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 138 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, 11 Massacres, 118 Palestinians Killed, 163 Injured, with a Death Toll of  29,313 and 69,333 Injuries

February 21, 2024 

***

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:  

By February 21, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 36,313+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (29,313) and those who are still missing under the rubble (Corrected on February 7, 2024: 7,000+).   

By February 21, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 69,333, and more than 2,520 civilians have been abducted from Gaza Strip.

By January 17, 2024, about 661 detainees from Gaza are currently languishing in Israeli prisons as “illegitimate combatants” (the Israeli term for Palestinian fighters) in addition to more than 50 women from Gaza, who are detained in the Damon prison, noting that 8 women of whom have been recently released.

By February 8, 2023, the death toll included 12,150+ children and 8,300+ women (more than 73% of the accounted for victims). 

By February 21, 2024, there were 413 Palestinians who were killed, 3,650 who were injured, and 7,150, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023 (Some of the detainees have been released).

About 12,091 Palestinians, from both the West Bank and Gaza, have been detained in 2023. About half of them were detained after October 7. This included 1,085 children and 300 women.

The total number of detainees in the occupation prisons until the end of December was 8,800, and the number of administrative detainees was 3,484.

*** 

***

GMO reveals latest statistics on Israeli genocidal war on Gaza

Saturday 3-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Government Media Office (GMO) in the Gaza Strip revealed on Saturday the latest and most significant figures on the Israeli ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 7.

This announcement comes as the latest updates from the GMO, showing the scale of human and material damage that resulted from the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, on its 120th day.

The statistics demonstrated latest updates on the numbers of martyrs, missing, and wounded people in addition to the sick, displaced and prisoners as well as numbers of damaged structures and infrastructure.

Below are figures released by the GMO about Israel’s violations over the period of 120 days since the start of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

(2,325) Massacres (34,238) Martyrs and missing people. (27,238) Martyrs who arrived in hospitals. (12,000) Child martyrs. (8,190) Female martyrs. (339) Martyrs of medical staff. (46) Civil defense martyrs. (122) Journalist martyrs. (7,000) Missing, 70% of whom are children and women. (66,452) Wounded.

(11,000) Wounded people in need of travel abroad for treatment, (life-saving and critical cases). (10,000) Cancer patients facing the risk of death. (700,000) Wounded with infectious diseases as a result of displacement. (8,000) Cases of viral hepatitis infection due to displacement. (60,000) Pregnant women at risk due to the lack of health care. (350,000) Chronic patients at risk due to blocked medications.

(99) Cases of arrest among health personnel. (10) Cases of arrests among identified journalists. (2 million) Displaced people in the Gaza Strip.

(140) Government headquarters destroyed. (100) Completely destroyed schools and universities. (295) Partially destroyed schools and universities. (183) Completely destroyed mosques. (264) Partially destroyed mosques. (3) Destroyed Churches.

(79,200) Completely destroyed housing units. (290,000) Partially destroyed and uninhabitable housing units. (66,000) tons of explosives dropped on Gaza. (30) Hospitals knocked out of service. (53) Health centers knocked out of service. (150) Partially targeted Health institutions. (122) Destroyed ambulances. (200) Destroyed archaeological and heritage sites.

***

Palestinians in Gaza on the verge of annihilation by starvation, due to the Israeli genocidal war, particularly denial of food supplies,  February 19, 2024	Palestinians in northern Gaza Strip gathering to get any food supplies, as death by starvation is looming after five months of Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, February 19, 2024
118 Palestinians killed, 136 injured on Day 138  of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, February 21, 2024	Palestinian political prisoner Khalid Al-Shaweesh, 53, died after he was transferred in serious condition, from an Israeli prison  to a hospital, February 2024
Palestinian children who were injured by Israeli genocidal air strikes, receiving treatment on the floor of Nasir hospital in Khan Younus, February 21, 2024 pic	Hungry Palestinian children in Gaza waiting for getting a soup meal, February 21, 2024
Palestinian children in Gaza lining up to receive some soup, as death by starvation is looming, February 21, 2024	Gaza Municipality said that the Israeli occupation army has destroyed about one million square meters of roads and streets in Gaza City, by February 21, 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). 

***

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, 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.

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.

***

***

GMO demands immediate ceasefire as famine is deepening in Gaza

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza said that famine is deepening in the Gaza Strip, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in which hundreds of thousands of children and women would perish from hunger.

The GMO called on Russia, China, and Turkey as well as all countries of the free world, international organizations, Arab and Islamic countries, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, to urgently break the siege on the Gaza Strip, and to apply pressure for an end to the genocidal war and to stop starvation against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The Office said in a statement on Tuesday, “the famine is deepening day after day in the governorates of the Gaza Strip, which population is estimated at approximately 2,400,000 people. The governorates of Gaza and North Gaza are witnessing most accurate levels of hunger, which indicates a potential humanitarian catastrophe that would cause more than 700,000 Palestinians to die of starvation.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians in Gaza and North Gaza governorates took to the streets, on Tuesday, in rejection of starvation that has been used as a weapon by the Israeli occupation army against civilians in the besieged enclave.

The GMO’s statement pointed out that the Israeli occupation has been pursuing a policy of starvation and thirst against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its genocidal war against civilians, mostly children and women, with a special focus on Gaza and North Gaza governorates, by banning the entry of aid into the Strip.

The GMO called for immediate and urgent stop of the genocidal war against civilians, children, and women as well as for lifting of the siege and bringing 10,000 aid trucks over the next two days into Gaza.

It held the US administration and the international community, in addition to Israel, fully responsible for this famine.

***

GMO: Suspending distribution of food is a death penalty for hundreds of thousands in northern Gaza

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza has urged the World Food Program to immediately reverse its catastrophic decision to suspend the delivery of food aid in northern Gaza, holding the United Nations and the international community responsible for such a decision.

The GMO said in a press statement on Tuesday, “We received with shock the decision of the World Food Program to suspend the delivery of food aid in the governorates of Gaza and the North.”

It warned that this decision means a death sentence for three-quarters of a million people, exacerbating the humanitarian situation exponentially. “We express our absolute rejection of this decision, which will leave behind a global catastrophe.”

The GMO urged all United Nations agencies to urgently return to work in Gaza City and the North without hesitation, instead of evading and escaping their international responsibilities and duties, which they are obliged to fulfill. “They must take full responsibility for the clear shortcomings in carrying out their assigned work, as well as for the catastrophic consequences of the famine deepening in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

It also called on Arab and Islamic countries to take a historical, ethical, and humanitarian stance in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe, manifested in the Gaza Strip, especially in the genocide and starvation wars. “We call on Arab peoples to take to the streets in protest marches in support of Gaza, which is subjected to genocide against civilians, children, and women.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 29,313 martyrs and 69,333 injuries since October 7th last year.

It said that some of the victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, where the Israeli occupation army prevents ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.

***

Euro-Med: UN humanitarian coordinator must speak up about Gaza famine

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GENEVA, (PIC)

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has expressed its deep concern over the silence of the UN Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, and her apparent inattention regarding the catastrophic humanitarian situation and famine unfolding in Gaza City and northern Gaza.

“Despite alarming reports of famine, high acute food insecurity, and escalating malnutrition among children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and other vulnerable populations across the Strip, Ms. Kaag has not exerted sufficient pressure on the international community to bring attention to and address the dire humanitarian crisis,” Euro-Med said.

“Though Ms. Kaag has commented publicly on the situation in the southern Gaza Strip and the threat of an imminent Israeli invasion of Rafa'h, this commentary falls critically short of addressing the particularly concerning crisis in northern Gaza, which portends a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.”

“Warnings from UN agencies yesterday have highlighted the grave threat posed by acute malnutrition, particularly in the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City, where access to aid has been deliberately obstructed by Israel for weeks, and often blocked almost entirely.”

“According to the UN, one in six children under the age of two is acutely malnourished in this region, with some suffering from severe wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, which puts young children at highest risk of medical complications and death unless they receive urgent treatment.”

Furthermore, Euro-Med highlighted that its team had documented multiple cases of individuals, including children and infants – being starved to death.

“The deliberate obstruction of aid by Israeli authorities combined with the systematic bombardment, besiegement of the entire population, destruction, and damaging of over 70 percent of all homes in the Gaza Strip, as well as the targeted attacks on local government officials, have been exacerbating the suffering of civilians and creating what Israeli pundits themselves refer to as a death zone.”

“Ms. Kaag’s inaction on northern Gaza is particularly concerning considering her mandate to facilitate, accelerate, and expedite assistance to civilians in Gaza, as mandated by the Security Council. Her most recent general acknowledgment of the dire situation in northern Gaza dates back to last January, nearly a month ago now.”

“Ms. Kaag’s failure to publicly [call] or exert pressure on Israel to ensure unimpeded access to aid raises serious questions about her commitment to fulfilling her mandate as the UN Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.”

“Ms. Kaag has also failed to publicly and effectively address Israeli violations cutting the relief supplies almost entirely in the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City, resulting in the emergence of severe pockets of starvation.”

Euro-Med also noted that “Ms. Kaag’s recent engagement with Israeli authorities, including posing for a smiling picture with the Israeli coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT) head, Major General Ghassan Alian, has drawn further scrutiny.”

“In October, Alian notoriously threatened to make the lives of Gaza’s population a living hell and deny them water, fuel, electricity, and food.”

Euro-Med has called on The Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza “to break her silence on the situation in the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City and publicly affirm and condemn Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war in the area.”

Euro-Med urged her “to utilize all available avenues to ensure the immediate and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to northern Gaza, guaranteeing its timely provision to protect the affected population from famine.”

Euro-Med also called on Kaag “to further enhance collaboration with all parties’ efforts to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip’s population and strengthen coordination mechanisms among them,” stressing the need for such action, especially for northern Gaza, “to ensure a unified and effective response to the spreading famine crisis in that area.”

“The lives and well-being of the whole population of the Gaza Strip hang in the balance, and decisive and urgent action is needed to avert further tragedy in the region,” Euro-Med underlined.

***

Gaza Municipality: One million square meters of roads have been destroyed since October 7

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Gaza Municipality said that the Israeli occupation army has destroyed about one million square meters of roads and streets in Gaza City since the beginning of its aggression and genocidal war against civilians and service facilities in the city.

The municipality said in a statement on Tuesday, “the destruction in the city’s streets and roads is unprecedented, as paved roads and streets, islands, sidewalks, traffic signals, and various related facilities were targeted by Israeli airstrikes or leveled by military bulldozers.”

The statement explained that the Israeli occupation army targeted and destroyed about 3,600 traffic signals and signs, 260,000 meters of front stones and sidewalks, and 160,000 linear meters of lighting networks and lanterns. Unpaved roads were also destroyed either by being leveled by bulldozers or affected by the destruction of residential buildings, shops, and other facilities, it added.

The municipality called on the international community and organizations to quickly intervene to help rebuild the streets and restore civil and human life to the city of Gaza, which has been subjected to a war of extermination aimed at killing the human life in the city. 

***

90 percent of the Palestinian political detainees in the Israeli prison of Etzion are exposed to beatings and physical abuse

Wednesday 21-February-2024, RAMALLAH, (PIC)

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs has said that 90 percent of the Palestinian political prisoners in the Israeli prison of Etzion jail have been exposed to beatings and physical abuse during their detention and transfer to the prison.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Commission said its lawyer reported this percentage following a recent visit he made to Etzion jail, where 105 detainees are being held.

The Commission’s lawyer described the prisoners’ incarceration conditions in Etzion as “miserable,” saying that the cells are overcrowded with detainees and most of them sleep on the floor due to an acute shortage of beds and mattresses.

The Etzion detainees haven’t enough blankets and clothes and are being locked up in cold cells, which are also flooded with water during the rainy season, the lawyer added.

The prisoners are also exposed to deliberate disturbance by Israeli jailers, who keep knocking on the doors of their cells at night to prevent them from sleeping, and sometimes they are forced to stay in the prison yard with no reason, while those with medical conditions are not provided with any health care.

All these mass punitive measures against the prisoners in Etzion have been taken in response to the cross-border operation that was carried out by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza last October, according to the lawyer.

The Commission affirmed that many detainees in the jail are held administratively, without informing them of the duration of their detention.

***

'Hamas slams US veto of SC resolution on Gaza

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The 'Hamas Movement has strongly denounced the US administration for vetoing the Algerian draft resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hamas accused the US administration of persisting in acting against the international will through its obstruction of any resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

'Hamas also accused the US administration of “serving the Nazi occupation’s agenda that aims to massacre and displace the Palestinian people.”

“President Joe Biden and his administration bear direct responsibility for obstructing the adoption of a resolution ending the aggression against Gaza,” the Movement said.

“The US position acts like a green light for the occupation to commit more massacres and crimes against our defenseless people through bombing and starvation and is considered direct complicity in its genocidal war against the children and vulnerable civilians in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

The US vetoed another UN Security Council draft resolution on Israel’s war on Gaza, blocking a demand for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Arab countries, led by Algeria, put the draft resolution to a vote on Tuesday with the expectation that it would not pass after the US – Israel’s key ally – had warned it would not back the text.

In a related context, Member of Hamas’s political bureau 'Izzat Al-Rishiq has warned the Israeli occupation regime against expanding its offensive into Rafah and committing more massacres and genocidal crimes against civilians

“The victory that Netanyahu is looking for is a mirage that only exists in his imagination,” Rishiq said in a statement on Tuesday.

Reihiq accused the Israeli premier of lying to his people and deceiving the prisoners’ families when claiming that his army can liberate them by force, stressing that “time is running out.”

“An explosion in the face of the occupation is coming in response to its intended restrictions on the access of Muslims to the Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan,” Rishiq said.

“The crying of a Gazan girl child from hunger is a shame and curse upon the entire world,” the Hamas official said, commenting on the hunger crisis in the Gaza governorate and northern Gaza.

***

Nasir hospital’s crisis: A life-threatening situation for doctors and patients

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza issued a warning on Wednesday, stating that the Israeli control of the Nasir Medical Complex in Khan Younus city in the southern Gaza Strip is unbearable and constitutes a real threat to the lives of the medical staff and patients.

The ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qidra, stated that the medical teams are unable to provide medical care due to the lack of oxygen and necessary medical supplies. He pointed out that 45 patients have been transferred from Nasser Medical Complex to other hospitals, while the occupation continues to delay the evacuation of another 110 patients still in the hospital. The interruption of water and oxygen supply in all of Nasser’s facilities is due to the power generator being out of service, he elaborated.

Al-Qidra also highlighted the accumulation of tons of medical and non-medical waste in the departments and yards of Nasir  Medical Complex. He called on international institutions to exert more pressure on Israel to stop the militarization of the complex and provide medical and humanitarian needs for the patients and medical staff. He emphasized the necessity of releasing the detained medical staff and patients held by the Israeli occupation forces for the past four days without any justification.

Jonathan Whittall, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, described on Tuesday the situation at Nasser Hospital as a place of death, not recovery, this came in a post by the UN official on the X platform regarding Nasser Hospital, which was initially besieged and then stormed by the Israeli army.

Whittall said, “The patients here are desperate; the hospital has become a place of death, not healing.” He confirmed that “patients in urgent need were in a very bad condition.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Tuesday that the number of deaths in the Intensive Care Unit at Nasser Hospital, which Israel has turned into a military barracks and cut off electricity and disabled the oxygen system, has risen to eight cases.

For weeks, the Israeli army has been escalating its military campaign against the health system in Khan Younus, forcing thousands of displaced Palestinians to leave Al-Amal Hospital and Nasser Medical Complex in the city.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties, mostly children and women, according to Palestinian and UN data. 

***

***

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

On February 21, 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 Gaza Strip resulted in 11 massacres, in which  118 Palestinian civilians were killed, and 163 were injured, in the past 24 hours. This increased the death toll in Gaza Strip to 29,313 and the injuries to 69,333, since October 7, 2023.   

*** 

118 Palestinians killed, 136 wounded in the past 24 hours

Wednesday 21-February-2024, GAZA, (PIC)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation army has carried out 11 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. As a result, at least 118 citizens were martyred, and 163 others were injured by Israeli bombing and direct shooting of civilians with live bullets.

The Ministry added that a number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads as Israeli occupation forces have been blocking the movement of ambulance and civil defense crews and banning them from reaching the victims.

This brings the toll of the martyrs and wounded who have fallen in the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza since October 7 to 29,313 martyrs and 69,333 wounded.

***

Eight patients killed at Nasir Medical Complex in Khan Yunis

GAZA, Wednesday 21, 2024 (WAFA) –

At least Palestinian eight patients were killed today after the electrical generator was stopped operating, which caused oxygen to ran out at the Nasir Medical Complex in Khan Younus.

The sources added that the bodies of the eight people began to show signs of decomposition, jeopardizing the safety of other patients.

Medical source pointed out that the occupation forces refused to allow the ambulance and civil crews from burring the people killed inside the Complex.

PRCS called on international institutions to immediately intervene to put pressure on Israel to bury the bodies of the eight people in the Nasser Medical Complex.

Earlier today, the Palestinian Red Crescent had announced the evacuation of 21 wounded from Nasir Medical Complex, after it was out of service.

The occupation artillery bombed the vicinity of the Nasser complex, wounding a number of citizens and damaging buildings. The occupation forces are still besieging the Complex.

On February 15, medical sources reported that Israeli forces further demolished the southern wall of the complex before breaking into it amid indiscriminate shooting of heavy gunfire.

The occupation army intensively targeted the headquarters of the Red Crescent Ambulance Center housing a large number of wounded individuals and tents sheltering displaced people.

Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and army vehicles razed the mass graves inside the complex, which has been under a strict military siege for about 31 days.​

Y.S.

***

One civilian killed, others injured in an Israeli bombardment of Rafa'h

GAZA, Wednesday 21, 2024 (WAFA) – 

A Palestinian civilian was killed and others injured today, in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the center of the city of Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources reported that a citizen was killed and others were wounded following an Israeli artillery bombardment that targeted a gathering of civilians in the center of Rafa'h.

The majority of casualties are still trapped under the rubble of the houses and cannot be reached by civil defense vehicles and ambulances due to the intensity of fire by the occupation's warplanes, tanks, and drones.

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression against the Gaza Strip since October 7 has risen to 29,313, while there are more than 69,333 injured.

Y.S.

***

21 patients evacuated from Nasir Medical Complex as Israel continues its siege

GAZA, Wednesday 21, 2024 (WAFA) – 

The Palestinian Red Crescent society (PRCS) today said that its crews evacuated 21 wounded people from the Nasir Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younus in the southern Gaza Strip, after it was put completely out of service.

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crews in coordination with the World Health Organization, participated in the evacuation of 21 wounded persons from the Nasser complex.

PRCS said that at least five ambulance crews participated in the evacuation operation, evacuating 21 wounded people.  

They were all transferred to the International Field Medical Corps and Indonesian Field Hospitals in Rafa'h Governorate, south of the Gaza Strip.

Earlier morning, Israeli warplanes bombed the vicinity of the Nasser complex, resulting in the injury of several people and causing massive destruction to the nearby buildings.

The Complex, which contains about 120 wounded and sick people and medical staff, is still under a strict Israeli military siege, according to PRCS.

Y.S. 

***

Genocide in Gaza continues: Dozens of civilians killed in Israeli genocidal airstrikes, bombings

GAZA, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and injured last night and at dawn today during the ongoing Israeli occupation bombardment of the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air, since October 7th, 2023.

WAFA correspondent said that the occupation aircraft launched fire belts on residential squares in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, targeting dozens of homes, killing and wounding dozens, the majority of whom are still under the rubble of homes owned by several families.

He added that the occupation artillery targeted with dozens of shells civilian homes in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, as the occupation drones fired at citizens’ homes and at everything moving in the neighborhood’s alleys and streets.

He pointed out that civil defense crews and ambulances were unable to reach the targeted areas in the neighborhood to recover the bodies of the slain civilians and transport the injured.

WAFA correspondent stated that the people of Al-Zaytoun neighborhood are living in difficult humanitarian conditions, amid a risky forced displacement process towards the western neighborhoods of the city, especially Al-Rimal neighborhood and Al-Shifa Hospital.

Meanwhile, the occupation aircraft launched a series of raids that targeted several neighborhoods of Gaza City, especially Tal Al-Hawa, Al-Sabra, and Al-Shuja’iya, killing a number of people and injuring others, most of whom were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital.

WAFA correspondent said that the occupation aircraft targeted two houses in Nusayrat camp, killing seven citizens, including children, and injuring about 15 others, who were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Dair El-Bala'h.

In Khan Yunis, the Israeli artillery bombed the vicinity of Nasser Hospital, wounding several citizens and damaging buildings.

The occupation forces are still besieging the hospital, which contains about 120 injured men, patients, and medical staff.

Six citizens were killed, and others injured, in an Israeli bombing of a civilian vehicle on Abu Hosni Street in the city of Dair El-Bala'h in the central Gaza Strip, WAFA correspondent said.

In Rafa'h, south of the Gaza Strip, occupation aircraft bombed three homes in Shaboura camp in the center of the city, as the Israeli navy fired several shells that fell in the vicinity of the tents of the displaced people in Al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah, wounding many of them. They were transferred to Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar, Al-Emirati and Al-Kuwaiti hospitals in the city.

The city of Rafa'h is the last refuge for the displaced people in the stricken Strip. Since the beginning of the ground operation launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip on October 27, civilians have been asked to go from the north and center of the Strip to the south, claiming that they are “safe areas,” but they were not spared from the bombing.

Nowadays, Rafa'h, despite its narrow area, which is estimated at about 65 square kilometers, is a refuge more than 1.3 million Palestinians, the majority of them live in tents that lack the minimum requirements for life.

In the northern Gaza Strip, WAFA correspondent, citing medical sources, said that a number of citizens with chronic diseases died as a result of not receiving medical care and running out of medicine, food and water.

More than half a million citizens who have not left their homes reside in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and are at risk of death from starvation.

The occupation forces prevented the delivery of food aid trucks to civilians in the northern part of the Gaza Strip as aid convoys were bombed.

K.T. 

***

***

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

Palestinian child fatally shot by Israeli forces' bullets in Qalqilya city

QALQILYA, Wednesday 21, 2024 (WAFA) –

 Israeli occupation forces today killed a Palestinian child in cold blood in the town of 'Azzoun, east of Qalqilya city.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the 14-year-old child Fadi Sa'eed Suleiman died a result of a direct gunshot wound that penetrated his heart.

He was later rushed with a critical gunshot wound to hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Y.S.

*** 

Jineen: Israeli occupation forces kill one Palestinian during military raid

Jineen, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 (WAFA) – 

A Palestinian youth has been killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday during an army military raid into the city and camp of Jenin, north of the occupied West Bank, last night.

Medical sources said that 'Aarif Marwan 'Aarif 'Ali, 26, from the village of Kafr Qaddoum in Qalqilya, was killed during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of Jenin’s and camp.

Large forces from the occupation army stormed Jenin from Nazareth and Haifa Streets, after an undercover Israeli force besieged two houses in the camp, sparking violent confrontations, during which three Palestinians were injured, one of whom was reported to have been seriously injured.

The occupation forces began to destroy the infrastructure in the city of Jenin and its camp, especially on Haifa Street at Al-Ahmadin Roundabout, Military Street, Ya'hya 'Ayyash Roundabout, Al-Jalbouni Roundabout, Watermelon Roundabout, and Al-'Hathnawi Roundabout, and caused damages to people’s property and structures.

A vehicle was also set on fire, while other vehicles were destroyed.

The occupation forces bombed a house with a missile in Al-Samran neighborhood in the camp, owned by local resident Mu'hammed Abu Jabir, and subjected dozens of young men to field investigation.

The occupation forces launched a massive raid on homes in the camp and detained eight people.

K.T. 

***

Palestinian prisoner dies after his transfer in serious condition to hospital

Wednesday 21-February-2024, Jineen, (PIC)

Palestinian prisoner Khalid Al-Shaweesh, from Jineen, was martyred on Wednesday after Israeli jailers transferred him from Nafha jail to 'Assaf Harofeh Hospital. The cause of his death is still unknown.

The Prisoner Media Office said that prisoner Shaweesh, 53, died after he was transferred yesterday in serious condition to 'Assaf Harofeh Hospital.

Shaweesh is the third prisoner to have been pronounced dead in Israeli jails since the beginning of the current year and the eighth since the Israeli occupation army started its war on Gaza last October.

In recent months, the Israeli prison service launched a repressive campaign against the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails at the behest of far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Many Palestinians were reportedly assaulted or executed during their detention by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank.

These deaths in Israeli jails come at a time when detainees and prisoners have testified to their lawyers about their exposure to violence at the hands of jailers and deliberate medical neglect in prisons.

In this regard, the Hamas Movement mourned martyr Khalid Shaweesh and held the Israeli occupation regime fully responsible for his death, stressing that the Palestinian resistance would force the occupation to release the Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails soon.

'Hamas called on the Palestinian masses and the families of the prisoners in Israeli jails to rise up in the face of the occupation regime, its forces and settlers in the West Bank and 1948 occupied Palestine.

The Movement also urged the world’s free people to move to put an end to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian prisoners and save them from the medical neglect policy pursued against them in Israeli jails.

***

At least 7,150 Palestinians detained by Israeli occupation forces since October 7

RAMALLAH, Wednesday 21, 2024 (WAFA) – 

At least 7,150 Palestinians were detained by Israeli occupation forces during military raids across the occupied West bank since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, according to detainees and ex-detainees affairs commission and the Palestinian prisoner society(PPS).

The Commission and PPS said in a joint statement, that Israeli forces continues its systematic detention campaigns against the Palestinian people in the West Bank, which escalated in an unprecedented way after the 7th of October.

PPS said that the policy of detention had targeted all people without considering or taking into account the age of a person. Israeli occupation army raided several homes of detainees’ families, inflected damage and tampered with their contents.

The occupation force at least detained at least 30 Palestinians from different parts of the West Bank, including 6 children.

Y.S.

***

***

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

An illegal Israeli settler starts the groundwork for the construction of a settler-only road in Aree'ha (Jericho)

JERICHO, Wednesday 21, 2024 (WAFA) – 

An illegal Israeli settler today started the groundwork for the construction of a settler-only road in the Al-Ma'rajat area, northwest of Jericho.

'Hassan Mulai'hat, the supervisor of the Al-Baidar organization for defending the rights of the Bedouins, said that a colonist escorted a bulldozer into Al-Ma'rajat area, proceeded to build the road leading to a colonial outpost. 

'Hassan Mulai'hat added that this colonial pastoral outpost was established more than a year ago with the aim of seizing Palestinian lands in order to force them to abandon their area.

 In a related context, Israeli colonists today raided Al-Minya area, southeast of Bethlehem.

The head of the Minya village council, Zayid Kawazba, said for the third day in a row, a group of colonists threatened the Palestinian shepherds in Al-Minya area to leave their lands and homes, otherwise they would be subjected to continuous harassment and attacks.

Kawazba said that local residents confronted the colonists and prevented them from approaching their homes and tents.

Earlier yesterday, colonists attacked Palestinian herders, during which the occupation forces fired tear gas and sound bombs at them, causing several suffocation cases.

Y.S.

***

***