On Monday, Day 318 of the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians in the destroyed, besieged, and starved Gaza Strip, the army killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians, including children and women, across the coastal enclave.
On Monday evening, medical sources confirmed the death of six citizens and the injury of fifteen others, some seriously, after an Israeli reconnaissance plane targeted a gathering of citizens near an internet distribution hub next to the Namsawi Towers area west of Khan Yunis city.
A Palestinian infant, 8 months of age, identified as Atwan Suleiman Irmeilat, was killed when an Israeli drone fired a missile at tents of displaced Palestinians in the Asda’ area, northwest of Khan Younis; several Palestinians, including children, were injured in the attack.
Also, three women, Ramziyya Abu Odah, 55, Hanin Abu Awda, 32, and Sarah Abu Odah, 27, were killed and several Palestinians were injured when the army fired a missile at a home in Abasan Al-Kabira town.
A sorrowful farewell this morning to journalist Ibrahim Muhareb, who was killed by Israeli forces yesterday. His body was discovered this morning near Hamad City, northwest of Khan Younis. pic.twitter.com/BFUWs2KF6t
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 19, 2024
In addition, medical sources have confirmed finding the body of Palestinian Journalist, Ibrahim Mohareb, who was killed when Israeli soldiers targeted journalists in Hamad City, in Khan Younis.
In Gaza City, four Palestinians were killed, and many were injured when the army fired a missile at a car, east of the Zeitoun neighborhood, in the eastern part of the city.
Casualties were also reported when the army fired artillery shells at the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City.
In addition, four Palestinians were killed, and many were injured when the army fired a missile at a car in the Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
In the Shati’ refugee camp in Gaza City, the army fired missiles, killing more than nine Palestinians, and injuring many others.
In Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, four Palestinians were killed, and many were injured by Israeli missiles and shells in the city, while the search continues to locate more victims.
Two Palestinians were killed and several others were injured when the army fired a missile at a home in the western part of the Nusseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza,
The Israeli army announced on Monday evening the death of an Israeli officer with the rank of ‘First Lieutenant’ and the injury of 6 other soldiers in an incident south of the Gaza Strip.
The army said in a statement that the officer was killed during a raid by the 98th Brigade on the outskirts of the Hamad neighborhood west of Khan Younis and added that 3 other soldiers were moderately injured and 3 were lightly injured in the incident.
Preliminary investigations revealed that an explosion occurred in a 6-story building where a force from the paratrooper patrol was present, leading to the collapse of part of the building on the soldiers. The soldiers were airlifted by helicopter to an Israeli hospital.
Israeli sources said the number of soldiers who were killed is now 694, including 333 who were killed since the ground offensive on Gaza started on October 27, 2023.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced Monday, that relief workers on the front lines of conflicts around the world are being killed in unprecedented numbers, with 280 relief workers killed in 33 countries last year.
According to the OCHA’s official website, this high number represents a significant increase of 137% compared to 2022, when 118 relief workers were killed.
The office pointed out that the year 2024 is on track to be even more deadly, with 172 relief workers killed so far, according to preliminary statistics from the relief worker security database.
OCHA added that half of the Palestinians who were killed in Gaza have been officially documented and identified, and pointed out that the year 2024 is on track to be even more deadly, with 172 relief workers killed so far, according to preliminary statistics from the relief worker security database.
In a report updating the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, on August 19, OCHA said:
- A 10-month-old baby is the first confirmed case of active poliomyelitis, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
- Some 13,500 internally displaced people across 18 sites have been affected by the latest Israeli military evacuation order issued on 17 August. Around 213,000 Palestinians have been affected by nine evacuation orders since the beginning of August. In total, 314 square kilometers (86 percent) of the Gaza Strip have come under evacuation orders since 7 October.
- Fuel shortages force hospitals to postpone critical surgeries and threaten to halt ambulances, particularly in northern Gaza.
- On 19 August, World Humanitarian Day was observed, an occasion to reflect on the 289 aid workers killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
- Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions, particularly in the eastern area of Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and heavy fighting also continue to be reported. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups toward Israel was also reported.
- Between the afternoons of 15 and 19 August, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 134 Palestinians were killed and 342 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 19 August 2024, at least 40,319 Palestinians were killed and 92,743 were injured, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. See the Full OCHA report
The Director-General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Ismael Thawabta, said in a statement to Anadolu Agency: “The Israeli occupation deliberately commits massacres against Palestinian children in Gaza in a clear and significant manner, where the number of child martyrs has now exceeded 16,480,” and added that “Israel deliberately commits massacres against Palestinian children.”
He also said: “Among these are 115 infants who were born and killed during the war, including 53 males and 62 females, with 7 from the Northern Governorate, 26 in the Gaza Governorate, 62 in the Central Governorate, 11 from Khan Younis, and 9 in the Rafah Governorate.”
The official clarified that 35 children have died due to starvation and malnutrition since the beginning of the onslaught, warning that 3,500 children in the sector face the risk of death due to hunger and malnutrition because of the ongoing Israeli restrictions and the war.
Also, due to the ongoing attacks and the Israeli restrictions that violate international laws, Palestinians in Gaza, especially in the northern areas, suffer from a severe shortage of food, water, and medicine supplies.
Injuries beyond description caused by the systematic Israeli attacks on civilians.
Dr Mads pic.twitter.com/9DZTG1pHAX— Dr. Mads Gilbert (@DrMadsGilbert) August 19, 2024
“More than17,000 children live without one or both parents after they were brutally killed by Israeli occupation forces, since October 7th.” Thawabta clarified, “The Israeli occupation has carried out field executions of fathers and mothers in front of their sons and daughters, without any consideration for their psychological state and their young age.”
Over the past months, human rights institutions and United Nations organizations have warned of the psychological effects reflected on children due to the continuation of the war.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the Israeli army committed three massacres of families in the Gaza Strip, on Monday, killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians, among them 40 slain Palestinians and 134 injured, who were moved to medical centers.
Israel has now killed at least 40.139 and injured more than 92.743, mostly children, women, and elderly, in addition to the thousands of Palestinians who remain under the rubble, or on destroyed streets and in bombarded alleys across the coastal enclave, since October 7, 2023.
