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 226 of the US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, Several Massacres, 70 Palestinians Killed, 110 Injured, with a Death Toll of  35,456 and 79,476 Injuries

May 19, 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 May 19, 2024, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 42,456+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (35,456) and those who are still missing under the rubble (Corrected on April 18, 2024: 7,000+). 

By May 19, 2024, the documented injuries exceeded 79,476 and more than 2,520 civilians have been abducted from Gaza Strip. 70% of deaths were for children and women.

By May 19, 2024, 507 Palestinians who were killed, 4,366 who were injured, and 8,767, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023 (Some of the detainees have been released).

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 March 4, 2023, the death toll included 13,420+ children, 8,900+ women (more than 72.8% of the accounted for victims), 364 doctors and medical staff, 132 journalists, and 48 civil defense workers. 

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.

By March 4, 2024, the Government Media Office (GMO) said that the Israeli occupation forces killed 364 health personnel, destroyed 155 health institutions, 32 hospitals, 53 health centers, 126 ambulances, displaced 1.9 million Palestinians, and destroyed 360,000 housing units, about and 60% of the buildings and infrastructure in Gaza Strip.

*** 

***

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.

***

An injured Palestinian father carrying his two injured children, who survived an Israeli genocidal air strike on Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024	Once again, about 800,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee Rafa'h since the Israeli occupation apartheid regime army launched a military operation in the area, May 6-19, 2024
A massive demonstration was organized in the British capital, London, on Saturday condemning the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, May 18, 2024	70 Palestinians were killed, 110 were injured by Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2024
Searching for the Palestinian victims who were killed and injured by Israeli genocidal air strikes on an Al-Nusayrat residential neighborhood, in central Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024	Palestinian victims of an Israeli genocidal air strike on Khuza'a, carried to the European hospital in Khan Younus, May 19, 2024
Grieving the death of family members who were killed by Israeli genocidal air strikes on an Al-Nusayrat residential neighborhood, in central Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024	Martyrs who were massacred by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on Gaza Strip, readied for burial in Shuhada Al-Aqsa, in Dair El-Bala'h, on May19, 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 (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.

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.

***

***

Protesters swarm London streets to condemn Gaza aggression on Nakba anniversary

Sunday 19-May-2024

LONDON, (PIC)

A massive demonstration was organized in the British capital, London, on Saturday condemning the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, with the participation of more than a quarter of a million protesters. The demonstration aimed to urge the international community to stop the genocide, lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and affirm the right of return for the Palestinian people.

This demonstration was organized by several Palestinian support organizations, including the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the British Solidarity Campaign with Palestine, the Friends of Al-Aqsa organization, the Islamic Association in Britain, the Stop the War organization, and the Stop Nuclear Weapons organization.

The demonstration started in front of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) building on Mortimer Street and headed towards the headquarters of the British government and parliament.

Adnan Hamidan, the Deputy Head of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, said that there are three main messages in the national demonstration. The first message is to demand an end to arms sales to Israel, the second is the urgent need to stop the genocide in Gaza, and the third is to emphasize the right of return.

The Palestinian journalist Moataz Azayza pointed out that such crowds renew his hope and optimism in the people rather than the regimes.

Former leader of the British Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn, strongly criticized the international community for its failure to support the Palestinians and stop the genocide in Gaza.

Thousands of people participated in massive demonstrations in global capitals and cities on Saturday, condemning the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and commemorating the Nakba.

Demonstrations were held in the French capital, Paris, the Danish capital, Copenhagen, the Austrian capital, Vienna, the Tunisian capital, and the cities of Mainz and Braunschweig in Germany, the capital Berlin, Uppsala and Malmo in Sweden, the Italian city of Florence, the British city of Manchester, the Turkish city, Istanbul, and London.

The demonstrations raised Palestinian flags and banners condemning the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against the Palestinians.

The participants denounced the genocidal war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip and called for holding it accountable for its massacres against the Palestinian people.

***

Students at Drexel University set up a Palestine solidarity encampment

WASHINGTON DC, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

An encampment advocating for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from Israeli genocide was established by students in the Drexel University in Philadelphia on Saturday night, according to the Drexel Palestine Coalition.

The Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Drexel is demanding several actions from the university, including divestment from the Israeli genocide and reallocating funds towards investments in Palestine.

Additionally, the students are demanding disclosure of material and financial expenses and profits, defense against repression and censorship, and an explicit acknowledgment of the ongoing crisis in Gaza as a genocide, stated a news release from the coalition.

The Drexel Palestine Coalition stated that the encampment was a response to the Palestinian call for escalations to halt the fast-paced genocide in Gaza.

Expressing their discontent with Drexel's complicity in Israeli occupation, particularly citing ties with Lockheed Martin, investments in BlackRock, research and exchange programs with Israeli universities, and real estate portfolio connections to Israel Bonds, the coalition aims to draw attention to what they perceive as unethical affiliations.

Kendell Lewis, a Drexel student, expressed hope that the encampment would bring about positive change, stating to ABC News, "I hope it is more fruitful, and more organizations around the area step up and also collaborate and put more efforts in the organization. Because we want to keep it peaceful at the same time. You don't want anyone to get hurt. We just want people to be heard."

This initiative comes less than 24 hours after 19 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested by police on the University of Pennsylvania's campus, indicating a growing momentum in local activism surrounding the Palestinian cause.

M.N.

***

Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters rally near US Capitol on Nakba anniversary

WASHINGTON DC, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

Hundreds of protesters gathered yesterday near the U.S. Capitol, raising their voices in solidarity with Palestine and denouncing the Israeli occupation for the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Hundreds of demonstrators convened on the National Mall to mark the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe" in Arabic, which commemorates the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and carrying placards bearing messages of solidarity, the protesters called for an end to the Israeli onslaught on Gaza and demanded justice for the Palestinian people. Phrases like “No peace on stolen land” and “End the killings, stop the crime/Israel out of Palestine” reverberated through the crowd, echoing their fervent calls for change.

Amidst the chants and speeches, there was palpable anger directed towards President Joe Biden, whom many accuse of enabling the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.

“Biden Biden, you will see/genocide’s your legacy,” echoed through the rain-soaked streets, reflecting the frustration and disappointment felt by many protesters towards the current administration's military aid to Israel.

Reem Lababdi, a George Washington University sophomore who said she was pepper-sprayed by police last week when they broke up an on-campus protest encampment, acknowledged that the rain seemed to hold down the numbers.

"I’m proud of every single person who turned out in this weather to speak their minds and send their message,” she told ABC News.

Speaker Osama Abuirshad, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, gestured at the Capitol building dome behind him.

“This Congress does not speak for us. This Congress does not represent the will of the people,” he said. “We're paying for the bombs. We're paying for the F-16s and F-35s. And then we do the poor Palestinians a favor and send some food.”

Speakers also expressed anger over the violent crackdown on multiple pro-Palestinian protest camps at universities across the country. In recent weeks, long-term encampments have been broken up by police at more than 60 schools; just under 3,000 protesters have been arrested.

“The students are the conscience of America,” said Abuirshad, who compared the university demonstrations to earlier protest movements against the Vietnam War and apartheid-era South Africa. “That's why the authorities are working so hard to silence them.”

M.N.

***

PGMO: Israeli occupation apartheid regime army bars entry of 3,000 aid trucks to Gaza

Sunday 19-May-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime army has been preventing 3,000 aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip for two weeks, according to a statement on Sunday by the Palestinian Government Media Office (PGMO) in Gaza.

GMO also accused, in Telegram remarks, the Israeli army of preventing 690 sick and wounded people from traveling abroad for medical treatment as the Rafa'h and Karm Abu Salim border crossings are closed for the 13th day running.

“The US administration, the European Union and the international community did not do their duty and did not exercise the role required of them to prevent the genocidal war on Gaza,” GMO said.

“Rather, they gave the occupation the green light to persist in committing its genocidal crimes,” PGMO added, calling on the international community to pressure the Israeli occupation apartheid regime to stop its genocide in Gaza.

***

UNRWA: Nearly 800,000 now displaced from Rafa'h

Sunday 19-May-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

Roughly 800,000 people have been forced to flee Rafa'h since the Israeli occupation apartheid  regime army launched a military operation in the area on May 6, UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini has said in a renewed appeal for serious measures to protect civilians and provide safe humanitarian access in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

“Once again, nearly half of the population of Rafa'h or 800,000 people are on [roads],” Lazzarini wrote in a post on the social media platform X on Saturday.

Lazzarini said that following evacuation orders demanding people to flee to so-called safe zones, people mainly went to the middle areas of Gaza and Khan Younus, including to destroyed buildings.

“When people move, they are exposed, without safe passage or protection,” Lazzarini said. “Every time, they have to start from scratch, all over again.”

Lazzarini added that the areas that people have escaped to do not have safe water supplies or sanitation facilities.

He cited the example of Al-Mawasi area, describing it as “a sandy 14 square kilometer agricultural land, where people are left out in the open with little to no buildings or roads.”

This area, located on Gaza’s southern coast, “lacks the minimal conditions to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in a safe and dignified manner,” he explained.

He said that more than 400,000 lived in Al-Mawasi before the recent escalation, but now it is “crammed and cannot absorb more people,” which is also the same in Dair El-Bala'h.

“The claim that people in Gaza can move to ‘safe’ or ‘humanitarian’ zones is false. Each time, it puts the lives of civilians at serious risk,” Lazzarini affirmed, adding that “Gaza does not have any safe zones.”

The situation is again being made far worse by the lack of aid and basic humanitarian supplies, he continued, noting that humanitarians do not have any more supplies to give out, including food and other basic items. 

Meanwhile, key border crossings with Gaza remain closed or are unsafe to access as they are located near or in combat zones, according to Lazzarini, who also highlighted the critical need for fuel, which is essential for aid distribution.

He also said that only 33 aid trucks had made it to southern Gaza since May 6 – “a small trickle amid the growing humanitarian needs and mass displacement.”

“While we welcome reports on first shipments arriving at the new floating dock, land routes remain the most viable, effective, efficient and safest aid delivery method,” he underlined.

“The displaced population must have access to basic survival items, including food, water, and shelter, as well as hygiene, health, assistance and above all safety,” he stressed.

“Humanitarian relief teams also need safe and free movement to access people in need, and protection wherever they may be, and the parties are also obligated to protect civilians and civilian objects everywhere,” the UNRWA chief said.

“Above all, it is time to agree on a ceasefire,” he concluded. “Any further escalation in the fighting will only wreak more havoc on civilians and make it impossible to finally have the peace and stability that Israelis and Palestinians desperately need and deserve.”

***

Illegal Israeli settler militias attack aid trucks bound for Gaza near the town of Tarqoumiya

Al-Khaleel (Hebron), Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

This afternoon, a group of extremist illegal Israeli settlers attacked two aid trucks loaded with essential food supplies at the Tarqoumiya crossing, located northwest of Hebron. The trucks were en route to the Gaza Strip to deliver much-needed assistance to Palestinians suffering from the ongoing Israeli aggression.

Palestinian sources informed WAFA that the colonists vandalized a significant portion of the cargo, scattering the food supplies on the ground in an attempt to prevent the aid from reaching its destination.

This marks the eighth instance in which aid trucks and their drivers have been assaulted by mobs of Israeli colonists at the Tarqoumiya crossing, with such attacks occurring under the protection of the Israeli occupation apartheid regime army.

The recurrent attacks on humanitarian aid convoys exacerbate the already dire situation in Gaza, where the ongoing Israeli military offensive has led to severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other essential goods.

M.N.

***

Israeli troops surround Gaza hospital, prevent medical treatment to injured, sick Palestinian civilians

GAZA, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces are besieging Al-'Awda Hospital in Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip, and treatment services cannot be provided to the injured and sick, according to medical sources.

The sources added that the occupation artillery bombed the hospital with several shells before surrounding it, preventing civilians and medical teams from entering or leaving it, which caused difficulty in providing treatment services to the injured and sick.

Press sources said that the occupation army bulldozed the vicinity of Al-'Awda Hospital.

On May 11, the occupation forces conducted a massive attack against the city of Jabalya and its camp in the northern Gaza Strip, after asking residents to evacuate the area and head towards the west of Gaza City.

Since the beginning of the aggression, the occupation forces have deliberately disrupted the health system by targeting hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-'Awda Hospital in the north, through direct threats of closure, and then targeting it with direct bombardment, destroying housing departments, operating rooms, the solar energy system, water and diesel stores, drug and medical gas warehouses, transport vehicles and ambulances and their medical supplies.

Al-'Awda Hospital is considered the only hospital that provides orthopedic, gynecological, and obstetrics services in the northern Gaza Strip, as well as general surgery, reception, emergency, specialized clinics, radiology, and the laboratory.

On November 21, three doctors were killed as a result of direct shelling, and 50% of the hospital’s capacity was taken out of service.

On December 5, the occupation army besieged the hospital for 18 days, while three workers were killed and 12 medical staff were injured.

In addition, volunteers, A'hmed Muhanna, who is a hospital doctor, and three medical staff were detained.

By May 18, 2024, the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7 has resulted so far in at least 35,386 documented Palestinian fatalities, with an additional 79,366 individuals sustaining injuries, according to the local health authorities. The majority of the victims are women and children.

K.T. 

***

Israel continues closure of Rafa'h and Karm Abu Salim crossings in southern Gaza

RAFAH, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces continue the closure of the Rafa'h border crossing, Gaza’s sole pedestrian crossing to the outside world, and the Karm Abu Salim commercial crossing in southern Gaza for the thirteenth consecutive day, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe gripping the besieged territory.

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), warned yesterday that the failure to open the border crossings and ensure safe access to them threatens to perpetuate the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Lazzarini highlighted that only 33 trucks had reached Rafah since May 6.

The closure of the crossings coincides with the intensification of the Israeli aggression on the governorates of Rafa'h, Central Gaza, Gaza, and the North Gaza, even extending to Al-Mawasi area, where citizens have been instructed by the Israeli occupation army to seek refuge.

Since May 7, Israeli occupation forces have occupied the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, halting the flow of aid to the territory. Additionally, since then, Israeli forces have maintained the closure of the Karm Abu Salim commercial crossing southeast of Rafa'h, preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid.

The Rafa'h border crossing is considered the main land gateway for delivery of international aid and for the wounded and sick in Gaza seeking treatment abroad.

The continued closure of these crossings poses a significant challenge to humanitarian efforts and exacerbates the dire situation for Palestinians in Gaza, who are already grappling with the consequences of the ongoing Israeli military aggression, now in its 226th day.

M.N.

*** 

***

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

On May19, 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 9 massacres, which resulted in the killing of 70 Palestinian civilians, and the injury of 110 others, in the past 24 hours. This increased the accounted for death toll in Gaza Strip to 35,456 and the injuries to 79,476, since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on October 7, 2023.   

***

Death toll in Gaza from ongoing Israeli aggression surpasses 35,456

GAZA, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 7th, 2023, has now surged to 35,456, medical sources confirmed on Sunday.

Sources added that at least 79,476 others have also been injured in the onslaught.

At least 70 people were killed and 110 others were injured in Israeli attacks that took place in the last 24 hours, they added.

The sources said that many victims are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are still unable to reach them.

K.T. 

***

US-backed Israeli genocidal war on Gaza enters day 226

Sunday 19-May-2024

GAZA, (PIC)

As the US-backed Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip entered day 226 on Sunday, aerial and artillery strikes continued to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians, especially in northern Gaza.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that the Israeli occupation army continued to bomb homes in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours, amid escalating incursions and attacks in Rafa'h and Jabalya.

According to media sources, civil defense and medical crews evacuated 31 martyrs and 20 wounded civilians from the bombed house of the Hassan family after it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike last night, amid ongoing efforts to find more casualties.

Meanwhile, an Israeli drone killed one civilian and wounded another one as they were collecting firewood in al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza, while two others were killed in another airstrike on Jabalya refugee camp.

The Israeli army also killed two civilians in an attack in Khuza’a town, east of Khan Younus, and launched a dawn attack on a house and a school sheltering displaced families in Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, killing nine civilians and injuring others.

Yesterday, 40 martyrs and 100 wounded citizens were evacuated to the Kamal 'Udwan Hospital following relentless attacks on northern Gaza, especially in Jabalya refugee camp.

The civil defense service said that the Israeli army had destroyed over 300 homes in Jabalya since it started its renewed operation in the area, adding that its crews cannot reach many victims buried under the rubble of bombed buildings.

The civil defense declared the entire areas of northern Gaza as a “disaster-stricken zone.”

Other casualties were reported in other areas of Gaza following Israeli aerial, artillery and shooting attacks last night and today.

***

Three Palestinians killed by Israeli genocidal airstrikes in Gaza City, Jabalya

GAZA, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

An Israeli drone genocidal strike killed one Palestinian and injured another in the Sabra neighborhood of southern Gaza City this afternoon. 

Eyewitnesses reported that the drone targeted two individuals who were collecting firewood in the area. One of the men was killed right away, while the other sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike near the post office in central Jabalya refugee camp, north of the Gaza Strip.

Simultaneously, local sources said the death toll from an earlier airstrike on a school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City has risen to seven, as rescue teams continue to recover bodies from the rubble.

By May 18, 2024, the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7 has resulted so far in at least 35,386 documented Palestinian fatalities, with an additional 79,366 individuals sustaining injuries, according to the local health authorities. The majority of the victims are women and children.

M.N.

***

Casualties in a series of Israeli genocidal attacks across Gaza

GAZA, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

A number of civilians were killed and others injured this morning in Israeli artillery and air strikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip. Meantime, artillery shelling targeted Al-'Awda Hospital in Jabalya, northern Gaza.

In central Gaza, rescue and civil defense teams recovered the bodies of 31 victims following a deadly Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in Al-Nusayrat refugee camp early at dawn.

In the southern Gaza Strip, two civilians were killed in Israeli shelling on residential homes in the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younus. Furthermore, Israeli artillery renewed its bombardment on homes east of Rafa'h, southern Gaza.

In northern Gaza, rescue and ambulance teams reported that Israeli artillery targeted Al-'Awda Hospital in the Tel Al-Za'tar area of Jabalya, north of the Gaza Strip.

In a statement to the press, they explained that Israel has destroyed more than 300 homes in Jabalya since the start of the ground offensive in the camp last week.

Rescue teams have also managed to recover the bodies of hundreds of victims in Jabalya, with many people still missing under the rubble, as rescue teams cannot access them due to the nonstop Israeli attacks and the lack of equipment.

In the meantime, director of Kamal 'Udwan Hospital in northern Gaza said in a press statement that a number of wounded individuals succumbed to their injuries yesterday due to the lack of necessary medical equipment at the hospital. Despite the ongoing Israeli genocidal attacks, medical teams continue to provide minimal medical services.

By May 18, 2024, the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, now in its 226th day, has resulted so far in at least 35,386 documented Palestinian fatalities, with an additional 79,366 individuals sustaining injuries, according to the local health authorities. The majority of the victims are women and children.

M.N.

***

Multiple casualties, including a journalist, as Israel goes ahead with genocide in Gaza

GAZA, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

A series of intense Israeli genocidal airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling struck Al-Nusayrat, Al-Buraij, and Jabalya refugee camps, as well as the towns and cities of Beit Lahia, Rafah, and Gaza City late last night, resulting in multiple casualties among civilians, including a journalist.

WAFA correspondents reported that Journalist Abdullah Al-Najjar was among those killed after being targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the town of Jabalya, northern Gaza.

Simultaneously, three civilians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house north of Nusayrat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip.

Meantime, several civilians were killed and injured when Israeli warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Shaheen family in Gaza City.

Also in Gaza City, three civilians were killed and several others injured in an airstrike targeting a school sheltering displaced persons in the Al-Daraj neighborhood. The casualties were swiftly transferred to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city for urgent medical attention.

In the central region, local sources reported that one civilian was killed and others injured as Israeli warplanes targeted a group of civilians in Dair Al-Bala'h.  

Furthermore, in southern Gaza, eyewitnesses confirmed that Israeli military helicopters fired live ammunition east of Rafa'h, coinciding with airstrikes in the city center.

Additionally, shells were launched from Israeli warships towards the coastal areas of the Rafa'h seafront, while Israeli artillery intensified its bombardment of several areas in the eastern and central parts of the city.

In northern Gaza, several areas in Jabalya, Bait Lahya, and the vicinity of Kamal 'Udwan Hospital in northern Gaza Strip further witnessed heavy artillery shelling, resulting in more casualties among civilians.

The ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, now in its 226th day, has resulted so far in at least 35,386 documented Palestinian fatalities, with an additional 79,366 individuals sustaining injuries, according to the local health authorities. The majority of the victims are women and children.

M.N.

***

Israeli airstrike kills at least 20 civilians, injures dozens in central Gaza

GAZA, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

At least 20 civilians were killed and several others injured last night in a fierce Israeli genocidal airstrike targeting a residential complex north of Al-Nusayrat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, according to local and health sources.

The sources reported that emergency medical teams and civil defense crews recovered the bodies of at least 20 martyrs as of the time of reporting from beneath the rubble of the targeted homes in Al-Nusayrat .

Additionally, a significant number of wounded individuals, including children, were rescued from the debris. Search and rescue operations are ongoing to locate any missing persons trapped under the collapsed buildings.

The Israeli genocidal airstrike, characterized as one of the deadliest in recent weeks, has intensified the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the civilian population continue to bear the brunt of the genocidal Israeli onslaught.

By May 18, 2024, the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7 has resulted so far in 35,386 documented Palestinian fatalities, with an additional 79,366 individuals sustaining injuries, according to the local health authorities. The majority of the victims are women and children.

M.N.

***

***

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

***

Israeli occupation forces fatally shoot young man southeast of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

 Israeli occupation forces stationed at a military checkpoint southeast of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) fatally shot a Palestinian young man this afternoon, according to local sources and witnesses.

The sources reported that Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire intensively at Rami Taqatqa, 44 years old, from the town of Bait Fajjar, south of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), as he was passing through the Container military separating the central and southern West Bank.

Medical teams and ambulances were blocked from reaching him to provide medical assistance, witnesses added.

Subsequently, Israeli occupation forces handed over the body of the martyr Taqatqa to the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crews, who transported him to Al-'Husain Hospital in the nearby city of Bait Jala.

Following the shooting, Israeli occupation forces completely sealed off the checkpoint, causing a severe traffic jam and blocking the road ahead of the Palestinian traffic.

Following the gunfire, Israeli forces completely sealed off the entrances to the neighboring towns of Al-'Aizariya, Abu Dees, and Al-Sawahirah, preventing entry and exit simultaneously with the closure of the checkpoint.

M.N.

***

IOFs kidnap several Palestinians in the West Bank

Sunday 19-May-2024

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) stormed last night and at dawn Sunday different areas of the West Bank and kidnapped a number of Palestinian citizens, amid clashes with local youths and resistance fighters.

According to local sources, a large number of Israeli occupation apartheid regime soldiers stormed Qalqilya City and encircled two homes in Al-Qaraan neighborhood and near the interior ministry before asking their residents through a megaphone to gather outdoors. No kidnappings have been reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces clashed with local youths in Qalqilya City and fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters at them. Armed clashes with resistance fighters also took place in the city.

In Nablus, the IOFs went on the rampage through a cellphone store in a raid in the city and clashed with resistance fighters in Rafeedya neighborhood.

The IOFs raided other stores, destroyed an automated teller machine (ATM) and confiscated security camera recordings in Nablus City, according to eyewitnesses.

Local sources in Nablus also reported that Israeli soldiers searched a car and kidnaped a young man after ransacking his home and confiscating all the cellphones belonging to him and his family during a raid in Al-Ma'ajin neighborhood in the city.

In Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), IOFs soldiers stopped a car at the Container checkpoint and forced three passengers to leave it before rounding them up and closing the road.

In Ramallah, the Israeli occupation forces kidnapped two citizens from their homes in Kafr Ni’ma village and a journalist identified as Ma'hmoud Barakat from Burqa village.

Two other citizens were taken prisoners during IOFs raids on homes in Toulkarm City and 'Anabta town in eastern Toulkarm.

***

Occupation forces detain 9 Palestinians, including 2 children, in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

At least nine Palestinians, including two children, were arrested by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank during the last few hours, according to local and Palestinian security sources.

In Nablus province, Israeli occupation soldiers stormed the villages of Bureen and Madama, where they arrested two children after raiding their family homes. The two were identified as Salhab 'Hamid Zabn and Taha 'Imad Ziyada.

Earlier in the night, an Israeli army force stormed the neighborhood of Al-Ma'ajin in the neighboring city of Nablus and detained at least one Palestinian after raiding and ransacking his home.

In Ramallah province, three Palestinians were reported arrested in raids by the Israeli occupation army in the villages of Kafr Ni’ma and Burqa. One of the detainees was identified as journalist Ma'hmoud 'Aadil Barakat, who was arrested from his home in Burqa.

In Bait La'hm (Bethlehem) south of the West Bank, three Palestinians were reported arrested by the Israeli occupation army at the Container checkpoint, which separates the south and the center of the occupied West Bank.

M.N.

*** 

***

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

***

Scores of the illegal Israeli settlers defile Al-Aqsa Mosque

Sunday 19-May-2024

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

Hordes of the illegal Israeli extremist Jewish settlers escorted by the Israeli occupation apartheid regime police officers desecrated Al-Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards on Sunday morning and later in the afternoon, amid tight restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshipers to the holy site.

According to local sources, dozens of settlers entered the Mosque in different groups through its Maghariba Gate and toured its courtyards.

During their tours at the Islamic holy site, the settlers received lectures from rabbis about the alleged temple mount and a number of them provocatively performed Talmudic prayers in the Mosque’s eastern area.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation police imposed movement and entry restrictions on Muslim worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque’s entrances and gates and prevented many of them from entering the Islamic holy site.

In a related context, Jerusalemite sources warned of settlers’ intents to smuggle sacrificial animals into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to slaughter them on the first day of the second Passover festival (Pesach Sheni), which will be marked soon.

The sources urged the Palestinian citizens to march en masse to Al-Aqsa Mosque nowadays and intensify their presence in its courtyards to protect it against the illegal Israeli settler desecration.

***

Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian vehicles near Aree'ha (Jericho)

Aree'ha (Jericho), Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) –

 Illegal Israeli settlers Sunday evening attacked Palestinian vehicles passing through Al-Marajat Road, northwest of the city of Aree'ha (Jericho).

Eyewitnesses said that a number of illegal Israeli settlers threw stones at citizens' vehicles passing through the winding ...

K.T. 

***

Illegal Israeli settlers attack shepherds near Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

Al-Khaleel (Hebron), Sunday, May 19, 2024 (WAFA) – 

Illegal Israeli settlers Sunday attacked sheep shepherds in Masafir Yatta, south of Hebron.

Local sources told WAFA that colonists severely beat sheep shepherds in Al-'Ain Al-Bayda area of Masafir Yatta, as a result, Ma'hmoud 'Hasan Dawood sustained bruises and wounds.

He was transferred to Yatta Governmental Hospital for treatment.

K.T.

***