In Occupied Palestine

Zionism in practice

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

08:00, 12 May until 08:00, 13 May 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: 57 people killed in Gaza brings the total number of deaths since 7 October to at least 35,091. With another 82 wounded, that figure has risen to 78,827.

OCHA Flash Update #165:

About 20 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced again in the past week, including from Rafah in the south and northern Gaza.

Fuel shortages are threatening the continuity of health services and limited access to WASH facilities continues to drive a rise in infectious diseases, the World Health Organization reports.

Recent evacuation orders and intensified military activity in Rafah have forced a reversal in the scale-up of nutrition services while the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition continues to increase, the Nutrition Cluster warns.

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. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported in Jabaliya Refugee Camp, Gaza city, and eastern Rafah. As of 13 May, Rafah Crossing remains closed and there is a continued lack of safe and logistically viable access to Kerem Shalom crossing. According to Israeli authorities, aid supplies have entered northern Gaza via Erez Crossing on 9 May and via Zikim (Al Siafa) access point on 12 May, and 266,000 litres of fuel have also entered Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing in the south on 12 May.

“The war in Gaza has become a moral stain on the conscience of our collective humanity” and has entered “yet another horrifying phase,” stated Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Co–ordinator Joyce Msuya on 12 May. Describing Gaza as a “hellscape for millions trapped under incessant bombardment,” Msuya indicated that those who have escaped death and injury “now risk losing their lives because of a lack of food, safe water, medicine and healthcare.” Stressing that Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings are a “lifeline” for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the UN Deputy Relief Chief reiterated the Secretary-General’s “longstanding call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and the immediate and unconditional release of hostages” and added: “We also need Israeli authorities to abide by their obligations to facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers. This includes for UNRWA, which has been the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.”

Between the afternoons of 9 and 13 May, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 187 Palestinians were killed and 323 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 12 May 2024, at least 35,091 Palestinians were killed and 78,827 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza. Moreover, according to the Gaza Government Media Office (GMO) and Palestinian Civil Defense, there are some 10,000 people reportedly missing or under rubble in Gaza. GMO also reports that overall fatality figures purportedly include more than 14,000 children and 9,000 women. The MoH documents the full identification details of casualties and has recently published the breakdown of 24,686 out of 34,622 fatalities for whom full details have been collected by MoH as of 30 April 2024; according to MoH, these reportedly include 7,797 children, 4,959 women, 1,924 elderly, and 10,006 men. The documentation process is ongoing by the MoH. The United Nations teams on the ground in Gaza have been carrying out, where conditions permit, their own independent verification of fatality figures; this process is ongoing.

The following are among the deadly incidents on 10 and 11 May:

On 10 May, four Palestinians, including three children, were reportedly killed, when the vicinity of Tawbah Mosque in Jabaliya Refugee Camp was hit.

On 10 May, at about 16:30, at least eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp.

On 11 May, at about 1:00, three Palestinians, including a journalist, his wife and child, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Jabaliya Refugee Camp.

On 11 May, at about 1:25, at least nine Palestinians, including five children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Az Zawayda area, in Deir al Balah.

On 11 May, at about 4:40, seven Palestinians, including at least four women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Al Maghazi Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.

On 11 May, at about 6:10, at least five Palestinians, including two women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northeastern Deir al Balah.

On 11 May, at about 12:00, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in As Sabra neighborhood in Gaza city.

On 11 May, at about 19:15, six Palestinians, including a woman and an older man, were reportedly killed when a group of people were hit on Abu Husni Street in Deir al Balah.

On 11 May, at about 15:50, nine Palestinians, including at least three children and three women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northwestern Rafah.

Between the afternoons of 10 May and 13 May, five Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza. As of 13 May, 272 soldiers have been killed and 1,674 soldiers have been injured in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation, according to the Israeli military. In addition, according to the Israeli media citing official Israeli sources, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on 7 October. As of 13 May, it is estimated that that 132 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.

On 11 May, the Israeli military issued a new round of evacuation orders affecting some 34 neighbourhoods in eastern Rafah and North Gaza. Recent evacuation orders cover a total area of 18.6 square kilometres, including 22 neighbourhoods in Jabaliya (12.6 square kilometres) and 12 neighbourhoods in Rafah (six square kilometres). UNRWA estimates that, as of 13 May, nearly 360,000 people have fled Rafah. Another 100,000 people in northern Gaza have so far been displaced, UN agencies estimate. In total, some 20 per cent of Gaza’s population have been displaced again over the past week.

On 12 May, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that operations had been restored at the ophthalmology, surgery and orthopedics departments of the Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis. Two new field hospitals have also been established in Rafah, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, one operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the second by MoH in Gaza. This brings to nine the number of field hospitals in Gaza, of which six are in Rafah, two in Khan Younis and one in Deir al Balah. Yet, fuel shortages, insecurity and access constraints are threatening the continuity of health services across Gaza, including, according to WHO, the potential need to expand emergency surgical procedures and referrals in the event of an expanded military operation in Rafah. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported on 11 May that, due to the new evacuation orders issued by Israeli authorities, it had begun referring “the remaining 22 patients at the Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital to other facilities” as it could “no longer guarantee their safety.” Ambulances are also reportedly struggling to reach the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis because the main road connecting it to Rafah is blocked due to military activity in eastern Rafah. According to WHO, only two out of 36 hospitals (Nasser and Al Aqsa hospitals), five out of nine field hospitals, 17 out of 89 primary healthcare centres, 23 out of 188 medical points, and 10 mobile clinics are located within the so-called “Humanitarian Area” map shared by Israeli authorities. On 10 May, UNICEF’s Senior Emergency Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Hamish Young, warned that, if hospitals run out of fuel, all life-saving equipment, such as ventilators and incubators, will stop working. Echoing the same message, UNFPA underscored that life support services for premature babies will lose power, and pregnant women and new mothers will be left without options to deliver their babies safely.

Fuel shortages threaten the continued operations of the already degraded water desalination plants, water wells and sewage system as well as truck deliveries of life-saving aid to people in need, added Hamish Young of UNICEF. This would result in deaths among children that “can and must be prevented.” “Exhausted and terrified” people, Young stressed, have been resorting to creating improvised toilets by digging holes in the ground around groups of tents, exacerbating the risk of infections. Among all communicable diseases spreading in Gaza, cases of acute watery diarrhea and jaundice syndrome have been rising at a sustained pace, increasing by 22 and 26 per cent, respectively, in the second part of April compared with the preceding 14 days. According to WHO, as of 1 May, over 415,700 diarrheal illnesses and 61,099 cases of acute jaundice syndrome have been documented and limited access to proper WASH facilities continues to contribute to the rise in infectious diseases, including diarrhoea illness and hepatitis A.

On 11 May, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility appealed to all international and humanitarian organizations to urgently provide the necessary fuel to operate the electrical generators of WASH facilities. On 12 May, the mayor of Nuseirat also issued a statement warning that basic municipal services, including water wells, sewage pumps, and solid waste collection and transfer mechanisms, would cease functioning in 48 hours due to the depletion of fuel supplies.

Although some fuel and food supplies have entered Gaza over the past two days, aid supplies remain largely insufficient. Prevailing conditions could aggravate the already catastrophic levels of hunger faced by the population. As of 8 May, WHO reports that 58 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) with complications have so far been admitted to three SAM Stabilization Centers operational in Gaza. According to the Nutrition Cluster, at least 70,583 children aged 6-59 months have undergone Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screenings since mid-January, of whom 5,169 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 3,986 with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and 1,183 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). While a new nutrition stabilization centre and outpatient therapeutic programme have been established at the new International Medical Corps (IMC) field hospital in Deir al Balah, the Nutrition Cluster cautions that the scale-up of nutrition interventions has been reversed in Rafah; due to the latest evacuation orders and military escalation, three out of 22 health facilities and 25 out of 35 medical points providing nutrition services have closed and new services due to open in northern Gaza were put on hold.

In April, severe access restrictions, coupled with relentless hostilities, air strikes and the general breakdown of law and order, continued to hinder the scaling up of vital humanitarian assistance across Gaza. Throughout April, 10 per cent of missions requiring coordination with the Israeli authorities were denied, preventing the delivery of live-saving food, health and water and sanitation assistance, as well as the medical evacuations of critical patients. A total of 41 missions from southern to northern Gaza also faced protracted delays of over four hours on average, with humanitarian convoys having to wait for extended periods at checkpoints amid high security risks and at times even being forced to abort their missions. The closure of crossings also represented another frequent challenge, with humanitarian organizations being unable to fully utilize the Erez Crossing and the Ashdod port to bring in supplies into northern Gaza. Infrastructural damage, the ubiquitous presence of debris and the threat of unexploded ordnance have further exacerbated access constraints, increasing travel time for humanitarian movements, and often resulting in delays, mission postponements, and cancellations.

West Bank

[Palestinian Monitoring Group]

Israeli Army attack – child wounded: Ramallah – 11:50, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets near the entrance to the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, left a child,Qutaiba Ali Hattab, there wounded.

Israeli Army attack – 1 wounded: Ramallah –23:50, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed al-Bireh, wounding one person.

Home invasions: Jenin – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces raided Ya’bad as well as the village of Jalboun and invaded a number of homes.

Home invasion: Qalqiliya – 22:50–00:10, Israeli forces raided Burqa village and invaded a house.

Homes destroyed: Qalqiliya – 00:25, the Israeli Army, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided Azzun and demolished two homes, seizing and terrorising 14 people and holding them captive for a time.

Home invasion – 1 wounded: Qalqiliya – 00:55–02:45, Israeli troops, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, raided the village of Tal and invaded a home, wounding one resident.

Home invasions by settlers: Jericho – 14:25, Israeli Occupation settlers stormed the Arab al-Malihat community area and searched five homes, as well as livestock shelters.

Homes destroyed: Hebron – 12:40, the Israeli military demolished two houses in Beit Ummar.

Home invasions: Hebron – 00:40–04:00, Israeli soldiers raided Yatta and searched three 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 assault with rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Ramallah – 18:35, Israeli Occupation forces fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades towards people, near the entrance to the Ofer refugee camp.

Israeli Army assault with rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Ramallah – 21:35, Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades towards people, on the eastern outskirts of al-Bireh.

Israeli Army vandalism: Jericho – 09:50, the Israeli Army demolished walls surrounding a number of homes, in al-Auja.

Israeli Army destruction and population-control: Jericho – 11:30, Israeli troops demolished the floors of two houses being built in the village of al-Nuweimah.

Israeli Army assault with stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Bethlehem – 21:35, the Israeli military fired stun grenades towards people, near the entrance to the village of Husan.

Israeli Army destruction and agricultural sabotage: Hebron – 12:40, Israeli soldiers demolished a greenhouse in the town of Beit Ummar.

Occupation settler violence – child terrorised: Jenin – morning, Israeli Occupation settlers assaulted five people, including a 12-year-old child, Mahmoud Ali Mahmoud Amarneh, near the village of Farasin, as well as smashing the windows of a motor vehicle.

Occupation settler violence – beating: Nablus – 11:40, Israeli settlers beat-up one person, near the Bizzaria village road junction.

Occupation settler population–control: Nablus – 21:50, guards, from the Yitzhar Occupation settlement, set up a checkpoint between the villages of Urif and Asira al-Qibliya.

Occupation settler stoning, arson and race-hate abuse: Nablus – 23:50, Israeli settlers invaded the village of Jalloud, stoning a house, setting fire to a private motor vehicle and spraying racist hate–messages in Hebrew on the walls of houses.

Occupation settler agricultural sabotage: Salfit – 12:10, Israeli Occupation settlers invaded land, in the west of Haris village, and cut off the branches from 50 olive trees.

Occupation settler terror threat: Jericho – 12:50, Israeli settlers raided the village of al-Jiftlik and painted an Israeli flag on the front of a house.

Occupation settler violence – woman beaten: Bethlehem – 16:55, Israeli Occupation settlers invaded the Khallet al-Nahla area, near the village of Artas, beating and injuring a woman, Kawkab Mustafa Abdel Salam Ayesh, while she was on her land on her land in the village.

Occupation settler land-grab: Hebron – 09:00, Israeli settlers raided Qarnat Za’ir area, east of the town of Yatta, and set up camp.

Occupation settler violence – woman beaten-up: Hebron – 12:25, Israeli Occupation settlers beat–up and hospitalised a woman, Rose Wassif Muhammad Obaid, in the village of Yasuf.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces raided the village of Beit Sira, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 1 injured: Ramallah – 23:50, Israeli forces raided al-Bireh, injuring a resident.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 02:55–04:05, the Israeli Army raided the city, taking prisoner two people.

Raid: Nablus – 15:55, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Zawata.

Raid: Nablus – 16:05, the Israeli military, firing stun grenades raided and patrolled Qusra.

Raid: Nablus – 18:25, Israeli soldiers raided and patrolled Beita.

Raid: Bethlehem – 06:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided the city.

Raid – 3 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 06:00, Israeli forces raided the Dheisheh refugee camp, taking prisoner three people.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Hebron – 05:00, the Israeli Army raided the village of Deir Samit, taking prisoner two people.