In Occupied Palestine

Zionism in practice

Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land

08:00, on 27 January until 08:00, 28 January 2024

[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]

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.

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.

Victims: 165 people killed in Gaza brings the total number of deaths since 7 October to at least 26,422. With another 290 wounded, that has risen to 65,087. Fully accurate statistics are not available, due to insecurity menacing hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Occupation forces continued their invasion and positioning, dividing the Gaza into three and continuing deadly fire inside the enclave as well as air strike and live fire, including shelling, from behind the Green Line. The Israeli Navy also carried on targeting civilian areas including homes, as well as agriculture. The Palestinian Resistance continued to fire dozens of missiles towards the Green Line.

OCHA Flash Update #104

On 27 January, the UNRWA Commissioner-General warned of the threat to the Agency’s ongoing humanitarian work, especially in Gaza, following the decision of a number of donor countries to temporarily suspend their funding. This was in response to allegations by the Israeli authorities that several UNRWA staff members had participated in the attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023. UNRWA has terminated the contracts of nine of the accused and an investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has been activated. “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region,” the Commissioner-General stated. UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency in Gaza, with over two million people now dependent on its services and some 3,000 out of its 13,000 staff in Gaza continuing to report to work, despite the ongoing hostilities. The UN Secretary-General also strongly appealed to “the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations. The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences. But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA (across the region), many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”

On 28 January, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths stated: “The people of Gaza have been enduring unthinkable horrors and deprivation for months. Their needs have never been higher – and our humanitarian capacity to assist them has never been under such threat. We need to be at full stretch to give the people of Gaza a moment of hope.”

In the second half of January, humanitarian partners continue to observe a declining trend in their attempts to access the northern and central areas of Gaza. The reasons include excessive delays for humanitarian aid convoys before or at Israeli checkpoints and heightened military activity in central Gaza. Threats to the safety of humanitarian personnel and sites are also frequent, impeding not only the delivery of time-sensitive and life-saving aid but also posing serious risks to those involved in humanitarian efforts.

As of 25 January, according to the WHO, only 14 of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functional; seven in the north and seven in the south. ‘Partial functionality’ indicates that a hospital is accessible by people in need of health care; it can admit some new patients and can undertake some level of surgery. In addition, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is, ‘minimally functioning,’ providing available services to patients in its care, but no longer able to receive patients or supplies, as it is surrounded by the Israeli military and experiencing intense fighting. Al Kheir Hospital in Khan Younis, which was previously designated as ‘minimally functioning,’ and one of only three in the Gaza Strip that provides maternity services, is no longer operational, with reports of patients, who had just undergone critical operations, having to flee the facility.

On 26 January, Médecins Sans Frontières reported that Nasser hospital could no longer provide vital medical services, leaving many wounded patients with no options for treatment amid ongoing heavy fighting and bombing. The hospital’s surgical capacity is almost non-existent, and the handful of medical staff remaining in the hospital are trying to manage with very low supplies insufficient to handle the large influx of wounded people. Between 300 and 350 patients with war-related injuries remain at the hospital, unable to evacuate due to the danger and the lack of ambulances. On January 24, at least one patient at the hospital died because there was no orthopaedic surgeon available. Shelling in the vicinity of the hospital was reported again on 27 January.

On 27 January, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli forces were continuing to bombard the vicinity of the Al Amal Hospital and the PRCS branch headquarters in Khan Younis, jeopardizing the safety of medical staff, the wounded, patients, and the approximately 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had sought refuge there. The PRCS stated that dozens had been killed and injured inside, and in the vicinity of the two facilities amid ongoing fighting over the previous four weeks. The continuing siege of the facilities is hindering the movement of ambulances and emergency medical teams in the city, and preventing medical teams from reaching the injured and transporting them to the hospital for necessary medical care. The PRCS denied claims by Israeli forces of the presence of armed individuals inside the hospital building and appealed to the international community and partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to intervene to protect the hospital, the medical teams, the wounded, patients, and IDPs. On the morning of 28 January, shells were reportedly fired towards the vicinity of the European Hospital in Khan Younis, with casualties reported, amid intense fighting in the area.

Hostilities and casualties (Gaza Strip)

The following are among the deadliest incidents reported on 27 and 28 January:

On 28 January, at about 09:00, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed in Gaza city after a residential building was struck.

On 26 January, at least 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others injured, after a residential building in Deir al Balah was struck.

On 26 January, at about 13:00, at least six Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others injured, after a residential building in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp was struck.

On 26 January, at about 2:00, at least three Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others injured, in a strike in eastern Rafah.

Displacement (Gaza Strip)

On 26 January, the head of the UN Human Rights Office () for the Occupied Palestinian Territory said that the people displaced who reached Rafah are resorting to living in the street, with sewage running in the streets and “conditions of desperation conducive to a complete breakdown in order. An overspilling of violence in Rafah would have severe implications for the more than 1.3 million people who are already crowded into the city. Heavy rainfall has aggravated the humanitarian situation in tent encampments where IDPs have sought shelter, with UNRWA that an unknown number of tents of displaced people in Rafah were flooded and that “thousands of families sleeping on the floor are now freezing and unable to keep dry.”

As of 26 January, according to UNRWA, there are an estimated 1.7 million IDPs in Gaza. Many of them have been displaced multiple times, as families have been forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Due to continued fighting and evacuation orders, some households have moved away from the shelters where they were initially registered. Rafah governorate is where over one million people are squeezed into an extremely overcrowded space. Following intense Israeli bombardment and fighting in Khan Younis and the central area of the Gaza Strip in recent days, as well as new Israeli military evacuation orders, a significant number of displaced people have moved further south.

On 23 and 25 January, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders via social media to Palestinians in several city blocks in Khan Younis across a four-square-kilometre area. There are about 88,000 residents in the area, in addition to an estimated 425,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) seeking shelter in 24 schools and other institutions. The affected area includes Nasser Hospital (475 beds), Al Amal Hospital (100 beds) and the Jordanian Hospital (50 beds), representing almost 20 per cent of the remaining partially functioning hospitals across the Gaza Strip. Three health clinics are also located in the affected area. Some 18,000 IDPs are reported to be in the Nasser Hospital, with an unknown number of IDPs seeking shelter in the other health facilities. On 25 January, the Israeli military reissued the same evacuation orders via social media.

Humanitarian Access

Between 1 and 25 January, 51 missions to deliver humanitarian aid were planned for the north of Wadi Gaza; however, only eight were facilitated by the Israeli military while 29 were denied. Most of the missions that were facilitated were related to food distribution, while support to critical hospitals and WASH facilitates were largely denied. Two missions were partially facilitated (e.g., only the assessment components were facilitated, instead of a planned delivery of aid supplies) and another four were postponed (due to security and other requirements). In an emerging pattern, an additional eight planned missions were initially facilitated, but subsequently impeded as routes designated by the Israeli military proved to be unpassable, or the imposition of excessive delays prior to the departure of the missions or at checkpoints en route.

Between 1 and 25 January, humanitarian partners coordinated 87 humanitarian missions to the Middle Area of Gaza, of which 63 per cent (55 missions) were facilitated and 25 per cent (22 missions) were denied. Due to increasing military activity, ten missions were postponed. Postponement of humanitarian movements to and from hospitals and humanitarian sites has been an emerging trend since 12 January due to increased military activity. The need to coordinate movement to areas south of Wadi Gaza has only been a requirement since December.

None of the 22 requests by the United Nations to the Israeli military to open checkpoints early to access areas north of Wadi Gaza (in January) were facilitated. Given the heavy congestion around UN warehouses and the high levels of needs, early movement is essential for security, programmatic and protection reasons. The humanitarian community has consistently called for both main supply routes (MSRs) to be open in Gaza, and for checkpoints to open at 6:00 every day. Only one of the two main supply routes has been made available for aid missions so far.

In addition to widespread attacks on health care facilities and workers, 12 incidents of attacks against, and access constraints on, Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) were recorded between 7 November 2023 and 24 January 2024. These included ten instances of direct and indirect fire resulting in seven deaths and 12 injuries (including to members of EMTs, patients and other people within the vicinity) and two entry blockages. These teams have been undertaking life-saving surgeries in partially functioning over-congested hospitals across Gaza.

Settler Violence

Since 7 October 2023 and as of 28 January 2024, OCHA has recorded 464 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (46 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (362 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (56 incidents).

One-third of the settler attacks against Palestinians after 7 October 2023 have involved firearms, including shootings and threats of shootings. In nearly half of all recorded incidents after 7 October, Israeli forces were either accompanying or reported to be supporting the attackers.

In 2023, 1,229 incidents involving Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (with or without Israeli forces), resulted in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both. Some 913 of these incidents resulted in damage, 163 resulted in casualties and 153 resulted in both. This is the highest number of settler attacks against Palestinians in any given year since OCHA started recording incidents involving settlers in 2006.

Displacement (West Bank)

Since 7 October 2023 and as of 28 January 2024, at least 198 Palestinian households comprising 1,208 people, including 586 children, have been displaced amid settler violence and access restrictions. The displaced households are from at least 15 herding/Bedouin communities. More than half of the displacement occurred on 12, 15, and 28 October, affecting seven communities. The displacement toll since 7 October 2023, represents 78 per cent of all displacement reported due to settler violence and access restrictions since 1 January 2023 (1,539 people, including 756 children).

Since 7 October 2023 and as of 28 January 2024, 495 Palestinians, including 246 children, have been displaced following the demolition of their homes due to lack of Israeli-issued building permits in Area C and East Jerusalem, which are almost impossible to obtain.

A total of 22 homes have been demolished and 105 Palestinians, including 45 children, displaced due to punitive demolitions from 7 October 2023 and as of 28 January 2024. The numbers exceed those reported in the first nine months of 2023, during which 16 homes were punitively demolished and 78 people displaced.

Since 7 October 2023 and as of 28 January 2024, 743 Palestinians, including 311 children, have been displaced, following the destruction of 116 homes during other operations carried out by Israeli forces across the West Bank. About 95 per cent of the displacement was reported in the refugee camps of Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm. This represents 82 per cent of all displacement reported due to the destruction of homes during Israeli military operations since January 2023 (908 people).

West Bank

[Palestinian Monitoring Group]

Israeli Army attack: Ramallah – 22:50, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition, stormed into Beit Rima.

Israeli Army attack: Ramallah – 04:15, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed Beitunya.

Israeli Army attack: Jenin – 19:35, the Israeli Army, firing live ammunition, stormed Ya’bad.

Israeli Army attack – 2 wounded: Jenin – 01:15, Israeli troops, firing live ammunition, stormed Qabatiya, wounding two residents.

Israeli Army attacks – refugee camp: Jenin – 06:15, the Israeli military, firing live ammunition, stormed Jenin and the refugee camp as well as Burqin.

Israeli Army attack – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 20:50-01:05, Israeli soldiers, firing live ammunition, stormed the town of Beita, taking prisoner one resident.

Home invasions: Ramallah – dawn, the Israeli military stormed Beit Ur al-Tahta, Beit Liqiya as well as the village of Kharbatha al-Misbah, invading and searching homes.

Tubas – 02:35–06:45, Israeli Occupation forces raided Tayasir village and searched a number of homes.

Home invasions: Nablus – 21:45–01:10, Israeli forces raided the village of Salem and searched a number of homes and shops.

Home invasion and settler land–seizure: Bethlehem – Israeli settlers raided a family’s land in east Kisan village and assaulted Ibrahim Awaida Al-Sawarka and his family in their tent–dwelling, and forced them off their land.

Home invasion: Hebron – 12:25, the Israeli Army raided al-Samou and searched a house.

Home invasions: Hebron – 00:55, Israeli troops raided Bani Naim and searched a number of homes.

Home invasion: Hebron – 01:05, the Israeli military raided al-Shuyukh, taking prisoner a man and three of his children.

Israeli Army land–seizure order: Bethlehem – Israeli Occupation forces issued an order, to seize land in al-Khadr, Battir and the village of Husan, for an extension to the settlement road reaching from the main entrances to the villages all the way to the village of Husan.

Occupation settler land-grab: Salfit – Israeli Occupation settlers set up mobile homes in an area of Deir Istiya, in order to extend a settlement outpost.

Occupation settler stoning: Hebron – 14:50, Israeli settlers stoned homes in the Old City.

Raid: Ramallah – 22:50–00:40, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Beit Rima.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 04:15–07:30, Israeli forces raided Beitunya, taking prisoner two people.

Raid: Jenin – 19:35, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled Ya’bad.

Raid: Jenin – 04:30, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Tura.

Raids – 1 youngster abducted – 1 taken prisoner: Jenin – 06:15, the Israeli military raided the city, the refugee camp and the town of Burqin, taking prisoner one person and abducting a 16-year-old youth: Faris Muhammad Shalamish.

Raid: Tulkarem – 11:40, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Anabta.

Raid: Tulkarem – 17:05, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Quffin.

Raid: Qalqiliya – 01:10–04:05, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Azzun.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 01:15–03:40, the Israeli Army raided the city, taking prisoner two people.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 19:55-00:30, Israeli troops raided the city, taking prisoner one person.

Raid: Salfit – 17:15, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Deir Ballut.

Raid: Salfit – 19:10, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled the village of Haris.

Raid: Bethlehem – 11:25-16:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Khadr.

Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 01:20-05:30, Israeli forces raided Bethlehem, Doha and Janata, taking prisoner three people.