In Occupied Palestine

Zionism in practice

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

08:00, 30 June until 08:00, 01 July 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 entire Gaza shoreline.

Victims: 23 more people killed in Gaza now brings the total number of deaths, since 7 October, to at least 37,900. With another 91 wounded, that figure has risen to more than 87,060. The daily average of men, women and children killed in Gaza is at least 142 and of those injured the daily average is over 326.

OCHA Flash Update #185

Key Highlights

A nine-year-old girl was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Khan Yunis.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society and its partners inaugurate the first shelter site for displaced people with disabilities.

The unaffordability of many food items, combined with limited humanitarian access, are further hindering access to nutritious food across Gaza, aid organisations report.

Concerns are growing about the risk of cholera spreading in Gaza, warns UNRWA.

Humanitarian Developments

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, particularly in Beit Hanoun, Ash Shuja’iyeh, and Rafah. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups toward Israel was also reported.

Between the afternoons of 27 June and 1 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 135 Palestinians were killed and 631 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 27 June 2024, at least 37,900 Palestinians were killed and 87,060 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza.

The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 27 and 30 June:

On 27 June, at about 20:00, at least 13 Palestinians, including at least one woman, were reportedly killed and at least 30 others injured when tents for internally displaced persons (IDPs) were hit in Ash Shakush area of Al Mawasi in western Rafah.

On 28 June, at about 22:00, four Palestinians, including two children, were reportedly killed and ten others injured when a house was hit near Al Yarmouk Stadium, in central Gaza city.

On 29 June, at about 9:00, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and six others injured when a house was hit in As Sidra area of Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in Gaza city.

On 29 June, at about 10:00, seven Palestinians, including a boy, were reportedly killed and several others injured when a car and a house were hit in As Sabra neighbourhood, in Gaza city.

On 29 June, at about 13:30, four Palestinians, including two girls, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Bloc 4 of Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.

On 30 June, at about 1:25, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northern Rafah city.

Between the afternoons of 28 June and 1 July, three Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October and 1 July, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,517 Israelis were killed, the majority on 7 October. These include 317 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,018 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 1 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.

On 1 July, about 50 Palestinian prisoners, including the director of Al Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, were released from Israeli detention, according to Israeli media. Abu Salmiya was arrested in November 2023 and spent over seven months in Israeli custody. As of July 2024, according to data provided by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 9,623 Palestinians in Israeli custody, including 3,379 administrative detainees (35 per cent) held without trial and 1,402 people (15 per cent) held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023 and their number remains unknown.

On 30 June, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), in collaboration with the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees and Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, inaugurated the first shelter site for displaced people with disabilities (PwD) in Deir al Balah. Under the supervision of a specialized PRCS team, this site will host about 100 families and make available tailored support and services for PwD, including relief programmes, health care, rehabilitation, and psychological support. PwD are among the vulnerable groups in the Gaza Strip who have been worst affected by hostilities, displacement, the lack of critical infrastructure, and a range of security and protection risks. According to UNICEF’s multi-sectoral assessment of accessibility conditions at 39 shelters in Rafah in March 2024, only 41 per cent reported that water distribution points were accessible to PwD and a third of shelters reported that their latrines were inaccessible to people with mobility disabilities. On 29 June, the Rehabilitation Sector for PwD in the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) similarly noted that displacement exacerbates the challenges facing PwD, owing to the prevalence of overcrowded and non-inclusive shelters, where women with disabilities are especially vulnerable to the risk of abuse. PNGO added that about 10,000 people, half of them children, are estimated to have become disabled since October 2023. Calling for their urgent protection, PNGO warned that the destruction of hospitals and rehabilitation centres, restrictions on the evacuation of patients, and the limited entry of assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids and medical mattresses, have placed the lives of PwD at risk.

Explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose significant risks of injury or death to people across the Gaza Strip, with IDPs, people returning to areas that have been bombarded or seen heavy fighting, and children being particularly affected. On 29 June, a nine-year old girl was reportedly killed, and three others were injured, by UXO in the Qizan An Najjar area, south of Khan Younis. Earlier on 5 June, six children were reportedly injured when a UXO reportedly exploded near Al Aqsa University in western Khan Younis. On 31 May, a displaced man and his two children were injured by UXO at a school in southern Khan Younis, UNRWA reported on 28 June. UNMAS estimates that over 37 million tons of debris in the Gaza Strip contain about 800,000 tons of asbestos, other contaminants, and UXO, noting that at least 10 per cent of fired ammunition potentially fails to function. According to the Protection Cluster, there are ongoing efforts to conduct explosive hazard assessments, deploy additional Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers, and raise public awareness about the risks of explosive ordnance, despite a range of challenges that prevent the scaling up of mine action work, including lack of funding, administrative hurdles (e.g. delayed visas), insecurity, and the denial of entry of critical mine action supplies.

The breakdown of law and order is making it difficult for humanitarian actors to collect humanitarian aid from Kerem Shalom Crossing for distribution inside Gaza, compounding challenges facing humanitarian operations, including insecurity, damaged roads, lack of fuel, and access limitations. In parallel, food items available on the market are largely unaffordable to vulnerable households, many of whom have lost their income sources or exhausted their savings, highlighted the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children International (SCI) this week. In northern Gaza, improved access has enabled the World Food Programme (WFP) to bring in large amounts of canned food and wheat flour, but this improvement is “fragile” and there are severe shortages of meat, vegetables, fruits, and sugar. Overall, across the Gaza Strip, WFP reiterated that nearly the entire population is food insecure and “they do not have enough food to keep going. Many of them go to bed hungry, having one meal a day if they are lucky.” WFP further stressed: “Famine is not just about food. People need nutrition. They need access to healthcare. They need clean water, and they need shelter.”

On 27 June, UN Women highlighted that at least 557,000 women in Gaza are facing severe food insecurity, with the most concerning situation being the one of mothers and adult women, who are bearing increased care-giving and domestic responsibilities in tents and makeshift shelters, “leading many to skip meals or reduce their intake to ensure their children are fed.” A survey conducted by UN Women throughout the Strip in April found that 76 per cent of interviewed pregnant women reported suffering from anaemia, and 99 per cent reported facing challenges in accessing necessary nutritional supplies and supplements. Moreover, 55 per cent of new mothers reported suffering from health conditions that undermined their ability to breastfeed, and 99 per cent faced challenges in securing enough breast milk, compromising infant survival, growth and development. Faced with no alternatives, women are also largely relying on burning wood, plastic and other waste materials to cook, being particularly exposed to hazardous smoke and pollutants that cause respiratory and other health issues, the survey found.

Piles of garbage and sewage continue accumulating in Gaza, rotting in the heat near displacement sites, with the stench being so pervasive as to cause nausea, reported the UNRWA Director of Planning, Sam Rose. Amid desperate sanitary conditions, the extreme heat and the lack of clean water continue to fuel the spread of infectious diseases, exacerbating the burden on already overwhelmed and severely under-resourced health facilities. On 30 June, the Ministry of Health highlighted that hospitals are struggling with over 10,000 reported cases of Hepatitis A and 880,000 cases of respiratory illnesses, with diarrhoea, skin infections and lice outbreaks also being rampant. Rates of diarrhoeal infections are already 25 times higher than prior to the conflict, according to WHO. As the situation worsens, growing concerns exist that cholera may become prevalent, “further deteriorating inhumane living conditions,” warned UNRWA.

Between 1 and 30 June, out of 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions co–ordinated with Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 53 (46 per cent) were facilitated, 41 (35.7 per cent) were impeded, 11 (9.6 per cent) were denied access, and 10 (8.7 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In addition, out of 299 co–ordinated humanitarian assistance missions to areas in southern Gaza, 213 (71.2 per cent) were facilitated by Israeli forces, 34 (11.4 per cent) impeded, 16 (5.4 per cent) denied access, and 36 (12 per cent) cancelled.

West Bank

[Palestinian Monitoring Group]

​Israeli Army attacks in refugee camps – destruction: Tulkarem – 03:50, Israeli Occupation forces stormed the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, bulldozing streets and destroying buildings.

Air strikes – 1 killed – 9 injured: Tulkarem – 14:10, an Israeli warplane launched three missiles into a house in the Nur Shams refugee camp, killing one targeted person, Saeed Izzat Saeed Jaber, and injuring nine other residents: Nour al-Din Sadiq Shalabi, Woroud Adeeb Abdel-Rahim, Dana Walid Ibrahim Saleh, Diyala Walid Ibrahim Saleh, Ashraf Hani Abdullah, Rawan Raouf Khalil, Amr Abdullah Ahmed Kamel, Hussein Wael Fahmawi and Muhammad Thaer Abdullah.

Israeli Army attack: Nablus – 02:20–03:55, Israeli Occupation forces raided Tal village, searching homes and detaining residents.

Home invasions – 1 person taken prisoner: Hebron – 02:30–07:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided al-Dhahiriya, searching homes and taking prisoner one person.

Israeli Army and settler mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, settler militants, escorted by Israeli police, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers.

Israeli Army assault with stun grenades and tear gas canisters: Jerusalem – 22:10, the Israeli Army fired stun grenades towards people in al-Ram.

Occupation settler arson and agricultural sabotage: Nablus – 16:15, Israelis, from the Yitzhar Occupation settlement, raided the eastern outskirts of Asira al-Qibliya, stoning homes and setting fire to crops on nearby farmland.

Occupation settler land–seizure for new settlement outpost: Bethlehem – an Israeli settler set up camp and raised the Occupation flag on an area of Artas village land, in order to create a new settlement outpost.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Jerusalem – 15:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided al-Ram, taking prisoner one person.

Raid: Jerusalem – 22:10–00:25, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Anata.

Raid – 4 abducted – 1 adult taken prisoner: Ramallah – 10:25-12:25, the Israeli Army raided Beit Rima and abducted four youngsters, Muhammad Maher Al-Barghouthi (aged 16) and three 15-year-olds: Mahmoud Hosni Al-Barghouthi, Aram Ghana Al-Rimawi and Hadi Bashir Al-Barghouthi.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – midnight-01:30, Israeli troops raided the village of Kharbatha Bani Harith, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 5 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 03:15–05:50, the Israeli military raided al-Bireh, taking prisoner five people, from inside a hotel.

Raid – 1 youth abducted, 1 person taken prisoner: Ramallah – 05:30–07:10, Israeli soldiers raided the al-Jalazoun refugee camp and abducted a 16-year-old youth, Hadi Mahmoud Wajih Al-Rumhi, as well as taking prisoner one other person: Qusay Al-Rumhi.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner in refugee camp: Tubas – 15:30-16:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided the al-Far’a refugee camp, taking prisoner one person.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 06:30, Israeli forces raided the city, taking prisoner one person.

Raid: Nablus – 18:40-21:00, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled the village of Duma.

Raid: Salfit – 14:05, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Deir Ballut.

Raid: Salfit – 20:20, the Israeli military raided and patrolled Deir Istiya.

Raid – on refugee camp: Hebron – 18:45–20:10, Israeli soldiers raided the al-Fawar refugee camp.

Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Hebron – dawn, Israeli Occupation forces raided Hebron, taking prisoner two residents.

Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – 03:45–07:55, Israeli forces raided Dura, taking prisoner one person.