Over the past 19 days, the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has been continuous, destroying much of Gaza’s infrastructure, flattening homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, churches, bakeries, libraries and, most recently, a university. The past three days have seen a rapid escalation in the number of Palestinian casualties, as local sources report that Israeli airstrikes are purposefully targeting groups of Palestinian civilians gathered in what appears to be an attempt to maximize casualties.
Here is a summary of the most recent atrocities (compiled by israelpalestinenews.org):
- Palestinian death toll 6,649 (6,546 in Gaza (including at least 2,704 children and 1,292 women, and at least 103 in the West Bank); 19,177 injured (17,439 in Gaza and over 1,738 in the West Bank). It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. About 1.4 million people have been displaced, more than 1,550 missing (over half children) and presumed to be under rubble. Israeli death toll remains near 1,400 (1 killed in West Bank, 1 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and 5,431 injured. (It is unclear how many of the Israeli deaths and injuries may have been caused by Israeli soldiers.)
- Israeli airstrikes continue, crushing families in the rubble of residential buildings. The health system in Gaza is completely out of service, a health ministry spokesperson says.
- Oxfam says starvation is being used as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, adding just two percent of usual food has been delivered to the enclave since Israel’s “total siege”. International Humanitarian Law (IHL) strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
- On the Lebanon front, Hezbollah has reported the deaths of 41 of its fighters since October 7 in southern Israel. In addition, 6 non-Hezbollah fighters and at least 4 civilians have been killed. One Israeli soldier was also killed.
- The Israeli UN Ambassador demanded that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres resign on Tuesday, after Guterres framed the Gaza situation in its historical context: “It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum…The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.”
- In Cleveland, OH on Sunday, a Palestinian-American man was the victim of a reported hit-and-run. The driver allegedly yelled anti-Palestinian statements like, “Kill all Palestinians” and “Long live Israel.” As he hit the victim with his car, he allegedly shouted, “Die!” There are calls that it be investigated as a hate crime. A Palestinian-American child was stabbed to death in Evanston IL on October 14. There is reported to be an increase in incidents of anti-Muslim bigotry in the weeks following the escalation of violence in Gaza.
- On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes killed 425 Gazans; more than 700 were killed on Monday.
- Israeli academic reports: “Even before the current war, every family in Gaza had access to electricity for only about two hours a day. The water was primarily used for drinking; there’s no water for showers.”
- Gazan writer: “No one is left to mourn in Gaza, as Israel’s bombs deliver daily death. Every day in Gaza, the two biggest hopes are to stay alive and not receive word of another devastating loss…”
