HRW: In Gaza, “the dead are the lucky ones”

Damning evidence of possible widespread Israeli friendly fire on October 7th; another Palestinian journalist killed; Israeli admission that Hamas isn’t going anywhere; teenager killed in West Bank; Israeli prison deaths, torture, re-arrests; Palestinian female journalist’s award rescinded after presssure; Israeli liberal groups blocking food to Gaza; Armenia recognizes Palestinian state; some in US are baffled by Netanyahu’s comments against Biden; more.

By IAK staff, from reports.

‘HRW: The dead are the lucky ones.’ People in Gaza say the wounded suffer immensely:

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Palestinians in Gaza have told them that death is preferable to being wounded in Israel’s war on the territory because the injured “suffer so acutely due to the Israeli authorities’ blockade of lifesaving aid”.

“UN member states should do more to prevent further atrocities,” the rights group said, in a statement to the UN’s Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

“No more civilians should be killed or wounded by unlawful attacks, die from malnutrition and dehydration, and be deprived of access to medical care,” HRW said.

“The ongoing catastrophe for civilians shows the cost of the international community’s failure to address the root causes of suffering in the region. Victims of serious abuses in Israel and Palestine, including the crimes of apartheid and persecution against the Palestinian people, have faced a wall of impunity for decades.”

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Dozens of possible incidents of Israeli friendly fire on October 7th being investigated:

Israeli news outlet N12 reported that investigations of the events of October 7th have revealed [translation from Hebrew] “multiple incidents of our [Israeli] forces firing on our forces,” and that the report on Kibbutz Be’eri will be the first to be published, and is expected in July.” It added, “in total there are about 40 such centers that are being investigated by army officials – from the level of lieutenant generals to generals.”

Earlier in June, a UN report found that at least 14 Israelis were likely intentionally killed by the Israeli army on 7 October as part of a protocol aimed at preventing capture. The report documented repeated uses of the so-called Hannibal Directive.

The directive, when active, indicates that the Israeli army should use any and all means to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers, even if it involves killing them.

“One woman was killed by [Israeli] helicopter fire while being abducted from Nir Oz to Gaza by militants,” said the report, referring to one of the Kibbutzim from which people were abducted by Palestinian fighters.

“In another case the Commission found that Israeli tank fire killed some or all of the 13 civilian hostages held in a house in Beeri,” it said, referring to another Kibbutz.

According to reports, several Israeli captives being held by Palestinian fighters in Beeri were killed during crossfire with Israel’s military, in what was described as “a delayed and chaotic military response”.

The Israeli military launched a rocket-propelled grenade at the house, according to witnesses.

Brigadier General Barak Hiram, who was in charge of recapturing the kibbutz from Hamas fighters, recalled telling his men: “Break in, even at the cost of civilian casualties.”

Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli attack on Gaza:

Broadcaster Al-Aqsa TV announced via Telegram that one of its journalists, Salim al-Sharafa, was targeted in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip a short while ago.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, al-Sharafa’s death raises the tally of media workers killed in Gaza since October 7 to at least 152.

Hamas plans a legal response to ICC arrest warrants:

Palestinian female journalist’s award rescinded following spurious allegations:

The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has been condemned for withdrawing its Courage in Journalism Award from Palestinian journalist Maha Hussaini, who is reporting from the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, Hussaini has published dozens of stories with Middle East Eye, including a report uncovering Israeli field executions of Palestinians, which was used as evidence by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its case accusing Israel of genocide.

The IWMF is a Washington-based foundation that describes itself as “a bold and inclusive organization that supports journalists where they are”, claiming its work “strengthens equal opportunity and press freedom worldwide”.

Its board and advisory council are made up of notable figures in the media, including former CNN journalist Suzanne Malveaux, the Washington Post’s Hannah Allam and TV anchor Christiane Amanpour.

On 10 June, the IWMF announced that Hussaini was one of three recipients of its Courage in Journalism Awards, which it says honors remarkable bravery in the pursuit of reporting.

However, following allegations made by conservative US publication the Washington Free Beacon, the IWMF on Thursday said it was rescinding the award.

The Washington Free Beacon falsely described Hussaini as a supporter of Hamas and an antisemite, citing social media posts commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and her own experience as a Palestinian woman trapped under Israeli occupation and siege in the Gaza Strip. The IWMF said the comments “contradict the values” of the organization.

That decision, made without consultation with Hussaini, has been condemned by Middle East Eye and the reporter herself, among others.

“Winning a prize for ‘courage’ means being subjected to attacks and choosing to continue your work regardless. However, I regret to say that the very organisation that recognised these perilous conditions and awarded me the prize succumbed to pressure and chose to act contrary to courage,” Hussaini said.

With the Israeli military accused of deliberately targeting Palestinian journalists and anyone with alleged or perceived links to Hamas, Hussaini said the IWMF decision had “put my life at risk”.

“Each announcement of an award to a Palestinian journalist is systematically followed by extensive smearing campaigns and intense pressure on the awarding organisations from supporters of the Israeli occupation,” she said.

“While some organisations uphold their principles and maintain their decision to honour these journalists, others, regrettably, cave to the pressure and withdraw the prizes.”

David Hearst, editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, said: “The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) did not show much courage in rescinding the Courage in Journalism award to Maha Hussaini. On the front line of a war, such a designation is much more than an attempt to destroy Maha’s standing as an independent journalist.

“As a Palestinian whose house has been bombed and has been forced to flee for her life many times in the last eight months, it places her on an Israeli army target list. Over 150 journalists have been killed in this way. The IWMF should ask themselves where their responsibility as journalists lies.”

The Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network, which supports Arab women journalists, expressed its “full solidarity and support” for Hussaini.

“We understand that Maha has been subject to a vicious campaign in which the Washington Free Beacon falsely accused her of supporting terrorism,” it said.

“We are extremely disappointed that IWMF took this decision, and we remain concerned for Maha’s safety.”

The Washington Free Beacon has been described by the Atlantic as “decadent and unethical” and has a history of targeting supporters of the Palestinian cause.

In 2020, she won the Martin Adler Prize, awarded by the prestigious Rory Peck Trust, for her reporting from Gaza.

Israeli liberal groups blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza

Mondoweiss reports: “Complicity in genocide is not confined to the Israeli right. Members of the liberal organization that spearheaded the anti-Netanyahu protests last year are now blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

The kibbutz society in Israel is typically known for its left-wing socialist vein. But since the beginning, it is and has been instrumental in Israeli colonialist takeover and apartheid. As The Kibbutz Movement’s chair, Nir Meir, said recently, “The settlers aren’t wrong. The right-wing is correct: That is the way to seize and hold land, and their claim that, any place we Israelis leave, the Arabs will come in our place, is correct. The right is also correct in its path: It’s by settlement and only by settlement that sovereignty can be imposed.”

On Sunday, the Israeli centrist daily newspaper Maariv reported that videos were now circulating of kibbutz members who were also blocking humanitarian help.

Netanyahu plays up Biden’s supposed hindering of weapons transfers, US expresses irritation:

Middle East Eye reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to double down on his broadside against US President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday, saying he was willing to incur “personal attacks” in order to defend Israel’s existence.

Netanyahu was referring to a video  he released this week in English accusing the Biden administration of “withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel”.

“Those comments were deeply disappointing and certainly vexing to us, given the amount of support that we have and will continue to provide,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists earlier on Thursday.

The Biden administration has vociferously backed Israel’s offensive on Gaza. It also welcomed a an attack on Nuseirat refugee camp in which the Israeli army recovered four captives from Hamas but killed at least 270 Palestinians in the process, according to Palestinian health officials.

“Netanyahu’s comments [are] designed to play tough with Biden; rally his base… and Republicans,” Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Middle East negotiator, said on X.

MORE NEWS:

IMEMC Reports.

The attacks children in #Gaza – and the defence of these attacks – are attacks on our shared humanity.#ceasefireInGazaNOW pic.twitter.com/US5cvhWRye

— James Elder (@1james_elder) June 19, 2024

4/5 Journalist Tucker Carlson interviewed Republican Congressman from Kentucky Thomas Massie on June 7, 2024. During the interview Massie went into detail about how the Israel lobby bullies US politicians and co-opts evangelicals into getting billions of US tax dollars for… pic.twitter.com/rQ5nVPEYbQ

— If Americans Knew (@ifamericansknew) June 19, 2024

An unspoken secret in Congress is that much of the reflexive, blind, unconditional vote support for nearly any Israeli gov action isn’t from actual agreement.

It’s from fear.

Reps are terrified of this ⬇️. Of AIPAC. So they don’t vote their conscience. They vote their fear. https://t.co/0MmZnUtBTH

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 19, 2024

Is that why you spent nearly $20 million – the most in primary history – to unseat one of the handful of reps who don’t vote the way you tell them to?

Is that why you announced a $100M spend overall?

If AIPAC positions were so popular, they’d be free. Instead, they’re bought. https://t.co/bcapI2baxQ

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 20, 2024

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JUNE 20:

Palestinian death toll from October 7 – June 20: at least 37,981* (37,431 in Gaza* – 4,959 women (20%), 7,797 children (32%). This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 550 in the West Bank (~134 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 45,223 Palestinian deaths. (Ralph Nader has estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.)
At least 42 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 14 from West Bank).
At least 40 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
About 1.1 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are facing Catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – June 20: at least 90,853 (including at least 85,653 in Gaza and 5,200 in the West Bank).
It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – June 20: ~1,466 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 314 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. 
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.