Above photo: Palestinians flee Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip, August 17, 2024. Naaman Omar/APA Images.
As Netanyahu Insists On Additional Ceasefire Conditions.
Antony Blinken arrives in the region to push for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers commit a new pogrom east of Qalqilya as Israeli forces ramp up raids on Jenin and Nablus.
Casualties
- 40,139 + killed* and at least 92,743 wounded in the Gaza Strip. The identities of 32,280 of the slain have been identified, including 10,627 children and 5,956 women, representing 60% of the casualties, and 2,770 elderly, as of August 6, 2024. Some 10,000 more are estimated to be under the rubble*
- 632+ Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This includes 140 children.**
- Israel revised its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,140.
- 693 Israeli soldiers and officers have been recognized as killed, and 4096 as wounded by the Israeli army, since October 7.***
* Gaza’s branch of the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed this figure in its daily report, published through its WhatsApp channel on August 15, 2024. Rights groups and public health experts estimate the death toll to be much higher.
** The death toll in the West Bank and Jerusalem is not updated regularly. This is the latest figure according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health as of August 15.
*** These figures are released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.” Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported on August 4, 2024, that some 10,000 Israeli soldiers and officers have been either killed or wounded since October 7. The head of the Israeli army’s wounded association told Israel’s Channel 12 that the number of wounded Israeli soldiers exceeds 20,000, including at least 8,000 who have been permanently handicapped as of June 1. Israel’s Channel 7 reported that according to the Israeli war ministry’s rehabilitation service numbers, 8,663 new wounded joined the army’s handicap rehabilitation system since October 7 and as of June 18.
Key Developments
- Gaza Health Ministry says death toll surpasses 40,139, with 92,743 Palestinians in Gaza wounded since October 7, including 33% children, 18.4% women, and 8.6% elderly; at least 115 Palestinian children born and killed by Israeli forces since October 7.
- UNRWA says 90% of Gaza population living on 11% of Gaza’s land, about 35 square kilometers.
- Palestinian Civil Defense says bodies of 1,760 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes have “vaporized” due to use of internationally forbidden weapons.
- Deir al-Balah municipality says it cannot provide basic needs to some 1 million displaced Palestinians in city after Israel reduced size of “humanitarian area.”
- The municipality of Deir al-Balah says some water wells used by displaced Palestinians located in area Israeli army ordered to be evacuated.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits region for ninth time since beginning of war in attempt to press for ceasefire deal.
- Israeli public broadcasting reports ceasefire talks concentrate on Philadelphi corridor along Egypt’s border.
- Al-Awdah Hospital in Jabalia, north of Gaza, says it has only 60 liters of fuel remaining, which will soon cause it to stop operating.
- UN says 280 humanitarian workers killed in Gaza since October 7.
- Blinken says current ceasefire talks might be last chance to achieve deal, says this is “critical phase.”
- Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid says Blinken’s remarks “a call to Netanyahu.”
- Israeli families of captives in Gaza protest in front of house of Israeli President ISaac Herzog, demanding ceasefire deal. Herzog tells protesters that “Kahanists” like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have to be expelled from the government.
- Iranian foreign ministry says “the ball is in the U.S.’s court” to prove seriousness in achieving ceasefire in Gaza.
- Israeli settlers kill one Palestinian and damage property in new pogrom in village of Jeet near Qalqilya, northwestern West Bank.
- Israeli guard at “Kedumim” settlement near Qalqilya killed after Palestinian attacked him and captured his weapon on Sunday.
- Israeli forces injure four Palestinians during raid on Nablus.
- Explosion in Tel Aviv leaves no casualties on Sunday, described by Israeli security forces as “terrorist” attack. Al-Qassam Brigades claim responsibility for explosion, say bomb attacks in Israel will return if Israel continues its massacres.
- Hezbollah says its fighters fought off Israeli soldier’s attempt to infiltrate Lebanese territory.
- Israel strikes Wadi Kfur near Nabatiya in southern Lebanon, killing 10 Lebanese.
- Hezbollah attacks two Israeli positions and towns across border in upper Galilee with drones and rockets.
Blinken Pushes For Ceasefire As Netanyahu Stipulates New Conditions
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Middle East on Sunday for the ninth time since last October in an attempt to advance the talks for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Blinken is holding a series of meetings with Israeli officials, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu. On Sunday, Blinken told the media that the current talks are the last chance to achieve a ceasefire and free Israeli captives. Blinken also said that the talks are currently in a critical phase, calling on Hamas and Israel to refrain from taking steps that could sabotage them.
Meanwhile, Israeli public broadcasting quoted an Israeli official saying that the remaining issues to settle in the ceasefire talks include the maintenance of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and that differences between Hamas and Israel on this issue can be settled.
However, Netanyahu’s office released a statement upon Blinken’s arrival on Sunday, saying that Israel insists on maintaining a military presence in the Philadelphi corridor to “prevent terrorists from rearming,” while affirming on continuing to support a deal to release “a maximum possible number of hostages.”
For his part, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that Blinken’s statement that the current talks are the last chance to achieve a deal was “a call for Netanyahu.” Lapid added that Netanyahu’s government has abandoned the captives in Gaza and that it is his responsibility to bring them home.
Simultaneously, Hamas said in a statement that the latest U.S. proposal has aligned with Israeli desires. Hamas called upon mediators to work on implementation steps for the deal proposed by Biden in June and which Hamas accepted in early July.
Meanwhile, the families of Israeli captives in Gaza protested in dozens of locations, including in front of the house of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, demanding a prisoner exchange deal. Herzog addressed protesters saying that to achieve a deal, the “Kahanists” like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have to be expelled from the government.
In Gaza, the death toll of Israel’s assault surpassed 40,000, in addition to 10,000 more missing for months under the rubble. On Sunday, the UN said that 90% of Gaza’s population, about 1.9 million Palestinians, have been forced into a tiny space of 35 square kilometers, around 11% of the strip’s area, worsening the dire sanitary situation.
Settlers Kill One Palestinian In The West Bank
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Jeet near Qalqilya in the northwestern West Bank on Thursday, killing one Palestinian and damaging property, including burning cars.
The attack was one of the largest and most violent settler rampages to take place in recent weeks. Residents’ testimonies to Palestinian media said that over 100 settlers were organized into groups, some of whom attacked houses, while others set cars on fire.
The Israeli daily Haaretz revealed that an Israeli army unit was present nearby during the attack, which lasted for around four hours and let it happen without arresting any of the attackers.
The spokesperson for the UN human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, condemned the attack, affirming that it “is not an isolated incident, but a direct result of Israel’s settlement in the West Bank.”
The EU chief diplomat Joseph Borrell also condemned the attack in a post on X, affirming his “intention to table a proposal for EU sanctions against violent settlers’ enablers, including some Israeli government’s members.”
Settler violence continues to increase while the Israeli army hardens its crackdown on West Bank cities and towns. On Saturday, an Israeli drone strike on a car killed two Palestinians in Jenin. On Monday, Israel wounded four Palestinians in a military raid on Nablus.
Since October 7, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 632 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 147 children.