In Occupied Palestine
Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land
08:00, on 20 December until 08:00, 21 December 2023
[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Restrictions of movement: Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza are under relentless and extreme control over all travel and movement.
Gaza Strip
Armed Palestinian Resistance: Palestinian Resistance continued launching dozens of missiles towards the Green Line.
Air strikes: Heavy aerial bombardment on buildings, homes and many facilities.
Victims: More people killed in Gaza, raising the total to over 20,000. Precise statistics are still not available, due to the violence surrounding hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
Attacks: All over Gaza, there are air strikes, heavy gunfire, tank and artillery shelling, as well as missiles fired from Israeli forces and military occupation, especially in Khan Yunis. The Israeli Navycontinues to fire missiles, targeting facilities and buildings along the shoreline of the whole of Gaza.
OCHA Flash Update #75
On 21 December, at about 20:40, the main telecommunication provider in Gaza announced that its services were gradually returning to the southern and central Gaza. This followed a shut down since 14 December, apart from 18 to 20 December, where there was a partial resumption at about ten per cent capacity in southern Gaza. Humanitarian agencies and first responders have warned that telecommunication blackouts jeopardise the already constrained provision of life-saving assistance. As a result of limited communication throughout the day, this Flash Update provides limited updated information about the humanitarian situation in Gaza over the past 24 hours.
On 21 December, heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land and sea, continued across most of the Gaza Strip. Intense ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continued, in most areas of Gaza, with the exception of Rafah. The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel continued.
Between 7 October and 19 December, 19,667 fatalities were reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH), which has not published updated tolls since then. The Gaza Government Media Office reported on the fatalities as of 21 December, although their methodology is unknown. Taken together, with the noted caveats, these figures amount to about 20,000. Of them, more than 8,000 are said to be children and more than 6,200 women. The Under-General Secretary stated: “That such a brutal conflict has been allowed to continue and for this long – despite the widespread condemnation, the physical and mental toll and the massive destruction – is an indelible stain on our collective conscience.”
The entire population in the Gaza Strip faces an imminent risk of famine, according to the latest estimates from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global partnership on 21 December. Bombardment, ground operations, and the besiegement of the entire population, coupled with restricted humanitarian access, have resulted in catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, intensifying the risk of famine each day, according to IPC.
Should the situation continue, it is precited that between 8 December 2023 and 7 February 2024, Gaza’s population will be the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity ever classified by the IPC initiative for any given area or country, since its establishment in 2004. (More details under the food security section).
On 20 December, Israeli forces raided the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s (PRCS) ambulance centre in Jabalya, north of Gaza, after a two-day siege. Reportedly, staff members and paramedics were arrested and taken to an unknown location. Some 127 people, including 22 injured patients who were being treated by staff, were inside the building. Contact was lost with the operations room and PRCS team in Gaza, due to the telecommunications blackout.
On 21 December, The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that northern Gaza had been left without a functional hospital due to the lack of fuel, staff, and supplies. Only nine out of 36 health facilities are partially functional in the whole of Gaza, with no functional hospital in the north. Al Ahli is still treating patients but not admitting new ones, along with Al-Shifa, Al Awda and Al Sahaba Hospitals. These hospitals are still sheltering thousands of displaced people. Under such conditions, people are unable to avail themselves of hospitals’ services. For example, 42 babies have been born within a school functioning as a shelter in Deir al Balah (Middle Area), according to UNRWA, instead of in health facilities.
On 20 December, the International Labour Organisation and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics assessed that at least 66 per cent of employment, the equivalent of 192,000 jobs, has been lost in Gaza since the escalation of hostilities on 7 October. The effects of the escalation are also felt in the West Bank, where 32 per cent of employment has been lost, the equivalent of 276,000 jobs, in the same time period, according to the two bodies.
Hostilities and casualties (Gaza Strip)
The following are among the deadliest incidents reported on 21 December:
At about 19:00, 28 Palestinians, including children and women, were reportedly killed, and tens of others were injured, when two houses and agricultural land sheltering internally displaced persons (IDPs) were struck near the European Hospital, in Khan Yunis.
At about 17:10, 13 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and ten others were reportedly injured when a house was struck in Al-Amal neighbourhood, west of Khan Yunis.
On 20 December, at about 17:20, Israeli forces reportedly forced Palestinian families out of their homes before setting those structures on fire at the An Nazla area in Jabalya city, northern Gaza.
On 20 December, the UN Human Rights Office issued a statement on reports of an incident on 19 December between 20:00 and 23:00, whereby Israeli forces reportedly shot and killed at least 11 Palestinian men, and allegedly injured an unconfirmed number of women and children in the Al Awda residential building, also known as the “Annan building”, in Ar Remal neighbourhood, Gaza City. Three related families were sheltering inside this building during the incidents. Initial witness reports circulating through media allege that the men were separated from women and children and were then shot and killed in what may amount to a war crime. The details of this incident are yet to be verified.
Displacement (Gaza Strip)
Areas encompassing about 30 per cent of the Gaza Strip (excluding the orders to evacuate the areas north of Wadi Gaza) have been marked for evacuation on the Israeli military’s online map. Access to this information is impaired by recurrent interruptions in telecommunications and the lack of electricity.
Inflow of IDPs to Rafah governorate continued on 20 December. As shelters in Rafah city have exceeded their capacity significantly, most newly arriving IDPs have settled in the streets and in empty spaces across the city. Rafah governorate has become the most densely populated area in the Gaza Strip, with hundreds of thousands of IDPs squeezed into extremely overcrowded spaces and in dire living conditions. Population density is assessed to now exceed 12,000 people per square kilometre, a fourfold increase prior to the escalation. Thousands of people line up before aid distribution centres in need of food, water, shelter, and protection, amid the absence of latrines and adequate water and sanitation facilities in informal displacement sites and makeshift shelters. This situation is compounded by the cold winter and rain over the last week, which have flooded tents and other makeshift shelters.
Obtaining an accurate figure of the total number of IDPs remains challenging. According to UNRWA, 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced, including people who have been displaced multiple times. Lack of food, basic survival items, and poor hygiene, exacerbate the already dire living conditions, amplify protection and mental health issues, and increase the spread of disease.
Electricity
Since 11 October, the Gaza Strip has been under an electricity blackout, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply, and fuel reserves for Gaza’s sole power plant were depleted. For more information on electricity supply to the Gaza Strip, please see this dashboard.
Health care, including attacks (Gaza Strip)
According to WHO, as of 19 December, nine out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional, all located in the south. These hospitals are operating at three times their capacity, while facing critical shortages of basic supplies and fuel. According to the MoH in Gaza, occupancy rates are now reaching 206 per cent in inpatient departments and 250 per cent in intensive care units.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
On 20 December, UNICEF stated that children in Gaza are not able to access 90 per cent of their normal water use. The impact on children is severe, as they are more susceptible to dehydration, diarrhoea, disease, and malnutrition. Concerns of waterborne diseases such as cholera and chronic diarrhoea are particularly heightened given the lack of safe water, especially following the seasonal rains and flooding. Officials have recorded almost 20 times the monthly average of reported cases of diarrhoea among children under the age of 5, 160,000 cases of acute respiratory infection, and increases in other infectious conditions and illnesses, such as scabies, lice, chicken pox, and skin rashes.
On 20 December, the Director General of WHO echoed a concern for the rises in infectious disease stating that “Gaza is already experiencing soaring rates of infectious disease outbreaks. Diarrhoea cases among children aged under 5 are 25 times what they were before the conflict. Such illnesses can be lethal for malnourished children, more so in the absence of functioning health services.”
Food security
On 19 December, according to WFP’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, half of Gaza’s population is starving in a situation of extreme or severe hunger, and 90 per cent of the population regularly go without food for a whole day. Only ten per cent of the food currently required for 2.2 million people has entered Gaza in the last 70 days. On 17 December, media reported people jumping onto aid trucks, attempting to secure food and other supplies.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), identify 5 Phases of classification for food security: Generally Food Secure (1), Borderline Food Insecure (2), Acute food and Livelihood Crisis (3), Humanitarian Emergency (4) and Famine/Humanitarian Catastrophe (5). The recent estimates from the IPC reveal an unprecedented level of acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip. Over 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.08 million people) was estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). Among these, over 40 percent of the population (939,000 people) were in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 15 percent (378,000 people) were in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).
Furthermore, in the projected period from the latest IPC findings, spanning from 8 December 2023 to 7 February 2024, the entire population in the Gaza Strip (approximately 2.2 million people) is anticipated to experience severe food insecurity, classified as IPC Phase 3 or higher (Crisis or worse). The IPC Famine Review Committee has been activated amid evidence exceeding acute food insecurity Phase 5 threshold. Among these, over half a million people are facing catastrophic conditions—IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), characterized by households experiencing an extreme lack of food, starvation, and exhaustion of coping capacities.
West Bank
Israeli settler attack – agricultural sabotage: Ramallah – 09:30, armed Israeli settlers invaded, and bulldozed, the Jabal al-Ras area of Umm Safa village, opening fire towards the farming community.
Israeli Army attack – home invasions: Jericho – 00:30–03:30, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition, stormed into Jericho and searched a number of homes.
Israeli Army attack – 1 youngster killed – 10 wounded (including a child) – home invasions: Bethlehem – 17:00, Israeli forces stormed into the village of Husan and invaded homes, killing a 16-year-old youth, Mahmoud Muhammad Issa Zaoul, and wounding eleven others, including a 12-year-old boy, Amir Bakr Youssef Zaoul, and a 16-year-old youth: Muhammad Sami Ahmed Shusha.
Israeli Army attack – motorist shot and killed: Hebron – 10:30, the Israeli Army, firing live ammunition towards people near the Beit Einoun road junction, shot and killed a pharmacist, Basil Wajih Abdel-Afo Al-Muhtaseb, while he was driving his motor vehicle.
Israeli Army attack – 1 wounded: Hebron – 19:00, Israeli troops, firing live ammunition near the entrance the al-Arroub refugee camp, wounded one person: Thaer Imad Halayqa.
Israeli Army home invasions and destruction: Ramallah – 10:10, Israeli Occupation forces demolished an apartment building in Ni’lin.
Israeli Army home invasion: Ramallah – dawn, Israeli forces raided into Beit Liqiya and searched a house.
Israeli Army home invasions: Qalqiliya – 02:20, the Israeli Army raided Azzun and invaded three homes.
Israeli Army home invasion and armed robbery: Nablus – 01:15, Israeli troops raided the village of Beit Wazan, searched a house, took prisoner one resident and seized his motor vehicle.
Israeli Army home demolition: Jericho – 10:30, the Israeli military demolished a home, in the village of al-Jiftlik.
Israeli Army home invasions: Jericho – 15:00, Israeli soldiers raided the village of al-Zubeidat and searched two homes.
Israeli Army home invasion: Hebron – 10:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided the city and searched a house.
Israeli Army home invasions: Hebron – 04:10, Israeli forces, raided Dura and searched a number of homes, seizing two motor vehicles.
Israeli Army home invasions: Hebron – 04:10, the Israeli Army raided Idhna and searched a number of homes.
Israeli police and settlers’ mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.
Israeli Army destruction and population–control: Ramallah – 10:10, Israeli Occupation forces demolished a shop as well as a vehicle–repair workshop in Ni’lin.
Israeli Army abducts 3 children: Ramallah – 15:40, Israeli forces abducted three 15-year-old children in the village of Bil’in: Muhammad Osama Matar, Abdullah Barakat Al-Khatib and Zain Magdy Abu Rahma.
Israeli Army armed robbery – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 01:15, the Israeli Army raided the village of Beit Wazan, taking prisoner one person, Tariq Ziad Saqf Al-Hait, and robbing him of his motorvehicle.
Occupation settlement development: Jenin – Israeli Occupation forces began building annexation Wall sections, on al-Jalama village land.
Occupation settler water–source seizure – agricultural sabotage: Nablus – 13:40, an armed settler, in the Khirbet Tana area, east of Beit Furik, began building a water–storage pool and cut local farmers off from accessing their main souce of irrigation.
Occupation settler pastoral sabotage: Jericho – 10:30, Israeli settlers raided the Kaabna Bedouin community, west of Jericho, and assaulted local shepherds.
Occupation settler land-grab – agricultural sabotage: Hebron – 16:30, Israeli settlers seized farmland, in the Shaab al-Tariq area of al-Samou, and started to plough it.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Jerusalem – 16:00, Israeli Occupation forces stormed into al-Ram and took prisoner one person.
Raids: Ramallah – Israeli forces raided and patrolled Ni’lin as well as the villages of Deir Qadis, Bil’in, Rantis, Medea, al-Tireh and Kafr Ni’ma.
Raid: Ramallah – 21:10, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Khirbet Abu Falah.
Raid – in refugee camp: Ramallah – 23:05, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the Jalazoun refugee camp.
Raid: Ramallah – 23:40, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the village of Burqa.
Raid: Ramallah – 01:35, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled al-Bireh.
Raid: Ramallah – 02:45–07:40, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled the village of Deir Qadis.
Raid: Ramallah – 07:55, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Deir Birzeit.
Raids: Jenin – the Israeli Army raided and patrolled Silat al-Dahr as well as the villages of Jalboun, Nazlat Zeid, al-Taram and Tura.
Raid: Jenin – 17:45, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of al-Fandaqumiya.
Raids: Jenin – 23:40–02:45, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Ya’bad as well as the village of Tura.
Raids: Tulkarem – 15:35, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Beit Lid and also the village of Ramin.
Raid: Tulkarem – 17:15, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Quffin.
Raid: Tulkarem – 19:50–00:15, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Shufa.
Raid: Tulkarem – 20:20–22:15, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Izbit Shufa.
Raid: Tulkarem – 20:55–23:10, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Attil.
Raids – including on refugee camps: Tulkarem – 00:30–03:45 , the Israeli military raided and patrolled Tulkarem, the Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps, Kafr al-Labad and also the village of Pharaoh.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Tulkarem – 03:35–06:35, Israeli soldiers raided the village of Sidon, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Tulkarem – 03:55–05:40, Israeli Occupation forces raided Deir al-Ghusun, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 08:10, Israeli forces raided Hablat, taking prisoner three people.
Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Qalqiliya – 14:25, the Israeli Army, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Kafr Qaddum.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 23:45, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the city.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 05:50, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Kafr Laqif.
Raids: Nablus – 09:10, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Beit Iba, as well as the villages of Urif and Asira al-Qibliya.
Raid – stun grenades: Nablus – 11:50-12:55, the Israeli military, firing stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Jalloud.
Raids: Nablus – 12:10-14:20, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Beita as well as the villages of Burqa and Odala.
Raid: Nablus – 13:20-17:05, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled the village of Qusin.
Raid: Nablus – 14:20, Israeli forces raided Aqraba.
Raid: Nablus – 15:30-17:05, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Madama.
Raids: Nablus – 17:05, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the villages of Awarta and Iraq Burin.
Raids – refugee camp: Nablus – 18:50, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the Askar refugee camp as well as the village of Deir al-Hatab.
Raids: Nablus – 21:00, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled the villages of Majdal Bani Fadil and Osirin.
Raid: Nablus – 01:05, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled the village of al-Sawiya.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Nablus – 02:40, Israeli forces raided the village of Rujeib, taking prisoner two people.
Raid: Nablus – 03:15, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Qusin.
Raid: Nablus – 04:10, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Aqraba.
Raid: Nablus – 07:15, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the village of Beit Dajan.
Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Salfit – 12:20, Israeli soldiers, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided and patrolled Kifl Haris.
Raid: Salfit – 15:40-19:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Deir Ballut.
Raid: Salfit – 22:10–23:35, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Kafr al-Dik.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Salfit – 07:30, the Israeli Army raided the village of Marda, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Bethlehem – 17:05, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Artas.
Raid: Bethlehem – 18:00–22:05, the Israeli military raided and patrolled al-Khadr.
Raid: Bethlehem – 00:40–01:55, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Nahalin.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 02:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided Tuqu, taking prisoner two people.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – dawn, Israeli forces raided the village of al-Asakra, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – dawn, the Israeli Army raided Tuqu, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – dawn, Israeli troops raided Doha, taking prisoner three people.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – dawn, the Israeli military raided the city, taking prisoner two people.
Raid: Hebron – 13:20, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Dura.
Raid: Hebron – 18:30-21:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Dhahiriya.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – 01:25, Israeli forces raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Hebron – 22:00, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled Halhul.
Raid: Hebron – 01:35, Israeli troops raided and patrolled al-Dhahiriya.
Raid: Hebron – 01:45, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Bani Naim.
Raid: Hebron – dawn, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Beit Ummar.
YAWN!