Friday, March 29, 2024 Last Update: 3:59 AM GMT

‘No Words Can Describe the Suffering’ – Horrific Testimonies from Al-Shifa

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Nothing can compare to what we saw,” she said, adding that women were sexually assaulted and kidnapped by Israeli occupation soldiers.

Al-Jazeera obtained horrific testimonies of Palestinians trapped inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, which has been besieged by Israeli occupation forces for the last six days. 

Israeli forces stormed the Al-Shifa Hospital, which housed over 7,000 patients and displaced Palestinians, on Monday. It carried out executions and widespread arrests while bombing the building and its vicinity, leaving dozens dead and wounded.

“Our situation is very tragic, Jamila al-Hassi,” Jamila al-Hassi, who was besieged in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, told in an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera.

“No matter how much I try to explain it to you, no words can describe what we are experiencing: hunger, thirst, displacement, destruction, bombardment,” she added.

‘Please Help Us’ – Palestine Chronicle Speaks to Two Palestinians Inside Besieged Al-Shifa Hospital

“There were sick Palestinians and wounded people that we left to bleed till death.”

According to al-Hassi, Israeli occupation forces have been urging the Red Cross and other international organizations to intervene to save them, to no avail.

Al-Hassi eventually was ordered to evacuate the building where she was holed up along with 65 Palestinian families.

“We do not know where we are going,” she said, “there are so many wounded: children, women, elderly.”

“While I am talking to you, everything around me is burning,” she told Al-Jazeera, explaining that they are still surrounded by Israeli drones, quadcopters and snipers.

According to the Palestinian woman, the Al-Shifa Medical Complex has been turned into a battlefield.

“Nothing can compare to what we saw,” she said, adding that women were sexually assaulted and kidnapped by Israeli occupation soldiers.

“They pulled out bodies from under the rubble and had their dogs attack them,” the woman also said.

Al-Hassi explained that Israeli forces entered other buildings in the area, killing and burning Palestinian men, women and children.

“This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me,” she said.

Al-Hassi’s testimony was confirmed by other eyewitnesses, including a child who survived the executions carried out by the Israeli occupation forces. He told Al-Jazeera that all those who were with him were killed by Israeli snipers, after being detained for several hours.

Al-Shifa Storming

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that Israel is still detaining about 240 patients, their companions, and ten medical staff in the Prince Nayef Center in the Al-Shifa Complex, and that it bombed several buildings and burned a whole department.

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that Israeli forces blew up residential squares in the vicinity of the hospital.

Meanwhile, Palestinian eyewitnesses reported renewed clashes between the Resistance and the invading Israeli forces, accompanied by relentless Israeli artillery shelling in the vicinity of the complex.

‘Premeditatedly Killed’ – 13 Patients Die Due to Israeli Siege on Al-Shifa Hospital 

This is the second time that Israeli forces have stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex since the beginning of the war on October 7.

They stormed it for the first time on November 16, after besieging it for at least a week.

Israeli forces subsequently withdrew from the hospital, after destroying its courtyards, parts of its buildings, medical equipment and equipment, in addition to the hospital’s electricity generator.

Genocide Continues

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

 According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,518 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: More Hospitals under Attack | Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza | Israel Waits Response from Hamas – Day 170

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(AJA, PC)

‘All Food Convoys Denied Access to North Gaza This Week’ – UNRWA Chief

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini meets with displaced people in southern Gaza. (Photo: Mohamed Hinnawi, via UNRWA)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“With unimpeded access this man made starvation can still be averted.”

Israel blocked all food convoys from entering the northern Gaza Strip this week, the commissioner-general of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has said.

“All our food convoys have been denied access to North Gaza this week. With unimpeded access this man made starvation can still be averted,” Lazzarini said on X on Saturday.

His statement comes after Israel denied for a second time this week a food convoy to the north.

‘Catastrophic Food Insecurity’ – UN Officials Warn of Famine in Gaza

The last time UNRWA was able to send food aid to the north “was nearly 2 months ago,” Lazzarani stated. “I’ve said it many times: this is a man made hunger & looming famine which can still be averted.”

The UNRWA chief emphasized that the Israeli authorities “must allow delivering food aid at scale to the north including via UNRWA, the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza.”

“Meanwhile, children will continue to die of malnutrition & dehydration under our watch. The unbearable cannot become the new normal,” Lazzarini added.

‘Act to Save Lives’

The World Food Programme (WFP) has also reiterated the need for “An immediate stop to the fighting” as well as “Full access for aid organizations to reach the entire civilian population.”

“A declaration of #famine means it’s too late. We must act now to save thousands of lives,” the world’s largest humanitarian organization said on X.

During a visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Saturday,  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the long line of blocked trucks is “a moral outrage.”

‘Moral Outrage’ – UN Chief Guterres Visits Rafah Border as Israel Vows to Attack

Guterres reportedly said Israel should give an “ironclad commitment” for access to humanitarian aid while renewing his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other,” he said.

Guterres’ visit came as Israel faces global pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid spreading famine in the besieged enclave.

‘Intentional Campaign of Starvation’

The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, said earlier this month “There is no doubt that this is genocide and that this is a campaign and intentional campaign of starvation by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

At least 15 children have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, according to Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

15 Children Killed by Starvation in Gaza as Israel Continues to Block Aid

“When the war broke out, we saw people go hungry in unprecedented ways. We have never seen any community made to go hungry so quickly. Now what we are seeing is famine. Children are dying from malnutrition, and dehydration,” Fakhri stated.

“We have never seen children pushed into malnutrition so quickly in any conflict in modern history,” he added. “We see children dying from malnutrition, and dehydration, this is a stage of horror.”

Over 32,000 Killed

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,518 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: More Hospitals under Attack | Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza | Israel Waits Response from Hamas – Day 170

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(The Palestine Chronicle)

Hospitals Under Attack, Scores Killed – Gaza Genocide Continues

Israeli forces continue to carry out massacres in Gaza. (Photo: via QQN)

Israeli occupation forces launched a surprise offensive on Sunday morning into the Al-Amal and Nasser Hospitals in Khan Yunis city.

Israeli occupation forces perpetrated eight massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours, resulting in the killing of at least 84 Palestinians and the injury of 106 others, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the Strip said in a statement. 

The ministry confirmed that the majority of the victims are women and children.

Meanwhile, ambulance and rescue teams are still unable to reach many casualties and dead bodies trapped under the rubble or scattered on roads across the war-torn enclave, as Israeli occupation forces continue to obstruct the movement of medical and civil defense teams.

Israeli occupation forces continue their offensive in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex west of Gaza City for the seventh consecutive day.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: More Hospitals under Attack | Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza | Israel Waits Response from Hamas – Day 170

Patients and displaced individuals at the hospital are suffering from a lack of healthcare services, food, and water due to the blockade imposed by Israeli forces on the hospital for the past seven days.

Al-Shifa Siege Continues

On Saturday, five of the besieged wounded succumbed to their wounds at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex due to the absence of healthcare services, food, water, and the interruption of electricity in the intensive care units.

This marks the second time Israeli forces have stormed the Al-Shifa Complex since the beginning of the onslaught on Gaza on October 7 last year. They previously raided it on November 16 after a week-long siege.

More Hospitals under Attack

Israeli occupation forces launched a surprise offensive on Sunday morning into the Al-Amal and Nasser Hospitals in Khan Yunis city, accompanied by intense shelling and heavy gunfire in the vicinity of the two medical facilities.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that dozens of Israeli armored vehicles are currently surrounding Al-Amal Hospital, engaging in extensive excavation work in its vicinity. 

It added that all its teams are currently in extreme danger, unable to move at all, and incapable of burying the body of their colleague Amir Abu Eisha—killed in an Israeli airstrike last night—within the hospital yard.

Eyewitnesses reported that the aerial bombardment was concentrated in the south and east of the Nasser Medical Complex, as well as in the neighboring Batn as-Samin area. 

Continuous artillery shelling relentlessly struck these regions, complemented by gunfire from helicopters and drones, resulting in multiple civilians killed and others injured.

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

 According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,518 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(PC, WAFA)

GAZA LIVE BLOG: 27 Killed in Rafah, 10 in Deir Al-Balah | Qassam Snipes Soldiers | Fierce Fighting near Al-Shifa – Day 170

Israeli forces continue to carry out massacres in Gaza. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli forces invaded the Al-Amal Hospital and the Al-Nasser Hospital, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that Israel continues to systematically target the medical sector in the Strip. 

At least two Israeli soldiers were killed in battles with the Palestinian Resistance in northern Gaza as the death toll resulting from Israel’s genocidal war continued to rise. 

Two Israelis were reportedly injured in a shooting operation in Ashdod while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that he will travel to Washington to discuss Israel’s ‘security’.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,518 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

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LATEST UPDATES

Monday, March 25, 3:00 am (GMT+2)

HAMAS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to use religious rhetoric to achieve his political ends by escalating the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.

Monday, March 25, 2:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters sniped three Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. They also targeted a building where Israeli forces were holed up and killed and wounded a number of their members in the vicinity of the Shifa complex.

Merkavas on Fire – Resistance Roundup – Day 170

Monday, March 25, 1:00 am (GMT+2)

HAMAS (Cited in Al-Jazeera): Israeli media leaks about concessions and compromises offered to Hamas are Israeli propaganda aims to cover up its intransigence and evade responsibility for obstructing the agreement in front of the families of its prisoners.

Monday, March 25, 12:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA:

27 martyrs, including women and children, were killed in Israeli raids targeting five houses in the city of Rafah since Sunday morning.

The death toll from the Israeli shelling of Deir al-Balah has risen to 10, and a large number of people remain under the rubble.

He Returned to Gaza to Die – When the War Began Musab Darwish was in Mecca

Sunday, March 24, 11:00 pm (GMT+2)

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted a building where Israeli enemy soldiers are stationed in the Metulla colony, and we achieved a direct hit.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Nine Palestinians were killed in an Israeli occupation bombing that targeted a house in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

WALLA: The United States’ proposal to release 700 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 life sentencers, was approved in exchange for Hamas’s release of 40 Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Sunday, March 24, 10:00 pm (GMT+2)

ISRAELI MEDIA: There is a fear that Gideon Sa’ar will withdraw from the government if it votes on the conscription law.

GALLANT: In Washington, I will focus on Israel’s continued military superiority in the region.

UN OFFICIAL: Women in Gaza desperately need a ceasefire.

How Israel Responded to Ceasefire Proposal – Reports

AL-JAZEERA: Residents of Al-Shati camp send distress calls to evacuate the killed and wounded.

KAN (quoting unnamed Israeli official): Tel Aviv is ready to make major concessions for the prisoner deal.

JERUSALEM POST (citing former Shin Bet official): Israel does not have sufficient means to rescue the hostages

Sunday, March 24, 8:15 pm (GMT+2)

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: We targeted a tank and a bulldozer north of Beit Hanoun.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Seven people, including four women and a child, as a result of an Israeli raid that targeted a house in the El Geneina neighborhood, east of Rafah.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE: French President Emmanuel Macron warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “any forced transfer of residents from Rafah would constitute a war crime.”

PRCS: Communication interrupted with our staff inside Al Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis.

WASHINGTON POST: US government employees considered resigning because of the position on Gaza.

WHO: Prohibiting UNRWA from providing aid to northern Gaza means depriving people of their lives.

AL-JAZEERA: one person was killed and two were injured in an Israeli occupation bombing that again targeted members of a tribal committee that provides aid near the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City.

Sunday, March 24, 6:00 pm (GMT+2)

KAMALA HARRIS (to ABC): I do not rule out that there will be American consequences for Israel decides to invade Rafah. We continue to consider the humanitarian situation in Gaza as one of our priorities.

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted an Israeli force inside the Al-Marj site, causing “dead and wounded”.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Two people were injured after the Israeli occupation forces bombed a gathering of citizens east of the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City.

Antony Blinken – The Man Responsible For Genocide In Gaza

Sunday, March 24, 5:00 pm (GMT+2)

PRCS: Israeli occupation forces surrounded two additional hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip.

GAZA CIVIL DEFENSE: We need fuel and other materials to continue our work.

CHANNEL 12: two anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon towards the Mount Al-Manara area in Upper Galilee.

Sunday, March 24, 4:00 pm (GMT+2)

HAMAS: The Israeli media is lying and the movement’s leaders are steadfast in their land. Al-Rishq said in a press statement in response to what the Israeli media claimed, that “Tel Aviv is considering Hamas’ request not to assassinate its leaders if they are exiled outside Gaza,” and that “the Hebrew media is ridiculous and based on lies and black propaganda.”

GUTERRES: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israel to “remove remaining obstacles” to the entry of relief materials to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, noting the need to increase crossings and access points for aid.

‘All Food Convoys Denied Access to North Gaza This Week’ – UNRWA Chief

Sunday, March 24, 3:00 pm (GMT+2)

PRCS: A displaced person was killed after being shot in the head by occupation bullets inside Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

CHANNEL 13: Israel has softened its position regarding the number of prisoners it will release and that it is examining the issue of the return of the displaced to the north.

GAZA GOVERNMENT MEDIA OFFICE: Israeli forces killed 5 doctors and nurses at Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Sunday, March 24, 1:30 pm (GMT+2)

GUTERRES: There is a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

AL-JAZEERA: Sirens sounded in Zikim, in the Gaza Strip.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Eight Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids that targeted three homes in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, since dawn today.

PRCS: Israeli forces fired smoke bombs at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis to force the staff, wounded and displaced people out of it.

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted the Jal al-Alam site with artillery shells and caused direct hits.

Sunday, March 24, 12:00 pm (GMT+2)

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Israeli aircraft launched a raid targeting agricultural land south of the city of Rafah (south), near the Egyptian border.

AL-JAZEERA: Sirens sounded in Upper Galilee.

Sunday, March 24, 11:30 am (GMT+2)

PRCS (to Al-Jazeera): The Israeli occupation continues to target the medical sector in the Gaza Strip.

YOAV GALLANT: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that he will travel to Washington today on an important political visit, indicating that he will hold meetings regarding Israel’s security.

KAN (quoting informed sources): that there are disagreements within the Israeli staff regarding whether Hamas is interested in reaching an agreement.

PRCS: The occupation forces stormed Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis and bulldozed its surroundings. They also stormed Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza City, amid violent bombardment and heavy gunfire.

GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,518 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

AL-JAZEERA: Three injured people arrived at the Baptist Hospital after being exposed to sniper fire in the vicinity of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza.

PRCS: The occupation besieges Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: Our fighters targeted an Israeli military vehicle with a guided missile at Abu Al-Saud roundabout, south of the Al-Shifa complex in Gaza City.

Sunday, March 24, 10:00 am (GMT+2)

KAN (citing Israeli official): We agreed to an American proposal for a compromise with Hamas regarding the deal and are awaiting a response from the movement.

GUTERRES: Horror and starvation stalk the people of Gaza. It’s more than time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

AL-JAZEERA: Sirens sound in the occupied Golan.

ANADOLU: The Israeli army announced the killing of a sergeant from the Nahal Brigade in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

ISRAELI AMBULANCE SERVICE: Two Israelis were injured, one of them seriously, in a shooting operation in Ashdod.

ANADOLU: Israeli military vehicles suddenly entered an area near the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

Sunday, March 24, 09:00 am (GMT+2)

HEAD OF SUPREME COUNCIL OF GALILEE (to Israeli Radio 103): The State of Israel must stop treating the North as a side event. Hezbollah is the greatest enemy.

LAPID: Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is lying and evading responsibility, and whoever continues in it is an accomplice in shame.

Sunday, March 24, 07:00 am (GMT+2)

KNESSET NATIONAL SECURITY CHAIRMAN: the Palestinians must be made to pay the price of last October 7 by not having land in Gaza.

Sunday, March 24, 07:00 am (GMT+2)

ISRAELI ARMY: The Israeli army announced the killing of a soldier from the 932nd Battalion during the battles taking place in the northern Gaza Strip.

Sunday, March 24, 5:45 am (GMT+2)

US CENTRAL COMMAND: US forces clashed with six Houthi (Ansarallah) drones over the southern Red Sea.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

Israeli Prisoner Dies from Lack of Food, Medicine – Abu Obeida

Al-Qassam Brigades announced the death of an Israeli captive due to a lack of food and medicine. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

His name is Yigev Bukhatab. Cause of death, according to the statement, is lack of medicine and food.

“We had previously warned that the enemy’s prisoners are suffering the same conditions that our people suffer from hunger and deprivation. They are suffering from a lack of food and medicine, and disease is now threatening the lives of a number of them,” the Military Spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement on Saturday. 

The statement was part of the announcement of the death of an Israeli soldier held in Gaza. 

His name is Yigev Bukhatab. Cause of death, according to the statement, is lack of medicine and food.

The video and the statement were shared in the Resistance News Network Telegram channel, under the caption: “Although he survived the IDF army’s attacks, he did not escape the lack of food and medicine.” 

In a previous statement, Abu Obeida had revealed that “the number of enemy prisoners killed as a result of the enemy’s military operations in the Gaza Strip may exceed 70.”

Al-Qassam was keen “all the time to preserve the lives of the prisoners, but it has become clear that the enemy leadership is deliberately killing its prisoners to get rid of this file.” the statement read. 

Despite the killing of a number of Israeli prisoners in Israeli military strikes at Gaza, Abu Obeida had stressed that the position of the al-Qassam Brigades remains unchanged: “The price we will take for 5 or 10 living prisoners is the same price that we would have taken for all the prisoners if they had not been killed by enemy bombardment.”

Israeli Position 

In related news, Israel has communicated its position regarding a possible ceasefire and prisoner exchange to the mediators in Doha. 

According to the Al-Jazeera sources, Israel wants 40 living Israeli detainees, from all categories, to be released. 

It rejected Hamas’ request that 30 Palestinian political prisoners with life sentences be released for each female soldier released in Gaza. 

How Israel Responded to Ceasefire Proposal – Reports

Instead, Israel said it is willing to release only five Palestinian detainees, for each prisoner – the identity of whom to be determined only by Israel. 

Israel also responded to Hamas’ request to release all prisoners who were re-arrested following a previous prisoner exchange in 2011.  

According to the report, Israel said that it will only release them if the Palestinian Resistance releases two Israeli soldiers it had captured before the current war. 

Israel also wants to reserve the right to deport any prisoner it releases outside the country. This condition applies to those with life sentences. 

(The Palestine Chronicle)

How Israel Responded to Ceasefire Proposal – Reports

Hamas and Israel are considering a ceasefire proposal. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The response offered a detailed Israeli view of the prisoner exchange and the conditions required for the exchange to take place. 

The Israeli response to the Gaza ceasefire proposal is yet to be officially released. However, sources close to Al-Jazeera communicated the main points of the Israeli position. 

According to the Qatari news network, Israel refuses to end the war, withdraw its forces from the Strip and return hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees to their homes in northern and other parts of Gaza. 

The only element of the original ceasefire proposal Israel agreed to is to maintain the three phases of implementation. 

The response offered a detailed Israeli view of the prisoner exchange and the conditions required for the exchange to take place. 

Regarding the displaced Gazans, Israel offered to only allow 2,000 Gazans to return to the north per day, and only two weeks after the start of the implementation of the ceasefire. 

‘Our Conditions’ – Full Text of Hamas Response to Ceasefire Proposal

Prisoners 

According to the Al-Jazeera sources, Israel wants 40 living Israeli detainees, from all categories, to be released. 

It rejected Hamas’ request that 30 Palestinian political prisoners with life sentences be released for each female soldier released in Gaza. 

Instead, Israel said it is willing to release only five Palestinian detainees, for each prisoner – the identity of whom to be determined only by Israel. 

Israel also responded to Hamas’ request to release all prisoners who were re-arrested following a previous prisoner exchange in 2011.  

According to the report, Israel said that it will only release them if the Palestinian Resistance releases two Israeli soldiers it had captured before the current war. 

‘Immediate Ceasefire’ with Conditions – US Submits Draft Resolution to UN Security Council

Israel also wants to reserve the right to deport any prisoner it releases outside the country. This condition applies to those with life sentences. 

Citing an unnamed Israeli official, the Israeli broadcaster KAN said that there are large gaps between Israel and Hamas in the ongoing negotiations in Doha.  

The official also said that Israel will wait for Hamas’ response. 

On Friday, an Israeli delegation headed by Mossad chief David Barnea left for the Qatari capital, Doha, to participate in indirect negotiations with Hamas on the prisoner exchange deal, mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

Gaza Genocide 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,142 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,412 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

‘War against Children’ – UNICEF Spokesman Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(PC, AJA)

‘War against Children’ – UNICEF Spokesman Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza

Displaced Palestinians in Rafah. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

Elder said a ceasefire is the only way to help the children and emphasized that the Gaza Strip “is not a place for children right now”.

“A war against children” is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, as hostilities have already claimed the lives of more than 10,000 minors, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said in an interview with the Anadolu news agency on Saturday.

“UNICEF called this ‘a war against children.’ Normally, in all wars, children are the most vulnerable. Around 20% of casualties are children in wars, but in Gaza, it is close to 40%,” Elder said, adding that more than 10,000 children have been killed, and this number continues to increase.

“We do not know how many are under the rubble. This is absolutely devastating for children. Many children are hungry, and a famine is imminent,” the UNICEF spokesman said.

‘Gone Forever’ – How ‘Saying Hi to Uncle’ Became another Gaza Massacre

There is a dire situation with medical supplies to the injured.

“More than 20 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are simply not functioning,” he added.

Elder said a ceasefire is the only way to help the children. He emphasized that the Gaza Strip “is not a place for children right now, but there are more than a million children” there.

Tears and Sand – The Gaza Mother Who Dug Her Son from under the Rubble

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,142 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,412 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

And We Called Her ‘Dreams’ – Gaza’s Abu Sultan Family Lost All of Its Women

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’ 

(TASS, PC)

‘Silencing Palestinian Voices’ – Three More Journalists Killed by Israel in Gaza

The funeral of two Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Israel deliberately killed journalists in Gaza in order to silence the voice of Palestinians, to hide the facts.”

Three more Palestinian journalists were killed in fresh Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 136 since October 7, 2023, the Gaza government media office said in a statement.

The slain journalists were identified as Muhammad al-Rifi, Abdul Rahman Saima, and Mahmoud Imad Issa, the statement said.

In an earlier statement, the office said that “Israel deliberately killed journalists in Gaza in order to silence the voice of Palestinians, to hide the facts, and to prevent information from reaching the regional and international public.”

At the end of February, media organizations around the world held a minute of silence to mark the International Day for Palestinian Journalists, also in honor of those journalists killed since the start of Israel’s genocidal onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Since October 7, “One hundred journalists were killed in four months, the equivalent of seven per week,” the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said on its website at the time.

The IFJ added that “this massacre is a terrible and unjustified tragedy.”

The IFJ also said it was “alarmed by the poor international coverage of the conflict, resulting from the world media’s exclusion from the enclave by Israel.”

“All over the world we deserve to know what is going on in Gaza. This deliberate denial of the right to report is an abuse of media freedom.”

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.  

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,142 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,412 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’ 

(PC, Anadolu)

‘Moral Outrage’ – UN Chief Guterres Visits Rafah Border as Israel Vows to Attack

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives at the Rafah border. (Photo: Guterres TW Page)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Guterres’ visit comes as Israel faces global pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that the long line of blocked trucks is a moral outrage, during a visit on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. 

Israel should give an “ironclad commitment” for access to humanitarian aid, Guterres said, according to Reuters news agency, while renewing his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other,” he said.

“That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage.”

Guterres’ visit comes as Israel faces global pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid spreading famine in the besieged and war-torn Strip.

Additionally, Israel vowed to launch a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, just over the border from Egypt, where a majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is now sheltering.

Injured Palestinians

Guterres also visited Palestinian patients in the hospital of the Egyptian city of El-Arish, according to the Anadolu news agency.

“Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has just arrived in North Sinai, Egypt,” the UN spokesperson said on X.

“This is his first stop during his annual Ramadan solidarity visit to the region,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Al Qahera channel reported that Guterres arrived at El-Arish airport “on a visit to renew the call for a ceasefire in Gaza.”

On Friday, the UN deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, announced the UN chief’s annual “solidarity trip” to Egypt and Jordan, marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Haq noted that the UN chief would meet with humanitarian aid workers.

The deputy spokesperson further mentioned that Guterres will visit the facilities of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) during his visit to Jordan.

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,142 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,412 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

‘Torture, Investigation, Execution’: Israel Threatens to Destroy Al-Shifa Hospital with People Inside

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’ 

(The Palestine Chronicle)

‘They Did Not Even Thank Us’ – Sara Netanyahu Criticizes Liberated Israeli Captives

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his wife Sara. (Photo: Kremlin, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Did you see how many kidnapped people we brought back? They did not even thank us,” Sara Netanyahu was quoted as saying. 

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister, sparked outrage among the Israeli captives who were returned from Gaza following the prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas.

According to a report published by Israeli Channel 12, the premier’s wife complained  in a private conversation with an Israeli lawmaker that she and her husband had not yet been thanked for returning some of the captured Israelis.

Israel’s Talks about New Prisoner Exchange Deal are Political Maneuvering – Hamas

“Did you see how many kidnapped people we brought back? They did not even thank us,” Sara Netanyahu was quoted as saying. 

Following the publication of the report, several liberated captives took on social media to express their outrage. 

According to The Times of Israel, 18-year-old Liam Orr, who was captured in Gaza and returned as part of the exchange deal, wrote on Instagram: “Sorry, I was captured.” 

Yigil Yaakov, who also returned from Gaza as part of the exchange deal, reportedly responded to the post saying: “I’m sorry I was kidnapped, next time I will pay for a vacation in Gaza.”

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied that the premier’s wife, who participated in a number of meetings with the families of Israeli captives in Gaza, has made such comments.

50% of Israelis Reject Prisoner Exchange Deal, 72% Oppose Gaza Aid – Poll

The office said in a statement that the report “contains lies and far-fetched fabrications,” the Times of Israel reported. 

Relatives of Israelis who are currently being held in Gaza have staged numerous protests demanding a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. 

Demonstrators blame the prime minister for the security failures leading to the Hamas military operation on October 7, as well as for his handling of the war in Gaza.

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,070 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,298 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Ground Operation in Rafah Will Undermine Prisoner Exchange Deal – Hamas

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’ 

(The Palestine Chronicle)