned the Israeli occupation army’s bombing and destruction of its main headquarters and the offices of the Palestinian Al-Ray network in Gaza City.

In a statement on Thursday, the media office said that the destruction of its media headquarters is a failed attempt to intimidate it and prevent it from exposing the Israeli army’s crimes against the civilians, children and women in Gaza.

Since October 7, the Israeli army has killed 97 journalists, some of them from the Government Media Office, wounded dozens and kidnaped eight others. 

GMO: More than 26,700 Palestinians killed, reported missing in Ghazza (Gaza)

Thursday 21-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

The government media office (GMO) in the Ghazza (Gaza) Strip held the international community and the United States, along with Israel, fully responsible for the Israeli genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which claimed the lives of more than 26,700 victims (martyrs and missing persons) and nearly 53,000 injured.

Every meter in the Gaza Strip was targeted during the 75-day Israeli genocidal war, the GMO said in a statement issued Wednesday evening.

More than 1.8 million people were displaced, while 2.4 million people are living in difficult and unprecedented humanitarian conditions, the statement reads.

Over the 75-day of the Israeli genocidal war, the Israeli occupation forces carried out 1,700 massacres, claiming the lives of 26,700 victims; 20,000 of them arrived at hospitals, including 8,000 children, 6,200 women, 310 medical personnel, 35 civil defense members, and 97 journalists.

The GMO pointed out that 6,700 people were reported missing, either under rubble or because their fate remains unknown; 70% of these victims are children and women, while 53,600 people have been injured.

The Israeli occupation forces also abducted hundreds of civilians, including 99 medical personnel and eight journalists.

The Israeli attacks also targeted more than 23 hospitals, 53 health centers, 140 health facilities, and 102 ambulances.

Meanwhile, 126 government offices and 90 schools and universities were completely destroyed, while 283 schools and universities were partially damaged.

114 mosques were completely destroyed, while 200 others were partially damaged, in addition to three churches.

53,000 residential units were completely destroyed and 255,000 others were partially demolished.

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US-backed Israeli genocidal war on Ghazza (Gaza) Strip enters Day 76

Thursday 21-December-2023, GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Ghazza (Gaza) Strip entered Day 76 on Thursday, massive aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound and level whole blocks and homes and massacre more civilians, mostly children and women.

A reporter for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that the Israeli occupation army carried out intensive attacks on different areas of Gaza last night and on Thursday, targeting homes, civilian gatherings and shelter centers, and massacring dozens of citizens.

According to local sources, Israeli gunboats bombarded in the morning the beaches of Rafa'h and Khan Younus, with no reported casualties.

Israeli warplanes also carried out overnight and morning attacks on southern and northern Gaza.

Palestinian journalist Anas ash-Sharif described a wave of overnight and morning Israeli strikes on Jabalya and its refugee camp as “the most violent,” adding that the Israeli army bombed and destroyed many homes and roads and massacred and wounded dozens of civilians in Jabalya.

According to medical sources, 55 martyrs were evacuated to hospitals during the past 24 hours following Israeli attacks on homes in Khan Younus.

Dozens of casualties were also reported in Israeli aerial and artillery attacks on different areas of Gaza in the morning and later in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army continues to besiege the Red Crescent building in Jabalya, which houses 127 people, including displaced families, wounded civilians and employees. 

Dozens killed and wounded in the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip

GAZA, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) -

Dozens of people, including children and women, were killed and others were injured since dawn today, and dozens of homes and buildings were destroyed in the ongoing Israeli occupation bombing of the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air.

Local sources reported that dozens of people were killed and others were injured in the ongoing occupation attacks on Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, and on several areas in the central Gaza Strip.

During the past 24 hours, 55 people were killed in Israeli raids on homes in the city of Khan Younus, south of the Gaza Strip.

The occupation boats intensively bombed the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip, causing dozens of deaths and injuries.

The Shuja'iya neighborhood and the Jabalya area, east and north of the Gaza Strip, are also witnessing violent bombardment by occupation warplanes.

The Civil Defense in the northern Gaza Strip reported that its crews were unable to reach the dead and wounded due to the intense Israeli bombing.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that the occupation forces are still besieging the Jabalya Ambulance Center, threatening the safety of 127 citizens, including medical personnel, and 22 wounded.

Medical sources announced the death of three wounded people due to a lack of medical supplies at al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.

The World Health Organization recently said that the emergency department at al-Shifa had turned into a bloodbath and needed rehabilitation after it was severely damaged by the Israeli bombing.

It explained that tens of thousands of displaced people took refuge in this complex, which lacks water and food, noting that the team that visited the complex described the emergency services as a “bloodbath”, with hundreds of infected patients inside it and new patients arriving every minute, noting that patients suffering from trauma receive treatment on the floor and that measures to relieve pain are very limited and even unavailable.

The occupation forces meanwhile continue to cut off communications and Internet services in the Gaza Strip for the second day in a row.

According to medical reports, 20,000 people were killed in the Israeli bombardment, including 8,000 children and 6,200 women, while the number of wounded has reached 52,600.

M.K.

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

At least five Palestinians shot and injured by Israeli forces during confrontations in Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) –

At least five Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli occupation forces tonight during confrontations that broke out following a military incursion into several neighborhoods in the city of Ramallah.

According to WAFA correspondent, confrontations broke out between the occupation forces and Palestinians residents following a military incursion into 'Ain Misba'h neighborhood in Ramallah.

Forces fired live and rubber-coated steel bullets as well as tear gas bombs during the confrontations, shooting and injuring a youth in the thigh, while another was stuck with shrapnel in the neck.

They were both transferred to hospital, where their medical condition was described as stable with minor injuries.

Three others were treated at the scene after being shot and injured by rubber-coated steel bullets.

The occupation forces reportedly stationed their troops near the Ramallah recreational complex in the city, and alongside the Al-Quds Open University in the neighborhood.

T.R.

Abduction of Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Regime Soldiers

Gaza: Israeli occupation forces storm Red Crescent Ambulance center in Jabalya, detain its crew

GAZA, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) -

The Israeli occupation forces stormed tonight the headquarters of the Red Crescent Ambulance Center in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, and detained its crew.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that it has lost contact with its ambulance center in Jabalya.

PRCS said in a statement that according to news it has received, Israeli occupation forces broke into the center, detained the crew and paramedics, and led them to an unknown destination.

It added that women were still trapped alone inside the center.

Local sources reported that the occupation shelled the center, set fire to ambulances and detained those inside.

T.R. 

Prisoners' groups: More than 4,655 Palestinians detained since beginning of Israeli aggression on October 7th

RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) -

The Israeli occupation forces resumed their mass detention campaigns in the West Bank, detaining more than 4,655 Palestinians since the beginning of the occupation's aggression against the Palestinian people on October 7th.

A joint press release issued by various Prisoners' groups, said most of the detentions were concentrated in Hebron, with more than 1,000 citizens detained.

According to data, more than 260 children were detained, in addition to around 160 women, including women detained from the 1948 occupied land.

The press release added that 46 journalists were detained; 32 remain in custody, whereas 20 of them were placed under administrative detention.

Administrative detention orders issued against Palestinians after October 7 amounted to more than 2,345; ranging between new and renewed orders.

Six detainees were also killed while in Israeli custody, said the press release.

The occupation has so far refused to reveal any details about the number and fate of detainees from Gaza.

T.R. 

The Israeli occupation forces detain 25 Palestinians in West Bank raids; 4655 detained since October 7

RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) –

The Israeli occupation forces detained today at least 25 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), raising total detained since the start of the Israeli war of genocide against the Palestinians on October 7 to 4655.

Detentions, accompanied by beating and ransacking of homes, were reported in the Hebron, Ramallah, Tulkarm, Nablus, Tubas and Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) districts, said the PPS.

M.K.

Several Palestinians kidnaped by IOF in W. Bank

Thursday 21-December-2023, WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnaped at dawn Thursday a number of Palestinian citizens during raids in the West Bank.

According to local sources, the IOF stormed Al-Rujeib area in eastern Nablus and kidnaped two young men after ransacking their homes.

The IOF stormed Bait Wazan in western Nablus, where they confiscated a private vehicle.

Israeli forces also pillaged several homes in Al-Sawiya town in southern Nablus and assaulted local residents.

In Jenin, a large number of foot soldiers stormed Ya’bad town and raided homes for several hours, amid clashes with local youths and resistance fighters.

In Tulkarem, the IOF kidnaped two young men from their homes in Dair Al-Ghusoun town and Seida town.

The IOF also raided two homes in Marda town in northern Salfeet and Bait Liqya in western Ramallah, with no reported arrests.

In northern Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), Israeli occupation forces kidnaped a young man from his home in al-Ram town.

In Bethlehem, the IOF kidnaped two young men from the city, two others from Teqoa town and one from Jannatah village.

Two others were also taken prisoners during an IOF raid in Al-Duhaisha refugee camp in southern Bethlehem, while one lawyer identified as Yasser Asakra was kidnaped from his home in Al-'Asakra village in eastern Bethlehem.

In al-Khalil, the IOF kidnaped two citizens from the city and Al-Zaytoun suburb.

The IOF also kidnaped two young men from Doura town in southern al-Khalil and assaulted one of them.

Israeli occupation forces also raided homes in Al-Dthahiriya and Bani Na'eem towns in Al-Khalil, without making abductions. 

Prisoner's Society: The occupation committed a crime against the freed detainee Farouq Al-Khateeb

RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) -

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) today held the Israeli occupation prison administration fully responsible for the serious health condition of Farouq A'hmed Al-Khateeb, 30, from the town of Abu Shukhaidim, northwest of Ramallah, who was released last night, two months before the end of his detention period, after spending four months in administrative detention.

The PPS said that, according to Al-Khateeb’s family, their son did not suffer from any chronic diseases before his abduction. He only suffered from a fast heartbeat, which resulted during his first abduction which lasted for four years, and he was released two months before his latest abduction.

It said that Khatib was severely beaten by Nahshon forces during his transfer from 'Ofer prison to the Ramla, which led to this dangerous stage in his health.

Al-Khateeb was detained in Naf'ha prison in the Naqab desert after being transferred from 'Ofer prison, near Ramallah, before he was transferred to Ramla prison clinic, and finally to Soroka Hospital where he was released after he was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer.

The PPS stressed that Al-Khateeb is not the only case of detainees released from occupation prisons in a serious and difficult health condition, accusing the Israel Prison Services of medical neglect of the prisoners.

M.K.

Israel admits 19 prison guards severely beat Palestinian prisoner Abu 'Assab that led to his death

RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) -

The Israeli occupation authorities admitted the involvement of 19 prison guards affiliated with the Israel Prison Services (IPS) in the severe beating of Palestinian prisoner Thayer Abu 'Assab, 38, from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, last month, which led to his death.

The newspaper, Israel Hayom, said today that Abu 'Assab, whose death was declared on November 18, underwent an autopsy that confirmed that he had been assaulted and beaten, which caused his death.

It said that all 19 jailers involved in the assault had been released under “restrictive conditions” until the investigation ends.

The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, expressed his support for the prison guards, claiming they were innocent until proven otherwise, and that he is against charging anyone of them in the killing of Abu 'Assab while describing the Palestinian freedom fighters incarcerated in Israeli prisons as “human scums” and “murderers”.

The Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission had previously confirmed that the occupation authorities had assassinated Abu 'Assab, who was held at the Naqab desert prison. He had been detained since May 27, 2005, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

It accused the IPS of carrying out systematic and premeditated assassinations against the prisoners.

It is noteworthy that since October 7, six Palestinian detainees have died in the Israeli occupation prisons as a result of barbaric and brutal beatings.

M.K.

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

Israeli occupation forces demolish 14 sheds and tents in West Bank village

NABLUS, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) –

The Israeli occupation forces today demolished 14 sheds and tents in the village of 'Aqraba, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to Sala'h Jabir, head of Aqraba village council.

He told WAFA that the Israeli occupation forces demolished eight sheds and six tents used as residences and animal barns.

M.K.

An illegal Israeli s bulldozes hundreds of vines and almond trees south of Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, Thursday, December 21, 2023 (WAFA) –

 An illegal Israeli settler uprooted this evening hundreds of grape vines and almond trees in the town of Al-Khadir, south of Bethlehem.

Head of the al-Khadir village council, Ibraheem Mousa, told WAFA correspondent that a settler from the nearby illegal colony of Navi Daniel, bulldozed around 15 dunums of land and demolished retaining walls along the Nahallin Road, which led to the uprooting of nearly one thousand grape vines and almond trees belonging to local residents.

He said that that this particular settler had previously bulldozed dozens of dunums in the al-Thaghra area with the aim of forcing its local owners out and taking over the land.

T.R. 

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