Gazans are “running from death to death

Al Jazeera reports: Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes and shelters in the middle of the night in Khan Younis, heading west towards al-Mawasi and north towards Deir el-Balah, already overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

“We’re exhausted. This is the 10th time I and my family have had to leave our shelter,” said Zaki Mohammad, 28, who lives in the Hamad housing project in western Khan Younis, where the occupants of two multistorey buildings were ordered to leave.

“People are carrying their belongings, their children, their hopes and their fears and running towards the unknown, because there is no safe place,” he said. “We are running from death to death.”

The Fajr massacre: Every 70 kg bag of human remains is considered a martyr

Mondoweiss: At dawn on Saturday, August 10, the Israeli army bombed a mosque while dozens of displaced people were praying the Fajr prayer, the daily Islamic prayer offered in the early morning. The bombing killed more than a hundred people, most of whom were dismembered or destroyed beyond recognition. For this reason the identification of the bodies has so far been incomplete.

The majority of the martyrs in this latest massacre are first- or second-degree relatives because the prayer hall that the Israeli army bombed belongs to a school housing displaced families from Gaza City. The decimated prayer hall belongs to the Tabi’in School, and is only used by the displaced people sheltering in the school.

At the time of the bombing the prayer hall was filled with men. Now, many women who may have become widows and many children who may have become orphans, are sitting in front of the classrooms that were not reached by the bombing waiting to be told the fate of their families.

The Israeli army said that it bombed the prayer hall because there were armed elements from the Islamic Jihad movement and Hamas there, but the displaced people in the school confirmed that there were no armed men among them. Hamas also denied the Israeli allegations and issued a statement saying that there were no armed men in the school.

(Read the full article here.)

RECOMMENDED READING: US weapon used in Gaza City school massacre that killed 100

Al Jazeera reports: The Israeli military claimed that it killed 19 members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in its attack on the school in Gaza City, but more accounts are coming out that are challenging that narrative.

Ramy Abdul, a Palestinian national and chairman of the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, wrote after investigating sources on the ground that of the 19 people identified by the Israeli military, at least three were killed in prior incidents and nine were civilians, including university and municipality officials.

Ahmed Ihab Baker al-Jaabari, who was claimed to be a PIJ operative, was a civilian killed in December, according to the rights group.

So far, of the 19 names listed by the Israeli army as "eliminated terrorists" in the Tabi'een School massacre:

– 3 were killed in prior incidents.
– 3 are elderly civilians with no military ties: a school principal, a deputy mayor and a university professor.
– 6 are civilians,… pic.twitter.com/S57rFAJ8Mu

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) August 11, 2024

Initial Euro-Med Monitor investigation finds no evidence of military presence at site of Tab’een School massacre in Gazahttps://t.co/VrB5f8MKD1

— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) August 11, 2024

More identified civilians here.

Gaza confronting Israeli-created Famine as Kerem Shalom Food Aid Trucks drop 80% to 24 Trucks a Day

Juan Cole reports: Although the United Nations has not officially declared a famine in Gaza, people living there are in no doubt about it.

The New Humanitarian quotes Diana Harrara, a 33-year-old mother of three in Gaza: “No word better describes what we’re experiencing than ‘famine.’ Firstly, we have nothing to eat but flour and canned food which we can only obtain as aid. This aid is inconsistent – either small in quantity or infrequent. And even when we do get it, we end up leaving the food behind when rushing from one shelter to the next.”

The severe food shortages in Gaza is caused by Israeli bombing of farms and gardens and its restrictions on the number of aid trucks permitted in, as well as the chaos and destruction wrought on the networks of food delivery activists.

Last week Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich ignited a firestorm when he maintained that it would be morally and legally justified to starve all 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza to death.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported this week that since early May, the quantity of aid shipments that entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and were collected by relief organizations plummeted by more than 80%, declining

• • from an average of 127 trucks per day in April
  • to approximately 23 trucks per day in July.

(Read more here.)

Al Jazeera reports: An Israeli quadcopter has dropped leaflets over the tents of displaced people in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, footage shared on social media shows.

The leaflets, which had single cigarettes attached, said people who call a number with information about fighters in Gaza would receive more tobacco.

The leaflets read: “Hamas is burning Gaza” and “Smoking is dangerous, but Hamas is even more so. Want more? Give us a call.”

"Do you want cigarettes or leaders?"

Israeli occupation drones dropped leaflets over the tents of displaced Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area, demanding information about the resistance in Gaza and attempting to blackmail them with cigarettes attached to the leaflets. pic.twitter.com/LEICrbakpA

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 11, 2024

Israeli colonists break into Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy Israeli police protection

WAFA reports: Sunday morning, scores of Israeli colonists forcefully entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, under the protection of Israeli police forces. According to eyewitnesses, the colonists broke into the mosque in groups, performing Talmudic rituals within its courtyards.

Coinciding with the incursion, Israeli police transformed the Old City of Jerusalem into a heavily fortified military zone. Hundreds of officers were deployed in close proximity around the mosque’s gates and throughout the Old City. The heightened security measures included strict controls on access for worshippers.

Preparations are underway by groups affiliated with the so-called Temple Mount movement to commemorate what they refer to as the “Destruction of the Temple.” Their plans include a human chain around the walls of the Old City scheduled for Monday evening, with the event starting from the Buraq Wall and extending towards the Old City. This will be followed by a flag-waving march.

Additionally, these groups are calling for a large-scale incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday to mark the same event.

Hamas claims responsibility for Jordan Valley attack

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 11:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – August 11: at least 40,519* (39,897 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 622 in the West Bank (~145 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

• At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
• At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
• About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
• 2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 11: at least 97,572 (including at least 92,152 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – August 11: ~1,486 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 331 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.

Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**

Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals. 

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

• Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
• Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
• A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
• I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
• How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
• Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
• Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
• Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
• “Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
• Welcome to Hell
• More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
• U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
• Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
• Searching for Gaza’s missing children
• What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
• Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
• When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
• Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
• Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
• US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
• Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
• Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
• Gaza genocide denial
• Why the news media’s job is to groom us
• ‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children