In Occupied Palestine

Zionism in practice

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

08:00, 07 April until 08:00, 08 April 2024

[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]

Gaza Strip

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: 0 people killed in Gaza brings the total number of deaths since 7 October to at least 0. With another 0 wounded, that figure has risen to 75,886. Fully accurate statistics are not available,due to insecurity menacing hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

OCHA Flash Update #151

Key Highlights

One of four food aid missions to areas that require co–ordination in Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities in March. The World Health Organisation reports that following the destruction of Al Shifa Hospital, northern Gaza has been left without any CT scanning capabilities, significantly reduced laboratory capacity, and only one source for medical oxygen production.

Following repeated requests, Israeli authorities have made several commitments to facilitate the increase of humanitarian assistance to people in need. On World Health Day, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics emphasised the challenges facing over half a million women of reproductive age and some 350,000 people suffering from chronic illnesses in Gaza.

Gaza Strip Updates

Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. On 7 April, the Israeli military reportedly withdrew most of its ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip, leaving one brigade stationed in the newly established military corridor south of Gaza city.

On 6 April, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co–ordinator, Martin Griffiths, described the passing six months of war in Gaza as a “betrayal of humanity,” warning that “we face the unconscionable prospect of further escalation in Gaza, where no one is safe and there is nowhere safe to go. An already fragile aid operation continues to be undermined by bombardments, insecurity and denials of access.” On 7 April, the Secretary-General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain, stated: “The current humanitarian situation for the civilians in Gaza is beyond catastrophic. Millions of lives are at risk of hunger. An urgent and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid must be ensured to reach those in need. Not tomorrow, but now.”

Between the afternoons of 6 April and 8 April, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 116 Palestinians were killed and 183 injured, including 32 killed and 47 injured in the past 24 hours. Between 7 October 2023 and the afternoon of 8 April 2024, at least 33,207 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 75,933 Palestinians injured, according to MoH in Gaza. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, fatalities include some 14,500 children and 9,560 women.

The following are among the deadly incidents reported between 4 and 7 April:

On 4 April, at about 15:00, three Palestinians were reportedly killed when a building northeast of Beit Hanun was hit. Later a Palestinian paramedic was reportedly killed and three others injured in an airstrike, while trying to evacuate the wounded.

On 4 April, at about 22:30, an unconfirmed number of casualties was reported when a residential square in Al Maghazi Camp was hit.

On 5 April, at about 10:00, three Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house in western An Nuseirat Refugee Camp was hit.

On 7 April, at about 9:30, four Palestinians were reportedly killed when a group of people was struck in Az Zahra city, north of An Nuseirat Refugee Camp.

On 7 April, at about 11:00, four Palestinians were reportedly killed when a residential building in Ash Shuja’iyyeh area in Gaza city was hit.

Between the afternoons of 5 and 8 April, four Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza. As of 8 April, 259 soldiers have been killed and 1,559 injured in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation, according to the Israeli military. In addition, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on 7 October. On 7 April, the Israeli military retrieved the body of an Israeli hostage from Khan Younis. As of 8 April, Israeli authorities estimate that 133 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.

On 6 April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the findings of a UN mission to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city on 5 April, stating that the basic right to health is “utterly out of reach for the civilians of Gaza” and “the ability of WHO and partners to help is constantly disrupted and impeded.” The UN mission, which was jointly carried out by WHO, OCHA, Mine Action Service (UNMAS), and the Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), assessed the extent of destruction at Al Shifa Hospital following a two-week Israeli military operation, siege, and heavy fighting between the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups between 18 March and 1 April. Following six attempts to reach the hospital that were either denied, delayed or impeded by Israeli authorities, WHO reported that the scale of devastation has left what was once the largest and most important referral hospital in Gaza completely non-functional, with substantial efforts needed to clear unexploded ordnance, assess the potential for making the facility safe and accessible, and evaluate the functionality of vital equipment such as ventilators and CT scanners. Most hospital buildings, including the emergency department, the surgical and maternity ward buildings, and the neonatal intensive care department were extensively damaged or burnt, along with most of the equipment, beds, incubators, the oxygen plant, and other assets. As a result, according to WHO, northern Gaza has been left without any CT scanning capabilities, significantly reduced laboratory capacity, and only one source for medical oxygen production at Kamal Adwan Hospital, “severely compromising effective diagnosis, which will increase avoidable deaths.” In addition, WHO staff witnessed numerous shallow graves and many partially buried dead bodies in the hospital’s compound, which had a “pungent smell of decomposing bodies.” Describing the scene, OCHA staff observed that “Shifa has literally become a graveyard. There are bodies still in this courtyard… We should be scaling up our response. Instead, we are being obstructed. We’re stuck at checkpoints waiting. We’re picking up bodies from the side of the road. This madness needs to stop.”

In March, access restrictions and denials of movement by Israeli authorities have continued to hamper the delivery of life-saving assistance, according to a recent OCHA report. Access into Gaza is characterised by “lengthy inspection processes, fuel shortages resulting from Israeli restrictions, and restrictions on the movement of trucks, convoys, and vetted drivers…and congestion at the Kerem Shalom crossing,” while the entry of humanitarian assistance and commercial goods directly into northern Gaza, where 70 per cent of the populated is projected to be at risk of famine between mid-March and mid-July 2024, remains extremely limited. Within Gaza, only 26 per cent of planned food missions to high-risk areas requiring co–ordination with Israeli authorities were facilitated, 51 per cent were either denied or impeded, and 23 per cent were postponed or withdrawn due to security concerns or operational constraints. For movement between southern and northern Gaza, Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of planned aid missions in March and humanitarian actors could only utilize one route, with a limited use so far of the Fence Road on Gaza’s eastern border. Overall, the report underscores that the constrained ability of humanitarian organisations to address humanitarian needs in Gaza has “generated a volatile, insecure, and non-permissive operational environment,” amid intense aerial bombardment, military ground operations, unexploded ordnance contamination, infrastructural damage and widespread insecurity.

According to WHO, between mid-October and the end of March, over half of its missions in Gaza have been denied, delayed, impeded or postponed.

On 5 April, a mission bound for Al Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza was aborted due to safety considerations, following delays and the detention of a supply truck driver for more than an hour, which did not allow for the completion of the mission before nighttime. The mission aimed to deliver medical supplies and fuel, deploy emergency medical teams, and facilitate the referral of critical patients.

On 4 April, WHO and its partners were able to deliver medical supplies for about 1,000 patients and one pallet of canned food to As Sahaba Hospital in Gaza city. Medical supplies for about 1,000 patients were also provided to Al Ahli Hospital, and one patient with complex lower limb injuries, along with a companion, was evacuated to a field hospital in Rafah. Reiterating WHO’s appeal for a ceasefire, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “With shrinking health access, hospitals in the north are overwhelmed, and more medical supplies and food to serve the hundreds of patients are needed. We again call for sustained and safe passage for humanitarian aid.”

On 6 April, the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jamie McGoldrick, announced that, following repeated requests by the humanitarian community, Israeli authorities have made several commitments to facilitate the ability of humanitarian actors to scale-up assistance in Gaza. This includes: the temporary re-opening of Erez crossing to allow for the direct entry of assistance into northern Gaza from Ashdod port; expansion of operating hours and scanning capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitsana crossings; increasing the number of trucks entering through the Jordan corridor via Allenby Bridge from 25 to at least 50 a day; and approval to resume the operation of the water pipeline in northern Gaza. Moreover, the Humanitarian Co–ordinator reported that Israel has committed to establish a “better functioning co–ordination cell… that links humanitarian actors directly with the IDF Southern Command.” Israeli authorities have given further assurances that approvals will be given to activate 20 bakeries in northern Gaza. A timeframe for these measures remains pending.

In a press release on the occasion of World Health Day, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) stressed that the 10 hospitals still partially functioning in Gaza are operating at 359 per cent of their capacity, struggling to cope with the constant inflow of injured patients. Meanwhile, some 350,000 people suffering from chronic diseases are unable to access vital medicines, supplies, and services. PCBS also underlined the impact that the critical shortage of clean water, sanitation and hygiene supplies is having on over 540,000 women of reproductive age in Gaza, and the serious risks being faced by pregnant women and new mothers with no access to reproductive health services and postnatal care.

On 2 April, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) indicated that at least 183 women are giving birth in Gaza every day, most without access to midwives, doctors or healthcare facilities. Credible reports remain of women undergoing Caesarean-sections without anaesthesia. Furthermore, due to displacement, shock and malnutrition, pregnant women are experiencing premature labour and miscarriage, with health organizations having reported a threefold increase in miscarriage rates since the onset of the conflict, according to IRC.

West Bank

[Palestinian Monitoring Group]

Israeli Army attack: Jenin – evening, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition, raided and patrolled Silat al-Dahr.

Israeli Army attack on refugee camp – destruction: Tulkarem – 00:45–06:15, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed the Tulkarem refugee camp, taking prisoner one person, bulldozingstreets and destroying infrastructure.

Home invasion and destruction: Jerusalem – Israeli Occupation forces demolished a house, in the Jabal Mukaber neighbourhood.

Home invasions – violence: Qalqiliya – 18:40, Israeli forces, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, stormed Jayus and invaded a number of homes.

Home invasions – in refugee camp: Nablus – dawn, the Israeli Army, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, stormed the Balata refugee camp and invaded a number of homes.

Home invasions – in refugee camp: Jericho – 01:30–03:10, Israeli troops stormed the Ein Sultan refugee camp and searched a number of homes.

Home invasions: Hebron – 00:30, the Israeli military stormed al-Samou and searched a number of homes.

Israeli Army mosque violation – beatings-up: Jerusalem – evening, Israeli Occupation forces raided the Bab al-Rahma Prayer Hall in the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, beating-up worshippers and forcing them to leave.

Occupation settler stoning: Qalqiliya – 19:10, Israelis, from the Karnei Shomron Occupation settlement, stoned nearby passing vehicles.

Occupation settler pastoral sabotage: Hebron – Israeli Occupation settlers grazed their sheep on Yatta farmland, ruining crops.

Occupation settler terrorism – pastoral and agricultural sabotage: Hebron – Israeli Occupation settlers terrorised shepherds on their pastoral land, near Yatta, and prevented farmers from accessing and working theirs.

Raid – abduction: Ramallah – 02:45–06:55, Israeli Occupation forces raided the village of al-Mughayir and abducted a 17-year-old youth: Ahmed Bashar Abu Aliya. They also took prisoner three other people.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Jenin – 12:00, Israeli forces raided the village of Beit Qad, taking prisoner one person.

Raid: Jenin – 14:15, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of al-Atarah.

Raid: Jenin – 15:45, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Tura.

Raid: Jenin – 21:00, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the village of Jalboun.

Raid: Qalqiliya – 11:45, Israeli soldiers, firing stun grenades, raided and patrolled Jayus.

Raid: Qalqiliya – 18:40, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled Azzun.

Raid: Nablus – 13:30-14:40, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Tal.

Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Nablus – 15:10, the Israeli Army, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided and patrolled Beita.

Raid: Nablus – 16:05, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Burin.

Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Nablus – 23:50, the Israeli military, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Odala.

Raid: Hebron – 23:00, Israeli soldiers raided Bani Naim, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – 02:10, Israeli Occupation forces raided Dura, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – abduction: Hebron – 03:25, Israeli forces raided the al-Aroub refugee camp and abducted a 16-year-old youth: Hudhayfah Yousef Jawabreh. Two other people were taken prisoner.

If