Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip on its 214th day continues, with intense bombardment in Rafah and raids in Gaza City and north. The Yarmouk area, east of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun were targeted, leading to casualties among citizens. Reports indicate Israeli military vehicles entering Rafah land crossing, with buildings being hit by artillery shells.
"Oh the head of my heart, my life, I didn't want to put dirt on you, they are the ones who wanted to"
A father grieves over the loss of his daughter after she was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah pic.twitter.com/sZuDPMNuEL
Reports indicate that the Israeli military vehicles entered the direction of the Rafah land crossing, causing a halt in passenger movement and preventing aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The occupation forces have targeted crossing buildings with artillery shells, further escalating the situation.
The Israeli military are bombing Rafah, where over 1million Palestinians are seeking shelter as they were told it was the only ‘safe place’ in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/WqoU5O4jZd
In addition to the attacks on Rafah, the Israeli occupation forces have also targeted areas in the northern Gaza Strip, including towns like Beit Hanoun and Jabalia. The raids have resulted in casualties and further destruction in the region, adding to the already dire situation in the besieged territory.
A Palestinian youth mourns his relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at the morgue of the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
The Government Media Office in Gaza confirms the Israeli occupation forces committed a total of 3,025 massacres against Palestinians in the Strip.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7 has risen to 34,183 and those injured to 77,143.
In its daily report, the Ministry said that the Israeli occupation forces have committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 32 martyrs and 59 injuries who were transferred to hospitals in the past 24 hours.
It noted that many victims of the Israeli aggression remain trapped under rubble and on roads inaccessible to ambulance and civil defense crews.
A total of 3,025 massacres
On its part, the Government Media Office in Gaza confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces have committed a total of 3,025 massacres against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and dropped 75,000 tonnes of explosives on the enclave.
In an update on the figures resulting from 200 days of “Israel’s” genocidal war on Gaza, the Office emphasized that out of the 34,183 martyrs who reached hospitals, 14,778 are children and 9,752 are women. It added that 30 children lost their lives due to famine, confirming that 72% of the victims of the Israeli war were children and women.
According to the report, the Israeli occupation forces killed 485 medical staff, 67 civil defense crews, and 140 journalists.
It said that 7,000 are still missing and 17,000 children are now orphaned, living without one or both parents.
1,090,000 people suffered from infectious diseases
The Office mentioned that 11,000 wounded people are in need of travel for surgical procedures, while 10,000 cancer patients are facing death in need of treatment.
Touching on the collapsing health sector in the Strip, the report said that 32 hospitals and 53 health centers are now out of service due to the Israeli war on Gaza. It added that the occupation forces targeted 160 healthcare facilities and 126 ambulances.
It said that 1,090,000 people suffered from infectious diseases, and 8,000 cases of viral hepatitis infections due to displacement were reported.
In addition, the lives of 60,000 pregnant women and 350,000 patients with chronic diseases are at risk due to the lack of healthcare and medication.
According to the Office, Israeli occupation forces detained 5,000 people, including 310 healthcare professionals and 20 journalists, during its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Two million people displaced
Two million people are now displaced due to the Israeli war on Gaza, with the occupation forces completely destroying 86,000 residential units and partially destroying 294,000, the report confirmed.
It added that the Israeli occupation forces destroyed 181 governmental buildings, completely destroyed 103 educational institutions, and partially destroyed 309.
The Israeli occupation forces also did not spare places of worship from its strikes, destroying 239 mosques and partially destroying 317, in addition to targeting and destroying three churches.
Elsewhere, the report said that the Israeli occupation destroyed 206 archaeological and heritage sites in the Gaza Strip.
In total, the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has caused 30 billion dollars in direct initial losses.
Israeli forces attempting to empty schools sheltering displaced Palestinians
In a related context, Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation forces have been carrying out airstrikes on the Strip coinciding with excavation operations since last night.
Our correspondent mentioned that Israeli naval vessels opened fire toward the coast of Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza, adding that Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike east of Salah al-Din Street in al-Bureij camp.
This comes in parallel with confrontations between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the raiding Israeli occupation forces, especially in the eastern areas of Beit Hanoun and east of Jabalia camp.
According to our correspondent, Israeli occupation forces are attempting to empty schools sheltering displaced Palestinians, including the Tal al-Rabi’ and Tal al-Zaatar schools.
He mentioned that Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on Highway 10 south of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, adding that Israeli shelling of a house in the Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza, killed one Palestinian and injured several.
Elsewhere, our correspondent in Gaza said another Palestinian was killed by Israeli drone fire targeting a group of civilians at a playground in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.
Brutal massacres went ahead in Gaza on the day 193 of the Israeli war on the besieged enclave, with international organizations warning against humanitarian crises.
Continuing Israeli attacks on central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp killed several Palestinians, local media reported.
Israeli fighter jets destroy a residential building in Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, today. pic.twitter.com/wtX9UWBftc
In northern Gaza Strip, casualties were reported as Israeli warplanes pounded Jabalia, targeting a mosque there.
Civil defense crews rescue a little girl following the bombing of a number of homes in Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/sKBhdonNQL
— Palestine and MENA Info Center (@PALMENA_IC) April 16, 2024
Israeli army vehicles reportedly surrounded a school where hundreds of people were sheltering amid gunfire and explosions in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
Separately, four people, including a child, were martyred and several wounded in an Israeli attack on a house west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, the Wafa news agency reported.
Earlier on Monday, two mass graves were discovered by Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Civil Defense Forces in the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday. The first mass grave was discovered at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and the second was found in Beit Lahiya.
Death Toll and “Health Disaster”
Health Ministry in Gaza announced that 46 people were martyred and 110 injured by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.
It put the death toll of citizens martyred since the start of Israeli aggression on October 7 at 33,843. The ministry added that the number of injured Palestinians reached 76,575.
Meanwhile, the ministry warned that generators powering Gaza’s few functional hospitals around the clock for months could now lose power “at any moment.”
Doctors perform surgery at the European Hospital in Khan Younis (Anadolu news agency).
Such a loss would bring about a “major health disaster”, it said, issuing an urgent appeal for new generators and the restoration of power lines in the besieged territory.
For its part, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported in its latest situation update that the amount of aid entering Gaza is far below the operational capacity of the open border crossings of the besieged enclave.
It added that an average of 181 aid trucks reaching Gaza daily fails to meet the Israeli occupation’s stated goal of facilitating the entry of 500 trucks per day.
One Gaza Child Killed or Injured Every 10 Minutes
On the other hand, a UNICEF official said that Gaza children have become the faces of the continuing war as their stories paint a “harrowing picture” of the human consequences of the conflict.
“Children are wearing a tremendous share of the scars of this war,” UNICEF communications specialist Tess Ingram – who left Gaza on Monday after spending two weeks there – told a UN press briefing in Geneva.
Tess Ingram, UNICEF communications specialist.
More than 12,000 children were injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023, she said, and this is “almost certainly an underestimate”.
“With at least 70 children injured every day, we need the number of medical evacuations to increase so children can access the care they urgently need. And with one child killed or injured every 10 minutes, above anything else we need a ceasefire.”
Palestinians walk through the destruction in the wake of an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 8, 2024. (AP)
Israeli aggression against Gaza continues for the 190th day, with a worsening humanitarian situation and increasing casualties.
Two Palestinians from the town of Beit Hanoun were killed early on Saturday in an airstrike carried out by Israeli occupation aircraft in the vicinity of the residential city of Sheikh Zayed in the northern Gaza Strip, marking the 190th day of aggression against the Strip.
Occupation aircraft conducted massive airstrikes on the Central Governorate, targeting the al-Zaytoun and al-Daraj neighborhoods in Gaza City, as well as the al-Fokhari area southeast of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Additionally, occupation artillery shelled the eastern parts of Jabalia in the north of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.
On Friday evening, occupation aircraft conducted an airstrike on a house owned by the al-Assi family in Zarqa, central Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of at least five Palestinians and injuries to 30 others. Additionally, two individuals were killed and several others injured in an Israeli bombing north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Several civilians were killed, and others sustained injuries due to a bombing targeting Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Concurrently, military aircraft raided a house belonging to the Abu Sameh family at the Mekki roundabout in the al-Maghazi camp in the central Strip.
Occupation warplanes conducted an airstrike on Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, civil defense and ambulance teams successfully retrieved the bodies of ten individuals who were killed in various areas of the city of Khan Younis in the south.
It was reported that 89 martyrs and 120 wounded people were transferred to Gaza hospitals with others remaining unaccounted for.
Many remain trapped beneath the rubble, as rescue teams struggle to reach them. The scenes of destruction and despair paint a harrowing picture of the daily reality faced by the people of Gaza. Meanwhile, the Government Media Office in Gaza announced that the Israeli occupation army targeted three journalists during their media coverage in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
“My husband lived oppressed and died oppressed. They deprived my husband of his rights, in life and death.”
Relentless Israeli bombardment has killed over 33,000 Palestinians since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza starting on October 7.
But many more were killed in other ways, some by starvation, and others due to the lack of medicine and proper medical treatments.
This is the case of Musa Abu Al-Qamis, a 60-year-old former Palestinian prisoner, who passed away because his treatment was no longer available in the war-torn Strip.
The Palestine Chronicle spoke with a Palestinian nurse about the killing of three medics from the city of Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, by an Israeli strike on April 4.
On that day, Israeli occupation forces bombed an ambulance belonging to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which was on its way to transport wounded and dead bodies in Beit Hanoun, resulting in the killing of the three.
‘He Saved Dozens from Death’
Palestinian nurse Yaqoub Hamad told us that, among the killed medics, was his 33-year-old colleague Hussein Matar.
“My colleague Hussein remained at his post at the Kamal Adwan Hospital from the very first day of the war on Gaza, refusing to leave the northern area of the Strip, enduring hunger and thirst for the last six months,” Matar told The Palestine Chronicle.
“Hussein only left briefly during its invasion by the occupation forces and returned after their withdrawal. He continued to provide medical services to the wounded and never took off his medic uniform,” he continued.
According to Hamad, “Hussein helped save dozens of Palestinian wounded from death, evacuated hundreds of injured people, provided medical services and first aid to the wounded. He worked tirelessly, day and night.”
“He also lost many loved ones, but continued his work nonetheless, because he thought it was the noblest of humanitarian actions in this horrific war.”
Died in Uniform
Hamad told us that Hussein was wearing the official medic uniform when he was killed.
“This did not prevent the occupation from bombing them, committing yet one more crime in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamad has known Hussein for over 15 years. They studied together at the Islamic University in Gaza City.
“Hussein was an ambitious young man who loved life and Palestine. He had many plans for the future, he wanted to complete his higher education, but Israel killed him, along with his dreams, on the 25th day or Ramadan”.
Hamad told us that Hussein had a beautiful voice and “was blessed by God with the memorization of the entire Quran, leading people in Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramadan.”
This Ramadan, however, he chose to continue his humanitarian work, considering it more important under these horrific circumstances.
“At the beginning of Ramadan, Hussein had a dream,” Hamad told us.
“He dreamed that he would be martyred on the 25th of Ramadan, and indeed, this is precisely the day he was killed by the occupation’s bombing,” the Palestinian nurse continued, with a trembling voice.
He informed his colleagues that he dreamt of his own martyrdom to be on the 25th of Ramadan.
Paramedic Hussein Matar was martyred today the 25th of Ramadan after the occupation targeted his ambulance with a 💣
“Hussein was killed while wearing his medic uniform,” he repeated, calling for the international community to investigate this crime.
“My hope is that the current round of negotiations would result in an immediate and urgent halt to the criminal war that Israel has been waging against the population of Gaza.”
Nearly five months on the start of the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, the Palestinian resistance, by its unwavering resolve, still stands as an impenetrable barrier, despite the relentless aggression and the horrific genocide.
Started on October 27, 2023, the ground offensive was declared with the stated goals of eliminating Hamas and releasing the captives taken by the resistance group during the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th.
Despite attempts of advance throughout long weeks of ferocious fighting, the Israeli occupation army failed to secure its presence in numerous areas across the strip, and was forced to pull out several brigades from Gaza.
Al-Manar has prepared several maps that show the course of the battlefield since the start of the ground invasion. The maps provide a comprehensive visual representation of the battlefield’s dynamics and tactical maneuvers.
Maps Talk
On the evening of 27 October, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched a large-scale ground assault on the towns of Beit Hanoun and Bureij in the Gaza Strip. A day later, the occupation military said the deployed units were still on the ground, marking the beginning of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
During the first month of the ground offensive, the Israeli incursions initially took place at two areas: Beit Hanoun in the north and in the area near Juhr Al-Deek in the strip’s center, south of the Gaza City (Map 1 gives more details). The occupation troops then expanded their presence from the north to the west, and then to the center.
By November 18, the occupation military ended up in cutting the Gaza Strip in to two halves, the north and the south, and in encircling the Gaza City.
Later in December, the IOF attempted to stage a new incursion in the south, near Al-Qarara city, north of Khan Younis (Map 2). In this stage, the Palestinian resistance was still capable to stage attacks against the occupation forces in the north.
Two weeks later (by December 19), the occupation forces tried to expand their presence in the north, the center and the south (Map3). During this phase, heavy losses were inflicted upon the IOF who were met by fierce resistance.
By December 22, the Israeli occupation army pulled out several brigades from Gaza, including the Golani Brigade, after significant losses inflicted upon (Map 4 gives more details).
The resistance’s say was decisive later in January: The Israeli occupation can never control the northern area of the Gaza strip, it can only lay siege to the area and try to make another attempt in the south, in Al-Qarara and Khan Younis (Map 5 gives details).
During February, the Israeli occupation army tried to bolster its military presence in the north.
In March, and nearly five months on the start of the ground invasion, the Israeli occupation military withdrew from several areas in the Strip’s center and south. It ended up building a 1-kilometer deep path on the Gaza Strip’s border with the occupied territories in Gaza envelope (as shown in Map 6).
The Unbreakable Resistance
By March 19, the official Israeli death toll, announced by the occupation military since the start of the ground offensive, stood at 251, with estimations that the real figures have been far greater.
Fighting in an urban environment, the Israeli troops have been facing many challenging factors that shaped the outcome of the military engagements.
Of these challenging factors are the booby traps and shells. These local-made explosive devices have been used by the well-trained resistance fighters, frequently at point-blank range.
Furthermore, the complex tunnel system in the Gaza Strip is seen by the occupation army as a serious problem. Fighters can move between the buildings without actually going outside into the street, indicating that soldiers are susceptible to ambush.
On the other hand, the resistance fighters are seen as a formidable adversary to the occupation army as they are the native people of Palestine. They are familiar with the territory in Gaza and have been preparing for this for a long time.
Ultimately, the Israeli ambitions have crumbled against the resilience of the Palestinians, leaving their hopes of conquest dashed against the achievements secured by the unbreakable resistance.
A Palestinian woman mourns a child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine, at a morgue in Khan Younis, Tuesday, February 27, 2024. (AP)
In the past 24 hours, the Israeli occupation forces committed 10 massacres killing 92 Palestinian people and injuring 156 others.
On the 148th day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported 10 massacres against families in the region. The tragic toll includes 92 martyrs and 156 injuries within the past 24 hours alone.
Compounding the devastation, some victims are still trapped under rubble and on roads, with the Israeli occupation hindering the arrival of ambulance and civil defense teams.
The overall impact of the Israeli aggression has now surged to a grim total of 30,320 martyrs and 71,533 injuries since October 7th of the previous year. The situation remains dire as Gaza faces continuous challenges amidst the ongoing conflict.
The Israeli occupation, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza, killed 20 Palestinians and injured dozens as the Israeli occupation forces targeted an residential building west of Jabalia Camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
The correspondent also reported injuries among a group of farmers in the north of Beit Hanoun, north of Gaza after they were targeted by the IOF.
Moreover, our correspondent indicated that an Israeli drone targeted a civilian car in the vicinity of the Al-Salah Association in Rafah, resulting in several injuries, and the wounded were transported to Al-Kuwait Specialized Hospital.
Several media outlets demand journalist protection in Gaza
More than 30 news organizations have signed an open letter expressing solidarity with journalists working in Gaza and demanding their safety and freedom to report.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) coordinated the letter, which was signed by global news agencies AFP, AP, and Reuters, as well as prominent media publications such as The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC News, and other outlets.
The letter explained that journalists and media workers in Gaza for almost 5 months have “overwhelmingly” been the main source of reporting in occupied Palestine and have been operating in “unprecedented conditions”.
The CPJ reported that at least 89 journalists and media workers in Gaza have been murdered during the war on Gaza.
An investigation by The Guardian reveals the magnitude of Israeli destruction in Beit Hanoun, al-Zahra, and Khan Yunis.
Palestinians walk through destruction in Gaza City on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 (AP)
The Guardian revealed findings from their full-scale investigation of the destruction of Gaza as a result of the Israeli genocide.
General findings found that in the three focal neighborhoods of the investigation, at least 250 residential buildings, 17 schools and universities, and 16 mosques were leveled to the ground. The numbers prompted experts to label the genocide as a “domicide” as it not only forces Palestinians out of their homes or shelters but also makes it impossible for them to return to them.
“Israel” defends its unrestrained attacks on Gaza by blaming the whole situation on Hamas. It claims that Hamas infiltrates civilian areas, domestic homes, and complexes, something that has been repeatedly refuted, which “authorizes” the bombing of the entirety of the Strip.
On January 17, another study of satellite images obtained by Corey Scher of the City University of New York and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University showed that 50 to 62 percent of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed.
The Guardian‘s investigation focuses on three Gazan towns: Beit Hanoun, al-Zahra, and Khan Yunis.
Beit Hanoun is a town to the northeast of Gaza and was home to 50,000 Palestinians before “Israel” demolished it.
Beit Hanoun was also surrounded by agricultural land used for produce, but satellite images showed that those have been obliterated as well, making them a significant part of the 39% of agricultural lands in north Gaza that “Israel” destroyed.
Al-Zahra was home to 5,000 Palestinians before the genocide and was regarded as one of Gaza’s wealthiest neighborhoods.
Within its northern infrastructure were universities, tower blocks, and a large wastewater treatment plant. “Israel” destroyed everything and forged new bulldozed roads over the ravaged ones for the transportation of IOF soldiers.
In its east is al-Mughraqa neighborhood, which has seen relentless Israeli bombardment that left nothing but a visible crater where a building once stood.
The Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital stood in al-Zahra as well, but several of its departments had been bombed, and the roads leading to it are riddled with large holes where Israeli bombs exploded.
The israelis blow up the only surviving university, Al Israa, in Palestine’s Gaza — but the spineless US “spokesperson” is ‘hesitant’ to comment pic.twitter.com/irokjUQMig
Over 3,000 Palestinian civilians resided in the tower blocks of al-Zahra, all of which were decimated to the ground.
Khan Younis
Khan Yunis is Gaza’s main city and was sold as a “safe zone” by the IOF, who encouraged Palestinian civilians to evacuate there for safety but ambushed and bombed them and the town.
Among the destroyed infrastructure were residential buildings, schools, sports compounds, mosques, pharmacies, kindergartens, agricultural fields, and greenhouses. To be specific, over 100 greenhouses were bombed, leaving only large craters behind.
Khan Yunis also had a refugee camp that sheltered at least 41,000 people back in 2017 after they were forcibly expelled from their homes. The camp was also targeted by the IOF, resulting in damage to UN shelters and schools, as well as its hospital.
The israeli destruction of Khan Younis today: these are people’s homes & land & livelihoods & dreams, blown to bits by israeli invading savages pic.twitter.com/A22juhXlOe
By definition, domicide is “the planned, deliberate destruction of someone’s home, causing suffering to the dweller.”
Scholars have opted to use this word when describing the Israeli conduct in Gaza, saying the forced displacement of Palestinians and the bombing of different infrastructure, which renders most neighborhoods and towns uninhabitable, not just buildings and homes, is a direct consequence of the practice of “domicide”.
What “Israel” has been doing is a full-blown attack on Gaza to rid it of its rightful residents, either by killing them or by forcing them to evacuate to nearby countries, such as Egypt.
The scale of destruction adds to the fact. Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, said, “Gaza’s destruction is far worse in terms of the scale, ferocity and impact when compared to Ukraine, Syria or other conflicts.”
Ammar Azzouz, a research fellow at the University of Oxford and author of a book on domicide, also said, “Domicide’s impact unfolds with time. Its pain spreads not only across those who lost their homes in Gaza but also for those whose homes remain intact as their wider infrastructure has been targeted.”
He also pointed out how The Guardian‘s investigation and the footage obtained show the weaponization of Gaza’s architecture and infrastructure by “Israel” to create unsuitable and uninhabitable spaces, as well as its heritage sites to erase its identity.
Other scholars mentioned how the destruction of these towns and cities kills any sense of life, which might push people away.
Marin Coward, professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, said, “If you can’t shop or learn, you can’t form a sense of belonging or call a place home.”
He then added, “The destruction of homes plays a key role in both the displacement – communities cannot return if they have no home to return to – and the destruction of communities, as homes are destroyed and families displaced so all the things that make a community cohesive are destroyed and they are scattered to many different places.”
While Israel’s starvation siege of Gaza is well-known, Egypt helps maintain the status quo, quietly profiting from life-or-death border crossing operations.
On a rainy morning, a group of Palestinian children gathered in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The gathering was not spontaneous, as children quickly began holding signs reading “Open the crossing.” Their plea was directed towards international organizations across the border in Egypt, conveyed through the signs as aid trucks stacked up, awaiting Egyptian permission to cross.
As the kids roamed around the border fence, lunch was provided to EU observers and civil society staff, who gave up their meals to the children of Rafah. Now here’s the rub. Those placards were not addressed to Egypt. The crossing was not Rafah, but Gaza’s north-eastern Karni border point with Israel. And the incident took place in 2006, not in 2024.
Agreements to ensure control
In 2006, Israel’s punishment to Palestinians for voting in Hamas during free and fair elections was starvation. This is Tel Aviv’s silent war, a siege that slowly claims its victims, depriving Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians of nourishment and medical relief.
Since the Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Strip found itself under a tight blockade, transforming it into a massive open-air prison surrounded by wires and checkpoints.
Eight crossings were controlled – six of these by Israel – connecting Gaza to the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948. Four of these crossings remained completely closed, and two were opened intermittently: “Beit Hanoun” and “Kerem Shalom.”
Since Israel’s military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv has had a singular goal: to establish total hegemony over Gaza by land, air, and sea. To achieve its aims, three agreements were signed to regulate movement at the crossings: the Crossings Agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (2005), the Palestinian-European-Israeli border control agreement, and the Philadelphi Protocol between Egypt and Israel.
The latter deal established a 14 km buffer strip along the Egypt-Gaza border and required Israeli–Egyptian security coordination, the presence of Egyptian border guards along the Philadelphi corridor, and security patrols from both sides.
Map of the Gaza Strip crossings
Rafah as the sole lifeline for Gazans
The Rafah crossing was restricted to Palestinian ID card holders, with exceptions requiring prior notice to the Israeli government and approval from the highest PA authorities.
The General Authority for Crossings in Gaza, under the PA, handled approvals and objections, with strict timelines set by the crossings agreement. However, tensions rose when Hamas took control of the crossing in 2007, leading to shifts in operations and closures based on the evolving relations between Egypt and Hamas.
The dynamic changed in 2017 when rivals Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation agreement, aiming to end the persistent internal division. However Israel’s complete blockade on the Gaza Strip after the 7 October Hamas-led resistance operation elevated the significance of the Strip’s border crossings with Egypt.
Just a year earlier, the Rafah crossing had been open for 245 days and facilitated the passage of over 140,000 people and numerous essential goods such as diesel, cooking gas, and construction materials.
Alongside its brutal, unprecedented, military assault on Gaza, Tel Aviv has instituted a draconian siege on Palestinians in the Strip, cutting off access to water, electricity, and communications – and the essential crossings – for over 100 days now.
The Rafah crossing has become the sole lifeline for civilians seeking refuge from shelling, or receiving medical treatment or even a meal. While International organizations have flocked to provide aid through the crossing, mass displacement caused by indiscriminate Israeli bombardment – and Egyptian opposition to a resettlement plan in Sinai – have worsened the situation, leading to the emergence of a class of beneficiaries.
Three ways out of Gaza
Before the war, there were three routes for exiting the Gaza Strip. The official route involved submitting lists of names for approval from the Israeli side, a process often taking several months. Accepted individuals faced additional obstacles on the Egyptian side, including inspections and transport to Cairo airport in a “deportation caravan.”
The unofficial track, managed by brokerage offices, offered faster passage for fees ranging from $300 to $500 or even up to $10,000.
The third track, linked to the Egyptian intelligence services is exclusively run by travel company Hala, which a source tells The Cradle is connected to notorious Sinai businessman and warlord Ibrahim al-Arjani.
This “VIP” route, established in 2021, allows for swift transit, exemption from inspections, and the option for travelers to stay in Egypt before heading to the airport, with costs ranging from $500 to $700 per person.
Egypt’s profit from Palestinian pain
Amid the latest Israeli atrocities, the occupation state has permanently barred the exit of individuals not on approved lists, with the exception of dual nationals following foreign embassy interventions. However, some Egyptian officers at the crossing have exploited a loophole known as “security exclusion.” This involves refusing exit for reasons related to the traveler’s perceived association with Hamas, leading to negotiations for substantial sums for exit.
Despite Gaza’s military and humanitarian devastation and urgent demands by global NGOs to allow aid to enter the Strip, Israel turns a deaf ear. In the International Court of Justice (ICJ) defense argument, Israeli lawyer Christopher Stacker has pointed the finger of blame elsewhere, saying bluntly that “access to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing is controlled by Egypt.”
It was a feeble attempt to absolve Israel from its international law obligations: the Egyptian government promptly denied the allegations, with the head of the State Information Service (SIS), Diaa Rashwan, dismissing them as “lies.”
Cairo not only denied Israel’s claims but also submitted a comment to the ICJ, clarifying that Egypt did not close the Rafah crossing. While Egypt controls the crossing by land, it is Israel that maintains control from the air. It was Israeli airstrikes at the Rafah crossing and in the nearby town of Khan Yunis where at least 49 people were killed late last year.
The threat looms large. If approval from Israel is not received for the passage of a “deportation convoy” or aid truck, Tel Aviv may revert with further bombings of Rafah.
But Cairo is not off the hook either. Even if Egypt is held blameless for the primary blockade of Gaza, it unquestionably benefits from it too.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education confirmed that at least 3,714 Palestinian students have been killed by “Israel’s” attacks on Gaza and the West Bank since October 7.AP)
Israeli occupation forces are killing students both in Gaza and the West Bank, while also detaining school-age children in the West Bank.
According to the ministry’s statement, 3,679 students were martyred and 5,429 others were injured in Gaza while in the Occupied West Bank, 35 students were killed and 271 others were wounded.
The statement also noted that Israeli occupational forces (IOF) detained 82 students in the Occupied West Bank since October 7.
In addition, data showed that 209 teachers and administrators were killed and 619 were injured in Gaza, while two were wounded and 65 were detained in the Occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces also bombed 278 government schools and 65 UN-run schools in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said last week.
Last week, a report by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor showed that “Israel” has killed more than 10,000 children and infants since the onset of aggression against Gaza.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that the total death toll in the Israeli airstrikes and intensive artillery attacks has exceeded 23,012, including 9,077 children and infants, according to preliminary statistics – including those whose bodies remain under the rubble.
UN-built and funded schools have been among the institutions destroyed in Gaza, after being constantly targeted for housing Palestinian refugees since the start of the war.
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed last Wednesday that one of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees’ schools in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza was blown up, failing to hold the Israeli occupation forces responsible for this crime.
“Saw videos of an @UNRWA school in northern #Gaza blown up. It is outrageous. All public facilities, including hospitals & @UN schools are protected under international law,” Lazzarini wrote on X after users circulated a video of the Israeli occupation forces destroying the school.
Lazzarini had written a letter to UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis on Friday, foreseeing the eventual loss of lives among his team due to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which he described as the “darkest hour in the agency’s 75-year history.”
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What did they say in Hebrew? Hamas’s ambush of soldiers in Shujaiya is a severe blow!
In response to the continuous Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinian resistance persists in confronting the Zionist forces. On the 58th day of relentless attacks, the resistance remains resolute, inflicting more significant losses on the enemy than any military or security gains achieved by them.
Undeterred by the enemy’s attempts, the fighters employ strategic methods, including sniping and planted explosive devices, to hunt down Zionist soldiers. This results in a mounting toll of casualties for the enemy within the Strip, forcing them to bear the consequences of ill-fated decisions made by their military and political leadership, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades declared a successful operation at dawn today, revealing that their fighters observed a concentration of approximately 60 occupation soldiers within tents at their designated position east of Juhr Al-Dik. Seizing the opportunity, the Mujahideen strategically planted three anti-personnel bombs encircling the location.
At precisely 4:30 AM, the meticulously placed bombs were detonated, targeting the occupation soldiers. Subsequently, one of the mujahideen advanced to eliminate the remaining members of the force. Safely withdrawing to their positions, the fighters achieved significant success by neutralizing a substantial number of the occupation soldiers.
Not stopping at this, the Al-Qassam Brigades unleashed a missile barrage, obliterating the occupied “Sderot” and the “Ra’im” military base. Additionally, the fighters executed a precise guerrilla action, targeting five Zionist vehicles east of Deir al-Balah with expertly deployed bombs and “Al-Yassin 105” shells. The operation resulted in the complete destruction of three vehicles, underscoring the effectiveness of their tactics.
In a separate engagement, the Al-Qassam fighters focused their attention on a specialized Zionist force sheltered inside a building in Beit Hanoun. Employing an anti-fortified TBG shell, they engaged in a fierce clash, utilizing machine guns to eliminate several soldiers within the force.
Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, reported that their mujahideen successfully targeted occupation bases in “Ra’im” and “Muftahim” with precision missile salvoes, further showcasing the coordinated efforts against the occupiers.
Civilian Suffering Continues
The Israeli enemy persistently commits atrocities against defenseless civilians in Gaza, with a focus on homes and residential complexes.
Their strategy aims to maximize the number of civilian casualties, with deliberate actions such as setting up fire belts in certain areas, isolating them from their surroundings, and destroying neighborhoods, leading to numerous deaths and injuries.
The Israeli enemy carried out intensive raids and fire belt deployments in various Gaza areas, including Tal al-Zaatar, eastern Jabalia, Al-Tuffah, Al-Zaytoun neighborhoods, and Khan Yunis, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
In a devastating series of events, seven citizens lost their lives and several others sustained injuries as Israeli airstrikes targeted the Azoum family’s residence in the Al-Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah, at dawn on Sunday. Simultaneously, two citizens were martyred in another Israeli air raid striking a house in the Al-Laddawa area, west of Khan Yunis.
Further casualties ensued as Israeli bombings struck a house in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, adding to the grim toll on Palestinian lives. The gravity of the situation intensified with an Israeli bombing that claimed at least 15 lives, targeting homes belonging to the Zaqout and Al-Tahrawi families near the Abu Sarar roundabout, along with a residence for the Al-Afranji family in the Ain Jalut Towers neighborhood.
Tragedy struck again in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, where a house was targeted, resulting in additional martyrs and wounded. Concurrently, the occupation aircraft launched a relentless series of raids on the city of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, complemented by a bombardment from occupation army tanks.
The indiscriminate nature of the attacks extended to Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli rockets further escalated the toll on innocent lives.
The director of the Government Information Office in Gaza grimly announced a staggering toll of more than 500 martyrs and wounded in a heinous massacre committed by the occupation in the Shujaiya neighborhood. Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior in the Gaza Strip reported continuous artillery shelling and air raids on the eastern areas of Khan Yunis governorate, intensifying the humanitarian crisis with each passing moment.
Hamas Stands Firm
Saleh Al-Arouri, Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, asserted that there would be no exchange of prisoners until the Israeli aggression halts. He emphasized that the liberation of Zionist prisoners would only happen after a comprehensive and final ceasefire, underscoring Hamas’s commitment to the well-being of its people.
Al-Arouri expressed Hamas’s readiness for all Israeli military scenarios, reaffirming that the resistance, well-equipped and supported by the population, stands unwavering against any form of aggression. Despite Israel’s goals, including the liberation of prisoners and the elimination of Hamas, Al-Arouri remained confident that the resistance would prevail.
Al-Arouri disclosed critical details regarding the remaining prisoners in the Gaza Strip, dispelling misconceptions propagated by the occupation. Contrary to the occupier’s claims of the resistance holding women and children, Al-Arouri clarified that the remaining captives are predominantly soldiers and civilian men who were once part of the occupation army.
The Hamas official emphasized that the elderly men currently detained had served in the military, with some still actively involved in it. This revelation aims to set the record straight, challenging the misinformation surrounding the demographics of the imprisoned individuals and underscoring the resistance’s commitment to transparency.
Accusing the United States of covering up Israel’s actions in Gaza, Al-Arouri shed light on the ongoing struggle for justice on the international stage.
He highlighted the need for time to exhume the bodies of Israelis killed in occupation raids and reiterated the resistance’s determination to secure the release of all Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli captive being released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters at Rafah Crossing during the fifth release on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.
The temporary ceasefire in Gaza entered its sixth and last day on Wednesday, with reports on extending the truce for the second time being leaked. As the sixth release of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners is in process, leaks come out that there are negotiations between the Zionist entity and Hamas to release additional captives and extend the ceasefire by another five days.
According to leaks reported by Al-Jazeera, talks on truce extension tackled doing this “over five categories: Israeli captives; elderly men who are too old to be reservists; female soldiers; reservist soldiers; and then the bodies of Israelis who were killed before or during captivity.”
“There seem to be positive noises coming from Hamas about this, as well,” Al-Jazeera added, noting that “there’s a lot of pressure from the right-wing in Israel, which actually controls the government, that this ceasefire should not go on indefinitely.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that occupation authorities are looking into another extension of the truce.
“It depends on the conduct of Hamas,” an Israeli political official was quoted as saying.
Qatar, which mediated the truce deal, hosted on Tuesday the heads of Israeli Mossad and the CIA for talks.
Sixth Release
Another 30 Palestinian prisoners will be released on Wednesday for 10 Israeli captives, media reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement it has received a list with the names of Israelis that Hamas is slated to release later today, the sixth group of hostages to be freed as part of the temporary truce.
The Israeli statement said the “families of those on the list have been informed,” without giving further details.
Earlier on Tuesday, the fifth batch of prisoners were released as part of the swap deal. Hamas released 10 Israeli hostages and two Thai nationals, in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli captives were handed over by Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades and ally Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades to the Red Cross.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said 15 women and 15 minors were freed.
Upon his liberation from the Israel occupation prisons through the resistance deal, the first words from the father of the prisoner, young Qassam Attoun, were filled with concern: 'Where did your weight disappear? They don't feed you, do they?'
On the other hand, several shooting incidents were reported by Israeli occupation army across the Gaza Strip in violation of the temporary ceasefire.
Israeli forces “opened fire on a Palestinian boat that was trying to go out into the open sea from the shores of Deir el-Balah. The boat returned to the shore,” Amir Bohbot, correspondent for the Israeli Walla news website, said, noting that the shooting is the second incident on Wednesday.
Gaza neighborhood that have been heavily damaged by Israeli bombardment.
Earlier, three Palestinians were wounded, one seriously, as occupation forces in Beit Hanoun opened fire at them in the northern region of the besieged strip.
Catastrophic Humanitarian Situation
The Director General of hospitals in Gaza Mohammad Zaqout said that hospitals in the strip’s north including Al-Shifa, Kamal Adwan, and al-Ahli hospitals have yet to receive fuel.
He added that Field hospitals coming into Gaza are currently are not in service despite an urgent need for them.
A Palestinian boy rests on a mattress near the ruins of destrpyed houses in Gaza (November 28, 2023 / photo by Reuters).
The official warned that the lack of water and hygiene-related materials will increase the risk of epidemics.
For its part, UN’s World Food Program (WFP) said that aids delivered to Gaza are wholly insufficient to deal with level of hunger.
The organization warned that humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic, and that “we are facing the risk of famine.”
“6 days are not enough to deliver the needed aid, people of Gaza deficient in food,” WFP added.
After enduring weeks of displacement due to the ongoing aggression, the people of Gaza finally have a glimmer of hope as they start to return to their homes.
The four-day truce, which includes a complete ceasefire, went into effect this morning. Displaced Palestinians, who sought refuge in hospitals and schools during the aggression, are now gradually leaving their temporary shelters.
At exactly seven o’clock in the morning today, marking the forty-ninth day since the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip began, the first four-day humanitarian calm commenced.
As part of the truce, occupation aircraft completely withdrew from the southern Gaza Strip airspace, while their withdrawal from the north is scheduled from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon.
Displaced Palestinians Returning to their Homes from Hospitals and Schools
Additionally, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, has announced the handover of the first batch of civilian hostages.
The truce was reached through mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.
It is noteworthy that the battles between the resistance factions and the occupation army continued even shortly before the truce entered into force on more than one axis and front in Gaza City, in Juhr al-Dik and the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, in addition to the axes of the Israeli army’s incursion into Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The number of martyrs during the aggression, which has been ongoing for 49 days, reached 14,854 martyrs, including more than 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women, while about 7,000 Palestinians are still missing, either under rubble or bodies thrown in the streets and roads or something. Their fate remains unknown, and the number of wounded exceeds 36,000.
The Israeli occupation’s threats are falling on resilient, deaf ears as the Palestinian residents of Gaza return to their homes in the north despite these threats.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been since the morning, the time when the ceasefire deal went into effect, returning to the northern Gaza Strip from the south, Israeli media reported on Friday.
The media added that the Israeli occupation forces will take strict measures to prevent the Palestinians from moving between the south and north of the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israeli Cabinet member Israel Katz told Channel 12 that “the army is trying to prevent tens of thousands of Palestinians from returning to the northern Gaza Strip,” stating that “the situation in the north will not return to what it was before.”
Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant reiterated that “the ceasefire is a short truce, and the Israeli army will return with full force at its end.”
Despite the threats from the Israeli occupation forces, which deployed tanks and military vehicles in the north and had targeted the displaced who left the northern Gaza Strip for the south, those same displaced people, upon the implementation of the ceasefire in the early hours of Friday, began to return to the North of Gaza. They flocked to their homes, hospitals, and cemeteries in a blatant challenge to the Israeli occupation.
بيت حانون ترحب بأهلها .. عائدون لبيت حانون شمال قطاع ✌️🇵🇸
The Israeli occupation is “threatening to open fire on anyone that approaches its forces stationed in the city of Beit Hanoun,” an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.
“The residents have started to return to Beit Hanoun with the withdrawal of occupation forces and the beginning of the ceasefire,” he added, noting that the occupation forces, with their soldiers stationed in the town, prevent residents from advancing.
Residents of Beit Hanoun confirmed that the occupation forces are opening fire at those who try to pass a certain point in Beit Hanoun while our correspondent explained that residents insist on inspecting their properties regardless of the threats being made by the Israeli occupation forces.
Some residents on Salah al-Din Street in the central Gaza Strip stated that the occupation was opening fire toward gatherings of residents who came out to inspect their properties, with its tanks positioned in front of Kuwait Square.
Earlier in the day, aid and fuel trucks started to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing as the temporary ceasefire came into effect this morning, lasting for four days. This period involves the release of several detainees, including child detainees, from Israeli occupation prisons, along with the entry of relief aid and quantities of fuel. In return, the Palestinian resistance will release some of the captives in its custody.
In the hours leading up to the implementation of the temporary truce, the Israeli occupation forces carried out intensive airstrikes on the north, central, and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, targeting schools that shelter displaced people, hospitals, and residential buildings, resulting in dozens of martyrs and injuries.
UNRWA hampers aid delivery to North
On another note, sources told Al Mayadeen today that only 3 trucks loaded with aid arrived at areas in northern Gaza.
UNRWA has proven time and again that it is colluding with the Israeli policy of ethnic cleansing the northern part of Gaza during the period of the aggression on the Strip, as the head of the Government Media Office Salamah Maarouf said on October 31.
Maarouf said that UNRWA and its officials are not living up to their obligations and that they are conspiring with “Israel” which seeks to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
On his part, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qudra, said that the UN agency has turned its back on the residents of the Gaza Strip in general, leaving children unvaccinated, and terminally ill individuals without medication, as well as neglecting the needs o hospitals all over the Gaza Strip.
Footage circulated on social media platforms, depicting UNRWA storage rooms filled with aid, while Palestinians are being killed by the Israeli war machine.
Palestinian activists in Gaza continued their show of support for Walid Daqqa, a 60-year-old cancer patient held in Israeli prison.
Daqqa is not the only Palestinian with terminal illness held by Israel. His deteriorating health, however, has given his struggle greater urgency.
The latest rally in support of Daqqa took place near the Beit Hanoun, or Erez Checkpoint.
On Wednesday, an Israeli prison administration committee, known as the Early Release Committee, postponed the decision regarding a possible early release of Daqqa.
Despite his rapidly worsening health condition, the Palestinian prisoner recently was moved back to the Ramleh prison.
The Committee referred the decision to another commission, responsible for Palestinian prisoners who were sentenced to life imprisonment.
In response to the decision, the Daqqa family commented that by delaying the prisoner’s release, the Israeli occupation authorities are practically executing him.
The family called on legal bodies, popular movements, and all the Palestinian people to put pressure on Israel to release Daqqa.
Daqqa has been imprisoned by Israel since 1986 after being accused and convicted by an Israeli military court for being part of the Palestinian Resistance and for allegedly killing an Israeli soldier.
Last year, Daqqa was diagnosed with a malignant stage of Myelofibrosis – a rare form of bone marrow cancer.
In March, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association Addameer called for the “immediate grant of humanitarian release”, in view of “Daqqa rapidly deteriorating health”.
Addameer demanded “prompt access to advanced and timely treatments prescribed by medical specialists to Walid Daqqa by the Israeli Prison Service”.
Addameer accused Israeli authorities of denying Daqqa the treatment he was prescribed.
“The instrumentalization of medical negligence to denigrate, demoralize, and punish Palestinian prisoners is emblematic of Israel’s illegal and inhumane prison system,” the group said in its statement.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 