Urgent health update: Consequences of war on Gaza, West Bank/East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Syria (and now Yemen) 1/11/25

“It is dangerous to protect aid convoys but safe to loot them.”

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, decried recent Israeli attacks on aid to Gaza: an airstrike injuring 3 at a known WFP food distribution point; soldiers firing on a clearly marked UN convoy at a checkpoint; armed gangs hijacking fuel tankers in the absence of Israeli control. “These incidents are part of a dangerous pattern of sabotage and deliberate disruption… Despite our determination to deliver food, water, and medicine to survivors, our efforts to save lives are at breaking point. There is no meaningful civil order. Israeli forces are unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of our convoys. Statements by Israeli authorities vilify our aid workers even as the military attacks them. Community volunteers who accompany our convoys are being targeted.” Read the complete statement here

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is preparing to suspend its operations in Gaza and the West Bank, following a recent law passed by the Knesset to ban the agency's activities on Israeli soil, NYTimes reported. According to Jamie McGoldrick, who led the UN's humanitarian efforts across Gaza and the West Bank until April, the cessation of UNRWA operations "would be a massive impact on an already catastrophic situation. …If that is what the Israeli intention is – to remove any ability for us to save lives – you have to question what is the thinking and what is the end goal?"

REPORTS

The official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Gaza war likely undercounted the number of casualties by 41% through the middle of 2024 as the Strip's healthcare infrastructure unraveled, according to a peer-reviewed study published by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University and others. here

GAZA

Israeli air, land, & sea bombardment continues across Gaza, causing further civilian casualties, and destruction of houses & other civilian infrastructure. The 13-week siege of northern Gaza has choked off all humanitarian aid, denying 65-75,000 people access to food, water, electricity and health care. Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, widespread Israeli bombing of Syria and Yemen, the expanded Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, and the expansion of the war to the West Bank constitute a regional health and human rights emergency.

Killed: 45,936+ (395 this week)

Injured: 109,274+ (936 this week)

Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza: 393 (3 this week)

Israeli soldiers injured in Gaza: 2,535

Hostages in Gaza: 99

(Numbers are cumulative through 1/08/25, per OCHAOPT.) For more details: here

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reported that at least 74 children had been killed in Gaza in the first week of 2025, “suffering from attacks, deprivation, and increasing exposure to the cold”.

Israeli attacks

• 1/1, 11 killed and others injured in a house in Jabalya Al Balad, North Gaza.

• 1/2, 11 (4 children) killed and others injured in IDP tents in Al Mawasi area, Khan Younis.

• 1/2-3, a journalist was killed in a Gaza City drone strike and 7 killed and many injured in attacks on 2 journalists homes in Deir al Balah.

• 1/4, 2 attacks killed 22 (7 children) and others injured and missing in Gaza City.

• 1/4, 5 men in an security car for aid caravans killed in Khan Younis.

• 1/4, 5+ killed and many injured and missing when an entire residential block of multi-story buildings was levelled in Gaza City.

• Israeli military is ramping up its campaign of propaganda and psychological warfare against the Palestinians of Gaza, expanding its drops of leaflets across the Strip. The messages are mostly crude warnings, threats or appeals to turn against Hamas and inform on its members and to encourage local residents to collaborate with Israel.

Aid

• Access to North Gaza, under siege since 10/6, remains denied by Israeli authorities. Of 165 UN attempts to reach the area between 10/6-12/31, 149 were denied and 16 were impeded. Similar denials of aid have been occurring in Rafah since May. Totals for 2024 show that of 5,321 movements coordinated with the Israeli military, 48% were facilitated, 24% were denied, 19% were impeded, and 9% were cancelled.

• As of 1/4, 963 trucks in Al Arish, Egypt, await dispatch with humanitarian cargo into Gaza.

• 1/5, a WFP convoy of 3 clearly marked vehicles with 8 staff members was shot at by Israeli military near Wadi Gaza checkpoint and struck by 16 bullets. The convoy had received all the necessary clearances from the Israeli authorities. The same day, a WFP flour distribution warehouse in Deir al Balah was hit, killing 1 and injuring 2.

• MSF noted the killing of 8 staff as well as attacks on 17 of their medical facilities, and has “yet to receive accountability or admission of responsibility for the killing, maiming, or dehumanization of [its] staff and patients.” 1,057 health workers and 369 aid workers, including 263 UNRWA staff, have been killed since 10/2023. here

• International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed alarm at the “devastating impact of winter rains and freezing temperatures on displaced Palestinians in Gaza,” adding that tragic deaths due to hypothermia underscore the critical need for shelter and other assistance to immediately reach people. IOM has delivered nearly 180,000 emergency shelter items to Gaza partners but remains unable to distribute over 1.5 million additional winter supplies without Israeli facilitation. At least 945,000 people urgently need thermal clothing, blankets, and tarps to seal-off shelters from the rain and cold. The Palestinian Civil Defence reports the flooding of 1,542 tents on 12/30-31. here

• Child Protection (CP) partners continue to prioritize the distribution of winter clothing to vulnerable children but face severe challenges from Israel in allowing entry. Only 19,000 children’s clothing kits of a total of 220,000 have so far entered Gaza and were distributed to newborn babies in hospitals, children in residential care (many of whom have lost their parents), children with disabilities, and child survivors of gender-based violence.

Evacuation and Displacement

• Between 1/1-3, Israeli military issued 3 evacuation orders for Gaza City, North Gaza, and Deir al Balah, affecting 23,100 people in the Al Bureij refugee camp (Deir al Balah) including 10,300 people at 3 IDP sites, 3 medical points, 3 water trucking points and 1 distribution center. Another order affected thousands of families in Jabalya (North Gaza) and Gaza City.

• Continued evacuation orders, the ongoing siege of northern Gaza, and the destruction of communication networks have exacerbated child protection risks, including family separation and conflict-related violence.

Health care and Hospitals

• 1/4, WHO Director-General and the UNICEF Deputy Executive Director called on the Israeli authorities to immediately release the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. As of 12/11/24, at least 330 Gaza health workers have been detained by the Israeli authorities and 1,057 have been killed, including 3 physicians who have died in custody.

• UN Human Rights Office report here: stresses that “Israel’s pattern of deadly attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza, and associated combat, pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care.” OHCHR verified 136 strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities between 10/7/23-6/30/24 resulting in damage, destruction and casualties among health workers and other civilians. “Many injured patients reportedly died while waiting to be hospitalized or treated,” while some “were often discharged prematurely due to a lack of space.” Attacks deterred women and girls from seeking assistance, leading to newborn deaths “because their mothers were unable to attend postnatal check-ups or reach medical facilities to give birth.”

• “In most instances, Israel alleges that hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups, insufficient information has so far been made available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad.” The report notes that, “even in the exceptional circumstances when medical personnel, ambulances, and hospitals lose their special protection because they fulfil the strict criteria to be considered military objectives, any attack on them must still comply with the fundamental [international humanitarian law] principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.” [Editorial note: this includes protection of patients.]

• After Israel put the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan Hospital out of service 12/24&27, Al Awda, the last partially functioning hospital in North Gaza, was ordered to evacuate patients and staff. While Al Awda continues to operate, access to the facility, where 34 patients and 63 staff remain, is very limited amid ongoing hostilities. The hospital’s fuel tank and last remaining generator were targeted and destroyed, and it is struggling to operate with severe shortages of medications, medical supplies and fuel. As of 1/4 The ministry noted that the North Gaza governorate has three public hospitals, Kamal Adwan, Beit Hanoon and the Indonesian Hospital, all of which have been taken out of service by Israel’s offensive.

• There is a dire shortage of antibiotics, medicines for pain and non-communicable diseases, dialysis and orthopedic supplies, pediatric formulations, ICU supplies, and laboratory reagents.

• Israel’s refusal to allow fuel for hospital electric generators continues to put patients at risk. European Gaza Hospital (Khan Younis) warned on 1/7 that their generators would cease functioning within 24 hours due to fuel, threatening the lives of premature babies and ICU patients. Nasser Medical Complex (Khan Younis) announced 1/8 that all but 1 generator is shut down, and that has fuel for only 3 hours. The MoH announced a patient died due to the lack of fuel to operate kidney dialysis machines. At Al-Aqsa Hospital, Doctors Without Borders reports 15 newborns in incubators could soon die unless Israel urgently allows the delivery of fuel to power the hospital’s generators

• As of 1/6, 8 babies have died from hypothermia. Nasser Medical Complex NICU has admitted 325 infants to treat “newborns and premature babies with potentially life-threatening respiratory infections, dehydration, and other complications.” Nasser’s pediatric ward is seeing an increased number of children with acute bronchiolitis, pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infections and even bronchial asthma exacerbations due to harsh winter weather, dire conditions in tents and limited heating supplies, all of which render premature and low-birth-weight babies more vulnerable to hypothermia. UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, reiterated that “inadequate shelter, lack of access to nutrition and healthcare, the dire sanitary situation, and now the winter weather put the lives of all children in Gaza at risk,” with newborns and children with medical conditions being especially vulnerable.

• After months of approval and clearance processes, 545 wheelchairs procured by UNICEF arrived in Gaza and are being distributed to children with disabilities and injured in the conflict. As of 1/4, 250 children had been reached in central and southern Gaza; efforts are underway to reach children in the north Gaza. This covers only a fraction of needs.

• 12/31, 55 patients (and 72 companions) were medically evacuated to the United Arab Emirates. WHO noted that at this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate the over 12,000 critically ill and injured patients, including thousands of children, who require urgent, life-saving treatment outside Gaza.

• “When the war broke out, we had 106 kidney patients here at the hospital,” said Abdel-Naser Abu Aisha, head nurse of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital’s dialysis department. “When the Israeli military launched its ground operations in Rafah [in early May], we ended up with nearly five times this number.” The numbers of kidney patients have come down now, Abu Aisha said, because half the patients have died in the meantime of various causes, mostly related to hospital overcrowding and the general conditions in Gaza

• Gaza’s healthcare is on the brink of “total collapse”, according to the U.N. because of the targeting of hospitals by Israel. Osama Qashoo, the creator of Gaza Cola, hopes to use profits from his Coca-Cola alternative, recently launched in London, to rebuild al Karama hospital, which used to stand in northern Gaza. “It’s been reduced to rubble for no just reason, like all of these hospitals in Gaza,” according to the 43-year-old filmmaker, human rights advocate and, now, fizzy-drink maker.

• The genocide has caused countless threats to the health of people in Gaza. But this dust—the particles emanating from the rubble that now blankets every part of the region—is a threat we don’t talk about that much. We should start talking about it more because it will imperil public health in Gaza for many years to come.

Education

• While 72 tents to establish 56 winter-proof Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs) were allowed entry, another 146 have been stranded outside Gaza for months due to Israeli restrictions on the entry of education supplies. Only 16% (105,700 children) of the school-age population has access to some form of learning in Gaza. Limited resources and shortages in winter clothes contribute to low enrollment. Lack educational access not only jeopardizes children’s futures, but also exposes them to immediate risks: child labor, early marriage and physical injuries in the streets.

• As of 12/24, 11,913 students and 481 teachers had been killed, while 19,055 students and 2,569 education personnel had been injured. 

Food & Nutrition

• Gaza continues to experience a food emergency while food sufficient for the entire population (132,000 tons) remains stranded by Israel outside the Strip.

• Of 83,007 children screened, 4,300 were admitted for outpatient treatment of acute malnutrition in December. Only 4 Stabilization Centers to treat Severe Acute Malnutrition remain operational– 1 in Gaza governorate, 2 in Deir al Balah, and 1 in Khan Younis.

• Of 15,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) screened in December, 1,165 were treated for Moderate Acute Malnutrition.

• Over 8,800 tons of flour were distributed to 1.4 million people in December. Approximately 580,000 cooked meals prepared in 160 kitchens were distributed as of 12/23, the main daily source of food for many families. Only 5 of 20 WFP bakeries remain operational, all in the Gaza governorate. Bread is delivered to selected shelters and community kitchens.

• Israeli approval received last week for bringing in potato tubers has been reversed, with no reason provided. Entry of agricultural supplies such as seed kits, organic fertilizers and nylon sheets for greenhouses is key to enhancing diet diversity and reducing food gaps in Gaza.

Water & Sanitation

• Constraints on fuel and supplies continue to hamper the operation of WASH facilities and water distribution. About 55,000 tons of WASH supplies sit in Jordan and Egypt awaiting entry.

• WASH Cluster partners received only 14.8% of the fuel required for critical WASH and public health needs, including water production and distribution, sewage management, repair, and solid waste management.

• Israeli authorities continue to deny access to water production points in north and eastern Gaza. People displaced from North Gaza are sheltering in damaged buildings where sanitation facilities have been destroyed. There are 156 displacement sites in the governorate in which functional sanitation facilities are lacking.

• The inability to drain flooded wastewater at the Sheikh Radwan Lagoon pumping station in Gaza City poses a major public health risk. The wastewater transmission pipe from the pumping station to the sea-outfall requires urgent maintenance and although 700 m. of pipe is available in Khan Younis, Israeli authorities deny WASH service providers access to the pipe.

WEST BANK, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM

This week, Israeli forces killed 3 Palestinians (1 child) and injured 38 (6 children).

Killed since October 2023: 1000 (213 children) and injured: 16,233 (2,487 children)

For more detail: here

Israeli attacks

• 1/3, Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old and injured 7 others in a raid on Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.

• 1/5, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old in a raid in Askar refugee camp in Nablus in a clash between soldiers and stone-throwers.

• 1/5, Israeli forces surrounded a house and shot and killed a man in Meithalun village, south of Jenin. He was left bleeding without medical attention for 2 hours and his body has been withheld. Since 10/2023, 152 West Bank Palestinians’ bodies have been withheld by Israeli forces, only 5 were subsequently returned.

• 1/6 January, armed Palestinians shot and killed 3 settlers and injured 8 in an attack on a bus and 2 cars on Route 55, near Al Funduq village in Qalqiliya. Israeli forces subsequently closed area roads and village entrances.

• 1/7-8, Israeli airstrikes killed 5 (3 children) and damaged infrastructure in Tammun (Tubas).

• 1/7, Israeli forces shot and killed a man in Talluza (Nablus).

• A Diakonia report (https://www.diakonia.se/ihl/news/overkill-a-critical-appraisal-of-the-use-of-force-by-israel-in-the-west-bank/) shows use of force against West Bank Palestinians has intensified since October 2023. “While Israel appears to be applying more permissive rules on the conduct of hostilities to its use of force in the West Bank…Israel as the occupying power in effective control of territory in the West Bank is bound by the more restrictive rules regulating use of force in law enforcement, emanating from international human rights law.” The report highlights daily raids on communities, use of airstrikes, bulldozers and armored vehicles in refugee camps, destruction of infrastructure, and increased civilian casualties and displacement.

• 1/8 Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said 45 Palestinians have been arrested since 1/7 across the governorates of Hebron, Nablus, Tubas, Tulkarem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem.

• After Gaza, Israeli Soldiers Are Allowed to Do Anything. Even Hide in a Palestinian Ambulance. Gideon Levy reports that for an IOF raid on Balata Refugee Camp, soldiers arrive disguised as a medical team, and emerged from a Palestinian ambulance. here

Palestinian unrest

• Since the PA operation in Jenin refugee camp began on 12/5/24, the PA has engaged in clashes with armed Palestinians and detained 247 people. 14 Palestinians have been killed, including 3 children, a journalist and 3 bystanders, 6 PA members and 1 armed Palestinian. UNRWA estimates about 650 families (3,400 people) remain in the camp and face dire conditions; 2,000 families have been displaced to Jenin City and surrounding villages. 1/3, 3 people (1 child) were killed and 1 child injured in unclear circumstances.

• Residents have been struggling to meet basic needs, supermarkets are running out of supplies, and access to water and electricity has been minimal. The upheaval has also prevented residents from working to support their families or buy food.

• 4 UNRWA schools closed on 12/9/24, idling 1,600 students already suffering mental health issues from the incursions of Israeli soldiers. UNRWA’s health clinic has also been closed and the nearby Qabatiya health center is mostly inaccessible. Noncommunicable Disease patients have missed appointments, stores of insulin have spoiled due to lack of refrigeration, and the lab was destroyed by an RPG.

• 29 houses have burned, water tanks and generators are damaged, and repairs to the water system, damaged during Israeli military operations, has been on hold, leaving 60% of the camp’s population without access to water. UNRWA has suspended solid waste operations, leading to the accumulation of solid waste and unhygienic conditions.

Settler Attacks

• This week, settlers carried out 14 attacks against Palestinians, causing injuries and/or property damage. In 2024, OCHA documented 1,420 attacks by settlers against Palestinians. Since 10/7/2023, settler attacks and access restrictions displaced 300 Bedouin households (1,762 people, 856 children).

• 1/3, dozens of settlers, some armed and escorted by Israeli forces, attacked Palestinian farmers on the outskirts of Silwad village (Ramallah). The settlers threw stones at the farmers, who responded with stones, and then settlers began shooting, assaulting Palestinians with clubs, setting fire to 8 vehicles, and then closed the road leading to their fields. 9 farmers were injured. A new settlement outpost established last month near Silwad (dismantled by Israeli forces on 1/2 but rebuilt the same day) has caused 8 previous clashes.

• 1/3, settlers assaulted farmers near Masafer Bani Na'im (Hebron), injuring 6. Israeli forces detained 5 injured Palestinians for 4 hours, finally releasing them to find hospital treatment.

• 1/3, settlers destroyed 6 tents, including 3 residential structures, displacing 4 herders from Burqa village (Ramallah).

• 1/6, settlers near Bardala (northern Jordan Valley) raided the village and damaged their primary school. When teachers and residents gathered to protest, Israeli forces intervened, shot tear gas canisters and live ammunition into the air, and arrested a Palestinian.

Demolitions

• This week, Israeli authorities demolished 15 Palestinian-owned structures for lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 52 (23 children).

• MSF was forced to cancel 7 of 26 mobile clinic visits to the (Hebron) H2 area between Sept-Nov due to movement restrictions and overall insecurity. The mobile clinic provides primary care and mental health support, treating 60-70 patients/day. Access to care for Palestinian residents of H2 has been seriously compromised by movement restrictions, settler violence, and military incursions, causing a dramatic decline in children’s mental health and increasing symptoms of trauma, including hyperactivity, bed-wetting, nightmares and academic decline.

ISRAEL

• An Israeli court has extended the detention without charges of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, until 2/13/25. In a statement, the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights based in Gaza said Israeli authorities also ruled on Wednesday to extend the ban on Dr. Abu Safiya’s access to legal counsel until 1/22. “This marks the second such extension since his arrest” on 12/27 last year, the statement noted.

• Israeli lawmakers demanded in Gaza:

Remote elimination of all energy sources, that is fuel, solar panels and any relevant means (pipes, cables, generators etc.)

Elimination of all food sources including warehouses, water and all relevant means (water pumps etc.)

Remote elimination of anyone who moves in the area and does not exit with a white flag during the days of the effective siege.

“After these actions and the days of siege upon those who remain, IDF must enter gradually and conduct a full cleansing of the enemy nests.” The “remote elimination” apparently means the usage of aerial bombings without a physical presence on the ground. here

• "I, the mother of a son about to join the army, call on everyone to look with eyes wide open at the full reality. Not to avert our eyes away from the injustices for which we and our children are responsible, and to examine in depth the possibilities of each and every one of us to act, change and fix what is wrong. So that we can raise children here for life and peace." – Naama Barak Wolfman here

• Anti-war activists from Radical Bloc protested at Israel's military headquarters, challenging soldiers and calling for conscientious objection to service. The demonstrators displayed images of Gaza and accused all military personnel, regardless of their role, of complicity in the 'mass murder.'

• Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel needs "to stay in Gaza for a very long time. We need to stop being afraid of the word 'occupation,'" adding that Israel will "assume responsibility for civilians in Gaza."

LEBANON

• Lebanon's geopolitical and military dynamics remain fraught with tension and uncertainty, amplified by recent developments in both political and military arenas. The approval of Joseph Aoun as President of the Lebanese Republic, strongly influenced and dictated by US and Saudi preferences, marks a significant political moment.

Yet, this selection, made without competition - but only with kingmakers Hezbollah and Shia AMAL movement agreement - does little to stabilize the country, which continues to grapple with deep-seated instability, compounded by the devastation of hundreds of thousands of homes in need of reconstruction and a dire economic crisis. Progress on rebuilding remains slow and insufficient to meet the vast scale of destruction.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Lebanese villages and strategic hills they seized during the recent war is fast approaching. While the withdrawal is expected to proceed, speculation abounds that Israel may retain control over certain high-altitude positions deemed strategically sensitive. Hezbollah would see such an outcome as a provocation and a justification to reinstate its military resistance activities.

The situation underscores the fragility of the current ceasefire and the potential for renewed conflict if diplomatic resolutions fail to address underlying territorial disputes and security concerns. here

SYRIA

• Senior officials in Israel said the country would need to maintain a 15 km (9.3 mi) operational perimeter within Syrian territory, where the IDF would maintain a presence to ensure that allies of the new regime couldn’t launch missiles toward the Golan Heights. They also noted the necessity of a "sphere of influence" extending 60 km (37 mi) into Syria, under Israeli intelligence control, to monitor and prevent potential threats from developing.

YEMEN

• At least one person has been killed and several others were wounded after Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. Air strikes hit the western ports of Ras Isa and Hodeidah, the Hezyaz Central Power Station near Sanaa, and the Harf Sufyan district of Amran province.

US

• The New York Times reported that the U.S. State Department has informed Congress of its plan to send $8 billion worth of U.S.-made weapons to Israel. The weapons package includes artillery shells, small-diameter bombs, missiles for fighter jets and helicopters and GPS guidance systems for bombs. Many of the weapons are not intended for immediate use but will instead enter a manufacturing pipeline, with delivery potentially taking years.

• U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court at The Hague over its alleged targeting of senior Israeli officials, though it remains unclear whether Republicans will have the necessary support to advance it in the Senate to become law.

• U.S. State Department disregarded specific questions about the physical well-being of Abu Safiya from The Electronic Intifada and instead responded with generalities that never named the doctor. A State Department spokesperson merely noted, “We are aware of reports and still gathering information.”

• Two pro-Palestinian activists were removed from Michigan’s student government. The president and vice president of the University of Michigan’s student assembly were impeached after they demanded divestment and stopped funding campus activities.

• In New York, 11 students have been suspended by New York University for one year for participating in nonviolent antiwar protests last month. In a statement, NYU Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine called the suspensions “a draconian case of collective punishment.”

• The American Historical Association (AHA) voted overwhelmingly to support a resolution to oppose scholasticide in Gaza. Barbara Weinstein previously served as president of the AHA: “Over the years it has become increasingly clear that we can’t have a narrow definition of what our roles are as historians.”

• After a complaint filed by ADC (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee ) and CAIR-NJ (Council on American-Islamic Relations) last year, the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has directed Rutgers University to address probable violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ADC and CAIR-NJ alleged that Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students at Rutgers are facing unlawful discrimination and identity-based censorship. The Department of Education agreed. here

• The week of 12/23, FEWSNet, an independently run famine reporting service funded by the U.S. government, updated its projections for impending famine in northern Gaza. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel publicly criticized the population figures used, and the update promptly disappeared from public view, apparently upon instructions from U.S. government officials. This recent censorship battle over whether to call starvation in Gaza a famine is compromising United States credibility on issues where the U.S. has led the world for decades.

INTERNATIONAL

• Two Israeli soldiers, Omer and Ella Berger, were denied visas to Australia due to their service in the Israeli army, prompting additional scrutiny from Australian authorities, Israeli media reported 1/1. In a historic move, Brazilian authorities have issued an urgent arrest order for an Israeli soldier accused of committing war crimes during Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. This decision follows a criminal complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation, a human rights organization dedicated to seeking justice for Palestinian victims.

• Pro-Palestinian organizations have filed 50 complaints in courts around the world against Israeli soldiers for committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN. “About 50 complaints have been filed against reserve soldiers, 10 of which have been investigated without any arrests recorded so far,” KAN, cited by the Anadolu news agency, reported. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said cases have been filed in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Belgium, France, and Brazil against Israeli soldiers.

• 1/6, medical workers calling for the release of Dr. Abu Safiya and an end to attacks on hospitals and health workers in Gaza protested in cities around the United States and the world, including San Francisco, New York, Boston, Quebec and York, Boston, Quebec and London. The rallies were organized by Doctors Against Genocide (DAG), a global coalition of health care workers based in Michigan and founded in 2023.

• The BDS Movement calls for immediate action to pressure Moroccan authorities to immediately release human rights defender and agricultural engineer Ismail Lghazaoui, who is unjustly imprisoned for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of expression. His tireless advocacy for Palestinian rights has made him a target of repression by the authoritarian Moroccan regime, which is complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people through its shameful normalization and military alliance with apartheid Israel.

• “Israel Bonds are one of the most significant sources of financing for illicit Israeli activities in Palestine, from the violent expansion of West Bank settlements to offsetting the enormous costs of the genocidal campaign in Gaza,” said the director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN. “The United Nations should include Israel Bonds and the Development Corporation for Israel in its blacklist for illegal settlement businesses so that the world is on notice that buying Israel Bonds means helping pay for Israel's war crimes.”

• As the fighting continued, mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and the US were pushing forward with efforts to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see a ceasefire and exchange of Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Speaking from Paris, France, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintained that an agreement was “very close”. Efforts have failed in the past.

SOURCES

OCHAOPT, Haaretz, New York Times, Electronic Intifada, Palestine Chronicle, Democracy Now, Drop Site News, The Guardian, Electronic Intifada, The Nation, email from BDS movement, Mondoweiss, Ynet, Ejmagnier