In Occupied Palestine
Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land
08:00, 26 May until 08:00, 27 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: 66 people killed in Gaza brings the total number of deaths since 7 October to at least 36,050. With another 383 wounded, that figure has risen to more than 81,026.
OCHA Flash Update #171:
Key Highlights
Reports of mass casualties, including women and children, in a strike on a site for internally displaced people in northwestern Rafah.
Health facilities continue to face dire shortages of fuel and medical supplies while having to cope with a rising influx of casualties. The Nasser Medical Complex appealed for citizens to donate blood to address the urgent need for blood units.
Most of the 15 monitored protection risks are at the highest levels of severity in Gaza, warns the Protection Cluster.
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, including in Jabaliya, south of Gaza city, northern An Nuseirat, eastern Deir al Balah, and eastern and central Rafah. Following the intensification of hostilities and issuance of evacuation orders in Rafah and northern Gaza, between 6 and 26 May, more than 945,000 people have been displaced from Rafah and 100,000 in northern Gaza.
On 24 May, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co–ordinator, Martin Griffiths, stated: “There has been nothing limited about the suffering and misery that Israel’s military operation in Rafah has brought to the people of Gaza… [it] has cut off the flow of aid into southern Gaza and crippled a humanitarian operation already stretched beyond its breaking point. It has halted food distributions in the south and slowed the supply of fuel for Gaza’s lifelines – bakeries, hospitals and water wells – to a mere trickle…[at] a time when the people of Gaza are staring down famine; when hospitals are attacked and invaded; when aid organizations are blocked from reaching people in need; when civilians are under bombardment from north to south; it is more critical than ever to heed the calls made over the last seven months: Release the hostages. Agree a ceasefire. End this nightmare.”
Between the afternoons of 23 and 27 May, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 250 Palestinians were killed and 829 were injured, including 66 killed and 383 injured in the past 24 hours. Between 7 October 2023 and 27 May 2024, at least 36,050 Palestinians were killed and 81,026 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza.
The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 23 and 26 May:
On 23 May, at about 18:20 and again at 21:00, 16 Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when the warehouse of the Ministry of Social Development, reportedly sheltering internally displaced persons (IDPs), was hit near Abu Sultan Street in eastern Deir al Balah.
On 24 May, at about 19:00, at least eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit on Yafa Street in Ad Daraj area, in Gaza city.
On 25 May, at about 12:00, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed and 17 injured when Al Nazla School, reportedly sheltering IDPs, was hit in Al Saftawi area, in North Gaza.
On 25 May, at about 13:00, seven Palestinians, including five children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Beit Hanoun, in North Gaza.
On 25 May, at about 23:00, six Palestinians, including two girls and three women, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Khirbet Al Adass area in central Rafah.
On the evening of 26 May, mass casualties were reported in an airstrike on an IDP site in northwestern Rafah, north of the UNRWA Log-Base in western Rafah. On the same evening, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that many casualties were transported to “Tal Al-Sultan clinic and the field hospitals near the sea in Rafah,” while others were “trapped under the flames” and in destroyed tents. The Israeli army reported that an IDF aircraft struck two senior Hamas officials in Rafah. On 27 May, MoH in Gaza reported that 45 Palestinians, including 23 women, children and elderly, were killed and 249 injured in the incident.
Between the afternoons of 23 and 27 May, one Israeli soldier was reported killed in Gaza and one succumbed to wounds sustained on 22 May. As of 27 May, 287 soldiers have been killed and 1,801 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 27 May, it is estimated that 125 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
The Health Cluster reports that 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are currently partially functioning, after Al Shifa Hospital resumed the provision of some services, including dialysis treatment for kidney patients. On 26 May, the PRCS announced that the surgical department and operating room at Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis had also resumed operations. Meanwhile, intensified military activities continue to result in high casualty figures. On 27 May, the ICRC reported that its field hospital in Rafah had been dealing with an influx of casualties due to injuries and burns, as other hospitals were already overwhelmed. On 25 May, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis organised a blood donation campaign, appealing to citizens to urgently donate blood to address a deficit at the facility. On 15 May, Médecins Sans Frontières opened a new Trauma Stabilization Point in Rafah’s Tall As Sultan area, which is acting as a frontline responder for casualties, stabilizing them and then referring them to MoH and field hospitals for further treatment. As of 21 May, the facility had already received over 200 casualties, including a father, a mother and their child, all killed in a nearby bombing.
On 24 May, UNRWA reported that, due to the closure of Rafah Crossing and disruption of aid flow via Kerem Shalom Crossing, its health centres had not received any medical supplies for the past 12 days, affecting medicine stocks especially antibiotics for children and anti-epileptic drugs and rendering certain laboratory and dental items and vaccines completely out of stock. Growing insecurity has forced the agency to close four medical points in northern Gaza on 11 May. Two medical points in Gaza city and Al Mawasi were successfully opened on 16 and 21 May, respectively. Through seven of their 24 primary healthcare centres and over 100 medical points currently operational across the Strip, UNRWA’s healthcare staff continue to provide an average of 160,000 people a week with primary health care services, including outpatient services, treatment of non-communicable diseases, medications, vaccinations, antenatal and postnatal health care, dressing for injured patients, and mental health and psychological support.
More than eight months of hostilities in Gaza have resulted in an unprecedented scale of destruction and loss of civilian life and rendered most of the 15 monitored protection risks at the highest levels of severity, reported the Protection Cluster in an analysis issued on 24 May. The contamination of agricultural land with Explosive Ordnance (EO) will have long-standing negative consequences, further shrinking people’s capacity to sustain themselves and generate livelihoods and creating a protracted risk of physical injury, the Cluster noted. Other key highlights of the analysis include:
Over five per cent of Gaza’s population has been either killed, injured, or is missing. At least 3,000 women are estimated to be widowed, 10,000 children orphaned, 17,000 children left unaccompanied or separated, and more than one million people have lost their homes.
Children are adopting increasingly dangerous or negative coping mechanisms when searching for food, water, wood and essential supplies.
Risks associated with gender-based violence (GBV) have increased, with limited opportunities for GBV survivors to access life-saving support services and rising GBV risks for children, particularly girls with disabilities.
There are multiple indications of “an extremely worrying increase of mass and arbitrary detentions,” with “serious concerns of incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances.”
The destruction of offices, displacement of staff, fuel shortages and restrictions on the import of critical risk mitigation and protection supplies have prevented Cluster partners from returning to a fully operational mode, allowing them to maintain only minimum programming.
Access constraints continue to severely hamper the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid, exacerbating the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people throughout Gaza. Between 1 and 26 May, 30 coordinated humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities, 5 were denied access, 23 were impeded, and 10 were cancelled. Moreover, 107 aid missions to areas in southern Gaza that require coordination were facilitated by Israeli authorities, 29 were denied, 29 were impeded, and 33 were cancelled. Most missions classified as “impeded” experienced delays of up to nine hours. In one incident on 25 May, a UN inter-agency mission to deliver fuel and supplies and assess a humanitarian hub in Gaza city was aborted after a five-hour waiting time at the checkpoint, during which soldiers demanded physical and vehicular searches as well as biometric checks, procedures that violate UN privileges and immunities. Another UN mission on the same day that intended to deliver fuel and ambulances to two hospitals was similarly aborted.
On 26 May, the passage of life-saving humanitarian assistance and fuel from Egypt into Gaza through Kerem Shalom Crossing was welcomed by the UN Secretary-General (SG) in a statement attributable to the SG Spokesperson. The UN Chief also underscored “the need for all crossing points to be open in line with Security Council resolution 2720 (2023) and for humanitarian organizations to have full, safe and unhindered access to reach all civilians in need across Gaza.” He further expressed dismay at “the lack of implementation of the recent orders of the International Court of Justice [ICJ] regarding the situation Gaza,” reminding the parties that the court orders are binding. On 24 May, the ICJ decision indicated additional provisional measures in the case of South Africa against Israel, including inter alia ordering Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate,” “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance,” and “take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.”
Despite the ongoing liquidity shortage driven by the inability of banks to move cash between branches in Gaza, around 15,739 families received Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) across Gaza between 15 April and 26 May, the Cash Working Group (CWG) reports. The CWG has also been working with partner organizations and financial service providers to explore the use of digital payment solutions (e.g. e-wallets) recently developed by the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) and local fintech companies. Digital payment solutions would enhance the ability of people to benefit from MPCA by allowing them to directly purchase essential supplies available on the market, make transfers, or redeem assistance via existing procedures without the need for a bank account or (for most operations) internet access. UNICEF and PayPal are currently piloting the e-wallet programme to serve some 3,600 people in Deir al Balah, where thousands of displaced people have moved from Rafah since the beginning of May. Assisted people can cash out their assistance through 30 agents, make e-payments for supplies from about 300 merchants, or make transfers between e-wallets and bank accounts. Cash actors and financial service providers in Gaza are also working to include street vendors in digital transactions. Since 7 October, 130,763 people have received MPCA across Gaza.
West Bank
[Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Israeli settler attack: Salfit – 14:10–15:35, Israeli settlers invaded Qarawat Bani Hassan, opening indiscriminate fire.
Israeli Army attack: Salfit – 05:20, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition, invaded the village of Kafr Dan.
Israeli Army attack – child shot and wounded: Hebron – 20:05, the Israeli Army, at the entrance to Sa’ir, opened fire on and killed a 14-year-old boy: Majd Shaher Ismail Aramin.
Israeli settler attack – farmer shot and wounded: Hebron – 20:30, an armed settler, in the al-Taybeh area of Tarqumiya, shot and wounded a working farmer: Ahmed Abdel Qader Al-Marqatan.
Home invasions: Jerusalem – 12:40, Israeli Occupation forces raided al-Ram and invaded a number of homes and shops.
Home invasions – 1 taken prisoner: Jenin – 05:20, Israeli troops raided the village of Kafr Dan, invading homes and taking prisoner a resident.
Israeli Army assault with stun grenades: Jerusalem – 10:20, Israeli Occupation forces fired stun grenades towards people, near the Shuafat checkpoint.
Israeli Army destruction – population–control: Jerusalem – 00:40, Israeli forces demolished two shops in Hizma.
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 pastoral sabotage – population–control: Hebron – 13:50, the Israeli Army took prisoner two working shepherds, near Janba village.
Israeli Army – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Hebron – 11:10, Israeli troops, firing rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, near the entrance to the al-Arroub refugee camp, wounded a resident: Youssef Ahmed Jawabra.
Israeli Army stun grenades: Hebron – 00:45, the Israeli military fired stun grenades at people, in the village of Sheikh al-Arroub.
Israeli Army population–control: Hebron – 20:30, Israeli soldiers closed the bypass road alongside the entrance to the Kiryat Arba Occupation settlement.
Israeli Army population–control: Hebron – 20:50-21:50, Israeli Occupation forces, for a time, closed the entrance to Idhna.
Occupation settler violence and agricultural sabotage: Jenin – 14:35, Israelis, from the Mevo Dotan Occupation settlement, invaded Kafr Rai farmland and forced off a farmer, Ahmed Muhammad Mahmoud Jawabri, from his land.
Occupation settler violence and agricultural sabotage: Tubas – evening, Israelis, from the Rotem Occupation settlement, seized an irrigation tank belonging to farmer in the al-Farisiya area ofthe North Jordan Valley, and removed it to their settlement.
Occupation settler population–control: Tulkarem – 15:30–15:50, an Israeli settler used his vehicle to block the Einav checkpoint.
Occupation settler agricultural sabotage: Salfit – 13:35-14:50, Israeli Occupation settlers invaded Qarawat Bani Hassan farmland, uprooting and chopping down olive trees.
Occupation settler violence and terrorism: Hebron – 21:00, Israeli Occupation settlers, in al-Shuyukh, terrorised a man, Azzam Hassan Abdel Hamid Halayqa, and held him captive for a time.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 10:00–14:05, Israeli Occupation forces raided Beitunya, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Ramallah – 22:20, Israeli forces raided and patrolled the village of Beit Ur al-Fawqa.
Raid: Tubas – 19:35, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Atuf.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 14:30, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Saniria.
Raid: Qalqiliya – 22:10–23:55, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the village of Farata.
Raid – 2 abducted: Nablus – 19:45, Israeli soldiers raided Qusra and abducted two 17-year-old youths, Muhammad Imad Abd al-Rahim Abu Raida and Abd al-Rahman Salama Youssef Hassan.
Raid: Nablus – 20:10–22:45, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled the village of Odal.
Raid – 1 injured: Nablus – 21:25-midnight, Israeli forces raided the village of Madama, injuring a resident.
Raid: Nablus – 21:45, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the city.
Raid: Nablus – 23:50–01:50, Israeli troops raided Sebastia.
Raid – stun grenades fired: Nablus – 19:45, raiding Israeli forces fired stun grenades at people in Qusra.
Raid – rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades fired: Nablus – 21:25, raiding Israeli troops fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades at people in Madama, wounding a resident, Muwafaq Ahmed Ziada.
Raid – stun grenades fired: Nablus – 23:50, raiding Israeli forces fired stun grenades at people in Sebastia.
Raid – armed robbery – beating-up: Salfit – 11:20-15:45, the Israeli Army raided Qarawat Bani Hassan and seized two electric bicycles, destroyed other property and beat-up a man, Muhammad Ibrahim Rayan Tawfiq Mar’i, fracturing his hand.
Raid: Salfit – 18:30, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Kifl Haris.
Raid: Jericho – 04:10, the Israeli military raided the city.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner in refugee camp: Jericho – 04:10, Israeli soldiers raided the Aqbat Jabir refugee camp, taking prisoner two people.
Raid: Bethlehem – 10:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided and patrolled al-Khadr.
Raid – 5 taken prisoner – stun grenades fired: Bethlehem – 16:10, Israeli forces, firing stun grenades, raided the village of al-Minya, taking prisoner five people.
Raid – stun grenades: Bethlehem – 22:15, the Israeli Army, firing stun grenades, raided and patrolled the village of Husan.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Hebron – 01:30–06:25, Israeli troops raided Hebron, taking prisoner two people.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – dawn, the Israeli military raided al-Shuyukh, taking prisoner one person.
YAWN!
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