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 315 of US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, More Massacres, More Deaths, More Injuries, and More Destruction

August 16, 2024 

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Editor's Notes:  

Here are some initial (not final) statistics, which show the Israeli war crimes against humanity, during the current Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, based on the reliable data reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry:

By August 15, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 50,005+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (40,005), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 10,000+). 

By August 15, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 92,401.

By August 16, 2024, 626 Palestinians who were killed, 5,463 who were injured, and 10,073, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023, including 310 women and 640 children (Some of the detainees have been released).

By July 12, 2024, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza included 16,054+ children and 10,700 women (69.7% of the total). The death toll also included 500 doctors and medical staff, 158 journalists, and 75 civil defense workers. 

By July 12, 2024, the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment destroyed more than 100 health hospitals and medical facilities,  609 mosques, 3 churches, more than 430,000 housing units, and the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

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US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza enters day 315 with more killing and injuring of Palestinians, particularly children,  August 16, 2024	Palestinian Woman and three children were massacred by an Israeli airstrike on their tent in a displaced persons area, in southern Gaza, August 16, 2024
Palestinian young man Rashid Sada, 23, was martyred, 11 others were injured by the illegal Israeli settlers, in their attack on Qalqilya and Nablus, August 16, 2024	Seven Palestinians of one family, including both parents of paramedic Abdul Qadir Ahmed, were killed by an Israeli genocidal airstrike on a house in Jabalya, August 16, 2024
Israeli military doctor reveals shocking detention conditions of killing, torture, sexual assaults, and other violations against Palestinian detainees in Sde Teiman, August 16, 2024	Settler attack on Jeet, 273 fires ignited by the Israeli occupation forces and illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank during the past ten months, August 16, 2024
Gaza records first polio case, UNICEF calls for humanitarian truce, otherwise hundreds of thousands of children may be victims of polio, August 16, 2024	Palestinians in Gaza remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death, destruction, and evacuation from one area to another under Israeli genocidal air strikes, August 16, 2024

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ " (الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves" (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

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While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza (Since October 7, 2023), which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

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40,000 Palestinians perform Friday prayer at Aqsa

Friday 16-August-2024

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)

Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshipers performed Friday prayer at the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, despite Israeli restrictions.

According to the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, around 40,000 Muslims performed the Friday prayer at the holy shrine.

A heavy contingent of Israeli police was deployed at the entrances, surroundings, and alleys of the city, as well as at the external gates of the Mosque.

Israeli authorities also imposed more restrictions on West Bankers’ entry to the Aqsa Mosque compound.

Earlier Friday, thousands of Jerusalemites performed the Fajr prayer at the Aqsa Mosque despite the Israeli security restrictions at its gates.

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Hamdan: “We are able to communicate smoothly with Sinwar”

Friday 16-August-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

High-ranking Hamas official Osama Hamdan denied what some media outlets are promoting about the difficulty of communicating with the Movement’s newly appointed chief Yahya Sinwar.

“I mentioned in my statements issued yesterday that due to the nature of the battle and the Zionist aggression, there are some difficulties, but communication is permanent and achieves the desired interests,” he said in press statements.

The Movement’s leadership is able to communicate smoothly with its newly appointed chief Sinwar, despite the delay due to the security measures, he added.

Regarding the ceasefire negotiations and prisoner exchange deal, Hamdan said that “the general principles of the initiative were based on a ceasefire.”

“We have informed the mediators that any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new,” he added. “Otherwise, Hamas finds no reason to participate.”

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'Hamas political bureau member, 'Husam Badra:

Israel’s continuing procrastination is the obstacle to progress on a ceasefire deal

Friday 16-August-2024

DOHA, (PIC)

The member of 'Hamas political bureau, 'Husam Badran, said what hinders reaching a ceasefire in Gaza is Israel’s continuing procrastination.

Badran told the Russian News Agency on Thursday evening that Hamas looks at the ongoing negotiations in Doha regarding a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange from a strategic perspective with the goal of ending the aggression on Gaza.

Badran said the negotiations must move toward the implementation of a framework agreement accepted previously and achieve a complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces, return of displaced Palestinians, reconstruction, and a prisoner exchange deal. 

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Health Ministry registers first case of polio virus in southern Gaza Strip

RAMALLAH, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) –

The Health Ministry today registered the first case of poliovirus in the southern governorates of the war-torn Gaza Strip.

It said in a press release that the case is that of a 10-month-old newborn who has not received any vaccination for polio in the city of Dair El-Bala'h. Doctors suspected that the newborn exhibited symptoms identical to those of polio. Tests conducted in Amman confirmed that the newborn contracted a strain of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV).

It confirmed that it would carry out a vital polio vaccination campaign within the coming few days targeting children under 10 years old, noting that 1,200,000 type 2 polio vaccine doses were secured in coordination with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and work is underway to secure 400,000 doses.

It stressed that the Gaza Strip was facing a health catastrophe as a result of the ongoing Israeli genocidal aggression, explaining that the lack of basic hygiene and sanitary items as well as of wastewater services, waste accumulation on streets and around displaced people shelters in addition to the lack of safe potable water have created a favorable environment for the spread of many epidemics, including water-borne diseases, such as VDPV.

It urged the international community and international health organizations to urgently intervene to halt the Israeli genocidal aggression on the Strip and create the conditions for salvaging what is possible and immediately providing healthcare for the Gaza population.

It called on all international organizations and bodies to take immediate action to rebuild safe potable water and wastewater systems, dispose of solid and medical waste, ensure the entry of fuel for pumping clean freshwater and secure the unconditional entry of medical and hygiene supplies to the Strip.

K.F.

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Gaza records first polio case, UNICEF calls for humanitarian truce

Friday 16-August-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Friday that the first case of polio has been recorded, while UNICEF called for a 7-day humanitarian truce to vaccinate around 640,000 children against the deadly disease.

Marwan Al-Hams, the director of field hospitals at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, announced the detection of the first positive case of “polio” in the Gaza Strip. He warned that with this first confirmed case, the Strip will start recording more cases, as for every detected case there are estimated to be around 200 undetected and asymptomatic cases.

In this context, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called for a 7-day truce in the Gaza Strip to allow two rounds of polio vaccination campaigns. The organization stressed that without these humanitarian pauses, it will not be possible to implement the campaign.

UNICEF explained that this truce will allow children and families to safely access health facilities, and also allow community awareness workers to reach children who cannot access health facilities for vaccination.

Last July, the World Health Organization revealed a high likelihood of a polio outbreak in Gaza and its surrounding areas due to the dismal health situation and the deterioration of the sanitation system in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. Ayadil Saparbekov, head of the WHO health emergency team in Gaza and the West Bank, said that polio virus has been detected in sewage samples in Gaza.

Polio is a highly contagious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis, mainly affecting children under the age of five. 

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UNRWA: Palestinians in Gaza remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction

Friday 16-August-2024

AMMAN, (PIC)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has said that the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip “remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction on a staggering scale.”

UNRWA said in a statement on X platform on Friday that “once again, fear spreads as families have nowhere to go” following new evacuation orders issued by “Israeli authorities, even inside the so-called ‘humanitarian zone’.”

The Israeli ongoing war of genocide against the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year had claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Palestinians and injured more than 92,000 others mostly women and children other than the displacement of 90% of its population amidst growing famine in all areas of the besieged enclave especially in the northern areas.

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Israeli military doctor reveals shocking detention conditions in Sde Teiman

Friday 16-August-2024

NAZARETH, (PIC)

An Israeli military doctor has provided a horrific testimony on the inhumane conditions of the sick Palestinian prisoners held in the notorious Sde Teiman detention center.

The testimony of the unnamed doctor was published by the Israeli daily, Haaretz, on Friday, revealing that when he arrived at the prison last winter, he found about 20 patients in one tent shackled to old steel beds and blindfolded all the time.

He added that many of the detainees had recently undergone major surgeries or had suffered gunshot wounds, some occurring just hours before their arrival at the detention center, which he described as a stockade.

Several reports have previously spoken of killing, torture, sexual assaults, and other violations against detainees in Sde Teiman.

The Israeli Supreme Court is considering a petition submitted by five Israeli human rights organizations demanding immediate closure of the prison.

The doctor spoke about the suffering of a wounded man who was transferred to prison shortly after undergoing a sensitive surgery, and another who suffered from sepsis without receiving any medical follow-up.

He said that torture in Sde Teiman includes detaining prisoners naked and blindfolded and preventing them from speaking or moving their limbs for long periods that amount to a month.

A recent report issued by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, “B’Tselem”, included testimonies given by 55 Palestinian detainees after their release from Israeli occupation prisons, confirming that they were subjected to torture, sexual assault, humiliation, and starvation.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says that the Sde Teiman camp has turned into a new “Guantanamo” prison, where detainees are held in extremely harsh conditions, inside places resembling chicken coops in the open and without food or drink for long periods of time.

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A shocking testimony of an Israeli military doctor about Israel's Sde Teiman detention center - Haaretz

TEL AVIV, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) -

An Israeli military doctor has provided a harrowing account of the inhumane conditions faced by Palestinian detainees at the notorious Sde Teiman detention center in southern Israel, Anadolu Agency quoted Haaretz, Israel's daily newspaper.

According to Anadolu Agency, the doctor's testimony which was published by the Israeli daily, Haaretz, on Friday, shed light on the brutal treatment of detainees from Gaza.

The unnamed doctor, who served at the facility during the past winter, described appalling scenes inside the medical tents.

“In one hospitalization tent, there were no more than 20 patients. All had their four limbs shackled to old steel beds, like the ones used in our hospitals years ago. All were conscious and all were blindfolded all the time,” said the doctor.

The doctor recounted that many of the detainees had recently undergone major surgeries or had suffered gunshot wounds, some occurring just hours before their arrival at the facility.

"Every physician knows that what such a person needs a day or two in intensive care and then to be moved to a ward. … But the person was sent to a pen in Sde Teiman two hours after surgery," the doctor said.

The doctor also reported the case of “another patient suffering from a systemic infection – sepsis.”

“He was in critical condition, and even according to the protocol, he should not have been there. Only patients who are completely stable are supposed to be hospitalized at Sde Teiman. But he was there and they said there was no alternative,” he added.

“To hold a person without letting them move any of their limbs, blindfolded, naked, under treatment, in the middle of the desert, … in the end, it's no less than torture,” he noted.

Reflecting on his time at Sde Teiman, the doctor said: “It all felt so surrealistic to me, just a quarter of an hour's drive from Be'er Sheva. Like, everything I'd been taught, all the years in university and hospitals, how to treat people – all that exists, but in an environment in which 20 people are being held naked in a tent. It's something you can't imagine.”

T.R.

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Parents of paramedic killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalya

Friday 16-August-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

Seven Palestinians of one family were killed in an Israeli genocidal airstrike on a house in Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Thursday including both parents of a paramedic.

The Civil Defense in Gaza said in a statement on Telegram that seven Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in the Israeli bombing.

Paramedic Abdul Qadir Ahmed, who was working at the emergency department in Kamal 'Udwan Hospital, said that he received a phone call that an apartment was bombed in Jabalya. When he went there, he was shocked to see that the targeted apartment was that of his family and that his parents were martyred in the bombing.

Journalists and activists circulated a video footage showing the ruins of the targeted apartment with a body shredded into pieces hanging out of it.

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

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On August 16, 2024, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, the Spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip resulted in 3 main massacres, in which 40 Palestinian civilians were killed, and the 107 others were injured, in the past 24 hours (from a specific time of yesterday to a specific time of today). This increased the accounted for death toll in Gaza Strip to 40,005 and the injuries to 92,401, since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on October 7, 2023.

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PalestinainHealth Ministry In Hamas-run Gaza Says War Death Toll at 40,074

  AFP, August 17, 2024

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that at least 40,074 people have been killed and 92,537 injured, in 5 massacres by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip, during the past 48 hours.

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US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza enters day 315

Friday 16-August-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip entered Day 315, on Friday, aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that the Israeli occupation army continued to bomb homes and attack citizens in different areas of Gaza, especially in Khan Yunis and Rafah, during the past 24 hours.

A Palestinian was killed and others were injured in an Israeli drone attack on a group of citizens near Al-Tabaa Tower in the Saraya area of central Gaza City.

Civil defense crews in Rafah recovered at least one martyr and an injured person from the vicinity of Al-Shakoush Street, west of Rafah.

Two more citizens, including a child, were killed and a number of citizens were injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Abu Sabeeka family house in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Another Palestinian was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the entrance to Al-Zawaida area in the central Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Israeli artillery shelled east of Khan Yunis after the return of dozens of citizens to their homes.

Six people were killed and others injured in the Israeli bombing of the “Qadih” family house in the Daraj area, Shawa Square, in Gaza.

Several people were also killed in a similar attack on a residential apartment in Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip.

Local sources said that the young man Hatem Hassouna Qwaider was killed after being shot by an Israeli quadcopter near the Al-Da’wa Mosque, east of Al-Nuseirat camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

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Palestinian Woman and three children killed in Israeli airstrike on tent of displaced persons in southern Gaza

GAZA, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) -

A woman and three children were killed today in an Israeli airstrike targeting a tent for internally displaced persons in the Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis, in the southern war-torn Gaza Strip.

Medical sources said that an Israeli air raid targeted a tent for displaced people near Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) headquarters west of Khan Yunis, resulting in the killing of a woman and three children.

Al-Mawasi was one of the areas designated by Israel as a safe zone for Palestinians.

According to the global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice, Oxfam, 1.7 million people, more than two-thirds of Gaza's population, are now estimated to be crammed into an area of 69 km2 - less than a fifth of the Strip.

The Israeli occupation’s aggression on the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air since October 7, 2023, has so far resulted in the killing of 40005 citizens and the injury of 92401 others.

Thousands of victims are still trapped under rubble and scattered on the roads and cannot be reached by ambulance and rescue crews.

T.R.

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Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza result in multiple casualties

GAZA, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) -

In the early hours today, several Palestinian civilians were killed and others injured as a result of Israeli aerial and artillery strikes, along with gunfire from Israeli occupation forces targeting various areas across the Gaza Strip.

According to our correspondent, medics recovered the bodies of five individuals from the families of Abdul Wahid and Al-Khour and treated eight injuries after Israeli forces shelled an apartment in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City.

The victims, who were taken to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, include Abu Bashar Abdul Wahid, his wife, their son Bashar, and their 13-year-old daughter.

Additionally, one person was killed and several others wounded in an Israeli drone strike near the entrance to the town of Al-Zawayda in central Gaza. The injured were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

Medics also retrieved the body of a young man, Hatem Hassouna Qweider, who was shot by a drone near Al-Dawa Mosque east of the Nuseirat refugee camp. He was taken to Al-Awda Hospital in the camp.

Furthermore, medics recovered another body following an Israeli strike on a house in the Al-Mufti area, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Simultaneously, Israeli military vehicles stationed at the Shuhada intersection opened fire on residential homes in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood southeast of Gaza City.

In Rafah, southern Gaza, Israeli artillery also fired several shells at western areas of the city, with no casualties being reported in the aftermath.

Israeli warplanes further targeted a house belonging to the Eid family in the Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza, and conducted two airstrikes east of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. They also dropped flares over the western area of Gaza City and destroyed residential buildings in the town of Al-Qarara, near Khan Younis.

By August 15, 2024, the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023 has so far resulted in 40,005 documented Palestinian fatalities, with over 92,401 others injured.

Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.

M.N.

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

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One Palestinian martyred, 11 injured in settler attacks in Qalqilya and Nablus

Friday 16-August-2024

QALQILYA, (PIC)

A Palestinian young man in his twenties was martyred and others were injured by the illegal Israeli Jewish settlers’ gunfire during their storming of the town of Jeet, east of Qalqilya, on Thursday evening.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced in a statement on Thursday evening that the young man Rashid Sada, 23, was martyred shortly being transferred to Rafeedya Governmental Hospital in Nablus.

It added that it dealt with to at least 11 wounded people during Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) and settlers’ attacks on the towns of Jit in Qalqilya and Huwara in Nablus.

On Thursday evening, more than 100 Jewish settlers broke into and attacked the village of Jit, opening heavy fire on Palestinian youths and setting fire to four houses and six cars.

For his part, the 'Hamas official, Abdul Rahman Shadid, said that the armed settlers’ aggression on the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya, “is part of Israeli series of crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank, and a new failed attempt to deter our people from pursuing the path of freedom and victory.”

Shadid stressed that “the Israeli occupation is mistaken in thinking that its brutality in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will push our people to give up defending our land and legitimate rights.”

Shadid called on the people of the West Bank to further “escalate resistance against the IOF and Israeli settlers and to confront the Israeli brutal attacks.”

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Two Palestinians injured after being run over by Israeli military vehicle northwest of Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) - Two Palestinians were injured this evening after being run over by an Israeli military vehicle in the town of Deir As-Sudan, northwest of Ramallah.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its crews treated two people who were injured after being run over by an occupation vehicle in the said village.

The two were taken to hospital, where their conditions were described as moderate to minor.

According to local sources, the occupation forces broke into the town and raided several neighborhoods, spurring confrontations with residents.

T.R.

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Palestinian teenager injured with live fire as Israeli forces quell peaceful march in Qalqilya

QALQILYA, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) - A Palestinian teenager was injured with live bullets and dozens suffocated today during the Israeli occupation forces' crackdown on the weekly anti-colonies rally in the village of Kafr Qaddoum east of Qalqilya, said local sources.

Sources reported that the occupation soldiers fired live bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters at the peaceful protesters, shooting and injuring a 14-year-old boy with live bullets in the foot. He was taken to a hospital in Nablus, where his condition was described as stable.

Dozens of people were also treated at the scene from tear gas suffocation.

For years, villagers from Kafr Qaddum and neighboring villages have been protesting every Friday against illegal Israeli settlements, and calling on Israeli authorities to reopen the village’s main road, which has been sealed off by the occupation authorities since 2002.

T.R.

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Note:

The Israeli occupation forces have no jurisdiction to arrest or detain Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, that's why the correct term for what they do illegally is kidnapping, not arrest or detention.

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IOF launches fresh raids, arrests across the West Bank

Friday 16-August-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched a new raid and arrest campaign in different areas of the West Bank at dawn Friday.

In Ramallah, the IOF arrested the two brothers, Abdul Rahman and Shatha Jaraba, after raiding their family home in Beitin village, east of Al-Bireh.

In Tulkarem, the IOF arrested the young man Ayed Al-Masry after breaking into his home in Ezbet Al-Jarad.

The IOF troops continue to escalate their arrest campaigns in the West Bank, coinciding with the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip for the 315th day in a row.

Since October 7, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been rounded up across the West Bank. The detainees included those who were arrested in home raids, at military checkpoints, and those who were forced to surrender themselves under threat of their family arrest.

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Israeli occupation forces detain siblings in pre-dawn raid east of Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) --

Early this morning, Israeli occupation forces detained a young man and his sister from the village of Beitin, located east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources reported that the detention occurred after troops stormed a home belonging to the Jaraba family in the village, during which the residence was searched. 

Subsequently, the occupation forces detained Abdul Rahman Jaraba and his sister Shadha. The two were taken to an unknown destination.

M.N.

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

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273 fires ignited by IOF, settlers in the West Bank since October 7

Friday 16-August-2024

RAMALLAH, (PIC)

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and Jewish settlers have ignited 273 fires in Palestinian lands and property since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 last year.

The head of the commission, Muayad Shaban, said these attacks reflect a clear attempt to perpetuate state-sponsored terrorism by terrorizing civilians and destroying their property, aiming to force a large-scale displacement and confine the Palestinian population to isolated, besieged enclaves.

Shaban revealed that fire attacks were concentrated in the governorates of Nablus (120 fires), Ramallah (42 fires), and Jenin (26 fires), ranging from 77 incidents targeting agricultural land and crops to 196 affecting residential buildings, vehicles, and other properties.

Shaban further explained that among these fires, 56 were ignited by IOF raids and attacks, while joint settler-IOF attacks caused nine fires, while settlers were responsible for the majority of the attacks, igniting 208 fires.

The head of the commission added that igniting fires as a systematic and escalating method inflicts severe damage, describing it as a tool of terrorism and intimidation aimed at causing significant losses to the social and economic conditions of Palestinian communities.

He warned that the IOF and settlers carry out such attacks under the guise of the war and emergency laws, recalling previous horrific crimes such as setting the child Muhammad Abu Khudair on fire in 2014 and the Dawabsha family in 2015.

Shaban called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and impose sanctions on certain individuals and groups of settlers who repeatedly carry out such heinous crimes.

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273 fires ignited by Israeli forces and colonists since October 7: Settlement Resistance Commission

RAMALLAH, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) —

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported today that Israeli occupation forces and colonists have deliberately started 273 fires targeting Palestinian land and property since October 7, 2023.

Mouayad Shaban, the head of the commission, stated that the Israeli occupation military and colonists have used the cover of the ongoing aggression by the occupying state to commit numerous crimes, with fires being a prominent method.

He said these actions reflect a clear attempt to perpetuate state-sponsored terrorism by terrorizing civilians and destroying their property, aiming to force a large-scale displacement and confine the Palestinian population to isolated, besieged enclaves.

Shaban detailed that since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military and colonists  have intentionally caused 273 fires affecting Palestinian properties and fields. The most recent incident was an attack last night on the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya.

According to Shaban, the fires were concentrated in several governorates: 120 in Nablus, 42 in Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and 26 in Jenin. The fires ranged from 77 incidents targeting agricultural land and crops to 196 affecting residential buildings, vehicles, and other properties.

He also noted that of these fires, 56 were caused by military raids and assaults, while joint settler-military actions led to nine fires. Colonists were responsible for the majority, igniting 208 fires.

Shaban condemned the use of fires as a systematic and escalating method of inflicting severe damage, describing it as a tool of terrorism and intimidation aimed at causing significant losses to the social and economic fabric of Palestinian communities.

He warned that the continuation of such actions under the guise of war and emergency laws represents a blatant challenge to international norms and laws condemning the colonial settlement project and the official institutions that support and benefit from it.

The report also highlighted that, since October 7, 2023, settler violence has resulted in the deaths of 18 Palestinians, injuries to over 785, and the displacement of 26 Bedouin communities.

"These figures underscore the dangerous empowerment of terrorist groups receiving official support in the form of funding, protection, and immunity, posing a stark defiance to international condemnation of the settlement enterprise and its sponsoring institutions," Shaban concluded. Top of FormBottom of Form

M.N.

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Last Palestinian families in northern Jordan Valley community forced to leave their homes due to escalated colonists attacks

TUBAS, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) -

The last Palestinian families in the Umm al-Jamal community in the northern Jordan Valley were forced to dismantle their homes and leave the community, due to escalated colonists’ attacks in the area, which are carried out under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.

WAFA correspondent reported that 14 families left the Umm al-Jamal community, due to escalated colonists’ attacks in the area, including the seizure of water resources, the closure of pastures, the raiding of homes, the seizure of vehicles and agricultural tractors and livestock theft, which aim to establish a pastoral colonial outpost in the area.

Mutaz Bsharat, an official in charge of monitoring Israeli colonial activities in the Jordan Valley, stated that the last Palestinian families in the community left their homes and moved to a safer place due to the escalated violations of colonists against them. The forced displacement of residents in the said area began months ago.

According to the semi-annual report of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, the actions of the Israeli occupation and colonists have resulted in the displacement of five Palestinian Bedouin communities consisting of 18 families (118 individuals) since the beginning of this year.

The Commission added that 24 Palestinian Bedouin communities consisting of 266 families (1517 individuals), were displaced from their places of residence after October 7, 2023.

T.R.

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Colonists begin excavation near school north of Jericho

JERICHO, Friday, August 16, 2024 (WAFA) — 

This morning, Israeli colonists initiated excavation works next to the Arab al-Ka'abneh Elementary School in the Mujarjat village, located northwest of Jericho in the occupied West Bank.

Hassan Melehat, the General Supervisor of the Al-Baydar Organization for Bedouin Rights, reported that colonists began digging and establishing groundwork adjacent to the school, which serves Bedouin communities in the region, with the intent of constructing a new colonial building nearby.

Melehat described the operation as part of a broader, aggressive colonial campaign, supported by Israeli occupation forces, targeting Bedouin communities.

He pointed out that the aim of this campaign is to seize additional land from the local population.

M.N.

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Illegal Israeli settlers

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Groups of the illegal Israeli settlers

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