Israel’s war on Gaza : 20 killed in Israeli attacks this morning
- Israeli attacks on Gaza, mainly in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, have killed at least 20 people this morning, reports our correspondent in the Gaza Strip.
- The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya says Israel is denying the medical sector fuel and aims for its destruction.
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At least 50,000 children in Gaza require treatment for acute malnutrition
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EU’s Borrell calls for three-day truce to enable polio vaccination
The European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said the spread of polio threatens all children in Gaza.
Calling for an “immediate 3-day humanitarian ceasefire” to enable vaccination, he said, “Our humanity demands it.”
Video published by human rights group shows Israeli settler threatening to rape a Palestinian
A video clip published by the Israeli B’Tselem centre for Palestinian human rights in the occupied West Bank shows an Israeli settler threatening to rape a Palestinian.
The video shows a group of masked settlers trying to expel a man and his wife from their land in the Wadi Rakhim area south of the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
One of the settlers approaches and follows the Palestinian man as he verbally harasses him, saying that he wishes he would meet him in Sde Teiman prison.
“Rape in the name of God, as they say. You understand what I mean?” the masked settler says at the end of the video.
This is a reference to the sexual assaults carried out by Israeli soldiers in the Sde Teiman camp against Palestinian prisoners.
Air strike victims taken to Gaza’s Kuwaiti field hospital
Several people injured by Israeli air strikes have been rushed to the Kuwaiti field hospital in Khan Younis, reports the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
Earlier, we reported that Israeli strikes hit two residential homes in the area, causing casualties.
In recent days, some of Israel’s deadliest assaults have taken place in Khan Younis, as well as the cities of Deir el-Balah and Rafah, according to the UN.
Netzarim, Philadelphi corridors are ‘another Israeli land grab’
Adel Abdel Ghafar, the director of the foreign policy and security programme at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, spoke to Al Jazeera about the Israeli army’s latest evacuation orders.
He said it is another example of “the collective punishment inflicted on the Palestinian people” by the Israeli military.
The Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors established by the Israeli military, Ghafar noted, represent another “Israeli land grab” and are a “perpetuation” of what is often referred to as the world’s largest “open-air prison”.
The Netzarim Corridor is a 6.5km (4-mile) road located south of Gaza City that effectively cuts the Gaza Strip in two.
The Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Philadelphi Route, is the 14km (8.7-mile) long strip of land representing the entire border area between Gaza and Egypt.
Israeli military, police probe West Bank settler attack: Report
They are investigating the killing of a Palestinian in Wadi Rahal village in the occupied West Bank last night, reports The Times of Israel.
As we reported, Israeli settlers attacked the village, shooting one person dead and injuring six others.
The military will assess the conduct of troops who responded to the attack, while the police will investigate the settlers’ assault on Palestinians, according to the media report.
Gaza turning into smaller jail
The Israeli military’s recent wave of evacuation orders demonstrates key insights into its war strategy, according to Adel Abdel Ghafar, director of the foreign policy and security programme at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs:
- Israel has not achieved its stated aim of eradicating Hamas in Gaza.
- Israel is trying to collectively punish Palestinians in Gaza.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu has a political interest in dragging out the war.
As the conflict progresses, Ghafar also sees Israel increasingly carving up Gaza in West Bank-style, building new military corridors that make it more disconnected and easier to control.
“All of us are watching this and want the war to end,” Ghafar told Al Jazeera. “But what happens in the long term is the perpetuation of the occupation and division of Gaza into … smaller jails effectively.
“Instead of having a bigger jail, you end up with smaller pieces of this jail.”
Israeli forces intensifying drone strikes on occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have been intensifying the use of aerial strikes against Palestinians, saying that they want to combat the Palestinian fighters who have been using IEDs, the improvised explosive devices, against Israeli vehicles and Israeli troops when they raid Palestinian villages, towns and refugee camps.
Indeed, we’ve heard Israeli military officials, including the minister of defence (Yoav Gallant) himself, greenlighting the use of aerial hits against Palestinian targets in the occupied West Bank. And indeed, we’ve been seeing the intensification over the past few weeks.
And we are talking about a period of 20 years where we’ve almost not seen the use of drone strikes and aerial strikes against Palestinians only just a few times. But now we’re seeing it happening more by the day.
The UN has documented about 50 aerial strikes in the occupied West Bank just since the war started. We’re talking about a situation where Palestinians are often concerned with the continued Israeli raids that are happening day and night.
But now they have another layer of terror – the Israeli drone and aircraft strikes that hit them in their homes.
Palestinians in occupied West Bank face increasing settler attacks
People are telling us that they had a night of terror after settlers attacked the village of Wadi Rahal. They believe that they came from this area, which is where the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat is located.
It’s one of the largest settlements here in the Bethlehem area, and it’s been inching closer and closer towards the homes of Palestinians. People tell us that settlers have used this road to get to this area.
They started throwing rocks at homes, leading many Palestinians to come here and try to fend them off their loved ones.
And especially since the war started, we’ve been seeing how the Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been giving settlers more and more access to weapons. Now the ambulances could not get to this area to help Khalil, leading him to die of his wounds.
We are talking about these settler attacks that have been increasing and increasing.
Palestinians say that they’ve been getting more and more vulnerable towards settler attacks, and especially that they’re facing more armed, more audacious settlers by the day.
Palestinians in Gaza have a shattered sense of safety
August has been the month that has witnessed the largest evacuation orders by the Israeli military.
A new evacuation order is in effect between the southern part of Khan Younis and the central area, including Deir el-Balah.
Half of the population in these areas has already been displaced more than once. In some cases, it’s up to three or five times. In one case, a particular family has been displaced for the 10th time.
Palestinians have a shattered sense of safety, given their bad experience with previous evacuation orders that have been largely perceived as misleading and contradictory.
Civil defence blames Israel for violent displacement tactics
Gaza’s civil defence has accused Israel of systematically displacing civilians through violent means, including firing guns as people flee newly declared red zones.
The policy, the civil defence says, has killed or wounded hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach safety and blocked emergency responders from reaching victims.
As we reported, Israel issued five new evacuation orders for Gaza neighbourhoods within six days last week, forcing thousands of Palestinians out of their shelters and into an ever-shrinking declared humanitarian zone.
A young amputee from Gaza wishes to travel for treatment
Akram, a young Palestinian boy, lost an arm and a leg in an Israeli attack.
He also lost part of his vision, sustained a head injury and suffered multiple injuries to his body.
Three killed in Gaza City’s Zeitoun
An Israeli attack in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood has killed at least three people, report our colleagues on the ground.
It is the third lethal attack in northern Gaza City today, with earlier strikes hitting residences in the Yarmouk district and Tuffah neighbourhood.
In total, Israel’s attacks throughout Gaza have killed 20 people since this morning, according to the enclave’s civil defence.
Fast facts: Who are Israeli settlers?
As we reported earlier, Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Wadi Rahal overnight, killing one person and wounding at least six others – another instance of settler violence that has been increasing since Israel began its war on Gaza.
- Settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- Israel started building settlements just after capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the June 1967 Six-Day War.
- Now, more than 700,000 settlers – 10 percent of Israel’s nearly seven million population – live in 150 settlements and 128 outposts spread across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- Some settlers move to the occupied territory for religious reasons, while others moved due to the relatively lower cost of living or financial incentives offered by the Israeli government.
- The government has openly funded and built settlements and the Israeli authorities give its settlers in the occupied West Bank some 20 million shekels ($5m) a year to monitor, report and restrict Palestinian construction in Area C – which is administered solely by Israel and comprises more than 60 percent of the West Bank.
- The United Nations has condemned the settlements through multiple resolutions and votes.
- But the US has provided diplomatic cover for Israel over the years, with Washington consistently using its veto power at the UN to protect Israel from diplomatic censure.
Israel withholding bodies of 552 Palestinians: Prisoners’ society
Israel continues to withhold the bodies of at least 552 Palestinians, including 149 killed during the continuing war, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
These figures do not include an estimated additional hundreds of Palestinians killed in Gaza, for which Israeli authorities have not released an official count, according to the group.
Israel regularly keeps the bodies of Panced by rights groups as unlawful.
Family homes targeted ‘without warning’
Bombardment continues to target families in residential homes without warning.
In Maghazi, for example, an entire family was killed inside their home early this morning. We saw the same pattern in Gaza City’s Yarmouk district, where another family was targeted and killed, and in Khan Younis, where two neighbouring homes were targeted.
On top of those reported killed and injured, there are more people still trapped under the rubble.
Palestinians flee gunfire during deadly Israeli settler attack
As we’ve been reporting, Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Wadi Rahal overnight, killing one person and injuring at least six others.
Footage captures the moment gunfire erupted in the town, forcing Palestinians to flee.
