In Occupied Palestine
Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land
08:00, 12 February until 08:00, 13 March 2024
[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]
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 Navy continues to fire missiles, targeting facilities and buildings along the shoreline of the whole of Gaza.
Victims: 88 people killed in Gaza brings the total number of deaths since 7 October to at least 31,272. With another 135 wounded, that has risen to 73,024. Fully accurate statistics are not available, due to insecurity menacing hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
OCHA Flash Update #138:
Key Highlights
For the first time in three weeks, the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to deliver food for 24,000 people in Gaza city.
There has been a dramatic deterioration in the mental health of children in Gaza, according to Save the Children.
According to a new assessment, 5,000 persons with disabilities acquired from injuries sustained in hostilities in Gaza suffer from a lack of accessible shelters, potential exploitation, insufficient medical services, and neglect of their needs.
Six Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between the afternoons of 12 and 13 March, bringing to 107 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2024.
Gaza Strip Updates
Intense Israeli bombardment and ground operations as well as heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continue to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure.
Between the afternoons of 12 and 13 March, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 88 Palestinians were killed and 135 Palestinians were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 13 March 2024, at least 31,272 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 73,024 Palestinians were injured, of whom 72 per cent are women and children, according to MoH in Gaza.
The following are among the deadly incidents reported on 12 March:
On 12 March, at about 11:50, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed, and six others injured, when a house in Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, in Gaza city, was hit.
On 12 March, at about 3:00, 11 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and others injured, when three houses in Al Jaafarawi area, in south-eastern Deir al Balah, were hit.
On 12 March, at about 09:30, 11 Palestinians were reportedly killed when a house in Al Qarara Town, in northeastern Khan Younis, was hit.
Between the afternoons of 12 and 13 March, according to the Israeli military, there were no Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza. As of 13 March, 247 soldiers have been killed and 1,475 soldiers injured in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation, according to the Israeli military. In addition, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on 7 October. As of 13 March, the Israeli authorities estimate that 134 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
In a new report, Save the Children finds that “Five months of violence, displacement, starvation and disease on top of nearly 17 years of a blockade have caused relentless mental harm to children in Gaza”. This is manifested by “fear, anxiety, disordered eating, bed-wetting, hyper-vigilance and sleep problems as well as behavioural changes such as an alternation in attachment style with parents, regression and aggression.” Children as young as 12 have also been among those arbitrarily detained, according to the report, causing additional emotional distress, a compromised sense of safety, and a deterioration in children’s physical health. Since 7 October, Protection Cluster partners have provided child protection services, including mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS), to more than 260,000 children and 27,000 caregivers across the Gaza Strip, but report facing difficulty in bringing psychological support kits into Gaza to support the implementation of activities.
On 12 March, WFP delivered food for 25,000 people in Gaza city, marking the first successful convoy to reach northern Gaza since 20 February, when it announced a pause in deliveries to the north due to unsafe access and distribution conditions. The movement of aid trucks from southern Gaza to the north has been severely constrained, with only 25 per cent of aid missions planned in February (6 out of 24) facilitated by the Israeli authorities. In December 2023, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projected that the entire population of Gaza would face acute levels of food insecurity by February 2024, including more than half a million projected to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity. A new IPC analysis is due to be released in mid-March. As of 12 March, MoH in Gaza reported that 27 people, including 23 children, have died of malnutrition and dehydration at hospitals in northern Gaza.
Some 5,000 people in Gaza who have acquired disabilities from injury over the past five months are among the vulnerable groups worst affected by hostilities, according to a new assessment by Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, which identified the most urgent community needs of persons with disabilities (PwDs) and their families. The assessment finds that PwDs in Gaza, particularly women and children, suffer from a lack of accessibility in non-inclusive shelters, potential exploitation, insufficient medical services, and neglect of their needs. This is leading to social isolation and a deterioration in their mental health such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The report provides recommendations to address the needs of PwDs, including the provision of assistive devices, psychosocial interventions, and improving accessibility measures in displacement shelters, among others.
West Bank Updates
Between the afternoons of 12 and 13 March, six Palestinians were killed in the West Bank:
On 12 March, Israeli forces fatally shot a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in the chest with live ammunition while reportedly holding a lit firework and playing with other boys in Shu’fat refugee camp (Jerusalem). Israeli forces have withheld the boy’s body and raided his house in the camp. A general strike was announced in the camp following the killing.
On 12 March, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinians who were allegedly attempting to throw Molotov cocktails at a military observation tower in Al Jib village (Jerusalem). Two Palestinians, aged 16 and 23 years, were killed and three others were injured. Israeli forces detained the injured Palestinians for approximately 30 minutes before handing them over to Palestinian medical teams.
In the early hours of 13 March, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men, and injured four others, during a raid in Jenin city and nearby refugee camps.
On 13 March, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy from Al Khader village (Bethlehem) reportedly carried out a stabbing attack at the Tunnels checkpoint that controls access from the southern parts of the West Bank into East Jerusalem, injuring two members of Israeli forces. The boy was subsequently shot and killed by Israeli forces.
Since 7 October, 418 Palestinians have been killed, including 407 by Israeli forces, nine by settlers and two by either Israeli forces or settlers, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These include a total of 109 Palestinians killed since the start of 2024 (compared with 80 during the same period in 2023), the vast majority by Israeli forces. Over 4,680 Palestinians have been injured, including 722 children, since 7 October in the West Bank.
The Israeli authorities have announced measures on the entry of Palestinians holding West Bank IDs, with valid permits and magnetic cards, to Al Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan (15 March), limiting entry to children under 10 years of age, women over 50, and men over 55. In 2023, men over 55, women of all ages and children under 12 were allowed entry without a permit on Fridays during Ramadan. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said in a statement on 12 March: “I take note of the guarantee by the Israeli authorities to allow the Muslim population of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, access to the Holy Sites. I call upon all sides to refrain from provocations and demonstrate maximum restraint.”
Since 7 October, 15 Israelis, including four members of Israeli forces, have been killed and 99 injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
On 11 March, two households comprising seven people, including three children, were displaced after their house was demolished by the Israeli authorities in Um at Tiran community in Hebron governorate, due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. Since the beginning of 2024, 69 houses have been demolished in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, due to the lack of building permits that are almost impossible to obtain, resulting in the displacement of 219 people of whom over 60 per cent were in East Jerusalem.
A house in Nur Shams Refugee Camp was rendered uninhabitable during a military operation on 11 March, displacing a family of two people. Since 7 October 2023, some 868 Palestinians, including 358 children, have been displaced because of the destruction of their houses during operations carried by Israeli forces in the West Bank, the vast majority (93 per cent) in the refugee camps of Nur Shams, Tulkarm and Jenin.
In the evening hours of 12 March, Israeli settlers raided Burin village in Nablus and set fire to a Palestinian car and damaged four others. Israeli forces subsequently entered the village and physically assaulted a driver in a car who was with his four-month-old infant. Since 7 October 2023, OCHA has recorded 639 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in Palestinian casualties (59 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (508 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (72 incidents). Most of these incidents (over 400) took place between October and December 2023.
West Bank
[Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Israeli Army attack – youngster shot dead: Jerusalem – 21:00, Israeli Occupation forces, at the Shuafat checkpoint, shot and killed a 13-year-old boy: Rami Hamdan Al-Halhouli.
Israeli Army attack – 2 (including youngster) shot dead – 3 wounded: Jerusalem – 23:30, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed the village of al-Jib, killing a 16-year-old youth, Abdullah Maamoun Hassan Assaf, as well as one other person: Zaid Warad Shukri Halayqa. Three people were wounded.
Israeli Army attack – 1 shot dead: Jenin – 09:10, Israeli Occupation forces stormed Jenin as well as the refugee camp, wounding a resident. Two people were taken prisoner.
Israeli Army attack – 2 shot dead, 3 youngsters wounded: Jenin – 23:10–05:50, Israeli forces again stormed Jenin and the refugee camp, shooting at people outside the Governmental Hospital and killing two of them: Rabie Salim Ahmed Jalamneh and Mahmoud Ziyad Abu Al-Haija. Five others (including three minors) were wounded: Yousef Nizar Abu Na`sa (aged 14), Iyad Samir Saeed Al-Rakh (aged 16), Laith Hussam, Laith Mutahin (aged 16), Luay Hussam Mutahin and Yazan Saleh Ashraf Abu Srour.
Israeli Army attack – youngster wounded: Tulkarem – 22:25–01:30, the Israeli Army stormed Kafr al-Labad, wounding a 17-year-old youth: Aar Firas Rajab.
Israeli Army attack – vandalism in refugee camp: Nablus – dawn, the Israeli military, firing live ammunition, stormed Nablus and the Balata refugee camp, taking prisoner one person and damaging a shopping mall in the refugee Balata.
Home invasions and violence: Nablus – 18:15–02:15, Israeli troops raided Burin village, raiding homes and beating up a resident: Malik Mufid Ammar.
Israeli police and settlers’ mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Jerusalem – 15:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided Hizma, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 01:35–03:50, Israeli forces raided Shuqba village, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 02:15–05:15, the Israeli Army raided Aroura, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Jenin – 18:50, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Araba.
Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Tulkarem – 22:15–01:30, the Israeli military, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided and patrolled Anabta.
Raid: Salfit – 15:25, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled the village of Iskaka.
Raid – stun grenades fired: Bethlehem – 20:55, Israeli Occupation forces, firing stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Husan.
Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Bethlehem – 22:15, raiding Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades at people, in the Umm Rukba area of al-Khadr.
Raid – one taken prisoner: Hebron – 01:00–07:20, the Israeli Army raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – child abducted – 4 other people taken prisoner: Hebron – 02:50, Israeli troops raided Beit Ummar, abducting a 15-year-old boy, Ahmed Samir Abdullah Al-Salibi, and taking prisoner four other people.
YAWN!