Urgent health update: Consequences of war on Gaza-June 9, 2024

As of June 7, Israel’s war on Gaza enters its 9th month:

Israeli air, land, & sea bombardment continue to cause civilian casualties, displacement, & destruction of houses & other infrastructure. Ground fighting continues, particularly in Rafah. Airstrikes have been especially intense in central Gaza, particularly in Al Bureij, Al Maghazi, & Nuseirat refugee camps & eastern Deir Al Balah. The levels of public health disaster are catastrophic.

PUBLICATIONS

Reuters Special Report on destruction of Gaza health system here.

The Columbia Law Review website was temporarily shut down after it published a Palestinian human rights lawyer’s article proposing a new way to understand Palestinian life under Israeli rule. Here is the article published elsewhere.

(Numbers are cumulative)

GAZA

·       Killed: 36,731 Palestinians - may be >37,000 per local health authorities - (in  past week- 447 killed)

·       Injured: 83,530, local health authorities claim nearly 84,500

·       Israeli soldiers in Gaza killed: 293

·       Israeli soldiers in Gaza injured: 1889

·       Hostages ~ 124. Israeli army forces rescued 4 Israeli hostages on 10/8 following an extensive offensive in the central Gaza regions of Deir al-Balah & the Nuseirat refugee camp. At least 94 killed & 100 wounded were brought to Deir al Balah hospital during the hostage rescue operation. >100 wounded have also arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah. Number of dead now estimated 274. Footage obtained by Al-Jazeera showed Israeli special forces using an aid truck & a civilian car to carry out the operation, they infiltrated Nuseirat disguised as humanitarian relief workers.  Israeli captives were reportedly evacuated using the US “humanitarian” pier. 

·       ~1.7 million “internally displaced”

·       1.1 million Palestinians face “catastrophic levels” of food insecurity; 31% of children <2 yrs old in northern Gaza & 10% of children <2 yrs old in Rafah suffer acute malnutrition

·       Emergency Committee for North Gaza municipalities declared Jabalya town, Jabalya Refugee Camp, Beit Lahya & Beit Hanoun as “disaster zones.”

·       Death by bombing is not only thing that destroys the lives of Palestinians in Gaza. Spread of infectious diseases, high temperatures, water & air pollution, as well as hunger, & displacement, with 1.7 million people forced into overcrowded, unsanitary shelters, have also taken a severe toll. All of these conditions hit the young, old & those suffering other health conditions disproportionately.

Children/ Food

·       UNICEF: 9 of 10 children: severe food shortages.      

·       WHO: Most children <5 are spending entire days without eating anything. Snap shot survey in May-85% spent at least 1 day without food. Much of the food still getting into Gaza is shipped to the north through new crossings, meaning the crisis there has eased, but the south is running out of supplies

·       Without distribution of supplies, treatment for >3,000 children suffering acute malnutrition will stop. World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director, Cindy McCain, stressed: “once a famine is declared, it is too late - many people will have already starved to death.”

·       UNICEF: ~17,000 Palestinian children have become unaccompanied (separated from parents & no other relatives to take care of them) or separated (without their parents) from their homes since the conflict began.

·       6 bakeries remain open in Deir al Balah & Khan Younis where public health concerns are beyond crisis levels, no bakeries in Rafah.  

• It is possible that famine is underway in northern Gaza, but that the war & restrictions on humanitarian access have impeded the data collection to prove it, an independent group of experts known as the Famine Early Warning Systems Network said.

• Months of extreme hunger have killed many Palestinians in Gaza & caused permanent damage to children through malnutrition, 2 food security reports have found. US-based famine early warning system network (Fews Net) said it was “possible, if not likely” that famine began in northern Gaza in April. 2 UN organizations said >1 million people were “expected to face death and starvation” by mid-July.

• UNRWA warned of lack of access to clean drinking water as Palestinians struggle with dehydration in the summer heat. WHO warned of an increase in cases of hepatitis A & diarrhea & said diseases such as cholera could become common if the situation does not improve.

Hospitals

·       As of 6/3, 20 closed, 15 partially functional hospitals in Gaza, 5 field hospitals of which 2 are only partially functional.

• Israeli attacks destroyed the fifth floor of Al Awda Hospital & main generator at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. >120 bodies were recovered from the rubble.

• No medical evacuations from Gaza have been allowed since 5/7. WHO estimates that ~14,000 patients require medical evacuation, a number expected to increase due to shrinking hospital capacity amidst the ongoing escalation. Gaza’s Health Minister estimates that number at 25,000

• After 6/4 airstrikes on Al Bureij & Al Maghazi refugee camps, Médecins Sans Frontières reported Al Aqsa Hospital received 70 dead & >300 injured, majority women & children, with severe burns, shrapnel wounds, fractures & other traumatic injuries… wounded were lying on the floor & outside the facility, the dead were brought to the hospital in white plastic bags, “the odor of blood…was overwhelming.”  Another mass influx of casualties on 6/5 stretched hospital capacities beyond the limit -- it currently has 700 patients. Hospital runs on 1 generator, with another out of service, threatening the lives of dozens of ICU patients and babies on ventilators. 

• In North Gaza, WHO reported Kamal Adwan Hospital had resumed partial functionality & access to Al Awda Hospital had been restored. Recently-shelled Indonesian Hospital still out of service. In Rafah, all hospitals remain non-functional. Only 2 of 6 field hospitals are functional, Israeli attacks make access increasingly difficult.  

• 5-year-old Nabil Kuhail died after Israel caused delays to his medical treatment. 4/24. he was diagnosed with leukemia at an advanced stage. His mother Aya said. “I could not believe that my son had leukemia. But I never imagined that he would die.” Aya & her family were uprooted from their home in Tel al-Hawa, a Gaza City neighborhood, due to Israel’s intense violence against the surrounding area in the first few months of the current war. After Israel invaded al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City during November, the family fled southwards.

·       Gaza’s Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal to provide fuel for hospital generators. Ministry accused the Israeli army of “intentionally” destroying electric generators at Gaza hospitals, including Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the Nasser Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, & Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

Attacks

·       6/6 June, Israeli military bombed an UNWRA school sheltering 6,000 Internally Displaced Persons in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, ~40 killed, including 14 children & 9 women, 74 injured. Bodies still remain under rubble. An Israeli military spokesman, said he was “not aware of any civilian casualties” as a result of the strike. At least 1 bomb used in the Israeli strike appeared to have been made in the US, remnants of a GBU-39 were visible in one verified video, a bomb that is designed &manufactured by Boeing. Israeli army released the names of 9 members of Hamas & Islamic Jihad that it said were killed in the strike, adding that it was working on verifying others. US is planning to “wait and see” what information Israel releases about its strike before considering any calls for further action.

·       Israel announced a new military campaign in central Gaza as it battles a group of fighters relying on hit-and-run insurgency tactics. Médecins Sans Frontières said that ~ 70 dead & >300 wounded, mostly women & children, had been brought to al-Aqsa hospital after “heavy Israeli strikes” in central Gaza.

·       Since the war in Gaza began, >180 UNRWA buildings were hit, >450 displaced people killed

·       UNRWA shares coordinates of all its facilities (including this school) with the Israeli Army. UN Human Rights Office expressed concern “that this strike suggests a failure by the IDF to ensure strict compliance with international humanitarian law… We note with concern that this attack follows a strike last week on an IDP camp in Rafah that left at least 45 Palestinians dead.” 

·       ~1 million people have fled to the central Gaza area of Deir al Balah, where they face dire shortages of food, clean water, medical supplies & healthcare services,  “public health concerns are beyond crisis levels”

·       North Gaza municipalities of Jabalya town, Jabalya Refugee Camp, Beit Lahya, &  Beit Hanoun declared “disaster zones.” 

Aid

·       May: 78 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza, 45% facilitated by Israeli authorities, 6% denied access, 35% impeded, 14%   cancelled for operational or security reasons.

·       Southern Gaza, of 270 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions, 51% were facilitated by Israeli authorities, 12% denied, 19% impeded, 17% cancelled.

·       Aid convoys navigate active hostilities, barely passable roads, unexploded ordnance & recurrent delays. Many “impeded” missions experienced delays of up to 9 hours by Israeli authorities at sensitive locations, significantly increasing security risks for humanitarian personnel.  

·       Prior to 10/23, 500 aid trucks entered per day. 6/1-3, 46 trucks entered through West Erez, other entry checkpoints closed or made impassible by Israel.

·       Humanitarian groups reported aid shipments into southern Gaza are being displaced by commercial convoys amidst Israel’s military push into Rafah,

Housing

·       On 5/31, UNOSAT published an updated analysis of structural damage & destruction in Gaza, based on satellite imagery collected 5/3.  ~55% of all structures are damaged, including 36,591 structures destroyed, 16,513 severely damaged, 47,368 moderately damaged, & 36,825 possibly damaged. A previous World Bank, EU and UN damage assessment found more than 60% of homes in Gaza were destroyed or damaged, accounting for 72% of the estimated cost of damage to infrastructure (US$13.29 billion out of $18.5 billion). 

·       Recent 3-week Israeli operation in northern Gaza destroyed 50,000 housing units, UNRWA shelters, over 15 water wells, & central market in Jabalya Refugee Camp.

·       According to UNRWA, the “humanitarian space continues to shrink,” with all 36 UNRWA shelters in Rafah closed, UNRWA forced to stop health & other critical services. The SOS Children’s village, the only currently functional shelter for children without parental care, relocdated children & caregivers from Rafah to central Gaza but has a limited number of tents & no capacity to receive more children.   

WEST BANK & EAST JERUSALEM

·       Killed: 508 Palestinians, (124 children), >490 by Israeli troops,

·       12 Israelis were killed

·       Injured > 5,150 injured (800+ children)

·       6/4 UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, condemned daily killings in West Bank, noting that 164 Palestinians were killed during “militarized operations, involving airstrikes by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or planes & the firing of ground-to-ground missiles on refugee camps & other densely populated areas.” Türk stated that Israeli forces have “often used lethal force as a first resort … in cases where those shot clearly did not represent an imminent threat to life,” that there is “a pattern of the denial of medical assistance to those injured.” Human Rights Chief highlighted that “pervasive impunity for such crimes has been commonplace for far too long in the West Bank … [&] has created an enabling environment for more & more unlawful killings”

·       ~280 olive & fig trees & 580 grape vines vandalized by Israeli settlers in 7 communities during the past week. Settlers also burned buildings, destroyed fencing & solar equipment, damaged agricultural property. Since October, UN has recorded 943 settler attacks against Palestinians, causing 10 deaths, 231 injuries, & destruction of over 43,000 Palestinian-owned trees. 

·       Dozens of settlers entered a Palestinian village near the city of Nablus in the West Bank, fired shots in the air, torched cars & olive trees & attempted to set fire to houses. Palestinian reports also said settlers set fire to houses & cars near the village of Beitin.

·       A group of 500 Bedouins living for decades in Wadi al-Khalil, a village east of Be’er Sheva, ~12 miles from Gaza. In early May, Israeli authorities demolished 350 structures in the community, 47 of them homes, leaving hundreds of children homeless. Israel described this action as “an important move of sovereignty & governance.” The Bedouins erect makeshift tents to provide shelter for their families. However, every 3 days Israeli forces arrive with a sizeable police presence, dismantling the temporary homes, uprooting trees that had offered shade & issuing threats of arrest.

·       Israeli authorities demolished 15 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem & 2 other locations, including 7 homes, that lacked Israeli-issued building permits which are almost impossible to obtain.

·       Palestinian Authority: due to its financial situation, it will only pay half of their employees’ monthly salaries, ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

ISRAEL

·       Aide to Netanyahu confirmed 6/2 that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by Biden, though he described it as flawed & in need of much more work.

·       Tens of thousands of Israelis protested against the government & in support of the hostage release proposal presented by Biden in several locations across the country, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Caesarea, and Be’er Sheva.

·       Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells on residential buildings in at least 5 towns & villages in southern Lebanon, possibly harming civilians (respiratory damage) & violating international law.

US

·       Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress on 7/24, the top 2  congressional Republicans announced. It was a bipartisan invite. Bernie Sanders promised to boycott the speech, calling Mr. Netanyahu a “war criminal.”

·       Israeli government is behind a large-scale influence campaign primarily targeting Black lawmakers & young progressives in North America that used fake websites & social media to promote pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian & anti-Muslim content.

·       Jen Koonings, a participant from the US in US Boats to Gaza, is on a hunger strike for Gaza & stands at the White House every day with her sign “American Nurse on Hunger Strike For Gaza.” She is calling on all healthcare providers to oppose US support for Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.

·       NAACP called on the Biden-Harris Administration to halt weapons & artillery shipments to Israel indefinitely & push for an immediate & permanent ceasefire. “It is one thing to call for a ceasefire, it is another to take measures necessary towards liberation for all.”

·       George Clooney complained to White House about Biden’s criticism of International Criminal Court. His wife, Amal Clooney, a prominent human rights lawyer, served on an advisory panel that helped conduct the court’s investigation, which resulted in warrant requests for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister & 3 senior Hamas leaders, accusing them of illegal conduct that has led to thousands of civilian deaths.

INTERNATIONAL

·       Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s bid to designate UNRWA as a “terrorist organization” after the Knesset passed a preliminary motion last week approving the move.

·       UN rights chief Volker Turk welcomed the cease-fire proposal presented by Biden, & said Israel had “brutally violated” the norms governing how to conduct war in Gaza, where the situation is “beyond catastrophic.”

·       UN added Israel, Hamas & Islamic Jihad to list of countries & groups that harm children in war zones. The report will be presented to members of the Security Council next week and released publicly on 6/18.

Sources

OCHAOPT, World Food Program, The Guardian, Electronic Intifada, Haaretz, New York Times, Portside, Palestine Chronicle