Western states appear to have completely abandoned Palestinians in Gaza – and are now endorsing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and a genocide in Northern Gaza.
Palestinians search the rubble of destroyed buildings following an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza, on 7 October (Ahmed Tawfeq/APA images)
Maureen Clare Murphy writes for Electronic Intifada reports…
While Israel appeared to be readying for a ground invasion of Gaza, Palestinians were digging through the rubble for survivors and victims of Israeli airstrikes with their bare hands on Thursday.
Forty-four families have lost most of their members in individual attacks since Israel began its campaign of death and destruction by air, land and sea in revenge for a surprise offensive led by Hamas guerrillas from Gaza on Saturday.
The intensive strikes targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure have been accompanied by genocidal rhetoric from Israel’s political and military leaders.
Meanwhile, the healthcare system in Gaza was on the verge of collapse and the territory was under a full electricity blackout since Wednesday afternoon. The electricity outage has “brought essential health, water and sanitation services to the brink of collapse, and exacerbated food insecurity,” the UN said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned on Thursday that “hospitals risk being turned into morgues without electricity.”
Al-Shifa Hospital, a sanctuary amidst the rubble in Gaza City, is now wrestling with a looming crisis — power cuts that could cut short numerous lives. pic.twitter.com/5NRLhUQc08
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 12, 2023
Israel’s military has informed the United Nations that the entire population of northern Gaza (north of Wadi Gaza) — 1.1 million people — should relocate to the southern half of the Gaza within 24 hours.https://t.co/3wj95sHhsl
— Sharif Kouddous شريف عبد القدوس (@sharifkouddous) October 13, 2023
The French police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse Palestine solidarity protests, shortly after the gov't banned all such rallies https://t.co/4kwB127Cr4 pic.twitter.com/erpQ0PIwDq
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 13, 2023
But Israel said that it would not suspend its relentless strikes to allow aid into Gaza until after captives being held in the territory were freed. Both Israel and Hamas have said they would only negotiate the release of captives until after the military confrontation was over.
Israel said that it had identified nearly 100 captives being held in Gaza after a stunning breach of Israel’s well-fortified boundary around the besieged territory on Saturday.
The Washington Post said it had found evidence that “fighters took at least 106 people captive” during the initial attacks and that it believes that at least 64 of those captives were taken into Gaza.
“Among them were 49 people who appeared to be civilians — nine of them children — and 11 who appeared to be members of the Israeli military,” the paper said.
The Red Cross continued to ask for the release of captives unharmed and to access those captured.
Meanwhile, Israel was holding some 2.3 million Palestinians – half of them children – hostage under a situation of total war and complete siege.
So we now have the Israeli government holding all of the men, women and children of Gaza hostage unless Hamas releases its hostages.
‘No electricity, water, or fuel for Gaza until hostages are freed,’ says Israel https://t.co/SCb5xOANHV
— Sarah Leah Whitson (@sarahleah1) October 12, 2023
The world is failing us in Gaza. The world is failing our loved ones. Families are being wiped out. They are running out of food and water. Hardly any communication with loved ones. It is all terrifying.
— Malaka (@MalakaShwaikh) October 12, 2023
We just lost internet. Sending this via mobile internet which is very very poor and not sure it will be up for much longer. Not sure I’ll be able to tweet. Pray of all of is in gaza.
— J. Shawa جاسم الشوا (@shawajason) October 12, 2023
Western states appeared to have completely abandoned Palestinians in Gaza, who were being deprived by Israel of food, water, electricity and fuel and had been largely cut off from communication with the rest of the world.
More than 300 Palestinians in Gaza were killed between Wednesday evening and mid-afternoon Thursday, the health ministry in the territory said.
By the end of the day Thursday, the ministry had recorded more than 1,500 fatalities in Gaza since Saturday, including 500 children.
Some 6,600 people in Gaza have been injured and more than 423,000 people in the territory have been displaced, with most of them sheltering in UN schools.
Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza continued on Thursday, although “with lesser intensity than in previous days,” the UN reported.
Israeli media have said that 1,300 people in the country have been killed since Saturday, with most fatalities occurring in the initial attacks, from which more than 420 people remained hospitalized, around 110 of them seriously.
Reuters, citing Israel’s public broadcaster, said on Thursday that most of the dead in Israel “were civilians gunned down in their homes, on the streets or at a dance party.”
Israeli media reported that the bodies of more than 850 Israeli civilians and police killed in attacks on Saturday had arrived at a victim identification center. The Israeli military said that the families of 222 soldiers had been informed of their deaths.
Meanwhile, more than 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces and settlers in the West Bank since Saturday.
GAZA UPDATE: 447 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health. Nonstop Israeli airstrikes forced our field researcher to relocate his family four times yesterday & DCIP has been unable to confirm additional fatalities. pic.twitter.com/5iSbcG2bYp
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) October 12, 2023
International aid for Palestinians in Gaza sent by Jordan sat in a warehouse in al-Arish, Egypt, after Israel bombed the Rafah crossing earlier in the week to prevent the delivery of urgently needed assistance.
Exclusive footage captured by the Sinai Foundation for medical aid sent by the Kingdom of Jordan to relieve civilians in the Gaza Strip, which arrived this afternoon via Al-Arish Airport.
The footage show the storage of the medical aid inside the Egyptian Red Crescent’s… pic.twitter.com/dvhCoUntZp
— Sinai for Human Rights (@Sinaifhr) October 12, 2023