On Friday, the Israeli army continued the genocide and indiscriminate bombing of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, including women and children.
The Israeli army fired many missiles and shells at several parts of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of residents, including many children and women.
Media sources said at least eight Palestinians, including a woman and a teenage girl, were killed and five were injured when the army fired missiles at two homes for the Jouda and Zo’rob families, in the center of Rafah and its northern part.
Seven Palestinians were killed and many were injured when the army fired a missile at a home in the Nasr town, north of Rafah.
The army fired barrages of missiles and shells at several parts of the Rafah governorate, especially in all eastern areas, causing dozens of casualties.
The Israeli army is still threatening a massive ground offensive on Rafah, and said it has detailed plans for its upcoming attack.
These innocent children survived an Israeli airstrike last night which targeted their family tent in Gaza.#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/X5cgwcaJID
— Wafa News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) February 16, 2024
In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, the army continued its violations and invasions of the Nasser Medical Center, after bulldozing its walls and a graveyard for slain Palestinians in its yard.
The soldiers also rounded up all patients, including children, and forced them into the old building of the medical facility.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said all electricity generators at Nasser Hospital have stopped due to the lack of fuel, and expressed deep concerns regarding the fate of six Palestinians at the Intensive Care Unit, and three premature babies in incubators, as the hospital is running out of Oxygen in these units, resulting in four deaths.
The Health Ministry held Israel accountable for the patients’ fate as the army is now the party that completely controls the medical center and is obliged under International Law to ensure the safety of the patients and the residents.
It called on the International Community and all related human rights groups to intervene and save the lives of the patients especially since Israel continues to violate all international laws and treaties with impunity.
Israeli forces storm Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, forcing everyone inside to evacuate and flee for their lives. pic.twitter.com/0OrOAb9BoQ
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 16, 2024
It is worth mentioning that the army forced the administration of Nasser Medical Center to place all 95 healthcare workers in addition to members and their families, 191 patients, and 165 members of their families, and all displaced Palestinians who sheltered there, into the old buildings without food or even milk for the children, amidst severe shortage in water.
Doctors Without Borders said the Israeli army forced its medical staff to leave Nasser Hospital, leading behind patients and wounded Palestinians, and called on Israel to stop its attack on the medical facility immediately.
Furthermore, the Israeli army withdrew its Paratroopers Brigade from Khan Younis amidst fierce battles by Palestinian resistance fighters in several parts of the city.
In addition, at least three Palestinians were killed and many were injured when the army fired a missile at a car on the Al-Jala’ Street, in Gaza City.
Extensive damage and many casualties were reported when the army fired missiles and shells at the Zeitoun neighborhood, in Gaza City.
Several Palestinians were killed and injured when the army fired a missile at a home for the Sabbah family in Tal Az-Za’tar, north of the Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza before they were moved to Kamal Adwan Hospital in nearby Beit Lahia.
Palestinian Civil Defense teams also found the bodies of two Palestinians and evacuated many wounded residents after the army fired missiles at two homes, north of Jabalia City.
In Central Gaza, casualties were reported, especially due to Israeli army sharpshooters’ fire, near the Wadi Gaza area, north of the Nusseirat refugee camp.
At least twelve Palestinians were killed and many were injured when the army fired a missile at a home for the Rayyan family, in the western part of Nusseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli army said one of its paratroopers was killed and another was injured in in gun battles in southern Gaza.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, accused Israel of using hunger and starvation as a weapon to harm the civilians in Gaza and added that the percentage of Palestinians who suffer from hunger in the Gaza Strip is very high compared to global hunger indicators.
The Al-Jazeera News Agency said the Fakhri accused countries that stopped its funding to UNRWA based on false Israeli allegations of being complicit in the famine in the Gaza Strip.
He added that, along with several other independent experts in Human Rights issues at the United Nations have witnessed how Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
Fakhri stated that “All children under five – 335,000 kids – are at high risk of severe malnutrition as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase.” Read Full Opinion Article At Anadolu English: The long, slow violence of starvation in Gaza
In an earlier report, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Israel has now killed at least 28.663 Palestinians, and injured more than 68.395, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip, since October 7, 2023, and added that thousands of Palestinians remain missing, largely buried under the rubble or their corpses remain on streets and in alleys, as rescue efforts remain obstructed due to the constant bombing, the massive destruction, and the army’s deployment in many areas.
