Israel continues its genocidal war in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, where numerous reports indicate that the ceasefire has been repeatedly violated. Update on the situation in Gaza, while the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Amina Mohammed yesterday described the situation as “apocalyptic”, affirming that “the catastrophe in Gaza is nothing less than a complete collapse of our common humanity” and that “the nightmare must end”.
In Gaza since October 7, 2023: 44,466 dead, 105,358 injured, 1.9 million displaced.
In Lebanon since October 7, 2023: 3,961 dead, 16,520 injured, 1.2 million displaced.
In the West Bank since October 7, 2023: 801 deaths, including 146 children, 19,031 displaced.
60 days of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza
The Israeli siege in the northern Gaza Strip, which began in early October and now enters its 60th day, and the accompanying bombing campaign, have been accompanied by raids on accommodation centers, the army forcing people to leave and mistreating families who flee. Nearly 90% of the population has been forced to flee, and only 70,000 Palestinians remain in northern Gaza, facing famine and incessant bombings. The United Nations agency for aid to Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) declared last Thursday that survival conditions were “decreasing”, denouncing Israel's systematic blocking of all delivery of humanitarian aid.
On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers besieged a school housing civilians in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, and forced Palestinians to leave it, according to local media. The Israeli army then violently bombarded Beit Lahia over the weekend, as well as Jabalia, where soldiers blew up several residential buildings. Evacuation orders continue to be imposed on residents, but numerous testimonies explain that repeated attacks on humanitarian shelters and the very difficult living conditions in the camps dissuade Palestinians from fleeing.
Israeli drones also dropped bombs on the area around Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, which was forcibly evacuated a month ago by Israeli forces. The hospital has since resumed operations with only two doctors, including its director, who was injured by Israeli fire earlier this week. Around a hundred Palestinian patients and their families continue to find refuge in the hospital. The director general of field hospitals in Gaza Marwan Al-Hams said that “anyone who is injured in northern Gaza will eventually die, either from strikes [israéliennes]or from his injuries”, emphasizing that “there is no surgical capacity or intensive care units” in the region.
On Saturday, former war minister and former Israeli army chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon, a member of the Likud party, said in an interview with an Israeli television station that Israel was engaging in ethnic cleansing in Gaza, specifically pointing the finger at Jabalia and northern Gaza. After facing widespread criticism from within Israel, Mr. Ya'alon walked back his comments, saying he stood by his statements and adding that he had based his conclusions on the testimonies of soldiers. deployed to Gaza.
Massacres at shelters
While Israel continues to issue evacuation orders to northern Gaza and many civilians report “death marches” where soldiers threaten, injure and kill those who try to flee, the Areas designated as “safe” are also attacked. Numerous deadly attacks have been reported in recent days in humanitarian areas.
On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers bombed a school housing several Palestinian families who had obeyed evacuation orders and fled their homes. At least 18 Palestinians have been killed, and survivors describe scenes of astonishing violence. “Those we saw and spoke to every day, we saw them after the massacre cut into pieces, with limbs and parts, without heads,” testifies a Palestinian woman at the Baptist hospital, where transported the bodies of the victims. “Our children see these scenes every day. We live with them every moment and imagine that what happened to the martyrs could happen to us. What are we guilty of for living such a life? »
The next day, the Israeli army murdered more than 18 Palestinians, including several children, and injured at least 55 during 17 consecutive airstrikes that targeted the Nuseirat refugee camp. At least one of these strikes targeted a food distribution center.
Humanitarian aid targeted and pushed to abandon its mission
On Saturday, November 30, three employees of the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed by an Israeli strike while they were in a car in the northeast of Khan Younes, in the Gaza Strip. Two other people were killed in this attack. WCK announced that it would suspend its activities in the Palestinian territory in response to this attack.
The same day, the Gaza soup kitchen announced on social networks the death of Mahmoud Al-Madhoun, one of its founders and cooks: “This morning, an Israeli drone flew over the neighborhood, waiting for chef Mahmoud to begin his daily routine at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He had barely come out when he was targeted and murdered.” This Palestinian-initiated project provides more than 3,000 meals a day to Gaza residents, and has become an essential food crutch.
On Monday, December 2, it was UNRWA which announced that it would be forced to interrupt its aid shipments through the Karam Abu Salem crossing point towards Gaza. The agency, which is Gaza's largest aid provider, said in a statement that the route to deliver aid to the crossing point had been dangerous for months, particularly since the Israeli invasion of Rafah in April. last year, and that several truck drivers and aid workers had been killed or injured, adding that “this cannot continue to put their lives at risk.”
Over the past month, aid convoys have been raided and looted by armed gangs en route to Gaza, while the Israeli army has been accused of inaction. UNRWA also said that the delivery of humanitarian aid “has become impossible” due to the “Israeli siege, obstacles posed by Israeli authorities, political decisions to restrict aid quantities, lack of security on aid delivery routes and targeting of local police.
While the entire Gaza Strip is suffering famine, even more dramatic in the besieged north, these announcements will only make the situation worse. Reports in the local press indicate that two women and a child died on Friday, trampled during a stampede in front of a bakery in Deir el-Balah where a crowd had gathered to buy bread. In this climate of catastrophic shortages, the reduction in food reserves and the closure of bakeries have in fact triggered physical violence in the remaining bakeries and distribution points. Several bakeries have closed due to “lack of flour and violent incidents which left people dead and injured”.
Palestine Media Agency
