Humanitarian crisis in Gaza

[Fishnut]

Not quite sure how “sorties for only six hours” counts as a ceasefire, but I suppose it’s progress

It does seem to be meeting a very loose definition of "ceasefire" but it's better than nothing. Hopefully food, water, fuel and medical supplies will be allowed in in sufficient quantities to be useful.

[Sciolus]

Reports are divided as to whether the six hours is when the attacks will stop or when they will continue. There don't appear to be any authoritative sources.

[Fishnut]

OCHA flash update 46 (21/11/23)

As in the previous updates, paragraphs starting with a "-" are direct quotes. Where this is absent I am summarising information from the update. Information from other source have their sources linked in the text.

Hostilities and casualties
- Intense ground clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continued in and around Gaza city, as well as in several other areas in the north, Jabalia in particular. Airstrikes and shelling by Israeli forces also continued in multiple areas across Gaza. Israeli ground troops have maintained the effective severance of the north from the south along Wadi Gaza, except for the “corridor” to the south.

- On 20 November, at about midday, an UNRWA school in Al Bureij camp (Middle Area), sheltering IDPs, was reportedly hit by artillery fire, killing at least 12 people and injuring 35 others. As of 19 November, at least 176 IDPs sheltering in UNRWA premises had been killed and 778 injured.

- On 21 November, a WHO staff was killed alongside her 6-month-old baby, her husband and two brothers. As of 19 November, 108 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza since 7 October.

Displacement
- The movement of unaccompanied children and separated families has been increasingly observed. An interagency plan is being developed to respond to this situation including the registration of cases.

- Overcrowding is contributing to the spread of diseases, including acute respiratory illness and diarrhea, prompting environmental and health concerns. On average, 160 people sheltering in UNRWA schools share a single toilet. In the Rafah Logistics base where more than 8,000 people have sought shelter, 400 people are sharing one toilet. Due to the poor sanitary conditions, since 7 November there has been a 35 per cent increase in skin diseases and a 40 per cent increase in cases of diarrhea.

Humanitarian Access
- On 21 November, 63,800 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt, following an Israeli decision from 18 November to allow the daily entry of small amounts of fuel for essential humanitarian operations. Fuel is being distributed by UNRWA to support food distribution, and the operation of generators at hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, shelters, and other critical services.

- A total of 79 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered from Egypt on 21 November as of 20:00. Overall, between 21 October and 21 November at 18:00, at least 1,399 truckloads of humanitarian supplies (excluding fuel) have entered Gaza through the Egyptian border, compared to a monthly average of nearly 10,000 truckloads of commercial and humanitarian commodities (excluding fuel) entering Gaza before 7 October.

Electricity
- Since 11 October, the Gaza Strip has been under an electricity blackout, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply, and fuel reserves for Gaza’s sole power plant depleted. [this has been the case since 11 October so I haven't bothered repeating it as I'm focusing on key changes but I think it's worth highlighting that the electricity grid has been out for well over a month now]

Health care, including attacks
- Israeli operations at Shifa Hospital continued on 21 November. Nineteen health workers and 259 patients remain in Shifa, according to MoH in Gaza, facing critical shortages of power, water, and medical supplies. This includes two people in intensive care, 22 dialysis patients, 32 stretcher patients, and 27 patients with spinal injuries, all of whom will be prioritized for an upcoming evacuation. The hospital is no longer operational and is not admitting new patients.

- On 21 November, Al Awda Hospital in North Gaza, came under attack which killed three doctors and one patient companion, and injured many patients.* Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which operates in the hospital, called for the urgent and safe evacuation of more than 200 patients to a functioning medical facility. Since the start of the war, the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 178 health attacks in Gaza Strip that resulted in 22 fatalities and 48 injuries among health care workers on duty.

- Some 500 patients and staff were evacuated on 21 November from the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya (North Gaza) to a hospital in Khan Younis (in the south), in coordination with humanitarian agencies. This follows an attack the previous day that directly hit the hospital and killed at least 12 people, according to the WHO. The hospital remains surrounded by Israeli troops and tanks, and fighting with armed groups has been reported in its vicinities, with additional patients and thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) trapped in the facility and awaiting evacuation.

Ceasefire
The Guardian reports that a ceasefire will come into effect tomorrow morning. The details seem to be the same as were reported earlier today - at least 50 women and children released by Hamas in exchange for at least 150 women and children held by Israel.

If the first exchanges go well, and Hamas can locate more female hostages or children, there will be further releases on both sides, reports suggest.
...
If the initial phase of the deal works, 150 more Palestinian prisoners could be released in a subsequent phase in exchange for 50 more hostages, according to an Israeli government document that named 300 eligible prisoners. For every 10 additional hostages released, there would be an extra day’s “pause” in fighting, the document said.
...
Israel’s list of eligible Palestinian prisoners included 33 women and 123 young people, most of whom have been charged with public order offences or arson.
...
Even if fully implemented, the current agreement would still leave about 190 hostages in Gaza, about half of whom are thought to be military personnel... Not all the hostages are being held by Hamas. Some are in the hands of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a separate extremist faction, and criminals in Gaza, say Israeli and other officials.
...
If Israel does resume its offensive, its military is likely to attempt to advance into southern Gaza. It is not clear what would happen to the more than 2 million civilians sheltering there. Senior US officials have suggested they would not support any such offensive without a credible plan to protect that population.

[Fishnut]

The ceasefire won't be starting until Friday at the earliest.

The immediate cause of the initial delay on Thursday was unclear. White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said final logistical details for the release were being worked out. “That is on track and we are hopeful that implementation will begin on Friday morning,” Watson said.

Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, citing an unidentified Israeli official, reported the delay was caused by the failure of Hamas and mediator Qatar to sign the agreement. The official said they were optimistic the agreement would be carried out once it was signed.

Other media said Hamas were yet to send full details of the first batch of hostages the organisation proposed to release. The issue of identification of hostages has been a problem throughout the negotiations, which may indicate Hamas does not hold or have access to all the hostages, some observers say.

Military spokesmen had warned on Wednesday that implementing the pause in hostilities was difficult, with sporadic but intense fighting still underway across much of northern Gaza.

“No one said there would be a release tomorrow except the media … We had to make it clear that no release is planned before Friday, because of the uncertainty that hostages’ families are facing,” Kan quoted a source in Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as saying.

[EACLucifer]

150 women and children held by Israel

Apologies if I've misunderstood, but has Israel taken hostages as well?

Hamas takes hostages but Israel takes prisoners. 1000s of prisoners who are held indefinitely without trials or even charges and are often subjected to torture. Many of these prisoners are held for crimes such as looking at an IDF soldier in a funny manner.

Crimes like stabbing a mother in front of her children, more like, dickhead. The list of prisoners to be released can be examined, the women are basically all attempted murderers, the youths largely members of terrorist groups that recruit child soldiers.

And you are whining that people distinguish this from three year olds snatched from their bedrooms. That's about what I expected from you, given the degree of flexibility of facts you display in order to support whatever position the writhing mass of worms you have where most people have brains has adopted.

The humanitarian pause was delayed for a day while Hamas f.cked around, and to enable it has taken a three to one ratio of attempted murderers and terrorist group members to kidnapped civilians.

Last time we had such a ceasefire during an operation in Gaza, Hamas violated it in less than two hours. This time they violated the ceasefire with rocket fire within fifteen minutes.

[WFJ]

Crimes like stabbing a mother in front of her children, more like, dickhead. The list of prisoners to be released can be examined, the women are basically all attempted murderers, the youths largely members of terrorist groups that recruit child soldiers.

And you are whining that people distinguish this from three year olds snatched from their bedrooms. That's about what I expected from you, given the degree of flexibility of facts you display in order to support whatever position the writhing mass of worms you have where most people have brains has adopted.

The humanitarian pause was delayed for a day while Hamas f.cked around, and to enable it has taken a three to one ratio of attempted murderers and terrorist group members to kidnapped civilians.

Last time we had such a ceasefire during an operation in Gaza, Hamas violated it in less than two hours. This time they violated the ceasefire with rocket fire within fifteen minutes.

There was no whining nor comparison to taking children as hostages, I just gave an accurate description of Israel's taking of prisoners among the Palestinian population. Sure many are accused or convicted of worse crimes, but the arbitrariness of detention by the Israeli regime is well documented, as you having to resort to a hand-wavy "members of terrorist groups" designation makes clear.

How many of the terrorists prosecuting pogroms against Palestinians in the West Bank are being held without trial or charge by the Israeli regime?

[EACLucifer]

There was no whining...

"hAMaS TakES hOSTaGEs but iSRAeL tAKeS pRISonErs"

Yes you were f.cking whining.

[WFJ]

This video purporting to show the former Israeli justice and interior minister calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza is being shared widely. Does anyone know if the translation is correct? I've only seen it being hosted and discussed by questionable media sites.

[Fishnut]

This video purporting to show the former Israeli justice and interior minister calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza is being shared widely. Does anyone know if the translation is correct? I've only seen it being hosted and discussed by questionable media sites.

I can't comment on the translation. However, I can find this opinion article written by Likud Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel where she said,

ANOTHER OPTION is to promote the voluntary resettlement of Palestinians in Gaza, for humanitarian reasons, outside of the Strip...
Some world leaders are already discussing a worldwide refugee resettlement scheme and saying they would welcome Gazans to their countries. This could be supported by many nations around the world, especially those that claim to be friends of the Palestinians.
...
We must try something new, and we call on the international community to help make it a reality.

It could be a win-win solution: a win for those civilians of Gaza who seek a better life and a win for Israel after this devastating tragedy.
Israeli communities in the Gaza border area and the South could then return to their homes and communities and live in safety and security. They should not have to continue living with the constant threat of rocket attacks and murderous infiltrations.

NBC called it a "fringe proposal" and said,

Gamliel heads a ministry that does not set policy and, since she’s not a part of Israel’s war Cabinet, these decisions are not in her direct purview. Nevertheless, the op-ed was met with shock and revulsion across the Arab world, some of the West and in sections of social media.

Though polls have not focused on the potential displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, there appears to be some public support in Israel for staying in the strip and building settlements there. A poll by the Channel 12 broadcaster released this week found 32% of Israelis back the idea.

It goes on to say,

Netanyahu has distanced himself from a Gaza resettlement, saying in a Nov. 10 speech, “We don’t seek to govern Gaza. We don’t seek to occupy it.” But critics say he has not been vocal enough, and he has done little to publicly disavow Gamliel’s comments in particular.

This lack of public disavowal isn't that surprising in light of this this quote from Going to the Wars by Max Hastings that discusses Netenyahu's ambitions for Israel back in the 1970s.

At Bibi Netanyahu’s dinner table in Jerusalem, I listened with crawling dismay to Bibi talking about the future of his country. ‘In the next war, if we do it right we’ll have a chance to get all the Arabs out,’ he said. ‘We can clear the West Bank, sort out Jerusalem.’ He joked about the Golani Brigade, the Israeli infantry force in which so many men were North African or Yemenite Jews. ‘They’re okay as long as they’re led by white officers.’ He grinned.

(I downloaded a copy of the book from here to confirm the quote was accurate).

[Fishnut]

Hamas has released 24 hostages and Israel has released 39 Palestinian prisoners including 15 teenagers to begin the ceasefire.

As a result, more aid has started coming in. From OCHA,

200 trucks were dispatched from Nitzana to the Rafah crossing.

137 trucks of goods were offloaded by the UNRWA reception point in Gaza making it the biggest humanitarian convoy received since October 7.

129,000 litres of fuel and four trucks of gas also crossed into Gaza.

21 critical patients were evacuated in a large-scale medical operation from the north of Gaza.

While precise figures are no longer available, it is estimated that around 14,800 have been killed with over 6,000 of those being children, and there are an estimated 36,000 people who have been injured. Over 60% of housing is estimated to have been damaged or destroyed.

The Guardian has a report from the European Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip which has been dealing with patients evacuated from the north.

Paul Ley, an orthopaedic surgeon at the European hospital, said displaced people were sleeping in lifts, a small team was working round the clock in four operating theatres to amputate limbs infected after days without treatment, and there was an acute shortage of painkillers. Triage decisions had to be made instantly which, in one case, meant leaving a 12-year-old child to die with only palliative care in order to preserve dwindling resources.

Ley said the hospital had received 500 patients evacuated from hospitals in northern Gaza in recent days.

“Many have not received treatment for nine or 10 days because hospitals there were non-functional even if they were open,” he said. “This is the situation that is happening here now. This is a functioning hospital but we are being overwhelmed. There is nowhere to evacuate to … There is no escape route. We are probably one of the last lines of defence.”
...
In the burns unit of the European hospital are 78 patients, nearly two-fifths of them children under five.

“I have never seen anything like it,” said Ley a 60-year-old French citizen who arrived in Gaza with a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross almost four weeks ago. “I have been in many war contexts where the type of wounds are the same but the number is huge. We never leave the hospital. We work round the clock.”
...
Many of the casualties arriving at the hospital were injured days before, meaning wounds have become infected. Ley said some people’s dressings had not been changed for 10 days, so their wounds were full of worms. In other cases, surgeons were forced to amputate limbs that may otherwise have been saved.

Another problem is a lack of anaesthetics and painkillers.

“We do operations with minimal anaesthesia. If we run out, we can’t operate but there is no clear line. There are a lot of people crying, screaming with pain, but we don’t have enough analgesics. We keep them for the kids or very severe cases. [So] normally we would change dressings on patients with 40% burns with them under sedation and minimise the time by using more attendants … [Now] it has to be done with a lot of pain.”
...
Ley said he had been shocked at how passive many patients were, such as one 35-year-old woman whose husband and children had been killed when the family’s home was destroyed, and who appeared unmoved when told both her legs would need to be amputated. “So many just don’t care any more,” he said.

[Woodchopper]

People, a reminder of the rules, which state that:

this forum is for discussions about serious topics, for serious people. Avoid derailing. Stick to the subject. Avoid abuse. Be sensitive.

If you want to fling insults please do so in The Pit, which is where posts can be moved as well.

[Fishnut]

OCHA flash update 51 (26/11/23)

As in the previous updates, paragraphs starting with a "-" are direct quotes. Where this is absent I am summarising information from the update. Information from other source have their sources linked in the text.

TL:DR - the "humanitarian pause" is allowing much-needed aid to enter Gaza but is still well below the levels needed to support people.

Hostilities and casualties
- Since the humanitarian pause entered into force at 7:00 on 24 November, airstrikes, shelling, and ground clashes have reportedly ceased.

- In one incident involving Israeli tank fire east of the Al -Maghazi refugee camp, in the Middle Area, one Palestinian man was reportedly killed and another injured; the circumstances remain unclear.

- According to the Government Media Office, as of 18:00 on 23 November, more than 14,800 people have been killed in Gaza, including about 6,000 children and 4,000 women. This office, which is under the de facto authorities in Gaza, has been reporting casualties since the Ministry of Health in Gaza stopped doing so on 11 November, following the collapse of services and communications at hospitals in the north.

Displacement
- Upon the entry into force of the pause, Israeli forces announced that the movement of people from the south to the north is forbidden.

- The number of displaced people continues to increase. Over 1.7 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced. Of them, nearly 927,000 IDPs are sheltering in 99 facilities in the south.

- Due to the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions at UNRWA shelters, there have been significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice.

Humanitarian Access
- The total number of trucks that entered Gaza on 26 November is unclear at the time of writing as many continued to be processed during the evening hours. On 25 November, 200 trucks were dispatched from Nitzana. [the now-perennial reminder that it used to be around 500 trucks/day]

Electricity
There is still no electricity.

Health care, including attacks
- On 26 November, a joint UN convoy collected 7,600 doses of vaccines for various diseases from the Ministry of Health warehouse in Gaza city and transported them to southern Gaza. The need for this transfer arose due to the lack of refrigeration capacity in the north. After thorough inspections to ensure their validity, the vaccines will be utilized to enhance routine immunization, which has been hampered by a shortage of supplies and ongoing hostilities. As of 25 November, 1,205 children were vaccinated at seven health centres according to the national vaccination programme, bringing the total number to 11,622 since 4 November.

- Kamal Odwan hospital in Jabalia, one of the four small hospitals still operational in the north, is facing immense pressure. Supplies and medical staff are particularly urgent in the fields of obstetrics, paediatrics, neonatology, surgery, and orthopaedics. Eighty patients require immediate transfer to a better equipped facility in the south for their survival.

- Of the 11 medical facilities in the south, eight are currently functional. The bed capacity across Gaza has declined from 3,500 prior to the war to 1,400 as of 20 November, amid a surge in those seeking treatment. Only one of the currently functional hospitals in the south has the capacity to treat critical trauma cases or perform complex surgery, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Water and sanitation
In the north, technicians have begun visiting water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to assess the damage done and the repairs needed to return them to operation. In the south, supplies of potable water from Israel have been restored and fuel has been provided to the main water facility.

- Since the start of the humanitarian pause, UNRWA has collected and disposed hundreds of tons of solid waste that had been accumulating inside and outside its shelters in the south, benefiting about 1 million people.

- On 26 November, the first delivery of bottled water reached IDP shelters in the north since the Israeli ground operation began.

Food security
- The ready-to-eat food distributed at UNRWA shelters in Jabalia, in the north, on 26 November, included about 7.6 metric tons of high-energy biscuits provided by the World Food Programme (WFP). This covers the minimal daily food intake for 23,616 people for one day.

- Despite the increase in food aid through Rafah, many people still lack food and fuel to cook.

- Also in the north, livestock is facing starvation and the risk of death due to shortage of fodder and water. Crops are being increasingly abandoned and damaged due to lack of fuel required to pump irrigation water. [As mentioned in previous updates, livestock are being slaughtered which is going to have long term impacts on food security.]

[Fishnut]

Hamas has said it has agreed to an extension of the ceasefire by two days but there's been no confirmation from Israel.

The likely terms of any extension were the daily release of 10 Israeli hostages from among those seized by Hamas during its assault on southern Israel last month and of 30 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, officials close to the talks said earlier on Monday. Also, desperately needed humanitarian aid would continue to flow into Gaza.

Eleven Israeli hostages were released late on Monday night, including nine children and two mothers, bringing the total number Hamas has released since Friday to 58, including foreigners. Qatar said the newly released hostages included three with French citizenship, two with German citizenship and six Argentine citizens.

According to some reports, six Thai hostages, farm workers seized with Israelis, were due to be released too.
...
[António Guterres, the UN secretary general] again called for the hostages held by Hamas to be released immediately and unconditionally, Dujarric said. Hamas had been reported to be seeking a four-day extension while Israel wanted day-by-day extensions. Splits within the militant organisation have complicated talks, as have difficulties communicating with leaders in Gaza.
...
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said an extension could allow the international community to work on a political solution to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, has been speaking at a press conference in London following his return from Gaza. You can read the article if you want. I've chosen to transcribe the part of the press conference the Guardian has posted with the article,

During my time at Shifa hospital, it became apparent that 40-45% of all the wounded were going to be children. That there were.. that the primary target of the bombing was people's residential homes, and that we were getting multigenerational patients from the same families in each air raid. Most of the injuries initially were blast injuries and these were severe soft-tissue traumas, severe facial traumas, multiple fractures, and then as time went we saw the introduction of incendiary bombs where the patients would have over 40% of their total body surface are burned, with no other injuries, and by the time Shifa had collapsed there were over 100 of these patients at Shifa hospital.

And, we started seeing phosphorus burns. I have treated white phosphorus burns in the Gaza strip during the 2009 war and was very familiar with the very characteristic injuries and burns that they make. Really by day 4 or 5 day around half my operating list, which was around 10-12 cases every day, starting at 8 or 9 in the morning and finishing at 1 in the morning, were children.

My estimate is that there are now between 700 and 900 children with amputations of limbs, in some of whom multiple limbs have been amputated. On one night at al-Ahli hospital I performed amputations on 6 children.

[Woodchopper]

The 40-45% of injuries to children in Fishnut’s post is plausible as that corresponds with the overall Gaza population in which just under 40% are aged 0-14.

Source: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ ... aza-strip/

[Fishnut]

The 40-45% of injuries to children in Fishnut’s post is plausible as that corresponds with the overall Gaza population in which just under 40% are aged 0-14.

Source: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ ... aza-strip/

Yep. The latest figures available (last updated 23/11) say that "more than 14,800 people have been killed in Gaza, including about 6,000 children and 4,000 women" which means 40.5% of the dead are children. The figures are still estimates due to the collapse of infrastructure needed to accurately tally deaths and injuries.

As the humanitarian pause/ceasefire continues, the extent of the destruction in Gaza is becoming clearer.

Gaza's main public library has been destroyed.

It's worth pointing out that there is still very patchy communications and extremely limited foreign access to Gaza which restricts the amount of verifiable news coming out.

I didn't realise until recently that journalists haven't been able to enter Gaxa without authorisation from Israeli authorities since the blockade began in 2016. The Committee to Protect Journalists has so far been able to confirm the death of 57 journalists and media workers in Gaza since 7 October, of which 50 were Palestinian. The Israeli Defence Force has said it cannot guarantee the safety of journalists in Gaza. Since the pause, a few journalists have been allowed very limited access but with strict conditions. For example, on this report from the BBC they say,

On Wednesday, the BBC, along with one US network, was taken by the Israeli army into a small part of [Al-Shifa] hospital.

Israeli military restrictions meant our correspondent Lucy Williamson was not allowed to speak to any doctors or patients at the hospital, but there was no censorship on the words used to describe the visit.

[EACLucifer]

Some of these so-called f.cking "journalists" more or less took part in the attack on October the 7th. One was filmed carrying a grenade. At least one was dropped by a western agency after this - can't remember which one of the top of my head. Journalists that work in Gaza all do so under the supervision of Hamas, and a number have had to be dropped from western agencies for expressing Nazi views.

And bear in mind that the NYT was happy to re-hire such a journalist who praised Hitler's treatment of Jews, so the standards among western agencies are basically non-existent.

Also once again a reminder that the Gaza health ministry does not at all distinguish between military and civilian casualties, and Palestinian militant groups almost universally recruit and employ teenage boys as child soldiers.

Of course it's easy to forget details when you are just copying and pasting.


Oh, and despite the claimed crisis, Hamas - Gaza's government - violated the ceasefire today with IEDs and gunfire, just as they violated it on day one and constantly f.ck about and don't meet agreements in hostage negotiations.

[monkey]

Also once again a reminder that the Gaza health ministry does not at all distinguish between military and civilian casualties, and Palestinian militant groups almost universally recruit and employ teenage boys as child soldiers.

Think I saw the other day that the Israelis estimate that they have killed between 1 and 2000 combatants, but having trouble finding that now. That would mean 12 - 13000 civilian deaths.

[EACLucifer]

Also once again a reminder that the Gaza health ministry does not at all distinguish between military and civilian casualties, and Palestinian militant groups almost universally recruit and employ teenage boys as child soldiers.

Think I saw the other day that the Israelis estimate that they have killed between 1 and 2000 combatants, but having trouble finding that now. That would mean 12 - 13000 civilian deaths.

That's less than the figure that were killed on Israeli territory alone, and there haven't been regular updates from the Israeli side - likely because actually counting takes longer than claiming five hundred killed within minutes of an event.

It's also worth noting that hundreds - including those at Al-Ahli hospital according to every remotely credible analysis - have been killed by rockets from Palestinian militants.

[monkey]

Also once again a reminder that the Gaza health ministry does not at all distinguish between military and civilian casualties, and Palestinian militant groups almost universally recruit and employ teenage boys as child soldiers.

Think I saw the other day that the Israelis estimate that they have killed between 1 and 2000 combatants, but having trouble finding that now. That would mean 12 - 13000 civilian deaths.

That's less than the figure that were killed on Israeli territory alone, and there haven't been regular updates from the Israeli side - likely because actually counting takes longer than claiming five hundred killed within minutes of an event.

It's also worth noting that hundreds - including those at Al-Ahli hospital according to every remotely credible analysis - have been killed by rockets from Palestinian militants.

As I said, I couldn't find the source, so can't be sure about what's included. I had a another look and found a Guardian article from Sunday which says "Israel’s military estimates it has killed between 1,000 and 2,000 Hamas fighters out of a military force it believes is about 30,000 strong." but there's no link or owt. clicky

The Wikipedia article for the 7th October attack says 1000 militants were killed, according to the Israelis - wiki clicky I read about a few more attempting to infiltrate Israel, but it didn't seem like they were in that large numbers.

[Fishnut]

Also once again a reminder that the Gaza health ministry does not at all distinguish between military and civilian casualties, and Palestinian militant groups almost universally recruit and employ teenage boys as child soldiers.

Think I saw the other day that the Israelis estimate that they have killed between 1 and 2000 combatants, but having trouble finding that now. That would mean 12 - 13000 civilian deaths.

At the moment it is the Government Media Office that is reporting casualty estimates. The Ministry of Health stopped reporting on 11 November after the collapse of reporting infrastructure. There was a couple of weeks when no figures were being released at all. I am unclear exactly how the GMO is getting their data now but they are making it pretty clear that the figures are estimates and face revisions.

Analysis published in the Guardian on Sunday said the following,

Israel’s military estimates it has killed between 1,000 and 2,000 Hamas fighters out of a military force it believes is about 30,000 strong.

Meanwhile Financial Times reported last week that,

A senior Israeli military official said the assault had “significantly hurt” 10 of Hamas’s 24 battalions, which before the war each had about 1,000 soldiers. Including the roughly 1,000 militants killed in Israel after Hamas launched the October 7 attack, Israeli officials estimate that 5,000 of Hamas’s roughly 25,000 fighters have now been killed. “It’s not 10,000, but it’s not 1,000. It’s something in the middle,” the senior military official said.

Those figures say around 4,000 terrorists have been killed in the bombings following the terrorist attack. If we take 14,800 as an estimate of the dead (so far), that means that around 27% of the people killed in the bombings are Hamas and 73% are innocent civilians. That's not a great success rate.

B'Tselem have posted drone footage of the city of a-Zahraa in the centre of Gaza. The destruction is near-total.

[Martin_B]

Those figures say around 4,000 terrorists have been killed in the bombings following the terrorist attack. If we take 14,800 as an estimate of the dead (so far), that means that around 27% of the people killed in the bombings are Hamas and 73% are innocent civilians. That's not a great success rate.

IIRC, those percentages aren't dissimilar to the percentages which occurred in Iraq when the Americans (and others) invaded in 2003. Although looking at the Wiki page, you can find just about any figures you like to report.

I suspect that Hamas are more integrated into life and infrastructure in Gaza than the Iraqi military were in Iraq (where they had separate barracks, at least).

[EACLucifer]

Those figures say around 4,000 terrorists have been killed in the bombings following the terrorist attack. If we take 14,800 as an estimate of the dead (so far), that means that around 27% of the people killed in the bombings are Hamas and 73% are innocent civilians. That's not a great success rate.

IIRC, those percentages aren't dissimilar to the percentages which occurred in Iraq when the Americans (and others) invaded in 2003. Although looking at the Wiki page, you can find just about any figures you like to report.

I suspect that Hamas are more integrated into life and infrastructure in Gaza than the Iraqi military were in Iraq (where they had separate barracks, at least).

Though the numbers are pure conjecture, if true, they'd be better than America managed in urban combat. It's also vital to remember that 1) the operation is taking place because Hamas committed the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and have made it very clear they intend to do so again, and because Hamas hold hundreds of Israelis hostage in appalling conditions, with child hostages reporting torture. Israel has to act to prevent a repeat of October the 7th, Hamas have proven themselves too dangerous to tolerate, and too aggressive and treacherous to contain by diplomatic measures or deterrence alone.

2) The reason civilians are in the firing line is largely due to Hamas basing themselves in urban areas, including placing tunnel facilities in the immediate vicinity of hospitals, schools and places of worship. Additionally Hamas has sought to prevent the evacuation of civilians with propaganda and quite likely lethal force - evacuees were gunned down 2km from the nearest Israeli positions at one point, and the claim of an airstrike does not check out due to lack of any evidence of explosives or large calibre fire. Additionally in the first day or so of the evacuation a likely-IED went off on the main evacuation route - again an airstrike was blamed, but the explosion bore no resemblance to an air bomb and footage viewed frame-by-frame reveals no incoming munition, and incoming munitions are usually visible on at least one or two frames.

3) Hamas have done far more to endanger the temporary ceasefire than Israel, failing to meet agreements regarding not separating families and providing information on hostages to be released late, as well as attacking IDF positions with IEDs and gunfire at one point (not to mention killing three civilians in Jerusalem, too). They also stole fuel from UNRWA and blocked an attempt to supply fuel to Al-Shifa hospital at one point. Despite digging so many tunnels, they have not created so much as a single shelter for civilians, with officials claiming it isn't their job, despite the fact that they've governed the strip for the better part of two decades.

4) The death toll from short-falling rockets is likely to be significant. Prior to the temporary ceasefire, rockets were fired every day, and one salvo was fired afterwards, too. A significant percentage of these fall in Gaza due to the crude, typically single-use launchers Hamas and PIJ etc use (after all, they are only aiming them at cities) and the sometimes poor construction of these projectiles leaves them unreliable in flight, too. Estimates of the exact numbers of fatalities caused by short-falling rockets are hard to come by as the Hamas authorities try to suppress reporting on them - they disappeared all the munition fragments after a rocket struck the Al-Ahli hospital carpark - but are likely to be significant. In the last few flare-ups of fighting prior to October the 7th significantly more Gazans were killed by rockets fired from Gaza than Israelis were. This again shows that Hamas, their leaders in Qatar and their sponsors in Iran don't care about Gazan civilian casualties, except as a propaganda tool.

[Fishnut]

OCHA flash update 54 (29/11/23)

Hostilities and casualties
- On 27 and 28 November, 160 bodies were recovered from the rubble, according to the Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza. The office also stated that, since the start of hostilities, more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including about 6,150 children and 4,000 women.

- The fatality toll since 7 October includes at least 198 Palestinian medics, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health; 112 UN staff; 70 journalists and media workers, according to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate; and at least 15 Civil Defense staff, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.

Displacement
- Some [Internally Displaced People, IDPs] in the south have been trying to go back to their homes in the north, despite the Israeli forces’ announcement that such movement is forbidden. On 24, 25 and 26 November, there were reports of shooting by Israeli forces towards IDPs attempting to move north, resulting in several casualties.

- The movement of unaccompanied children and separated families continues to be observed in the "corridor" in recent days. Humanitarian actors are assisting these children, including through registration of cases.

- Up to 1.8 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced. However, obtaining an accurate count is challenging; including because of difficulties in tracking IDPs staying with host families and accounting for those who returned to their homes during the pause but remain registered in UNRWA and other shelters.

- Nearly 1.1 million IDPs are registered in 156 UNRWA facilities across Gaza, of whom about 86 per cent (946,000) are registered in 99 UNRWA shelters in the south. Another 191,000 IDPs are estimated to be staying in 124 public schools and hospitals, as well as in other venues such as wedding halls, offices, and community centres. The rest are hosted by families.

- Due to the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions at UNRWA shelters, there have been significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice. There are also initial reports of disease outbreaks, including hepatitis.

- Concerns have been raised about vulnerable groups of people who are struggling with difficult shelter conditions. This includes people with disabilities; women who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or are breastfeeding; people who are recovering from injuries or surgeries; and those with compromised immune systems.

Humanitarian Access
- On 29 November, the humanitarian pause entered its sixth consecutive day. It has enabled a major increase in the delivery of basic supplies into and across Gaza, primarily by the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies and UN agencies. However, as the UN Secretary-General stressed in a briefing to the Security Council, the level of aid “remains completely inadequate to meet the huge needs of more than two million people.”

- Despite the pause, there has been almost no improvement in the access of residents in the north to water, as most of the main water production facilities remain shut down, due to the lack of fuel and some also due to damages. Concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources persist.

Health care, including attacks
- The health system across the Gaza Strip continues to be overstretched amid severe shortage of medical supplies.

- On 29 November, UN agencies delivered to two hospitals in Gaza city, Al Ahli and Al Sahaba, lifesaving medicines and surgical supplies (in addition to fuel) estimated to be sufficient to meet the urgent health needs of 100 patients at each facility. Along with another three hospitals, these are the only five hospitals in the north (out of 24 prior to the hostilities), which are now functional, albeit partially, and admit some patients.

- the MoH in Gaza announced that the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, also in the north, will reactivate parts of its dialysis department.

- On 28 November, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivered medical supplies, including, pain relief medication and blood bags to the European Gaza hospital in Rafah, in the south.

Water and sanitation
- The Gaza Municipality has reportedly warned about the potential flooding of large areas in the Sheikh Radwan quarter due to the overflow of a wastewater and rainwater lagoon in the city, following the accumulation of rain in recent days. Pumping from the lagoon has stopped for several weeks due to lack of fuel needed to operate the pumps, as well as damage to several conveyor lines.

- In the south, UNRWA continues to operate eight water wells that provide potable and domestic water to IDP shelters, alongside water trucking operations. Solid waste collection from the camps, and emergency shelters and transfer to landfills also continues in the south.

Food security
- On 28 November, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) stated that Gaza suffers a US$1.6 million daily loss in farm production. The institution assesses the losses are likely higher considering the destruction of farm equipment and farmland, and damage caused to thousands of trees, especially olive trees. The economic impact is also significant, considering that 55 per cent of Gaza’s agricultural products used to be sold outside the coastal enclave, PCBS stated.

- The amount of cooking gas that has reportedly entered Gaza from Egypt since the start of the pause (about 85 tons per day) is a third of the equivalent daily average that entered between January and August 2023. Queues at a filling station in Khan Younis have reportedly extended for about 2 kilometres, with people waiting at them overnight. Meanwhile, reports indicate that people are burning doors and window frames to cook.

- Since 25 November, one WFP bakery has resumed operations on an ad-hoc basis, allowing the provision of bread to about 90,000 people in UN shelters in the south. Other bakeries are operating intermittently.

[Fishnut]

The ceasefire ended on 1 December. It seems that both Israel and Hamas are blaming each other for violating the terms and causing its end.

Since then, the Israeli military has begun bombing Gaza again.

OCHA flash update 57 (2/12/23)

As in the previous updates, paragraphs starting with a "-" are direct quotes. Where this is absent I am summarising information from the update. Information from other source have their sources linked in the text.

Hostilities and casualties
- Heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land and sea across Gaza... at least 193 Palestinians have been killed and 652 injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza (MoH).

A six-storey building in the Jabalia refugee camp was hit and destroyed on 2 December. Initial repors indicate that more than 100 people were killed and many more are believed to be trapped under the rubble. "An entire block in Ash Shujaiyeh neighbourhood of Gaza city was heavily bombarded" on the same day, destroying about 50 residential buildings and killing more than 60. It is believed that at least 300 are trapped in the rubble.

Satellite images commissioned by the BBC show nearly 98,000 buildings may have suffered damage in Gaza. The article has a map showing the damage analysis and before and after satellite phtoos showing residential areas that have been destroyed, first by bombs and then by bulldozers. Entire neighbourhoods are gone.

Displacement
- On 1 December, the Israeli military published online a detailed map, where the Gaza Strip is divided into hundreds of small areas. Reportedly, the map is intended to facilitate orders to evacuate specific areas ahead of their targeting. On 2 December, areas encompassing about 25 per cent of the Gaza Strip were designated for evacuation.

According to CBS,

Residents in multiple numbered areas were sent SMS warnings on Friday, the military said.

"The IDF will begin a crushing military attack on your area of residence with the aim of eliminating the terrorist organization Hamas," the warnings said, urging people in the sectors to seek shelter and "stay away from all military activity of every kind."

Around 10 minutes after the messages were sent, the explosions started. Cellular networks in the Gaza Strip can be slow, with SMS deliveries sometimes taking several minutes.

The IDF has been ordering people to move to the south of Gaza, but is now intensifying bombing in the south. According to the ABC,

Many of the territory’s 2.3 million people are crammed in the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war...

Before the latest evacuation orders, United Nations monitors said the areas told to evacuate made up about one-quarter of the territory.
..
On Sunday, Israel's military widened evacuation orders in and around Khan Younis, telling residents of at least five more areas and neighborhoods to leave. Residents said the military dropped leaflets ordering them to move south to the border city of Rafah or to a coastal area in the southwest. “Khan Younis city is a dangerous combat zone,” leaflets read.

But Halima Abdel-Rahman, a widow and mother of four, said she won’t heed such orders anymore. She fled her home in October to an area outside Khan Younis, where she stays with relatives.

“The occupation tells you to go to this area, then they bomb it,” she said by phone. "The reality is that no place is safe in Gaza. They kill people in the north. They kill people in the south.”

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has told Israel to avoid significant new mass displacement and do more to protect civilians. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris also told Egypt's president that “under no circumstances” would the U.S. permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, an ongoing siege of Gaza or the redrawing of its borders.
...
“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating,” the U.S. vice president said Saturday.

Sky News reported,

Many had moved south from towns or cities like Gaza City, and have been told by Israeli defence forces they need to move again, further south, to the Rafah Crossing area that borders Egypt, or to the barren coastal strip of al Mawasi.
...
Leaflets have been dropped with a QR code linked to an interactive map with the numbered districts marked on it.

By any metric, to assume people now displaced, living rough, scared and disorientated, and unlikely to have internet when they don't have food or water, could navigate the map would seem a bit of a stretch.

Sky News teams in Gaza met Muhamed Rayis holding the leaflet with the QR code on it. He says he followed the instructions, moved to a safe area, and then got bombed.

"Look at this is the leaflet. How can you bomb civilians in their homes? You're telling people that Wadi Alsalga is safe, how come then you bomb there, at least warn us before you bomb us, they have bombed 3 or 4 houses, they've displaced people, why?"
...
Many people in and around Khan Younis in the south have come from the north, and are having to move yet again.

In reality though, there's not much further south they can go.

- About 1.8 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced.

Cases of communicable diseases and conditions continue to increase and concerns about vulnerable groups are still present.

- On 1 December, UNRWA reported a Hepatitis A outbreak in one of its shelters.

Electricity
Electricity grid is still out.

Health care, including attacks
- there are around 50,000 pregnant women across Gaza, with over 180 giving birth daily. UNRWA midwives have been providing care for post-natal and high-risk pregnant woman at the nine operational primary health centres. Post-natal care continues in shelters, but conditions are not suitable for newborns in shelters.

- On 2 December, the MoH in Gaza stated that the bed occupancy rate at operational hospitals stands well over capacity, at 171 per cent, while at the intensive care units the occupancy rate is up to 221 per cent.

- On 1 December, at about 10:00, Israeli forces in the vicinity of Shifa Hospital, in Gaza city, reportedly hit an ambulance evacuating wounded people; two paramedics were reportedly killed and several others injured.

Water and sanitation
- Grave concerns of waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources persist, particularly in the north where the water desalination plant and the Israeli pipeline are not functioning. There has been almost no improvement in the access of residents in the north to water for drinking and domestic purposes for weeks.

- In the south, UNRWA continues to operate eight water wells that provide potable and domestic water to IDP shelters, alongside water trucking operations. Over the past few weeks, solid waste collection from the camps, and emergency shelters and transfer to landfills also continues, to reduce the level of health and environmental risks.

Food security
- The entry of cooking gas to Gaza stopped following the resumption of hostilities. The amount that entered during the pause (about 85 tons per day) is a third of the equivalent daily average that entered between January and August 2023.

[Fishnut]

A convoy of evacuating Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff and family members was deliberately attacked, killing one and injuring another. The cars were clearly marked as MSF vehicles and both sides were notified of their evacuation.

MSF have investigated the attack,

On 18 November 2023, an MSF evacuation convoy came under fire in Gaza city. Two people were killed in what immediately appeared as a deliberate attack against clearly identified MSF cars. Both were family members of MSF staff, one of them was also a volunteer supporting MSF medical teams at Al-Shifa hospital.

Two weeks later, after collecting the testimonies of MSF staff present that day in the convoy, MSF considers that all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army for this attack. [bold in original]

They have produced a timeline with statements and photos from survivors.