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Israel Gaza war: UN says no let-up in Israeli air strikes in Gaza

alexdriado 2023. 12. 26. 17:33

During a visit to a hospital that is trying to treat the injured, a United Nations official stated to the BBC that there is no letup in the Israeli air attacks that are taking place in Gaza.

"Absolute carnage" was what Gemma Connell, a representative of the United Nations' Ocha humanitarian agency, described what she witnessed on Monday at the Al-Aqsa hospital located in the central region of Gaza.

It was "absolutely overloaded" at the hospital, she claimed, which meant that a great number of badly injured patients could not receive treatment.

At an earlier time, the Prime Minister of Israel made a commitment to step up the campaign against Hamas.

Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he had traveled to Gaza on Monday morning and that Israel's military campaign in the region was "not even close to being over."

His remarks come just a few days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the United States of America said that Israel should minimize the severity of its attacks.

The United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) has reported that the United States Armed Forces have taken out air strikes in Iraq against "Iranian-sponsored militias" in response to an attack on the Irbil air base, which resulted in the injuries of three United States military personnel, one of whom was in serious condition.

Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense, stated that the strikes had targeted three facilities that were utilized by the Kataeb Hezbollah group and its affiliates, which is supported by Iran.

He stated that there had been a number of attacks of militias on US sites in both Iraq and Syria, and he emphasized that the United States would not hesitate to protect its people and infrastructure in the event of any more attacks.

Following Israel's military assault in Gaza, there has been an increase in the level of activities carried out by Kataeb Hezbollah and other armed militias in the region.

During an interview with the BBC World Service's Newshour program, Tom White, the director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), stated that there were approximately 150,000 individuals in central Gaza who had been given orders to evacuate by the Israeli military.

Ms. Connell, who was also interviewed by the Newshour, stated that "what I saw at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in [the city of] Deir al-Balah was absolute carnage."

According to her, there were a great number of casualties at that location who had "extremely severe wounds but [who] cannot be treated because there are so many people in front of them in the line for surgery, and the hospital is absolutely overloaded."

She claimed, "And some of those that I saw were people who were hit in the strike yesterday [Sunday]," in reference to an attack that was reportedly carried out on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, which is located in the central region of Gaza.

According to the health ministry, which is managed by Hamas, the Israeli strike resulted in the deaths of at least seventy persons.

There were "reports of an incident in the Maghazi camp," according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which they stated they had received. The statement stated that "despite the challenges posed by Hamas terrorists operating within civilian areas in Gaza, the IDF is committed to international law including taking feasible steps to minimize harm to civilians" .

Ms. Connell also mentioned that while she was in Al-Aqsa, "there were new air strikes hitting areas around the hospital in the middle area and new casualties being brought in." This occurred while she was there.

"Tragically I saw a nine-year-old boy with a devastating head injury who passed away," according to her.

"When I say that there were strikes again today and casualties arriving, some of those strikes were in areas that people have been told to evacuate to, which, again goes back to the refrain that, I think, I am so sick of saying: that there is no safe place in Gaza," added the spokesperson.

"And even when people are told to evacuate the places that they are fleeing to are not safe."

After Hamas conducted a murderous attack on towns within Israel on October 7, the war broke out. The offensive resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, the most of whom were civilians, and the capture of approximately 240 hostages. According to Israel, 132 people are still being held.

On Monday, the health ministry of Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, said that about 20,674 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli bombardments since January. Children and women are thought to make up the majority of those who have passed away.

The media in Israel and the Arab world have reported that Egypt has put out a proposal for a ceasefire between the two parties.

Reports indicate that the proposal would involve the gradual release of all Israeli captives as well as an undetermined number of Palestinian detainees who are currently being held in Israeli jails over the course of a month and a half, culminating with the cessation of Israel's offensive.

A prior agreement for a temporary cease-fire that Qatar mediated resulted in the release of dozens of hostages from Gaza in exchange for release of Palestinian inmates.

Despite the growing number of requests for a ceasefire, Israel and Hamas have both resisted at this point.

Tovább

Palestinians who have been released claim they were abused in Israeli jails

alexdriado 2023. 12. 01. 15:10

Palestinian inmates released from Israeli jails claim that guards abused them and subjected them to collective punishment in the weeks following the Hamas strikes on Israel on October 7.

They've told of being struck with sticks, having muzzled dogs set on them, and having their clothes, food, and blankets taken away.

One female detainee claimed she was threatened with rape and that officers tear-gassed her inside the cells twice.

The bustlingnews.com interviewed with six people in all, all of whom claimed to have been beaten before being released from jail.

According to the Palestinian detainees Society, some guards are accused of urinating on restrained detainees. In the last seven weeks, six inmates have perished in Israeli detention.

Israel claims that all of its detainees are held in accordance with the law.

Mohammed Nazzal, eighteen, was among those released by Israel this week in exchange for Israeli women and children held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

He had been incarcerated in Nafha Prison without charge since August and claims he has no idea why he was arrested.

Mohammed invited me to his home in the village of Qabatiya near Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank.

The smoke from a dozen cigarettes filled the family reception room at the top of the ancient house, and a cousin circled the visitors with a flask of coffee and a tall tower of miniature paper cups.

Mohammed sat between rows of male relatives, both his hands thickly wrapped and held stiffly in front of him like a boxer, the tips of his thumbs poking out.

He claims that Israeli prison officers came into his cell ten days ago with a microphone and speaker, attempting to incite the convicts by clapping and chanting their names.

"When they saw we weren't reacting," he goes on to add, "they started to beat us."

"They arranged us so that the elderly were in the back and the young were in front." They kidnapped me and began beating me. They were attempting to break my legs and hands while I was protecting my head."

The family handed us medical records and X-rays from Ramallah-based Palestinian doctors who evaluated Mohammed after his release on Monday.

We showed the X-ray images to two doctors in the UK, who confirmed that both hands had fractures. Mohammed was not surprised.

"In the beginning, I was in a lot of pain," he admits. "After a while, I realized they were broken and stopped using them." I only used them when I had to go to the bathroom."

He claims that other prisoners assisted him in eating, drinking, and using the restroom, and that he did not seek medical attention from the guards out of fear of being beaten again.

The Israel Prison Service has contested Mohammed's statement, claiming that he was evaluated by a doctor before leaving prison and that no medical problems were discovered.

The jail service also published a video of the boy leaving the facility and boarding a Red Cross bus prior to his release, claiming that it demonstrates his claims are untrue.

The teen's hands are unbandaged and appear to be dangling by his sides in the video, including as he climbs into the bus, but are out of view for the majority of the time.

Mohammed told us that he had his first medical treatment on that Red Cross vehicle.

A medical assessment from a hospital in Ramallah on the day he returned home suggested that if his fractures did not heal on their own, a plate could have to be inserted.

We requested that the Red Cross authenticate Mohammed's story. "We speak directly with the detaining authorities if we have any concerns about the medical condition of detainees," they stated in a statement. We do not discuss individual cases publicly because of this dialogue."

According to Mohammed, the behavior of guards inside Israeli jails changed after the Hamas attacks on October 7.

He claims guards kicked them and struck them with sticks, and he recounts one guard stepping on his face.

"They came in with their dogs," he says further. "They let the dogs attack us and then they started beating us."

"They took our mattresses, clothes, pillows, and food and threw it on the floor." "Everyone was terrified."

He shows me the bruises on his back and shoulder that he claims were caused by the beatings.

"The dog attacking me wore a muzzle with very sharp edges - his muzzle and claws left marks all over my body," he says.

Beatings like these occurred twice at Megiddo Prison, he said, and numerous times at Nafha Prison.

Other Palestinian detainees we spoke with described a similar shift inside Israel's jails following the Hamas strikes, interpreting it as "revenge" targeting Palestinian prisoners for Hamas' activities.

Abdullah al-Zaghary, the head of the Palestinian detainees Society, told us that numerous detainees had observed cellmates being viciously assaulted on their faces and bodies, and that he had heard reports of guards peeing on bound prisoners.

We requested a response from the Israel Prison Service to these charges. They said that all detainees were detained in accordance with the law and had all of the basic legal rights.

"We are not aware of the claims you have described," read the statement. "Nonetheless, prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined by official authorities."

Lama Khater, who was released from prison earlier this week, claimed in a social media video that an intelligence officer "explicitly threatened her with rape" shortly after her detention in late October.

"I was handcuffed and blindfolded," she said in the footage to an interviewer. "They threatened me with rape... It was obvious that the purpose was to scare me."

Israel said that her lawyer made these assertions, which the prisoner disputed. According to the jail service, an inciting complaint had been filed.

However, Lama Khater told us over the phone that women detainees, including herself, had been threatened with rape and that tear gas had been used against them in their Damon Prison dormitory.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the number of Palestinians killed in captivity has increased dramatically after the 7 October attacks, with six persons dying in custody since that day.

Israel did not directly respond to our inquiry, but stated that four detainees had died on four different dates in the previous weeks, and that the prison service had no information of the causes of death.

Mohammed Nazzal of Qabatiya village says his hands still hurt, especially at night.

His brother Mutaz informed me that the adolescent he knew had not been released from jail.

"This is not the Mohammed we know," he added. "He was brave, brave. Now his heart is wounded and terrified."

He claimed that the Israeli army had carried out an operation in the nearby city of Jenin the night before: "You could see how scared he was."

Tovább

Gaza: Kids screamed in the street as we ran away from the airstrike at 2 a.m

alexdriado 2023. 10. 12. 7:12

Gaza's only power plant is out of fuel, and medical and food supplies are running low after another night of hundreds of people running into the streets to get away from the constant airstrikes.

A neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday and told me to leave right away because my apartment was being searched.

The airstrikes by Israeli jets are now in their fifth day.

There is no way for the 2.3 million people who live in Gaza to leave the small territory, so their position is getting worse.

The government says that Gaza's only power plant stopped working fully on Wednesday at 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

After Hamas militants broke into the closed-off area violently on Monday, Israel cut off fuel and other vital supplies to the area.

Because Gaza doesn't have mains power, people there have to use generators to get energy. But it's also not possible to bring in fuel for generators.

Israeli bridges were closed, and Egypt had to close its only crossing point with Gaza because of airstrikes nearby. There isn't much chance of getting out of the area now.

That wasn't possible. I tried to get my family out because I didn't know what would happen here in the future.

Early Tuesday morning, I woke up my three kids and we all took our emergency kit with us and went to the hospital.

However, when we got there, hundreds of people were blocking the door. They were also looking for a place to stay the night.

Children who were only half awake screamed as they stumbled through the streets while rockets flew above them.

Hamas said Wednesday morning that nighttime attacks killed 30 people. More than 1,000 people in Gaza have died in the airstrikes in response.

The Israeli army said that in the last 24 hours, they had hit 450 targets in the Gaza strip.

Hamas militants crossed into Israel and attacked towns and cities in the south of the country, killing at least 1,200 Israelis. This is when the airstrikes started. About 150 people are being held hostage by Hamas.

On Monday, Israel said that Gaza was under a "complete siege" and that all food, fuel, power, and water would be cut off. We can now see the effects of that battle.

I saw a woman in a grocery store on Tuesday looking all over the shelves for milk for her baby. The store was empty, and she only had half a bottle left.

About 80% of people in Gaza were in need of humanitarian help before the latest war. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that since Saturday, at least a million people have not been able to get their food rations.

The WHO has asked for a humanitarian passage to be made available to get into the area. People here, on the other hand, don't think that will happen.

Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a well-known British-Palestinian doctor, told the BBC that Gaza's health system would fall apart in a week if help wasn't allowed.

"Every bed is taken." "Patients who need surgery can't get in because the operating rooms are full," he said, adding that this was the biggest attack he had seen in Gaza since he began working there more than 40 years ago.

"People are getting hurt in their own homes, and 30 to 40 percent of those hurt are children." Families as a whole are being brought in hurt... During war, you try to get people out of the hospital early so that beds can be made available for other patients, but "all of these patients have lost their homes, so you can't send them back out on the street," he said.

Leader of Hamas said he would not talk to Israel about prisoner deals in exchange for food and medicine. He also said he would not talk to Israel while the area was being attacked.

The head of the UN's human rights office said that sieges are against the law around the world. The killings by Hamas have also been condemned by the UN, which has asked them to free the prisoners they have taken.

Israel says it is not targeting civilians in Gaza, but the people who live there think that cutting off 2.3 million people's access to water, food, medical care, and electricity is a form of collective punishment.

In Gaza, people have seen war before, but this one feels different.